15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, This was he of whom I said, He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.)

16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Fathers side, he has made him known.

Sermon Points:

The Glory as of the Only Son

Seeing God Through Jesus

Living in Response to His Glory

12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Sonfrom the Father, full of grace and truth.

Sermon Notes:

The gift of becoming Children of God

The Incarnation: Word Made Flesh

Dwelling Among Us

Grace and Truth

3All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.4In him was life,and the life was the light of men.5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.7He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.8He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

9The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.10He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.11He came to his own,and his own peopledid not receive him.

Sermon Points:

Jesus is the Light and always was.

John is not the light.

We are not the light.

Though the world might reject it, we point people towards the light.

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2He was in the beginning with God.

The Beginning, the Word

The Word's Relationship with God

The Word's Identity as God

The Promise of Hope through the Word

1Make a joyful noise to theLord, all the earth!2Serve theLordwith gladness!Come into his presence with singing!

3Know that theLord, he is God!It is he who made us, and we are his;we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4Enter his gates with thanksgiving,and his courts with praise!Give thanks to him; bless his name!

5For theLordis good;his steadfast love endures forever,and his faithfulness to all generations.

Sermon Notes:

The Call of Joyful Worship

Enter His Presence with Thanksgiving

The Character of Worship

3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,4because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints5the faith and love proceeding from the hope stored up for you in heaven, of which you have already heard in the word of truth, the gospel6that has come to you.

All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood the grace of God.7You learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on ourbehalf,8and who also informed us of your love in the Spirit.

The gospel compels us to form authentic relationships where love and encouragement thrive.

Connection is the start of gospel work (v.7a)

A humble model for connecting (v. 7b)

Spiritual relationships while connecting (vv. 7b, 8)

3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,4because we have heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all the saints5the faith and love proceeding from the hope stored up for you in heaven, of which you have already heard in the word of truth, the gospel6that has come to you.

All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood the grace of God.7You learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on ourbehalf,8and who also informed us of your love in the Spirit.

The gospel is not just a message; it has the power to transform lives and communities.

The gospel can impact their lives (v. 6a)

The gospel can impact your life (v. 6b)

Because the gospel of hope is Gods greatest help (v. 6c)

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel,

Sermon Notes:

The gospel is the message of truth.

The gospel is the message of hope.

The hope of the gospel shows you how to love.

The hope of the gospel is secured by faith in Jesus.

The Point of Generosity (v. 6)The Character of Generosity (v. 7)The Source of Generosity (vv. 8-11)The Significance of Generosity (vv. 12-14)The Greatest Generosity (v. 15)

6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.9 As it is written, He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.12 For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.13 By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others,14 while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you.15 Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!

Therefore... Present Yourself To God

As A Living Sacrifice

Holy And Acceptable To God: Spiritual Worship

Be Transformed Renewing Your Mind

Romans 12:1-2

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.