Grace City Denver

We lost communion with God - and life itself - because of our failure to love; but both life and communion are restored to us through God's sacrificial love.

John uses the call of the first disciples to show us a prototype or paradigm for discipleship in general. It’s assumed that people begin to follow Jesus because they recognize him for who he uniquely is, and they know they need what he alone has to offer. But then the disciple continues the process of becoming like Jesus and bringing others to follow him as well.

In this section, John introduces us to another John: the baptizer. First and foremost, the baptizer was a witness who came to tell others about the person and work of Jesus. A paradoxical mix of personal humility, an eccentric personality, and a prophetic/confrontational style, John just wanted people to experience the forgiveness and Spirit that would come through Jesus' salvation.

John 1 alludes to the story of the Exodus numerous times to make the point that God came and "pitched his tent" in the midst of his people through the incarnation of Jesus. Jesus revealed the glory of God that Moses couldn't see – but he did so paradoxically, through the cross. We're invited to respond in faith to the way Jesus reveals the fullness of grace and truth, and thereby receive adoption into God's family.

Instead of beginning his Gospel with the genealogy or birth narrative of Jesus, John goes all the way back to Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning." But where we expect him to say "God," he instead inserts "the Word" – Jesus. Jesus is the eternal Creator, John says. Jesus is light and life. And Jesus is the full self-revelation of God because Jesus came and lived among us.

There are several common reactions of Christians toward the societies in which they live, ranging from traditional to progressive. Some Christians choose to court the favor of their host culture, while others choose a much more combative or “prophetic” approach. But what if there’s a range of right reactions, rather than a default and permanent posture? And what if those interactions with culture are rooted in our new identity in Christ?

The practices of apprenticeship will not bring you closer to Jesus or make you more like Jesus unless you actually do them, and do them because of the grace of the Gospel. Ritualistic or reputation-enhancing performance will not renew and transform your life. And disinterest with practicing the way of Jesus betrays a functional discipleship to someone or something else. But practicing the way of Jesus with a grateful heart that’s eager to repent and believe more deeply leads to growth and change.

Christians often obsess over finding the unique, personalized will of God for them individually: where should I go to school, what should I major in, what job should I take, who should I marry, where should I live? Many follow a traditional or charismatic method of discerning this detailed will of God. But perhaps there's a better approach: simply knowing the Word of God and walking in apprenticeship to Jesus.

For centuries, no new word came from the Lord to his covenant people. They were scattered and chastised, walking in relative darkness. Then the Light of the world came. Discover what the darkness was and how the birth of Jesus overcame it.

The love of God was never meant to be an abstraction, a mere mental construction. We were made to know and experience the love of God. When sin broke that relationship, God initiated and God pursued an undeserving people so that we might experience the love of his forgiveness and redemption. Advent is the literal manifestation of God's love in the flesh.