Scripture of the Week
John 3:17
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
I had the opportunity to share this verse in a devotion last week and it has been on my brain increasingly as I think about Christmas and why Jesus came.
Everyone knows John 3:16! It is the verse Tim Tebow wrote, LOL! But for me, I have always found John 3:17 to be an equally refreshing breath of clean air.
The truth found in verse 17 is that Christ’s arrival and mission was not primarily to condemn us (although that also happens if we don’t believe. See verse 18). But Jesus came foremost to save us! (See Luke 19:10) He came to save us, to seek us, to display God’s love for us, to die for us. What a mission.
I find myself most often quoting this verse to those I minister to who feel they have out-sinned God or christians who feel they have messed up too much to go to God for forgiveness. Those emotions of feeling so dirty, wicked, and separated from a Holy God are real. We do feel separated because of how wicked we are, but Christ’s mission was not foremost to condemn us for being wicked. But to save us, because God “so loved” the world he put skin in the game and sent His son into the world to seek and to save.
The meta scripture narrative is clear that everyone will experience one side of this verse or the other. You will be saved by Him if you believe, or you will be judged/condemned by Him if you do not. But know this Christmas the desire of the savior is to save. May we remember, proclaim, and celebrate the Gospel this Christmas! That the invitation for salvation remains open, today is the day of salvation, and our world desperately needs a savior. And His name is Jesus!
I would encourage you to meditate and reflect on this passage as God leads. Maybe even to ask, who has God placed in my life this Christmas who needs to hear this message?
Quote of the Week
Really loved this quote and sermon by Carl Lentz over the last few months. We need more people who get this in our churches, and allow Christ to use it for His glory.
“We treat church like we twitter, show the best, hide the rest.” but it is time for us to be real and to let Christ use our prison and pain as a platform. – Carl Lentz 33m40s #RealLifer
Sermon of the Week: (42min)
I listened to this Sermon by J.D. Greear last week and found myself shouting down the podcast as I heard Him teaching about the unveiling of Sin and the unveiling of Christ in revelation.
The following quote about Lordship was one of my favorite parts.
“If God is your your co-pilot somebody is in the wrong seat! Because when you come to God you don’t come to Him to get help in where you’re going in life. You come to Him and you say ‘It’s your car and I stole it! And so here are the keys back to your car and I’m going to get in the back seat and you tell me where we are going!’” – 15m30s #Back2Lordship
Please enjoy the complete resource, and a few reflection questions below!
J.D. Greear – December 4, 2016
The Unveiling – Revelation 1:10-18, 17-18
http://www.summitrdu.com/message/the-unveiling/
Reflection Questions…
- Are you one of God’s people that need to come out of her and submit fully to Christ’s Lordship?
- Do you need to see Jesus this way?
- Do you dare stand against Him?
- Do you see what this shows us that we should be about?
Back2theWord 