SERMON by BABU
John 1:1-2 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
John 20:31 - But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is
the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his
name.
John wants to bring out the redemption nature of the Gospel.
He is not concerned with chronology.
John doesn't explain what the names "The Word" is
until verse 14 where it explains the form of the Word.
The eternal God who has become a human
.
4 Important aspects of Jesus:
1.Title as the Word
Word means "Logos"
Impersonal force that keeps the world in order. The thoughts
in our mind are communicated through our words.
The words -
* Declare the thoughts of God
* Communicates
* Reveals God
2. Word is in relation to time.
Time = Mass x Acceleration
3. God is ONE but manifested in THREE
4. There are many titles given to Jesus - Christ, Messiah
But He is God
SERMON BY ALEX
GODINHO:
John 1:3-4 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was
made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all
mankind.
Trusting in the life the giver and follow the light bearer
All things in totality, everything owes its existence to
God. The stars, oceans, animals, plants etc. Creation is a finished work but He
is still working.
Not one thing has its existence apart from the creative expression of Jesus.
Heb 1:2 - But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom
he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.
Everything was made through Him.
In Him was life - Spiritual, Saving and Eternal life. When
we come to Christ we need to build up our spiritual life.
John 5:24 - “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes
him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over
from death to life.
We need to believe in Jesus. He has passed from death to
life. We need the gift of life.
Life was the light of men - The new creation begins with the
light of Christ in us. In darkness, we can't see. Light makes vision possible.
SERMON BY JO HART:
John 1:4-5 - In him was life, and that life was the light of all
mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome
it.
Who is at the
driver's seat?
God existed before time. He was the uncreated one.
Light is righteousness, God is light. It is a part of His
identity.
Gen 2:7 - Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living
being.
Adam took on God's DNA. Adam also was light.
Eph 5:8 - For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the
Lord. Live as children of light
Our identity was corrupted due to the lack of light. But
now, there is hope.
Rom 3:24-25 - and all are justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of
atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did
this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left
the sins committed beforehand unpunished—
When Jesus died on our behalf, all our sins were dealt with
and we were reconciled to who we were originally meant.
Now, we are light when we believe in Jesus. How?
1. Remember who God is:
He is the light
2. Remember who we are:
Matt 5:14 - “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill
cannot be hidden."
We are the light, we are the city on the hill. That is our
identity. Light can never be afraid of darkness.
John 1:5 - The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not
overcome it.
DARKNESS WILL NOT OVERCOME LIGHT.
We have been given authority and victory over darkness.
Imagine walking into a battle with a 100% guarantee of victory. In the battle
of light vs. darkness, light will always win. When we walk in the authority of
a victor, darkness has to flee.
3. Remember to love:
Matt 5:44 - But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you,
Luke 6:27-28 - “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you, bless
those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
Who are our enemies? Who are those that persecute us? It’s
people still living in darkness.
Martin Luther King Jr. says: Darkness cannot drive out
darkness, only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that. Light
drives out darkness, love drives out hate.
We can allow our light to shine when we actively love in an
atmosphere of hate. When we do that, we actively drive out darkness.
Jesus commands us to love our enemies. To be love in an environment
of hate and animosity.
Love is not a feeling or emotion. It is a verb – an action. Therefore
we need to actively be loving others.
BUT WHO?
We love our God, our families, our church.
What about our neighbors? Do we know who lives next door?
What about our city? We did the traffic awareness, but what
else can we do to love our city? There are craters on the road and garbage on
the streets. Is there anything we can do about it?
When we sit and do nothing but complain, are we really loving?
Will we leave a hallmark, will we stand out or will we just
disappear in the distance?
What about our nation? Are there ways we can actively love
our nation? Are there ways we can actively love our nation?
We are not called to be people of fear because perfect love
casts out all fear. So when the nation is shaking and scary things are happening,
our response is love.
“Darkness is merely the absence of light, and fear is merely
the absence of love. If we want to be rid of fear, we cannot fight it but must
replace it with love.”
— Marianne Williamson
So who’s in the driver’s seat today?
We are overcomers, we are more than conquerors, so how can
we overcome the darkness today? We
remember who Christ is, We remember who we are and we remember to love.
Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again), Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service. Word of Grace is a part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.
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