Four week Advent series in the first 18 chapters of John.
| Video Message | Resources |
| Week 1: God’s Word Among Us | Monday Memo notes About the choice to be a part of the old, passing creation or the new one emerging in Christ: “The truth of God newness is that God’s gift comes at huge cost, the cost of acknowledging that the old creation has failed and is dysfunctional, and the awareness that new creation required disciplined, intentional reception…The move from old to new creation entails a bewildering loss of control that comes from relinquishing what we’ve known…We ought to remember that God’s future does not belong to what has been, and our old, assured realities. The God who does this new thing has also said that we need not go back to our former things.” About Christ as the centerpiece of what God is trying to say to us: “For the Christian, Jesus Christ is our tuning fork, ringing out middle C in a shrill world of competing truths; His pitch defines reality and sets every other note in its proper place. Without Him, truth about God would be distorted, disharmonious. To hear the music of heaven, we must listen and only listen to Him.” (Donald McCullough, in The Trivialization of God) About embracing mystery, in our case right now, the mystery of Advent: “Truly, we live with mysteries too marvelous to be understood…Let me keep my distance, always, from those who think they have the answers. Let me keep company always with those who say ‘Look!’ and laugh in astonishment, and bow their heads.” (poet Mary Oliver) |
| Week 2: The Light Has Come | Monday Memo notes More in John’s gospel on Jesus being God’s light: Here are three short passages in John that revisit the theme of Jesus as God’s light…you could read one every other day this week as a way of staying mindful of Jesus our light: John 8.12-20: John 8.12-20 NRSV John 12.27-36: John 12.27-36 NRSV John 12.44-50: John 12.44-50 NRSV A short devotional that connects Christmas and Jesus who is God’s light: Why is Jesus referred to as the “Light of the World” and how does that relate to Christmas? Here’s a Christmas song about Jesus the Light, by Third Day: Third Day – Jesus Light of the World |
| Week 3: The Darkness Did Not Overcome the Light | Monday Memo notes 1) St. Paul speaks about darkness and light in the same way that John does – if you like, check it in your personal devotional time this week: – Ephesians 5.12-14: Eph 5.12-14 NRSV – Colossians 1.11-14: Col 1.11-14 NRSV – Romans 13.11-14: Romans 13.11-14 NRSV – 2 Corinthians 4.6: 2 Corinthians 4.6 NRSV 2) Here’s a short devotional entry that connects all the uses of “light” in the gospels: What it means to be the light of the world 3) Here’s a thoughtful piece connecting the light of Jesus at Christmas to the short days in winter, tapping into the writings of Thomas Moore to do it: That light in the darkness? It’s Christmas |
| Week 4: The Unseen Seen God |