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Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. 6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

25th December 2010

We live in a multi-media world with 3-D films and animation, Power Point presentations. A study found that people only remember 10% of what they hear and 20% of what they read, but about 80 percent of what they see and do.

At the start of the gospel of John, Jesus is called "the Word". We use words to express what we think, and feel and see. Through Jesus, the word, we can know what God thinks, feels and what he is like.

Verse 14 says that "The Word became flesh". So Jesus is the primary way that God communicates with us. Jesus communicated with people by touching them as he healed them. He didn't have 3-D films but talked about everyday 3D objects, like a mustard seed, to illustrate spiritual truths. He invented memorable phrases and pictures, like "go the extra mile", "turn the other cheek", "camel through the eye of a needle". Jesus also lived a life that demonstrated his teachings. So he taught that we must forgive others, and he showed it by forgiving those who nailed him to the cross.

The Word was God and has always been. He entered time as a baby in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago. He showed and shows us what God is like. Pure, loving, challenging, understanding, compassionate, reaching out to people wanting to relate to us so much he became a human being.

The start of John's gospel resonates with the creation account in Genesis 1, where God utters commands, and his words come true. The first thing he said was "let there be light" and there was light in a dark world.

The Word, Jesus is described as "the true light". He is a light that reveals our sin, our darkness, by his example and teaching. He gives his followers the light of the knowledge of God, a light to follow, a light to guide our lives. Light can also bring security and warmth.

Jesus, the Word and the true light, demands a response. Even doing nothing is a response! John wrote, 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. This refers to those who would reject and crucify Jesus.

In contrast, it says, verse 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

This is talking about trusting in Jesus to have friendship with God, to know him as our loving father with whom we can have an eternal relationship.

We may hear the words of God, but remember only 10%. We may read them in the Bible and remember 20%. Or we can do these things and be involved in seeing Jesus by trusting him and doing his will, shown to us by his teaching and example, empowered by His Spirit.

One of the problems in learning and is that we can be given the information but not the means to remember and apply it. God gives His Spirit who helps us to trust in Jesus, to remember his words, and to do his will. He will help us if we are prepared to let him.

My late grandfather used to like to watch football on the television, but couldn't stand what he saw as the inane words of the commentators. So he used to watch with the sound muted!

I would encourage you to look and listen to what God is doing and has done in the world, and to respond in trust and love this Christmas and into 2011. One of the ways we can actively respond to him now is by coming forward, receiving the bread and cup and eating and drinking the wine. This symbolises the body and blood of Jesus, given for us that becomes part of us. This Christmas we can be God's children, and live in his love, and he can live in us.

February 15th 2009 Year B - 2 Before Lent/Sexagesima

Play Lily Allen "The Fear", current number one single...

I want to be rich and I want lots of money

I don't care about clever I don't care about funny

I want loads of clothes and I want loads of diamonds

I heard people die while they are trying to find them

I'll take my clothes off and it will be shameless

'Cuz everyone knows that's how you get famous

I'll look at the Sun and I'll look in the Mirror

I'm on the right track yeah I'm on to a winner

[Chorus]

I don't know what's right and what's real anymore

I don't know how I'm meant to feel anymore

When do you think it will all become clear?

'Cuz I'm being taken over by The Fear

This song asks the question, "What is the meaning of life?".

The Fear is that people today don't know what is right and what is real. They live in a world that says that truth is relative. They live in a superficial and false.

Both our New Testament readings for answer that question, "What is the meaning of life?".

The meaning of life is that we were created by God to have a relationship with him.

The opening verses of John's gospel mirror, in some ways, the creation accounts in Genesis.

God was and is. Before the beginning, because He is outside time. He was at the beginning, John tells us. God the Father was there, and God the Son, "The Word" was there. We know, from Genesis 1:2, that God the Holy Spirit was there, also. Hovering over the waters before anything was created.

Colossians tells us that Jesus was the agent of creation, 1: 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth...

God created humanity as the peak of his creations. With delegated authority over the animals and the land.

If you are involved in the creation of something you have a vested interest in it. It is the reason adults still treasure, say, a poker they first made in metalwork at school. It is the reason that parents are in pain when they see their offspring go in directions they know are not good for them or others.

In Adam, humankind rejected God's perfect will for us, and we became infected by sin, rebellion against God.

Because God created us, and everyone, this hurt him. He longed to bring his children back to himself. So he became a man. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

These words are, probably, so well known we lose the significance of them. God became a human being. He did this to launch a rescue mission. Colossians 1: 20 and through him ( Jesus ) to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

God loves you and me so much because we are created by him and for him. We are his children.

God has, in Jesus, made peace between us and himself. Jesus blood was shed on the cross. He took the punishment for the things we have done wrong. For the times we failed to do right. We can know his love and his peace.

"The Fear" paints a picture of a hopeless generation pursuing things that are fake and worthless.

God loves you. That love will drive out all fear, 1 John 4:18.

We are to trust in Jesus. If we do we can have aright relationship with God, our loving, heavenly father.

v.12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

John 1:1-14

This start of John's gospel sets the scene for the rest of the book and also hints at the purpose of writing the book. "These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name." ( 20:31 ) This book was written to inspire a personal trust in Jesus that would lead an individual to be reconciled to God.

At start of John's gospel see the importance of 'the word'. Jesus. A word is a symbol of an idea used in speaking or writing, a message, information. Jesus tells us what God is like. Jesus is the disclosure and revelation from God that we can understand. He was in the beginning, therefore eternal, outside time and space.

Jesus is compared to light, shining in darkness. Light is about revealing things as they really are. We turn a light on as we enter a dark room so we do not trip over the furniture ! The light of Jesus, his life and teaching, expose us for who we really are, showing our need for a saviour. For some the light is so difficult they prefer the darkness.

Light also symbolises purity. Jesus was pure, always following God's way. This is why he was able to offer himself as a perfect sacrifices for our sins.

We can identify with people and know more about them by knowing about their relationships with others. He was with God, distinct from God the Father, whilst being God, the Son, himself.

We can also categorise people by their employment. "What do you do ?" is a question people are sometimes asked initially. So some people relate to me as "the Rector", what I do.

John goes on to describe something of what Jesus has done. He created everything. The first few verses of John's gospel have been compared to the start of Genesis 1. Jesus was God's agent in creation. That involved him in giving life. Jesus is also God's agent in re-creation. Giving a new life to those who trust in him. Setting us free by taking the punishment that we deserve on the cross. We celebrate and proclaim this morning in this communion service.

God, in Jesus reveals himself in two ways.

1) Through creation although people ignore or reject it as God's handiwork. Read verse 10. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

2) Through the incarnation, and the Jews rejected him, even though they should have expected him. Read verse 11. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

This revelation forces people to make a choice. To accept or reject Jesus. To trust him to put us right with God, or to try and do it ourselves. That trusting is, of itself a gift of God. A gift is not earned or deserved.

Read verses 12f. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Those who trust in Jesus are now sons, and daughters of

God ! We have a right relationship with God. He is our loving heavenly father. It means that we are members of his world-wide family ! It means that Jesus is our brother, and that we will inherit his kingdom with him when he returns.

The coming of Jesus marks a change in human history. From B.C. to A.D. Read verse 14. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Two women who were having lunch in an elegant hotel were approached by a mutual friend who asked the occasion for the meal. One lady replied, "We are celebrating the birth of my baby boy." "But where is he?" inquired the friend. "Oh," said the mother, "you didn't think I'd bring him, did you?" This is a picture of the way many people treat Jesus at Christmas.

For many this time of year is Christ-miss. Jesus is missing from their celebrations.

In Jesus, God came alongside us, communicated to us in a language that we can understand. When we see Jesus we see God. Showing the glory, or visible disclosure of God in humility, leaving the glory and splendour of heaven to be born in the filth and anonymity of a stable. Showing us self-sacrifice by his death for us on the cross.

We have been bought with the price of the blood of God's one and only Son. So we are not our own. We are his. He calls us to offer ourselves back to Him as living sacrifices. Wholeheartedly committed to living for Jesus. To take up our cross and follow him. To reach out to a world that does not know God with all the pain and rejection that this will bring.

As we rejoice together at the birth of our Saviour, may we remember what his coming into the world means to those he calls to follow him. There is no greater joy and peace than walking in his way, carrying his cross so that one day we may wear his crown.

PRAY

Praise God for Christmas.

Praise Him for the incarnation,
for the word made flesh.
I will not sing of shepherds
watching flocks on frosty nights,
or angel choristers.
I will not sing of a stable bare in Bethlehem,
or lowing oxen,
wise men trailing star with gold,
frankincense, and myrrh.
Today I will sing praise to the Father
who stood on heaven's threshold
and said farewell to his Son
as he stepped across the stars
to Bethlehem and Jerusalem.
And I will sing praise to the infinite, eternal Son,
who became most finite, a baby
who would one day be executed for my crime.
Praise him in the heavens,
Praise him in the stable,
Praise him in my heart.

Joseph Bayly.

Year B: 2 before Lent John 1:1-14

Today's passage sets the scene for the rest of the book and also hints at the purpose of writing the book. "These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name." ( 20:31 ) This book was written to inspire a personal trust in Jesus that would lead an individual to be reconciled to God.

This reading focuses on Two revelations; and Two responses

Two revelations

First we have

The revelation of nature.

Edward Herbert (1583-1648); "Whoever considers the study of anatomy, I believe will never be an atheist. "

Fran�ois F�nelon (1651-1715); "Let us study the visible creation as we will; take the anatomy of the smallest animal; look at the smallest grain of corn that is planted in the earth, and the manner in which its germ produces and multiplies; observe attentively the rose-bud, how carefully it opens to the sun and closes at its setting; and we shall see more skill and design than in all the works of man."

We will now look at the Power Point presentation to see some of the facts about the creation that point to a Creator.

Show Power Point 4.2 Mb. Right click on the link and either click on "Open" to view it now or take the "Save as" option to copy it onto your hard disk.

This passage tells us that Jesus was the agent of creation.

3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.

Paul writing to the church at Colossae: Col 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.

God's revelation in nature is there for all to see. Paul writing to the Roman church; 1:²⁰ For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

This is relevant for people who have not yet heard of Jesus. The revelation of God in nature is so obvious that they can make a response of trust in God, even though they have not heard of His Son.

We also have

The revelation of Jesus

See Power Point.

At the start of John's gospel see the importance of 'the word'. Jesus. A word is a symbol of an idea used in speaking or writing, a message, information. Jesus tells us what God is like because Jesus was with God and is God. He was in the beginning, therefore eternal, outside time and space. Jesus is the revelation from God that we can understand.

If we want to know what God is like we should look at Jesus. Pure, loving, challenging, understanding, compassionate, reaching out to people.

He is a light of revelation. He reveals our sin, our darkness by his example and teaching. He gives his followers the light of the knowledge of God, a light to follow, a light to guide our lives.

The revelation of nature and of Jesus demands a response. Even no response is a response!

Two revelations; and Two responses

Some did not accept him.

10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. This relates to people in the world. People created through the work of Jesus who did not recognize their creator.

11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. This 11 refers to the Jewish people who had the Scriptures and their knowledge of God through their history. They did not receive him as their Saviour but killed him.

However, the very act that they thought would get rid of this upstart, troublesome, travelling preacher opened the way to God. Because Jesus was God and man and was raised from the dead with a physical body, so those who are united with Jesus will also be raised from death and receive resurrection bodies.

These people belong to the second response.

Others did accept him.

12f. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

The big question is; "Do we trust Jesus to put us right with God, or do we try and do it ourselves." Do we trust the one who made the earth in such a way that it would sustain life? Do we trust in the one who has created us with such care and precision?

That trusting is, of itself a gift of God. A gift is not earned or deserved.

Imagine you are an orphan living in an orphanage. For years you have had no parents and a loving, generous man chooses you to be part of his family. Wouldn't you be overjoyed?

We just need to surrender our lives to God. To be child-like. Coming to our loving Father through His Son by the work of His Spirit within us. Making anew start with God. Wiping the slate clean of all our failure to live life God's way. Giving us a power to live for God.

Those who trust in Jesus are now sons, and daughters of God ! We have a right relationship with God. He is our loving heavenly father. It means that we are members of his world-wide family ! It means that Jesus is our brother, and that we will inherit his kingdom with him when he returns.

The question that God poses to everyone is "Will you be my child?", see Power Point final slide.