On this first Sunday of Lent, we begin our Lenten study of John:The Gospel of Light and Life by Adam Hamilton. Each week, we will have a variety of small groups to discuss a chapter in the book. My sermon each Sunday morning will kick-off the week's conversations.
We begin with the first chapter of John. Hamilton points out that in the other three gospels (known as the synoptics -- "with the same view") the Jesus wants people to "follow me," but in John, Jesus wants people to "believe in him and abide in him" (10). For me, that's not a very helpful distinction because it suggests that John is for thinking, and I like the idea of the commitment to follow. On the other hand, John does write in the philosophical language of the time, which might make that distinction a fair one.
Hamilton stresses that Jesus came in the flesh. By calling Jesus "the Word," John connects with the philosophical language, but the shift to the Word made flesh is something that philosophers of the time would not do (17). What does this tell us about the God we worship and how God breaks the mold of what people expect from God? What is the significance of the fact that God breaks the mold in favor of being one of us?
Hamilton also reminds us of the way the Gospel of John plays with the images of light and darkness. What would you describe as the "darkness" in your life or your world today? How does Jesus bring light to that darkness?
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