We are so thankful for those that were able to join us last night. Going through the book of John with you all has been so encouraging for us. Here is last night's recap...
John 1:14-18
John 1:14
~The Word became flesh; Jesus, who was outside of creation, became one of us and "dwelt" with us.
~The word "dwelt" was the same word for "tabernacle." Jesus came to "tabernacle" or "dwell" with us and reveal the glory of the Father to us.
~God's heart is to be with His creation. We see this all throughout the bible; He longs to be with us as a husband longs to be with his wife. He made the ultimate sacrifice to do this when becoming one of us.
~Even after Jesus had gone back to the Father, God sent the Holy Spirit to dwell among His children so that He would be with us! Amazing!
Q: How do you react knowing that the Lord has done so much to be with us? Have you rejected His coming in Jesus or have you received Jesus? Do you recognize God's heart to "dwell" with us continually? How does that affect your daily life?
John 1:15
~John, who was so near to Jesus (his cousin), came to testify about the greatness of Jesus. He was so close to Jesus and thus was able to see and recognize His greatness.
~Remember: "the power of the gravity depends on the proximity" (Ross King). The more we spend time with Jesus, the more of His glory we will see and He will "dwell" with us more intimately.
John 1:16
~John's message was this: You are sinful BUT the Sin-taker is HERE!
~When he says that in His fullness we have received "grace upon grace" this actually means that we have received grace "for" grace. We are so lost and depraved (Ephesians 2) that we need grace to even receive His grace!
~Ezekiel 16:6 is a good depiction of where we were before the Lord. All of us were helplessly dying until He came to rescue us through His blood.
~The law was "given" in the Old Testament but could not be kept thus grace and truth were "realized" and given in fullest measure in Jesus. It is finished. Our righteousness rests completely in the work of Jesus.
John 1:18
~Jesus has "explained" or "declared" the Father. When Jesus came, He was the exact representation of the glory of the Father.
~ Colossians 1:15 says that He is the image of the Father. We were made by Him and for Him! This means that we were not made to exalt ourselves and be the next Superstar but that we were made to be a worshipper of Him.
~If we do not realize that we were made to be a worshipper of Him, we will spend our lives chasing "shadows" (things that we think will satisfy us but will always leave us empty). Only in Jesus will we be fully satisfied because we were made for Him!
Q: Are you a worshipper of Jesus or someone that is trying to be the next Superstar? Are you trying to live your life to make much of Jesus or much of yourself? You cannot do both!!
Students, we are so thankful for you. We are thankful to see so many of you pursuing Jesus with your lives. It is an honor to be a part of that. We pray that you will spend time letting Jesus "tabernacle" with you this week. We ask that you set aside time with Him daily and let Him teach you through His word and through worship and prayer. We love you all!
~Sonny and Casi
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