SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON 11

SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON 11, December 6, 2009
Who do you say that I am?
"I AM The Light of The World"
Theme Verse: "Who do you say that I am?" Matthew 16:15
Readings: Psalm 27:1, 1 John 1: 5-10, John 1:1-9, John 8:12 & 9:5, Matthew 5:14-16
Optional: Psalm 139:11-12,
Memory Verse: Jesus said, "I AM the Light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12
[There is a great deal of both kinds of light and darkness, both physical and spiritual light and darkness in this lesson.) Can you give an example of each kind?]
This is another of Jesus' "I AM" statements. The Name, "I AM", was the name the God gave about himself to Moses at the Burning Bush near Mt. Sinai when he called Moses to go back to Egypt to lead the enslaved Israelites to freedom and to Himself. (Exodus 3) The name was considered too holy to use so they substituted other terms for it.
Jesus uses the phrase, "light of the world" three times, twice about himself and once about his disciples who were and are called to reflect his Light to the world.
Once when Jesus was teaching in the Temple and rescued the woman about to be executed for her sins, he told her to "go and sin no more." Then Jesus said to the crowd, "I AM the Light of the World. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." Then he told those who argued with him, "If you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins." (v.24) The religious leaders did not believe him and kept on arguing. Finally Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I AM!", identifying himself with God the Father. They tried to kill him but he escaped. (They were spiritually blind.)
Jesus says the same thing again (John 9:5) when he healed the man born blind, saying, "While I am in the world, I AM the Light of the World." Jesus came that the physically and spiritually blind might see---but they have to desire what he has to give. Later we will look at what Jesus told his disciples that they were to be "the light of the world", reflecting his light to bring praise to God our Father.
Light in the Old Testament, Jesus' Bible, is associated with God himself. In the beginning of the universe, God created physical light. The sources of light (sun, moon, stars) that the pagans worshiped as gods were the creation of God. Sometimes when God appeared to the Israelites, his presence was expressed by a light, as a pillar of fire that led the Israelites through the wilderness at night and when the "shekinah" glory of God filled the temple so that the priests were unable to enter. Another example of the physical light of God is in the story of the angels who came to the shepherds to tell them about Jesus' birth. Luke 29 talks about "the glory of the Lord shone round about them and they were very afraid."
Isaiah 60:1 talks about the time when God's spiritual light/glory will come to his people and the peoples (nations) of the world so that they will come out of (spiritual) darkness to the light that God will give the Jewish people (a reference to the promised Messiah). Isaiah 9:2, 6-7 also talks about the coming Messiah, a child born to the family of David to rule with righteousness forever. He will be a "great light" dawning on people living in great (spiritual) darkness and sin.
In John's letter to the churches (1 John 1:5) he tells us that "God IS light and in him is no darkness at all." John is talking about "light" as a picture, a metaphor, a spiritual reality of God's character, power and life. He is totally good with "no darkness at all" of sin or evil. .John says here if we say we have fellowship with God and walk in darkness, we are lying, but if we walk in his light, we have fellowship with one another and Jesus' blood cleanses us from all sin. ( vz.6-7)
David the Psalmist, tells us in Ps 27:1 that God, the LORD (the "I AM") is his personal light (to guide him) and his salvation (so he does not need to be afraid of his enemies)
Now look at the beginning of John's gospel (1:1-9). John tells us that Jesus, the very Word of God, has life in himself (because his is one with God) and his life gives light to people. Jesus came to give us new life in him and his life shines light to live by into our lives. There is a lot of darkness (sin, evil, death, etc.) in the world but the light that is Jesus still shines in the middle of the darkness and the darkness cannot put it out! The light Jesus offers is intended for everyone but not everyone wants to receive it. We have to choose to receive Jesus' life into ourselves and walk in it.
(Jesus is calling us now to choose to walk in his light with his strength and ask for his help.)
Now look at Matthew 5:14-16. Jesus, the Light of the World, is calling his disciples to choose to receive Jesus' light and to let it shine out, to walk and live in Jesus' light so that others may see and praise God the Father in Heaven for your actions (deeds). We are not to hide Jesus' light out of fear or doubt. God wants to use us like a candle light in the dark to point people to Jesus. It is not about us, it is about him/Jesus!

"'You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.'" (Matthew 5:14) A word received: I want you to shed forth my light.

"'Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.'" (Matthew 5:15) A word received: Look at those "baskets" in your life that hide my light. Ask me to help remove those things which stop my light going forth in your life.

"'Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.'" (Matthew 5:16) A word received: I long for my light to shine forth through you. Pray for transparency -- that the light -- my light -- will shine forth in your lives for others to see by.

Paul warns us in Ephesians 5:8-15 to "walk", live as children of light, showing the "fruit" of light ( all goodness, righteousness and truth) and "to find out what pleases the LORD"! (Note: children, "sons" of light means to have the character of light, be obedient to light, to Jesus. Including being alert, self controlled, putting on the armor of God for protection. 1 Thessalonians 5:5-6)
Psalm 139:7-12 talks about God's care and guidance NO MATTER WHERE in the world we are and NO MATTER HOW DARK and difficult our circumstances. If we try to hide or run from God and say, "surely the darkness will hide me"---"the darkness is as light to you." Psalm 119:105 talks about God's word (both Scripture and Jesus) as a "lamp to my feet and a light for my path." If we seek him, he rejoices to see us turning to him.
To do this it is important to spend time with Jesus, the Light of the World and to spend time in God's word in Scripture, not doing all the talking but listening as we read. (Psalm 139: 23-24)
Now reflect on some other words that the Lord has given the teachers.
"For you will light my lamp; the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness." (Psalm 18:28) A word received: I have come that you may have light to see by. Look to me for light on your path.

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined." (Isaiah 9:2) A word received: I have come so that you may have light to see by -- come to my light; there is no shortage of light in my father's house.

"The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1) A word received: Come, step into my light and bask in my love. There is abundance of peace there. Look to me and I will shed my light to see by.

SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON 10, November 22, 2009

Who do you say that I am?
Jesus: the Great Physician
Theme Verse: "Who do you say that I am?" Matthew 16:15
Readings: Luke 7:18-23, Isaiah 61:1-2, Matthew 9
Memory Verse: "And with his stripes we are healed" Isaiah 53:5 (Pre-K to grade 3)
      Healing, Repentance, and Forgiveness Often Go Together
      John the Baptist preached about repentance because God's Kingdom/God's rule was near (breaking into their time in a new way.). After Jesus' baptism and anointing with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:16) Jesus began his ministry in Galilee preaching the Good News of God's Kingdom/God's rule being shown plainly through Jesus' healing "every disease and sickness, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, the epileptics and paralytics, and he healed them." (Matthew 4:23, 24).
      In Matthew 9 Jesus said to the paralytic man whose friends brought him, "Take heart son, your sins are forgiven." When the teachers of the law said that was blasphemy, Jesus said, "Which is easier, to say 'Your sins are forgiven, or to say rise up and walk'? But so that you may know that the Son of Man (Jesus) has authority on earth to forgive sins'…then he said to the paralytic, 'Get up, take your mat and go home.' And the man got up and went home." (Matthew 9:2-8 )
      The breaking into their lives of God's present Rule (Kingdom) through Jesus' healings, forgiveness of sin and deliverance demonstrated who Jesus was and is: the promised Messiah/"anointed" One--and more. When John the Baptist sent his disciples to ask Jesus, "Are you the One who is to come or shall we look for another?", Jesus answered by healing many diseases, casting out evil spirits, preaching good news to the poor--the very signs of God's coming Servant-Messiah and King in Isaiah 61:1-2. It was evidence both of who Jesus is and of what God's Kingdom is concerned with--setting things to right, fulfilling God's original purposes for his creation and his people.
      Jesus is the Savior, the one who heals the sick and forgives sinners, the one who makes people whole, both in body and in spirit. In Matthew 9:10f, Jesus was eating with tax collectors (corrupt) and "sinners". When the religious leaders were scandalized, he said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick…For I have not come to call the righteous but the sinners." (vs.12-13) It is only as we admit our need for healing and deliverance from sin that Jesus helps us. We have to ask and we have to come to him, and we can bring our friends to him.
      In the Old Testament God reveals himself as the Healer. In Exodus 15:26 God says," I am the LORD who heals you." He calls his people to follow and to obey him so that they do not fall into sin and its consequences. The Jews knew that healing as well as forgiveness comes from God. One of God's names is "Jehovah Rapha" (Yahweh Rapha)--"The LORD who heals". Psalm 103:3 reminds us, "He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases." Psalm 147:2 says "He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds." Isaiah 53:4 & 5 reminds us "Surely he took up our iniquities and carried our sorrows", "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace (shalom: wholeness, well being, health, proper relationships, etc.) was upon him, and by his stripes (wounds) we are healed."
      Jesus is God with us, God's Word made flesh, Son of God and Son of Man. He is the Great Physician, the Healer who came to bring us the wholeness that God wants for us--both in terms of health of body and spirits and in terms of sin. We have to come to Jesus and ask for that. Our healing and transformation is not complete in this life but it is something that God wants to work in us and through us in this broken and fallen world. As Fr. Nigel says in healing services, "When we pray, something always happens" even if it is not what we had in mind.
      Jesus also sent out his disciples to do what he was doing. He sent the twelve out and he sent out 70 others of his disciples and "gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and cure every disease". In Luke 10:1 Jesus sends out 70 of his disciples, two by two, to work in God's harvest. They were to "heal the sick" and tell people "God's Kingdom was near" and call for them to turn away from their own way (repent).
      God has restored a ministry of healing to his church and he wants us to be involved. When have you seen or experienced God's healing? When did you discover that God heals today?
      Let's look at some of Jesus' healings to see what we can learn. Look at Matthew 9 and read the first story (vs.1-8 ). In this first story there is sin involved in the sickness but that is not always true. When Jesus healed the man born blind, his disciples asked, "Who sinned, this man or his parents?" Jesus said neither, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." (John 9:3) In this chapter Jesus heals men, women and children. Sometimes the person comes by herself like the woman bleeding for 12 years. She touched the hem of Jesus' garment (where there were tassels to remind the wearer of God's commands). The hem also symbolized the owner's identity and authority. (See p.153 "Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus). Jesus knew that someone had touched him in a special way and spoke a word of encouragement, "Take heart daughter, your faith had healed you." In the next healing, Jesus asked the blind man if he had the faith that Jesus was able to do the healing and the man said he did. Then Jesus healed a man who had an evil spirit that was controlling him. Jesus doesn't use a cookie cutter approach. He knows exactly what that person needs.
      Then Jesus asked his disciples to PRAY for the LORD, the Owner of the Harvest to send out laborers and then he sent out the twelve to do this. The Lord calls us to pray for healing also. It is God who heals and delivers and forgives but he wants to use us. Are we willing to be available? Only a few have a "gift of healing" but we all are able to bring someone to Jesus and pray for their healing or salvation. Sometimes when we need healing James 5 tells us to call for the elders to pray and sometimes tells us that we are to minister to each other, to confess to each other and pray for each other as God leads--so that we may be healed.
      God worked powerfully in healing in the early church and today in some places in the world--so that many will come to know Jesus. In Acts 9:34 Peter tells the paralyzed Aeneas, "Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed." He rose immediately and "All who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord."
In the New Testament healing was done in the NAME and POWER of Jesus. He still wants to use us in the same way today.
      Here are some Words the Lord gave the teachers for us to reflect on.
"So he got into a boat, crossed over, and came to his own city." (Matthew 9:1) A word received: I came to my own, but they did not understand. I will come to you if you ask me and give you understanding by my Holy Spirit.
      Stop and ask.

"Then behold, they brought to him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, 'Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.'" (Matthew 9:2) A word received: Bring all the broken-hearted and sick to me.
      What are some of the ways we can do this?

"And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, 'This man blasphemes!'" (Matthew 9:3) A word received: What is your reaction when you hear me speak or see me do something? Do you rejoice with me?
      What do we do?

"But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, 'Why do you think evil in your hearts?'" (Matthew 9:4) A word received: I want you to learn to handle it when evil thoughts come to mind. I want you to turn to me in repentance and ask for forgiveness from my father in my name.
      Jesus came to give us victory over sin by his cross. Do we bring our sin to him quickly? Do we thank him for his forgiveness?

"'For which is easier, to say, "Your sins are forgiven you," or to say, "Arise and walk"?'" (Matthew 9:5) A word received: Look to me for direction and guidance.
      We need to keep turning to Jesus and his Holy Spirit step by step. He alone knows what is needed.

"'But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins'--then he said to the paralytic, 'Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.'" (Matthew 9:6) A word received: I want you to know that I have the power to forgive sins and the power to heal.
      Praise him!

"And he arose and departed to his house." (Matthew 9:7) A word received: I want you to respond to my words as this man did.
      When Jesus gives us instructions, do we do it?

"Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men." (Matthew 9:8 ) A word received: I want people to marvel and reflect on what God can do in their lives.
      Are we stingy with our praise and thanks? Do we take it for granted?

NO CLASSES ON NOVEMBER 29.

SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON 09. November 15, 2009

Who do you say that I am?
Jesus, the True Vine
Theme Verse: "Who do you say that I am?" Matthew 16:15
Readings: John 15:1-17; Isaiah 5:1-7; Mark 12:1-12; Mark 11:12-14, 20
Optional: Isaiah 11:1; Psalm 107
Memory Verse: "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) (Pre-K to grade 3)
      NOTE that this is another "I AM" statement. "I AM" is the personal Name that God gave to Moses at the Burning Bush when Moses asked what shall I tell the people when they ask who sent you. (This is an indirect but clear way of saying Jesus is one with the Father.)
      Jesus is the TRUE Vine. To see what this means look at the word picture, metaphor, analogy in Isaiah 5:1-7 where God, speaking through Isaiah, compares Israel, God's people, to a grapevine. The nation is God's vineyard. God is the owner and the gardener. (Israel was also often compared to a fig tree, see Hosea 9:10. God said, "I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness, I saw your fathers as the first-ripe in the fig tree.") The owner and gardener expected it to yield grapes- FRUIT- good fruit, but it yielded wild grapes (not good for eating.)
      The first thing to see is that Jesus, in his incarnation, is what Israel was intended to be- a perfect vine. Jesus and his disciples would have had this and other passages in mind when Jesus talks about being the True Vine and we, the Church, his disciples being the branches.
      Now look at what the Lord has to say to us about Isaiah 5. "Now let me sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved regarding his vineyard: my well-beloved has a vineyard on a very fruitful hill." (Isaiah 5:1) A word received: You are my vineyard: I planted you and I have nourished you.
      "He dug it up and cleared out its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, and also made a winepress in it;" (Isaiah 5:2a) A word received: I have done all that I can to make your lives fruitful and I set my son as that strong tower for you to flee to and cling to.
      "so he expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes." (Isaiah 5:2b) A word received: Examine the fruit of your lives and return to me.
      "'And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, please, between Me and My vineyard.'" (Isaiah 5:3) A word received: Examine my vineyard, the church. Return to me, my vineyard, and produce the crop I ordained for you.
Stop and pray silently and see if the Lord shows you something.
      In John 16:8 Jesus says, "By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples." Verse 16 says "I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide." The purpose of a grapevine, and a vineyard, is to bear fruit, good fruit. What kind of fruit did Jesus' disciples bear? What kind of fruit are we bearing?
      Remember that the context of John 15 is Jesus' disciples bearing fruit for the Father. Jesus' disciples are the audience. Jesus is not talking to people who were not following him but to those who had committed themselves to following him.
      The next thing Jesus tells them is that every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Myra Andresen has a very fruitful grapevine and every year she drastically prunes it, and the next summer gets a good crop of grapes. What are some of the ways that God the Father, the Gardener, prunes our lives? Are we willing for him to do that? What are some examples?
      The branches that don't bear fruit are taken away, discarded. Jesus wants his disciples to live and bear fruit by staying attached to him--the source of life. "Abide in me (live/remain) and I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me." "Apart from me you can do nothing." "If anyone does not abide in me he is cast out as a branch and is withered", (the result of not being attached to the life of the vine.)
      Look at the incident of the withered fig tree in Mark 11:20. Notice that this is after the Triumphal Entry in Holy Week and immediately afterwards Jesus went into the temple and cleansed it. The fig tree had nothing but leaves on it. (See note about fig trees at the end.) The fig trees had little fruits you could eat before the regular figs grew. There was NO fruit when the Creator came looking for fruit and found only leaves. Jeremiah 8:13 refers to God "when I would gather them, says the LORD, there are no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree; even the leaves are withered." The next day the tree Jesus had rebuked was withered. More is going on here than an example of the power of prayer. It is an acted parable about the condition of God's people, HIS fig tree--and the religious leaders know it.
      Remember how these leaders knew Jesus had told the parable of the tenants (Mark 12:1-12) who refused to give the owner of the vineyard fruit when he sent for it and mistreated the messengers and killed the son. These caretakers of the vineyard were like the hireling shepherds Jesus told about in John 10 who didn't take care of what the owner had given. In this story these tenants wanted to be in control of the vineyard and use it for themselves. (This reminds me of the Bishop of Pennsylvania who said, "The church wrote the Bible, the church can change it.") The owner of the vineyard will punish the tenants and give it to others.
      Now look at some other verses and Words on Isaiah 5. "'What more could have been done to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes?'" (Isaiah 5:4) A word received: Answer me, my people, why have you not produced fruit in keeping with righteousness? Examine yourselves and answer me. Revival and renewal in the church always begins with repentance and self-examination.
      In Isaiah 5 the rest of the passage talks about what God allowed and even sent to get his people to turn back to him and away from disaster. "'And now, please let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned; and break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.'" (Isaiah 5:5) A word received: All this I AM doing, and still my people, my vineyard, does not return to me.
      "'I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned or dug, but there shall come up briers and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain on it.'" (Isaiah 5:6) A word received: Read Psalm 107 and gain wisdom from it. Look to my word and measure yourselves by it. Repent, return to me. (What is the pattern here?)
      "For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant plant. He looked for justice, but behold, oppression; for righteousness, but behold, a cry for help." (Isaiah 5:7) A word received: All this is happening, and still my people do not return to me.
      Now look again at John 15 and what Jesus is teaching his disciples and us. A branch doesn't get attached to the vine on an on and off basis--it has to stay attached. Not abiding in the vine may not be a specific sin, it may be going off on our own, doing our own thing. When we fall away and sin we need to immediately turn back to Jesus, repent, ask for forgiveness and go back to living in Jesus. Notice that verse 7 is conditional. "If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask what you will and it will be done for you." Only as we live in God's will and ask according to his will, will he answer our requests. Another question to ask is, "How do you want me to pray in this situation?"
      How do we do this "abiding"/remaining, in Jesus' love? He loves us. We remain in Jesus' love and the Father's love by obeying him and choosing to stay in close contact with him.
      Jesus wants us to have his JOY. We can have his joy if we remain attached to Jesus and obey him. Part of that obedience is to love one another. That love is not sentimental or fragile. It is agape love, the kind of love Jesus has for us--love that does what is best for us, not just giving us whatever we might want. Jesus wants us to be his friends, "You are my friends if you do what I command you." Part of that obedience is to remain close to him.
      Jesus has chosen us to bear fruit but we have to keep on choosing to live in Jesus day by day so we can bear fruit for him.
      Have you fallen away from the vine in any way? Is there some way in which you need to repent from going your own way in order for your prayers to be answered?

      NOTE on Fig Trees: The Fig tree is native to the Near East and does very well in Palestine and Syria. In the wild, it is just a shrub but cultivated ones can go to 30-40 ft. It loses its leaves before the winter rainy season and sends out new sprouts in March/April. (The petals of the long flower become fleshy and form an oblong fruit.) In March or April the branches put forth new leaf buds. Most of the early green figs grow on the stock of the previous year's yield and drop when no more than 2" long and are called "winter fruit" and "untimely" or "late" figs. (Revelation 6:13). They do not contain juice but are gathered and eaten for lack of other fruit that time of year. (Note that this would be around Passover time.) The rest of this crop ripens in June for the first real harvest called "first-ripe" or "early" figs. A second crop ripens in August as "late" figs and are the most desirable.
      "In prophecies of divine retribution for Israel's sins the blighted fig tree symbolized national peril" Jeremiah 5:17 and Hosea 2:11, etc. "The difficult account of Jesus cursing the barren fig tree may portray God's judgment."
      (The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary, p.381.)

SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON 08, November 8, 2009

      Who do you say that I am?
            The Word of God
Theme Verse: "Who do you say that I am?" Matthew 16:15
Readings: John 1:1-14, Genesis 1: 1-3, Hebrews 1:1-3, 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Optional: Deuteronomy 8:1-5
Memory Verse: "In the Beginning was the WORD, and the WORD was with God and the WORD was God. John 1:1 (Pre-K to grade 3)
      "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." (Psalm 119:105) Word received: My word is a light to your path, (For children and adults) Have you ever had the power go off suddenly on a dark night and you had to move around the house knowing that there were many things you could bump into or step on? If you found your flashlight and turned it on, what difference did it make to you? Or perhaps you were in a snowstorm and stuck by the side of the road because your own headlights just reflected the snow and you were afraid to move. Along comes a kind truck driver who asks you what the problem is and then tells you to follow his lights closely and he will lead you through the storm. God's Word, both Jesus as God's living Word and God's Word in Scripture (the Bible) are like that light in the darkness showing you, leading you through the darkness. Psalm 23 says "Though I walk through the valley of death (or deep darkness) I will fear no evil for you are with me." (Torre's illustration from Africa.) Do you have an example to share, either of such an adventure or when God's Word shed light on a situation of darkness you were in? Notice in John 1:4-5 how Word is tied to light and life.
      Look at John 1:1-14. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1) A word received: This is where I want you to begin: begin with me. I AM the living word which came down from heaven. I will write my word on your heart and fill you with my Holy Spirit. Come to me, let me make a new beginning in your life.
Stop and pray about this.
      "Jesus is one with the Father; he is uniquely able to communicate God's heart and mind." (Spangler, p. 147,"Praying the Names of Jesus") Our words and our spirits are part of us- so it is with God. "John's gospel begins by calling Jesus the LOGOS (Greek for Word). Though the Logos was a term used in Greek philosophy, John echoes a Hebrew mind-set by using it to refer not to a rational principal or an impersonal force but to the One who created the universe by speaking it into existence." (Spangler, p.147) Jesus longs for us to respond to him so that he, Jesus the Word, may come and live with/in us. See John 14:23.
      Where else in Scripture do we find something similar to John 1:1? Look at Genesis 1:1-2. It begins with the same words, "In the beginning" (before anything began) God IS (there never was a time when God wasn't there! God created time. Our past, present, and future are all present to Him. God created everything--by His Spirit (vs.2) and His Word. (vs.l3) .In each of the following paragraphs "God said"…and it happened! Remember how sometimes Jesus (the WORD) said a word and a person was healed? Jesus spoke and the storm stopped, the Centurion said, "Only say the word and my servant will be healed" and he was, Jesus spoke to the dead girl and she lived.
      This story of creation is very different from the pagan stories about creation! Psalm 33:6 says "By the Word of the LORD (Yahweh/the I AM) the heavens were made, and all their host by the Breath (Holy Spirit) of His mouth." Notice how John 1:3 says, "Through him all things were made, without him nothing was made that has been made." (There are other references to this also.) Notice that although the word "Trinity" is not used in the Bible we see God, the three in one here.
      God spoke through the prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) but when the time was right God clothed his Word in flesh- skin and bones-a man like us. "The Word was made flesh and lived (tented) among us." Through the centuries people have learned skills and occupations by living with a teacher, a mentor and not just from a book. Even today plumbers and electricians become apprentices to a Master Plumber or Master Electrician. So God clothed his own Word in a human being (Jesus) (we call this the Incarnation) to reveal himself and do for us what we could not do for ourselves. The name, "Jesus" in Hebrew is "Yesh-u-a" (Joshua in English) meaning "Yahweh's salvation or Yahweh is salvation." (Remember how the angel told Joseph to name the baby Jesus "for he will save his people from their sins."
      We are talking about God's Word in two ways: (1) God has spoken his Word to men and women and sometimes children for them to share with others. We find this in the Bible/Scripture. (2) God has sent his Word-become-flesh to us in Jesus. (Jesus on earth was still one in Being with his Father but he "emptied himself" of some of the privileges of being God while he lived and died on earth as a man. See Philippians 2:5-11)
      Hebrew 1:1-2 talks about both, Jesus the Word and God's Word which we can hear in the Bible (Scripture). Have you ever felt personally spoken to when you read or remember Scripture? Are we listening for God to speak his Word (Jesus) and his Word in the Bible to us as we read? Are we asking for that? "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;" (Hebrews 1:1-2) A word received: You are living "in these last days" and I want to speak to you through my son: listen to him. This is what I told Peter, James, and John on the Mount of Transfiguration: "This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear him!" (Matthew 17:5) Have you noticed that there is sometimes a difference between listening to someone and actually hearing what they say?
      Deuteronomy 8:1-5, in the oldest part of the Hebrew Bible ( Jesus' Bible) talks about the importance of hearing and acting on God's Word. (For Christians this means in both Jesus and Scripture). Moses tells the people of Israel that God has put them in the wilderness to learn this. "And he humbled you…that you might know that man (people) does not live by bread alone, but by everything that proceeds from the mouth(Word) of God." God's Word in scripture is food for us and Jesus gave his life for us and tells us in Matthew 26:26 "that Jesus took the bread, blessed it and broke it and said, 'Take eat; this is my body.'" Jesus wants us to "feed on him" Jesus said earlier, "I AM the Bread which came down from heaven" "the living Bread".(John 6:41) When the disciples didn't understand him he said, "The words I have spoken are Spirit and Life". The Bible often talks in pictures and stories to present truth to us in a way we will remember. Do we go to Jesus each day for him to feed us with himself as well as ask him to do that when we take communion? Do we ask for that when we take communion?
      Hebrews 4:12 talks about God's Word as being "living and active, sharper than any two edged sword, piercing to the division between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." This is true of Scripture sometimes as well as when Jesus himself speaks to our hearts directly. Jesus sometimes speaks to us in that "still small voice" that Elijah heard on the mountain.. Sometimes God uses that to reveal to us our real situation, our real motives and needs--so that he can change them.
      The Psalms frequently speak to us about God's Word in Scripture (but often it describes Jesus the Word also.) Psalm 119:105: "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Psalm 107:20: God's word heals, "He sent forth his word and healed them and delivered them from destruction." Jesus also heals by a word and with his word. God's Word tests us sometimes. "He sent a man before them-- Joseph--who was sold as a slave. They hurt his feet with fetters, he was laid in irons. Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him." (Psalm 105:17-19) A word received: I want to test you and refine you; I want to purify you for my purposes. Joseph became a man who led and saved his family because of my refining work in his life.
      "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17) A word received: I want to prepare you for my work, for my kingdom work. I will do all of that by making my word come alive in your heart and your mind. Turn to me, ask for me to make the Scriptures come alive for you. Regularly reading and memorizing scripture is one important way to hide God's Word in you inmost self. "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you" (Psalm 119:11) Remember that God's Word will not return to him empty but will accomplish the purpose for which he sent it. (Isaiah 55:10-11)
      The last book of the Bible show who wins! Jesus the Word of God is coming in his Second Coming as King and his Name is the Word of God and yet he carries his battle scars, a robe dipped in blood, which he shed for our salvation on the cross. (Revelation 19:11-15)

Note [from the Preface to the New King James Version of the Bible]
      "In closing, let readers be encouraged to approach the Bible "not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe" (1 Thessalonians 2:13). The same Holy Spirit who originated the Scriptures must also make them clear to the reader, for the truths they contain "are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14). It is through the work of the Spirit of life that the Word of life accomplishes its purpose in human hearts and minds. May God teach us His life-giving truth as we submit to Him, that He alone may be glorified."

      "Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path." Psalm 119:105 When I was a lay missionary teacher with the Order of the Holy Cross (a monastic order of the Episcopal Church) in Bolahun, Liberia (1962-1963) there were times when I traveled at night using what was called a "bush lantern" (probably what we would call a Hurricane Lantern). Those walking trips through the jungle and the verse above from Psalm 119 have become for me a model of the Christian life. The lantern didn't give off much light, but it did give enough to show me the next step or two. Since I carried it by its wire handle, the lantern was down low next to my feet. Because the lantern was low, any bushes or grass beside the path would throw up large, frightening shadows which I would see if I took my eyes off the light at my feet. Sometimes as I approached a village, I would see the cooking fires in the distance. Their light was a reassurance that I was heading in the right direction, but was useless for seeing where to place the next step. For that I still had to rely on the light from my lantern – going a step at a time. Jesus, I want to walk as a child of the light, please help me to clearly see the next step you want me to take. Thank you.