Life Worth Living Series

Introduction

I. One of the things that a good writer or speaker will do at the opening of his work is attempt to capture your mind.

A. Now you may not agree with this assessment, and that is OK, but someone once told me,

1. “Pastor. The best part of your message is your introduction.”

2. At first I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not, but this person then said, “Your introduction makes me want to listen and hear what you are going to talk about.”

B. Now that was a compliment; I think.

II. Quite often, the attempt to capture you mind will come in the form of a tease,

A. Not quite giving you all the information, or even immediately giving you the main point that he or she will make.

B. If you can capture the attention of your listener; if you can you make them want to know more, before you even give the best part, half the battle of communicating is accomplished.

III. Some critics of the gospel of John make a case that a man as simple and uneducated as John could not possibly have written this work, because it is much to a refined work.

A. I believe those critics have probably under estimated the power of the Holy Spirit to move in human life and experience,

B. But it is certainly true that John opens his gospel in a rather refined and exciting way.

IV. In the first few verses of this gospel, John has made an interesting attempt to capture our minds and make us say, “Who is this man writing about?”

V. In the first 16 verses, before he writes the name Jesus Christ, John makes these statements about someone that I would definitely want to know more about.

A. Verse 1 - This man is the word of God.

B. Verse 2 - He was eternally with God.

C. Verse 3 - He was the creator of all

D. Verse 4 - The light and life of man.

E. Verse 5 - Unfathomable.

F. Verse 6-8 - Worthy dying for, for all knew that John had died.

G. Verse 11 - He was rejected by men

H. Verses 12 and 13 - He was a transformer of the beloved of God

I. Verse 14 - He was a revealor of God.

J. Verse 15 - He was a humbler of men, even greatly admired men.

K. Verse 16 - He brought forth “grace upon grace” from God.

VI. And who was John writing about; he was writing about Jesus Christ.

A. We know this to be true, BUT

B. If we didn’t know, his opening would certainly make me want to know.

VII. While some critics argue about why John could not have written this gospel, others argue as to the purpose of the writing.

A. Yes, the Gospel of John points to the deity of Christ, but why?

B. I believe one answer for why John may have written this letter is also found in the first few verses.

VIII. John begins by speaking of the “Words” relation to God, but in the first few sentences there is a rather interesting transition, followed by an immediate return to speaking of Christ.

A. It is almost as if verses 6 to 8 were some kind of parenthesis; but why?

B. I believe at least one reason John wrote this letter is to refute man’s following of anyone except the savior, Jesus Christ.

IX. “Life Worth Living” is not found in following a man, but rather life which is truly worth living, and even dying for is found in faith in Jesus Christ.

A. We know that John the Baptist had a group of committed followers,

B. There is some indication that John the Baptist may have even had a group of what might be called “worshipers.”

X. John the Apostle seems to be saying in part,

A. John the Baptist was not God,

B. As great as he was; as special as he was; John the Baptist was simply a man, a man sent by God to be sure, sent as a witness for Jesus Christ,

C. But still, just a man.

XI. Before we really begin to look at the Gospel of John, I would like to introduce you to the Gospel of John, through the voice of a modern day poet. Life Worth Living Is Found in Christ, Because Christ Is The Beginning of Life (vs. 1-3)

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.