The Christmas Experience – Week Six:
Experiencing God’s Love
John 1:1-14 - Victory Fellowship
December 31, 2023
1st Sunday after Christmas Day
Dominant Thought: Christmas shows us God’s love for everyone.
Introduction
• Tell a story about how a change of perspective makes all the difference. (Lake Tahoe)
• John 1:1-14 is a beautiful description of the Christmas story. There’s no manger, no shepherds, no wise men, and not even Mary or Joseph. John just sets out to tell us what happened at Christmas—from God’s eyes.
• In John 1, we see a description of what Christmas means for us—not just the story, not just the characters involved—but what changed eternally because of the birth of Jesus. In John 1, we see a description of God’s love.
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 through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.
Light in the Darkness (John 1:1-5)
• John writes that Christmas is like light shining into darkness. The world was dark and hopeless, full of fear, but when Jesus was born, God shined His light into that darkness.
• In the midst of a dark world, Christmas shines a light of hope—to the brokenness, the fear, and the death. Jesus is a light of new hope in the dark world.
Father to the Fatherless (John 1:10-13)
• John says that Jesus offers us the right to be called children of God. For those who are fatherless on Earth, God is the solution—and He freely offers adoption. And for all of us, we can claim God as our spiritual father.
God With Us (John 1:14)
• John 1:14 says that Jesus became flesh. He didn’t stay in heaven, snap His fingers, and make it all work out the easy way. He came to Earth to be with is, to walk among us. And that’s true salvation—not a distant god who does what he wants without being with his people. We have a loving God who works salvation for us by being one of us. That’s the deep love of God.
Conclusion:
• Christmas shows us God’s love. He offers hope, offers adoption into His family, and walks with us to save us.
• (Sermon Bumper clip)
• Only a loving God would work that way. Christmas is a time of celebration, of memories, of stories, of telling the Christmas story complete with shepherds, wise men, and mangers. But for all time, the Christmas story is a love story—the love story of a God who would, and did, do anything to save His people.
PRAYER
SONG: God Really Loves Us
John 1:9-14 NASB
9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 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 saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
