Grow Guide | Dec 19, 2021
Rebuilding Hope
John 1:1-18
Connecting Questions
Describe a sunrise that you really enjoyed. Where was it? How did it make you feel? How did the light interact with the darkness of night?
Have you ever had to represent someone else, or introduce someone to a group of people? What was that like for you?
Context
This week we conclude our series Rebuilding Hope and get a sneak peek at our series in the new year where we will walk through the Gospel of John. Our text is the prologue to the Gospel of John (John 1:1-18). It is a beautifully crafted poem that introduces Jesus with two powerful metaphors. First, it presents Jesus as the Word of God through which all creation came into being. Second, it presents Jesus as the tabernacle of God through which the glory of God lived among God’s people in the story of Exodus.
Look at the Book
Read John 1:1-18 at least twice. Notice repeated words and phrases.
How is The Word described in verses 1-5 (Compare this to Genesis 1)?
How is the The Word described in verse 14 (note: the phrase “lived among us” can be more accurately translated “tabernacled among us” like the tabernacle in Exodus. Compare this to Exodus 40:34-38)?
What is John’s relationship to The Word in verses 6-8?
What is John’s relationship to The Word in verse 15?
What is The Word’s relationship to the World in verses 10-13?
What is the result of the Word coming into the world in verses 16-17?
Who is finally identified as the Word in verse 17, through whom grace and truth came?
What has the Son done for the world in verse 18?
Pastor Steve is drawing through John! https://cartoonistbible.com/books/john/
Taking it Home
John is the most theologically dense of all four Gospels. This prologue is a preview of the tone of the Gospel and is packed with theological imagery that tries to introduce who Jesus really is. What is one or two take-aways that you have from this text regarding the identity and purpose of Jesus?
We’ve been talking about light and hope in the darkness during Advent. In what ways does Jesus bring a light of hope into our world? Into your life today?
