Meditating on the gospel of John
Tonight at house church I shared that I believe God has some good things stashed within the gospel of John for us to be revealed over the next several weeks. With the celebration of Christ’s birth coming quickly next month, I think we can benefit from John’s intimate insights into who Jesus was (and is) as a means to prepare our hearts for the Christmas celebration. God came near through his son, Jesus. God came near and everything changed. God came near and I am changed because of his intimate closeness to me.
I shared a snapshot of certain passages in John that have been particularly significant to me in my walk with God as a means to whet our appetites for the rich truths tucked away in John’s gospel. I will reiterate those here for anyone that was not able to be with us, and for those that were there to peruse through them over the coming weeks to see if they help stir any desire to dive into them more deeply. As I said to the group tonight, let me know if your heart is stirred to share anything God may impart as you meditate on John’s good news. Enjoy!
-Andy
Significant moments in John’s gospel for me… 1) John 1 – In the beginning was the Word… - Makes me look at the Word differently as a precious and divine revelation as well as the fact that Jesus is without question fully God 2) John 4 – Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman - Helps me see Jesus’ passion for people regardless of social stigmas 3) John 8 – The adulterous woman - I see Christ’s enormous capacity for forgiveness and his disdain for man’s preoccupancy with self-righteousness 4) John 13 – Jesus washes his disciples’ feet - I see Christ’s willingness to be our servant 5) John 15 – vs. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches” - My life responsibility is to remain in Him. Everything else flows out of that 6) John 21 10-12 – Jesus again serves the disciples by preparing a meal for them - Not much to say about this other than that it has always impacted me to see how Christ took care of his disciples – even in the every day things 7) John 21 15-19 – Jesus restores Peter’s faith and commitment to follow him after he denied Jesus three times by asking him to reiterate his love for Jesus three times - I see Jesus’ relentless passion for us to be fully committed to him in the way he went after Peter