‘Jesus, the best gift’ (Matthew 2)

On Christmas morning, Andrew Kerr preached from Matthew 2 about God’s greatest gift. Wise men searched for him, the chief priests should have known more about him and Herod felt threatened by him. In his son, Jesus, God gives the world what it really needs: a better king, a better priest and a better saviour. Matthew shows us how God has promised him all those years ago. After all these years since, wise men still seek Jesus.

‘Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29-34)

Rory Weightman spoke from John 1:29-34 about the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. John the Baptist gets our attention (“Behold!”) and uses the imagery of the Old Testament to tell us about Jesus. God provided a lamb to be a substitute payment for sin, to buy back an unfaithful people. Proven to be of God by the Spirit, Jesus willingly gave himself once and for all. He showed power over sin and death by rising again. As we read later in John 3:16, this promise is for whoever believes.

‘The down-to-earth-in-the-flesh God’ (John 1:14-18)

John 1:14-18 is an amazing text of John’s gospel, ‘the Word became flesh’. By these words, John tells us something of the some of the motive of love that God had in sending his Son, Jesus, something of the rescue mission he enacted for our sake, and something of God’s presence beside us in the birth of Emmanuel (God with us) – all beyond our full understanding but not our appreciation!.

‘Jesus: as He really is’ (John 1:1-18)

John’s Gospel is the ‘gospel that is different’. 1:1-18 brings out some of the major themes that John introduces to his readers. John presents Jesus as the Living Word, the One who is fully divine, eternal,the creator of all things and the one who became flesh (man). John’s purpose in writing is that we might believe in Jesus and so have life in His Name and all who do that are granted the privilege of being called His children.