Sermon Tone Analysis

| 01 |

*Who Is Jesus to You?*

*John 1:1-12*

*Intro:*

·         *@ WWJD*

o    What would Jesus do?

o    pins, bracelets, bumper stickers, shirts, even tattoos

o    It’s a good question...but in order to answer it correctly, what do you have to know?

§  You have to know Jesus!

·         We call ourselves Christians

o    It was first used some 15 years after Christ’s death and resurrection to describe those who followed Christ

o    If we are going to be followers of Christ, what do we have to know?

§  We have to know Jesus!

·         *It is with that thought in mind that we now begin a series through John*

o    I’ve preached Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Timothy, and James

o    This will be the largest book I’ve ever preached through

§  We will not cover this book in depth!

§  But hit the highlights and focus on the overall  theme

·         *Intro*

o    *One of the few books with a clearly stated purpose*

§   */John 20:31 -/*/ but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name./

·         Evangelistic – bring people to a belief in Christ as Saviour

·         Edification – build Christians in their faith-walk with the Lord

§  *What word do you see here repeated?

Believe*

·         That is the key word in this book

·         *98 times the Greek word for believing*

o    Verb – mostly in the present tense to show that faith is to be an everyday part of our life

o    Noun – not once – faith is to be active

·         *Whether it be for salvation or for daily Christian living, faith is imperative*

·         */Hebrews 11:6 - /*/But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him./

o    Again evangelism and edification

o    *For faith to be strong it must rest is something worthwhile*

§  Faith in a myth (Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny) is misplaced faith

§  Faith in a man (Buddha, Confucius, Joseph Smith, Rev Sun Young Moon) is misplaced faith

§  Faith in a Messiah (Jesus Christ) is rightly place faith

o    That’s where the Gospel of John starts

§  Who exactly is this Jesus?

Can we really trust Him?

·         *Prologue Structure*

o    Called a chiasm

§  PowerPoint chart reflects the structure of these verses

| ·   Verse 12 is the pinnacle o  All sections on either side correspond to each other·   Vs 12 makes the differenceo  Vss 1-11 show the truth of Christ as He relates to the unsavedo  Vss 13-18 show the truth of Christ as he relates to the saved·   Vs 12 makes all the difference  |

1-2

      3

         4-5

            6-8

                  9-10

                        11

                              12

                        14

                  15

            16

         17

18

 

 

*Let’s look at the truths of who Christ is as it relates to evangelism*

I.         Jesus is God                                                                                                                 (1-2)

A.       His Name Shows He is God

1.        From this passage we clearly see that the Word is Jesus

*2.        **But why not say “In the beginning was Jesus”*

a.        Jesus and Christ identify our Saviour’s earthly ministry

(1)     But these names refer to a limited part of who He is

(2)    The Word more fully expresses all that Christ is

*b.

**Explanation*

(1)     @ What I am communicating to you is first originating in my mind as thoughts.

(a)    The thoughts are invisible to you

(b)    You only know my thoughts as I express them to you

(c)    The words are the visible expression of my thoughts.

(2)    In the same way, Jesus is the visible expression of the invisible God

(3)    This is a perfect way to introduce the concept that Jesus, God’s Son is God in the flesh.

(a)    A large concept that is not easy to understand involving truths about the Trinity

(b)    But true nonetheless

B.       His Pre-existence Shows He is God

1.        *In the beginning* – referring to the time before creation

*2.        **WAS*

a.        Imperfect verb—He existed continuously in the past

b.

He never had a beginning

c.

He was no mere man

*3.        **Only God is described as having no beginning*

/a.        /*/Psalm 90:2 - /*/Before the mountains were born and before you created the earth and the world, you are God.

You have always been, and you will always be. (NCV)/

C.       His co-existence Shows He is God

1.

The phrase refers to The Word being in communication with and on the same level as God the Father

2.        Jesus is no lesser God, but is co-equal in all attributes and personality

D.       His existence Shows He is God

1.

He was (and is) God

2.        He is not a god

3.

He is not one of three gods

4.       He is God

E.       Application

*1.         **Having a hard time understanding all this?*

a.        It’s because we as humans are trying to explain God...and that can’t be done

*2.        **But here’s the main point:*

a.        Jesus is God

b.

He is not just a good man—or a bold leader

c.

He is not someone you can just simply dismiss

d.

He is God \\ \\

II.

Jesus is the originator of the world  (3)

A.       The Extent of His Creation

1.

All things were made by Him

2.        Without Him nothing was made

3.        SO...what of creation is here by anything but the Lord?

B.       Application

1.        Therefore He is the authority of everything AND everyone

2.        What He says goes

*a.