Grace Upon Grace

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: John 1:14, 16-18
January 22, 2023

John 1:14: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:16-18: For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

Sermon Outline

1. We can love Jesus because we've all received "grace upon grace" (Jn 1:16)

• Literally "grace instead of grace"

• Two ideas of grace

• Think of your life

2. We can love Jesus because we've received grace from his fullness

• Illustration: Engine trouble on the road

• Jesus has infinite fullness

3. We can love Jesus because what he brought us far exceeds what former believers experienced

• Nothing wrong with the Law given through Moses

• What Jesus taught and did is vastly superior

• "Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ"

4. We should love Jesus because he alone can make the Father known to us

• Jesus is "at the Father's side" (Jn 1:18)

• Jesus is called "the only GOD who is at the Father's side"

• Jesus is called "the only God

Benediction

Now to him who loved us and washed us with his blood be eternal praise, and to you who believe be eternal grace and joy. Amen. — paraphrased from Revelation 1:5-6

Children Born of God

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: John 1:12-13
January 15, 2023

John 1:12-13: But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Sermon Outline

1. People became children of God by believing in his Son

2. Believing is more than a feeling

• To describe becoming a child of God, John uses an action word

• (With fellow apostles) John coins a new expression to describe the activeness of faith in Christ

• J.C. Ryle on the need to believe

3. Believing means trusting in a person, not just acknowledging a set of doctrines

• John shows the personal nature of believing by the phrase "believed in his name"

• John shows the personal nature of believing by adding a parallel word

• Illustration: Steve the summer youth director

4. How people do not become children of God

• Natural descent

• Human decision

• Husband's will

5. How people do become children of God

Benediction

Matthew 11:28: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

2 Corinthians 13:14: May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

The World Did Not Know Him

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: John 1:10-11
January 8, 2023

John 1:10-11: He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

Sermon Outline

1. The fact that the world did not know him

• Before public ministry

• During public ministry

2. Why the world should have known him

• World should have known him because it was made through him

• World should have known him because he was in the world

• World should have known him because he came to those in the best position to know him

3. Why did the world not know him?

• World was spiritually blind

• World was resistant

4. Applications

• For the believer

• For the resistant

And the Word Became Flesh

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: John 1:1-3, 14
December 25, 2022

John 1:1-3: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

John 1:14: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Sermon Outline

1. Background

• In the beginning was the Word (logos)

  • Pagan understanding of the Word

  • Jewish understanding of the Word

• John personalizes the Word

2. Surprisingly, the Word came to earth in a lowly, humble fashion

• The Word became "flesh"

• How John describes the Word living among us

3. The Word came to earth with splendor and magnificence

• We see this from the idea of "tent”

• "We have seen his glory"

• How was glory seen in the Word?

John the Baptist Introduces the Word

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: John 1:6-8, 15
December 18, 2022

John 1:6-8, 15: There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light

(John bore witness about him, and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'")

Sermon Outline:

1. The idea of a "witness"

2. John the Baptist's witness

• Manner

• Role

• Message

3. Lesson #1: Don't over-value God's witnesses

• John the Apostle disabuses the notion that John the Baptist was the pinnacle

• Application

4. Lesson #2: Don't under-value God's witnesses

• Don't under-value God's witnesses in general

• In particular, don't under-value witness of the two Johns

5. Lesson #3: It's not enough to merely hear the gospel; you must do something with it

The Word as Light and Life

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: John 1:4-5
December 4, 2022

John 1:4-5: In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Sermon Outline

1. In him was life

• The Word is the reason any life existed

• The Word is the reason any joy in life existed

• The Word is the reason any spiritual life existed

2. That life was the light of men

• Makes things possible

• Brings joy

• Shows things as they really are

  • Better than we think

  • Worse than we think

3. The light shines in the darkness

4. The darkness has not overcome it

• Definition of "overcome"

• The point

The Word in the Beginning

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: John 1:1-3
November 20, 2022

John 1:1-3: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Sermon Outline

1. In the beginning...

• The Word existed
  B. The Word was with God
  C. The Word was God

2. The "Logos" (Word)

• Pagan understanding of "The Logos"

  • John: "Let me tell you about this Word"

• Jewish understanding of "The Logos"

  • John: "Through the Word all things were made"

3. Summary

4. Applications

• God smiles on creativity in presenting the gospel to non-Christians

• You cannot reach God except through Jesus

• Your savior is mysterious

• To stand before him...

  • In judgment: indescribably awful

  • Accepted: thrilling beyond words