John the Baptist
Good Morning Friends,
Today, the second Sunday in Advent, will have several sermons on preparing the way for Christmas. For our Children’s Chat I have been drafted to portray a character that undoubtedly had some opinions about Jesus. The theme is repentance. Today I put on a T-Tunic and a camel hair like cloak and get into the unshaven character of John the Baptist.
Scripture: ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. ‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.’
John 3:16-21(NRSV)
The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” ‘, John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with
water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’
Mark 1:1-1:8 (NRSV)
Message: Today there will be several sermons on John the Baptist, the greatest man ever born of a woman, up to that point. Against that back drop we take a look at perhaps the greatest verse in the Bible…a verse that points to Jesus. It has only 26 words but they are arranged in a powerful way. It is the good news, the Alpha and Omega in a sound bite and we do get so many sound bites this time of year. But focus for a moment on this scripture and you will find that John 3:16 is preeminent among them. It carried in it a present that is the meaning of Christmas. And in reading it we soon see that its message is of the greatest love that ever existed…it tells of the greatest gift ever given. I tells of the greatest faith ever shown. It proclaims the greatest life we can live. With anticipation unwrap it. With joy unpack it. With love rejoice in it.
Pray that we be washed clean. Pray we realize that God wants us to be perfect and that we are not. Pray that we accept the greatest opportunity in the world. Pray that we believe, ask for and receive this gift of repentance so that it might prepare the way for love. Pray that we embrace this time of Advent…awakening to its message, remembering, repenting, giving, hoping and forgiving so we may rejoice in the love of the new birth.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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