Pastor's Corner: WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?

 Why Should You Follow Jesus? John 1:35-51 Introduction: We have several “firsts” in the opening chapters of John. We’ve already seen John the Baptist presented as the first “witness,” testifying to the messianic identity of Jesus. Now we see the first disciples following Jesus. We have a different perspective on the call of the first disciples than we see in the Synoptic Gospels. Rather than the call from their fishing boat on the banks of the Sea of Galilee, this initial group are shown to have first sought out John the Baptist and followed him. When two of them heard the testimony of John concerning Jesus, they left John and followed Jesus! This is not a contradiction, as they had to be followers, disciples, before he would call some apart to be “apostles,” sent ones. We’ll see that the first ones they brought to Christ were those in their “sphere of influence.” Andrew brought his brother Peter. Philip invites Nathanael to “come and see.” This scene seems to be the backstory to ...

 The Witness, and the Word John 1:19-34 Introduction: John the Evangelist, is presenting in his Gospel the Case for Christ. He’ll state his purpose plainly in 20:30-31, 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;  31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John the Gospel writer was an eyewitness, one of the original twelve disciples called by Jesus. Under the inspiration of God, he intentionally selected his material, conscious of the written and oral testimonies already circulating, he wrote to make the case that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. His goal was that those who read his Gospel would respond with faith, convinced by the evidence, their understanding illumined by the Holy Spirit they would believe, and so, they would find the Way to Life!         We’ve noted already John’s inter...

 Christmas: The Revelation of God in Christ! John 1:14-18 Introduction: “Here is something marvelous: the Son of God descended from heaven in such a way that, without leaving heaven, he willed to be borne in the virgin’s womb, to go about the earth, and to hang upon the cross; yet he continuously filled the world even as he had done from the beginning!” (John Calvin).  Let it sink in for a moment, the God who is, the Great I AM, the One who is so immense as to fill the universe, so awesome as to speak all that exists into being, so powerful as to hold it all together, willfully, purposefully, took the form of a human, and lived in this fallen world among men. He then, though innocent, went to the Cross and died as our substitute, to rescue us from the penalty of sin. In an Advent devotional, in an entry written by Kelly Kapic, she reflected on this awesome truth: “So, is Jesus… [h]uman or divine? Yes! Both are true in one person, this one baby boy. We can imagine God bringing ...

 The Incarnation: The Word became Flesh John 1:14 Introduction: As we continue our Advent series this year in the Prologue to the Gospel of John, our focus today will be on a single verse, John 1:14. This is the truth of Christmas in a nutshell, if we can only dig in and bask in the truth it expresses. Our beautiful Christmas music, many other complementary texts, the stories we know and love so well, all illuminate and illustrate this most amazing event, but this verse in itself says more than we can fully comprehend. In the song, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Charles Wesley expressed some of the shocking depth of truth we’ll see in our passage, Christ, by highest heav’n adored, Christ, the everlasting Lord: Late in time behold Him come, Offspring of a virgin’s womb. Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, Hail th’ incarnate Deity! Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Immanuel. The Eternal Son, who shared the most intimate fellowship in union with the Father and the Spirit from al...

 Light Shined in the Darkness  (Or, Christmas Light) John 1:4-13 Introduction: Many of you who plan to, by now, the second Sunday of December, have already put up your Christmas decorations. Our church is beautifully decorated for the season, and we all enjoy it. The Coastal Maine Botanical Garden one mile from where we lived in Boothbay, decorates for the season with over 750,000 lights! If we are intentional about it, we can not only enjoy the beauty of what we see around us, but we can allow these things to point our hearts and minds to the true Light of Christmas, the Light that came into the world in the fulness of time, the Light of the World, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The Prophet Isaiah wrote,  “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone” (Isaiah 9:2).  Then just a few verses later he said, “Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given…” (9:6). A child born, a Son ...