Christmas Day 2017 – God With Us
John 1:1-14
Christmas traditions
John tells the Christmas story … What matters?
The Beginning
v1-2 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning”
“The Word” = “Jesus”
John’s audience was familiar with the Old Testament
Contrast – Light & Darkness
v4-5 “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”
Ordinary people, like us, living in darkness … hiding in darkness
The birth of Jesus is God shining a great light into the darkness
God knows everything we do in the darkness
Why is the birth of Jesus good news?
A message of hope … of finding fulfillment in who we are meant to be
Are we finding fulfillment in our Christmas preparations? Is there something better? Are we dissatisfied?
Good News
v11-12 “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”
Sin separates us
There is security in unconditional love
We live in the darkness because we are afraid of ….
God demonstrates his love for you in Jesus
Christmas traditions are nice … but they are empty unless we meet Jesus on his terms
The Miracle
v14a “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us”
God made himself known
Christmas is where we meet God
There is a God …. & he cares about us