God became human and pitched his tent among us. The Bahai faith has a message of discipline and philosophy. 14 The Word became flesh and blood,    and moved into the neighborhood.We saw the glory with our own eyes,    the one-of-a-kind glory,    like Father, like Son,Generous inside and out,    true from start to finish. 3-5 Everything was created through him;    nothing—not one thing!—    came into being without him.What came into existence was Life,    and the Life was Light to live by.The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;    the darkness couldn’t put it out. Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson, The Message (MSG). The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. 6 Pioneer Avenue “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us”. “In the beginning” should stir up biblical resonances, particularly that what follows will have something to do with creation. c. In the beginning was a big bang. He’s not some story to wheel out for the kids at Christmas and Easter. 6-8 There once was a man, his name John, sent by God to point out the way to the Life-Light. So John’s point would be that his message is not the new message of the Gnostics. 4 In Him was life , and the life was the Light of men . The Word was God. He came to show everyone where to look, who to believe in. Salem Media Group. John was not himself the Light; he was there to show the way to the Light. The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; $3.99 a month puts a library of commentaries, study notes, and Greek & Hebrew language tools right in your pocket. Everything was created through him; nothing - not one thing! so that all created beings in heaven and on earth - even those long ago dead and buried - will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ. But whoever did want him, who believed he was who he claimed and would do what he said, He made to be their true selves, their child-of-God selves. 6-8 There once was a man, his name John, sent by God to point out the way to the Life-Light. to point out the way to the Life-Light. Sometimes, when we talk about God, we look upwards, we point to the sky. A preacher could focus on any of the themes outlined below to create a meaningful Christmas sermon. All services (except TFG) remain on our FB Feed, so you can join us through Catch-Up at your own leisure. And if we do that, so our lives can be transformed. I. And that’s not a bad translation, actually because the word ‘dwelt’ in Greek derives from the word for ‘a tent’. 4 What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by. What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by. We can’t talk about Jesus in the abstract. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish. - came into being without him. OBJECTS SUGGESTED: Candles, a flashlight, picture of a lighthouse, a sunrise, a sunset. John was not himself the Light; he was there to show the way to the Light. We'll send you an email with steps on how to reset your password. For service times, please see this front page for more details. The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. The Word was first, the Word present to God, God present to the Word. The dwelling of God is a deeply intimate, personal claim and assumes God’s commitment to and continuity with God’s people. Phone: 02 4353 0977, https://www.thelakes.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/thelakes_340x156.png, Message: “To the glory of God” from David Sheath. Dear Working Preacher. Preach the promise of Christmas that puts us in the manger with Jesus and helps us sense the dependence of Jesus as that which we have on God. The Word was God. He existed in the beginning. Welcome! If we want to make sense of our lives, make sense of our hopes and joys, make sense of our disappointments and sufferings, we need to go back 2000 years to that stable in Bethlehem where the Word became a human being and dwelt among us and realise afresh that, through his Holy Spirit, he dwells with us still. Leave your details here and one of our team will be in touch with you soon. But God became human and pitched his tent among them. Once the Word becomes flesh, grace is then incarnated in the rest of the Gospel. The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. Those who are sad can receive joy. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. A. However, we still have 16 services per week online. Tuggerah, NSW We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. It is also featured in the new ebook, “Preaching Year A with Anna Carter Florence,” which is available for download from Luther Seminary. - came into being without him. A series through John's gospel about the difference that Jesus makes. In verse 14 we read that the "Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us." The Life-Light was the real thing: Every person entering Life he brings into Light. These are the God-begotten, not blood-begotten, not flesh-begotten, not sex-begotten. The Hindu faith has many gods with many messages. Join Profs. All rights reserved. Even now, we want to house God in the fine church, the majestic Cathedral, the Bishop’s Palace, the ancient heritage site. The Prologue to John’s Gospel is John’s birth story of Jesus. of The threefold claim, “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” reveals the origin of Jesus, his relationship with God, and his identity as God. What is John doing here anyway? Article Images Copyright © 2020 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. We’d love to connect with you. December 25, 2010. by David Lose. He’s not in the sky: God has moved into the neighbourhood. John was not himself the Light; he was there to show the way to the Light. Whose Birthday Is It? He was in the world, the world was there through him, and yet the world didn't even notice.