“The Christ of Christmas: His Gifts” (John 1:1-14)

Posted on 2015/12/21 by Shawn Thomas

Whenever we think of Jesus, and gifts, and Christmas time, most of us probably think of the gifts that the Magi brought Jesus in Matthew 2: “gold, frankincense and myrrh.” In imitation of that, as many of you know, we are encouraging everyone to celebrate Jesus’ birthday by giving to HIM the biggest gifts we give anyone this Christmas time, through the Lottie Moon offering for our missionaries. And yet the truth is that the greatest gifts of Christmas are not those that are brought TO Jesus — by us or even by the Magi — but those that were brought BY Jesus!

This morning, we are finishing our study of “The Christ of Christmas.” We have seen in John 1 over the last couple of weeks that the Christ of Christmas is 100% God, and that without giving up His Deity, He became a 100% flesh and blood man, like us. Now this morning, scattered throughout verses 4-14, we see some of the gifts that Jesus brought to us when He came:
— Verse 4 says “in Him was LIFE, and the life was the LIGHT of men.”
— Verse 12 says “as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God” — so He gave us the gift of RELATIONSHIP in a Heavenly family.
— Then at the end of :14 it says that when He came, He was “full of grace and truth.”
So some of the gifts that Jesus brought us when He came are: life, light, grace, truth, and an eternal family relationship. I would submit to you that “light” and “truth” are basically two words for the same gift, so let’s look together at 4 gifts that Jesus came to bring us: LIFE, LIGHT/TRUTH, AN ETERNAL FAMILY and GRACE: Continue reading →

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Don’t “Fit In”!

Posted on 2015/12/17 by Shawn Thomas

“Depart, depart, go out from there, touch nothing unclean; go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves, you who carry the vessels of the LORD.” (Isaiah 52:11)

Speaking of the return of the His people from captivity in Babylon, the Lord here admonishes His people not to be contaminated with the ungodly influences of the pagan world around them. He does not want them to adopt their practices, or learn their ungodly ways.

But the word also applies to US as God’s people today. Continue reading →

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“Bad Company Corrupts Good Morals”

Posted on 2015/12/16 by Shawn Thomas

Evidently, someone had been teaching people in the church at Corinth that there was no resurrection from the dead, and most of I Corinthians 15 is a rebuttal of that false teaching.  Interestingly, right in the middle of the chapter, we find this admonition in :33, “Do not be deceived: ‘bad company corrupts good morals.'” Continue reading →

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It Makes All The Difference

Posted on 2015/12/15 by Shawn Thomas

Would you still be a Christian even if there were no heaven, no eternity, no resurrection? I have heard some people make that claim, but I myself cannot adhere to it.  Such people have said, “The Christian life is the best life, even if there were no heaven.”  The sentiment is an admirable one — but it doesn’t find much scriptural support, especially in the writings of the Apostle Paul, such as I Corinthians 15:32: Continue reading →

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“The Christ of Christmas: His Humanity” (John 1:14 sermon)

Posted on 2015/12/14 by Shawn Thomas

A couple of years ago, the President of Ursiline College made headlines when she decided to move into the women’s dorm. So many college professors and administrators are accused of living in their “ivory towers” of academia, removed from what is really going on in the lives of the students. So she decided to do something about it – and moved right in with them! She said at the time that it would either be the best thing she’s ever done, or the most foolish, but at least it would help her to understand her students.

That college president can’t be accused of “staying in an ivory tower” – and neither can our God. God the Son, Jesus Christ, did not stay in His “ivory tower” in heaven; He came to the earth to live with us as a man. That is what Christmas is all about: Jesus is “Emmanuel”– “God with us” as Matthew 1 says. God became a man, and came to save us. As we continue our study “The Christ of Christmas”, from John 1, we saw last week that the baby who was born in that manger, Jesus Christ, was and is God. But John goes on to say that this 100% God became 100% man. Verse 14 of John 1 says, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.” Jesus Christ, perfect God, came “in the flesh” that Christmas and, without giving up His deity, became a man. Continue reading →

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Not In This World

Posted on 2015/12/14 by Shawn Thomas

“If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” (I Corinthians 15:19)

How important is Jesus’ resurrection from the dead? In this part of I Corinthians 15, Paul listed a number of consequences if He had not been raised: “our preaching is vain”; “your faith also is vain”; “those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished”; etc. Here in :19 he makes a very strong statement that should cause each of us to evaluate our faith: Continue reading →

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A Terrifying Prospect

Posted on 2015/12/10 by Shawn Thomas

I was reviewing James Chapters 1 & 2 on the way to the office yesterday when all of the sudden, one of the verses sent shudders down my spine:  Continue reading →

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Church: Not Spiritual “Show & Tell”

Posted on 2015/12/09 by Shawn Thomas

“What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.” (I Corinthians 14:26)

After detailing several ways in which members might wish to contribute to a worship service, the Apostle Paul adds the purpose of these gifts: “Let all things be done for edification.”  The word “edification” here means to “build up” — and by that he means building up the spiritual lives of others, not our own egos or spiritual resumes. This is significant. Continue reading →

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A King’s Example

Posted on 2015/12/08 by Shawn Thomas

“When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth and sat on the ashes.” (Jonah 3:6)

What an extraordinary picture this verse renders of the response of the king of Nineveh to the word of the Lord through Jonah. As :4 indicates, Jonah had proclaimed “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” How did the king respond to this word?   Continue reading →

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“The Christ of Christmas: His Deity” (John 1:1-3 message)

Posted on 2015/12/07 by Shawn Thomas

There was an article in the paper a couple of years ago about the Nativity Scene in St. Albans, West Virginia. It included a picture of the scene, because it was so unusual: it had a stable, some sheep, camels & a donkey, and even some “visitors” – wise men – but that is it! There was nothing in the stable – no Mary, no Joseph, and no baby Jesus! It was revealing that the two town officials that were contacted had differing stories about why it was that way. The parks superintendent said that the Holy Family was left out because of “separation of church & state” concerns. Interestingly, the mayor (the politician!) said it was just a technical difficulty – you know, too hard to get all those characters to fit inside the stable! Either way, it is definitely ironic that the One the nativity scene is supposed to celebrate was left out: Jesus Christ!

Unfortunately, that is how it often is – people celebrate everything at Christmas except Jesus. We celebrate “family” – and it is great to get together with family at Christmas; we exchange gifts, and that is wonderful. There is even this “mystical” thing we call “the spirit of the season.” But oftentimes, Jesus Christ Himself is left out. So for the next 3 weeks, I want us to focus on the One the season really celebrates: Jesus Christ, with a “mini-series” I am calling: “The Christ of Christmas.” The messages will all be based in the book of John, chapter 1, and we will look at what that great chapter teaches us about Who He is, and what He came to do for us. We will begin this morning by looking at John 1:1-3:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”

These verses proclaim that the Christ of Christmas was and is God! Continue reading →

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