John, Chapter 1

John 1 <= (Click to read)

In summary --

Jesus (the Word) has always been.
He was in the beginning.
He is God.

Jesus became a human and became the light in a dark world.
He brought hope to the hopeless, but the world did not recognize him.
(Most Jews were expecting a conquering king that would deliver them from their earthly oppressors, not the kind of savior that would deliver them from the spiritual oppression of sin.)

John (the Baptist, not John the apostle and author of this book) prepares the way for Jesus by telling of his coming and preaching repentance (turning away from sin and towards God).
Jesus is baptized by John.
The Holy Spirit of God descends upon him and Jesus begins his earthly ministry by calling others to follow him.

My favorite verse --

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming towards him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world."

The blood of the sacrificial lamb of the Old Testament was offered to make an atonement for their sins. The word atonement is derived from a Hebrew word that means to cover over. In John the Baptist's statement about the Lamb of God, he ups the stakes and says that this Sacrificial Lamb will do more than cover the sins of the people; He will do away with their sins!

Something to think about --

The baptism of a follower of Jesus is largely a symbolic thing. However, I truly believe that it is also a significant part of a believer's life, testimony, and ministry. Jesus' earthly ministry began with his public baptism. I believe that it was more than symbolic for Jesus. I believe Jesus was giving an example to be followed. It is my personal belief that if we are to be truly effective in our service to The Kingdom of God, we should make a public declaration of our faith through a believer's baptism.

For my students --

If you are a follower of Jesus and have not been baptized, please talk to one of us (Julie, Rob, Ellen, or me) about baptism.
If you are still trying to figure out what following Jesus is all about, be sure to ask us and challenge us with your questions.

Note:
I think this is the format I'll be using -- summary, favorite verse, something to think about, and possibly a challenge for our students.
This won't be an in depth breakdown of the chapter, but more of a daily devotion kind of thing.
If you'd like to see something else, leave me a comment.

John <><

An additional note:
Although our daily reading challenge starts tomorrow, Jan 6, I will be posting each day's devotion a day ahead so it is ready for students that want to begin their day with this reading.