WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:11.220 Will you please stand now for the reading of the Gospel? 00:00:14.380 --> 00:00:17.260 This is the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:00:17.320 --> 00:00:20.960 as written in the first chapter of the Gospel according to St. John, 00:00:21.480 --> 00:00:22.580 beginning at verse 1. 00:00:23.559 --> 00:00:25.420 Glory to you, Lord Christ. 00:00:25.420 --> 00:00:31.940 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:34.719 He was in the beginning with God. 00:00:35.340 --> 00:00:40.719 All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. 00:00:41.480 --> 00:00:45.799 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 00:00:46.520 --> 00:00:51.340 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 00:00:51.340 --> 00:00:55.280 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 00:00:55.760 --> 00:01:01.420 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through Him. 00:01:02.400 --> 00:01:06.240 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:12.620 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 00:01:13.260 --> 00:01:15.859 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him. 00:01:16.579 --> 00:01:18.340 Yet the world did not know Him. 00:01:18.340 --> 00:01:22.659 He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. 00:01:23.299 --> 00:01:26.600 But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, 00:01:26.760 --> 00:01:30.340 He gave the right to become children of God, 00:01:30.820 --> 00:01:34.420 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, 00:01:34.780 --> 00:01:37.920 nor of the will of man, but of God. 00:01:37.920 --> 00:01:44.920 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory. 00:01:45.820 --> 00:01:51.460 Glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 00:01:52.340 --> 00:01:54.319 John bore witness about Him and cried out, 00:01:54.319 --> 00:01:56.599 This was He of whom I said, 00:01:56.739 --> 00:02:01.419 He who comes after me ranks before me, because He was before me. 00:02:02.500 --> 00:02:07.539 For from His fullness we have all received grace upon grace. 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:10.299 For the law was given through Moses, 00:02:11.400 --> 00:02:14.319 grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 00:02:15.099 --> 00:02:17.099 No one has ever seen God, 00:02:17.579 --> 00:02:20.240 the only God who is at the Father's side. 00:02:20.240 --> 00:02:22.379 He has made Him known. 00:02:22.900 --> 00:02:24.700 This is the Gospel of the Lord. 00:02:25.360 --> 00:02:27.200 Praise to you, Lord Christ. 00:02:27.640 --> 00:02:28.820 Please be seated. 00:02:29.460 --> 00:02:30.280 Good morning. 00:02:31.219 --> 00:02:33.740 Let me say, if you've never been here before, welcome. 00:02:34.500 --> 00:02:35.240 Neither have I. 00:02:35.320 --> 00:02:36.719 I've never been here before. 00:02:38.320 --> 00:02:41.800 But I have met a number of you previously. 00:02:42.400 --> 00:02:45.420 I lived next door to Whitney. 00:02:45.700 --> 00:02:48.540 I lived in the basement of Charles and Sarah Moxley, 00:02:48.539 --> 00:02:52.719 and I've had the privilege of hanging out with Tommy and Dan. 00:02:53.039 --> 00:02:57.060 And Deborah seems to me to be the one who makes everything work around here. 00:02:57.419 --> 00:03:00.659 So it's been great to meet her as well. 00:03:03.319 --> 00:03:08.519 As Tommy mentioned, I am on staff at Church of the Resurrection over on Capitol Hill. 00:03:08.639 --> 00:03:11.620 Some of you have a history there, a past there. 00:03:11.780 --> 00:03:13.180 And I've enjoyed it. 00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:14.340 I've been there about seven months. 00:03:14.340 --> 00:03:20.819 And I'm on a three-year term of being there in preparation to do church planting. 00:03:21.400 --> 00:03:23.259 So my wife and I are new to D.C. 00:03:23.259 --> 00:03:28.659 We're originally from California and moved most recently from Sydney, Australia. 00:03:29.319 --> 00:03:30.159 We love it here. 00:03:30.219 --> 00:03:33.580 We actually, we're not cool enough to live in Brookland, 00:03:33.719 --> 00:03:36.680 but we live in Langdon, so we're like kind of close. 00:03:36.680 --> 00:03:42.400 And we live there, the two of us with our giant black Labrador, Dylan. 00:03:43.319 --> 00:03:44.700 Anyways, it's great to be with you. 00:03:45.400 --> 00:03:48.159 Let's get into this sermon this morning. 00:03:48.860 --> 00:03:49.920 I want to start by saying, 00:03:50.740 --> 00:03:55.420 without dogma, there is no drama. 00:03:57.240 --> 00:04:00.900 Without doctrine, there is no drama. 00:04:00.900 --> 00:04:06.840 We are innately seeking this story behind all stories. 00:04:08.520 --> 00:04:12.159 The question is not whether we will have a dogma, 00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:15.540 a story behind all stories, an overarching story, a creed, 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:17.300 but which one. 00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:22.879 In 2011, a philosopher at Duke University named Alex Rosenzweig 00:04:22.879 --> 00:04:26.600 published his book, The Atheist's Guide to Reality. 00:04:26.600 --> 00:04:32.280 His central claim in that book is that story time is over. 00:04:33.800 --> 00:04:38.520 He says that because physics and biology have taught us that once and for all, 00:04:39.040 --> 00:04:42.560 everything in the universe can be explained in terms of cause and effect, 00:04:42.960 --> 00:04:46.800 we are freed from this notion of a big story, 00:04:47.640 --> 00:04:49.980 an overarching drama, a dogma. 00:04:50.820 --> 00:04:53.900 This means, he says, that we're free to realize now 00:04:53.899 --> 00:05:00.379 that consciousness is nothing else but the outworking of processes in the brain. 00:05:01.179 --> 00:05:02.939 That people don't act freely. 00:05:03.079 --> 00:05:04.439 That free will is an illusion. 00:05:04.599 --> 00:05:06.879 That we're determined by causes and effect. 00:05:08.079 --> 00:05:11.159 And that there is ultimately no reason for being moral 00:05:11.159 --> 00:05:16.759 other than that it has some evolutionary advantages to it, 00:05:16.819 --> 00:05:18.060 some survival advantages. 00:05:18.060 --> 00:05:21.199 He says story time is over. 00:05:21.339 --> 00:05:25.620 He de-dogmatizes the world. 00:05:27.620 --> 00:05:29.899 To his credit, he's pretty candid. 00:05:29.899 --> 00:05:36.840 And he realizes in the process of this that even to tell this truth, 00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:41.000 if you will, requires a story. 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:45.160 And it's a contradiction that he acknowledges at the heart of his own account, 00:05:45.240 --> 00:05:51.259 that he himself has to tell a story of the progress and triumph of modern science 00:05:51.259 --> 00:05:55.019 and the story of a naturalistic evolution. 00:05:56.000 --> 00:05:59.100 We are always looking for the story behind the story. 00:05:59.199 --> 00:06:00.100 It's unavoidable. 00:06:00.759 --> 00:06:04.399 And when we come to John chapter 1, verses 1 to 18, 00:06:05.079 --> 00:06:08.040 we arrive at one of the high points of Scripture. 00:06:08.040 --> 00:06:11.680 I don't know if you can see, I have a really nice Bible, 00:06:11.900 --> 00:06:14.360 but it's fraying on these pages. 00:06:15.660 --> 00:06:19.040 This is, because this is really important stuff. 00:06:19.120 --> 00:06:24.420 This is the high point, the telling of the story that is behind every story, 00:06:24.520 --> 00:06:29.240 the word behind all true words, the light of all enlightenment. 00:06:31.120 --> 00:06:36.000 This text not only introduces Jesus Christ as a human being, 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:42.759 but it makes the audacious claim that in Christ is encapsulated the meaning of the whole universe. 00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:47.120 It's dogmatic, it's doctrinal, it's rich. 00:06:48.620 --> 00:06:51.920 It introduces the Gospel of John, but even more than this, 00:06:51.980 --> 00:06:55.939 it's an invitation into the cosmic drama that is the Gospel. 00:06:55.939 --> 00:07:00.959 It claims to be the true story. 00:07:03.719 --> 00:07:05.860 And as always, the proof is in the pudding. 00:07:05.959 --> 00:07:09.420 So let's listen together to the claims of this important text. 00:07:10.259 --> 00:07:11.500 But first, let me pray. 00:07:11.899 --> 00:07:19.060 Father, thank you for speaking the world into existence in your word. 00:07:19.060 --> 00:07:27.019 Thank you, most of all, that that word has become flesh in Jesus Christ, 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:29.399 that he has dwelt among us. 00:07:29.620 --> 00:07:37.160 And we pray now that we would dwell in him and live new lives in your story. 00:07:37.259 --> 00:07:38.379 We ask this in Christ's name. 00:07:38.759 --> 00:07:39.100 Amen. 00:07:39.100 --> 00:07:47.660 Here's the first thing we see in this text, the first truth, the dogma that gives us drama, 00:07:47.740 --> 00:07:50.780 and that is that the universe is a drama with an author. 00:07:51.840 --> 00:07:55.439 Life is a drama that someone else is writing. 00:07:55.980 --> 00:07:59.960 We have no choice but to acknowledge this authorship. 00:08:00.780 --> 00:08:02.020 Verses 1 and 2 read, 00:08:02.020 --> 00:08:07.820 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 00:08:07.819 --> 00:08:11.759 There it is in the strongest possible terms, 00:08:11.860 --> 00:08:15.740 the assertion of divine authorship over creation. 00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:19.599 In the beginning, signals that we are going back, 00:08:19.860 --> 00:08:23.899 not just to the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in history, 00:08:24.219 --> 00:08:28.539 not just to the beginning of time, but to eternity, all the way back. 00:08:29.980 --> 00:08:33.220 And if there's any doubt about how far back we go, 00:08:33.319 --> 00:08:37.179 the author says we're going so far back that we're talking about the reality 00:08:37.179 --> 00:08:41.319 that was with God and indeed was God. 00:08:42.319 --> 00:08:43.620 It was the Word. 00:08:43.719 --> 00:08:46.059 In Greek, the term is the Logos. 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:51.719 The Logos, the rational principle of the universe as the Stoics saw it. 00:08:52.479 --> 00:08:57.459 Or the Logos, the creative Word that God speaks in Genesis. 00:08:57.460 --> 00:09:06.600 The Logos, the Word, the divine plot, the script around which God constructs the world. 00:09:07.940 --> 00:09:13.060 It's not just a spoken or written word, 00:09:13.160 --> 00:09:16.100 but rather the very self-expression of God. 00:09:16.759 --> 00:09:19.060 As Martin Luther said it, the heart of God. 00:09:21.100 --> 00:09:22.259 His inner being. 00:09:22.259 --> 00:09:24.399 This means two things that we need to see. 00:09:24.519 --> 00:09:27.939 First is that God is Himself a speaker. 00:09:28.100 --> 00:09:29.340 He is communicative. 00:09:30.500 --> 00:09:32.240 He is author. 00:09:32.899 --> 00:09:33.460 Word. 00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:37.460 And the breath in which that Word is brought out. 00:09:37.539 --> 00:09:38.159 In Himself. 00:09:39.299 --> 00:09:42.960 But second, it means that the purpose of all creation 00:09:42.960 --> 00:09:51.480 is just to give God a new avenue for the telling of the story, 00:09:51.620 --> 00:09:54.379 for the speaking of the script that He is. 00:09:55.259 --> 00:09:58.220 It means creation itself is unnecessary 00:09:58.220 --> 00:10:02.440 except as the raw material upon which God writes the story, 00:10:02.540 --> 00:10:03.940 His Word, His script. 00:10:05.139 --> 00:10:06.340 As Calvin puts it, 00:10:06.340 --> 00:10:10.019 creation is theatrum gloria Dei, 00:10:10.160 --> 00:10:12.759 the theater for the glory of God. 00:10:13.740 --> 00:10:16.280 And this is profound in its implications. 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:19.220 It means that everything and every person 00:10:19.220 --> 00:10:24.740 has been created for the purpose of playing some part in God's story. 00:10:26.240 --> 00:10:28.960 In Him was life, verse 4 says, 00:10:29.060 --> 00:10:32.200 and the life was the light of humanity. 00:10:33.460 --> 00:10:37.019 This is here the secret to unlocking the meaning of history. 00:10:37.680 --> 00:10:40.500 History is not a story of mere biological survival. 00:10:40.500 --> 00:10:45.279 It is not a story of upward historical progress or downward historical decay. 00:10:45.600 --> 00:10:48.740 It's a story of divine self-expression. 00:10:50.059 --> 00:10:54.220 It's a story that, even if it remains hidden from us naturally, 00:10:54.600 --> 00:10:58.460 is the story that we are all living in. 00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:02.100 It's the thing that gives our lives the meaning that they have. 00:11:02.100 --> 00:11:08.399 Isn't it amazing that even in a culture, 00:11:08.519 --> 00:11:12.420 in a city, in a world as secular as ours is, 00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:18.580 where we have tried formally to shut out the notion of transcendent meaning, 00:11:19.700 --> 00:11:21.639 that we still, all of us, 00:11:22.540 --> 00:11:26.980 live as if there really is some meaning to everything, 00:11:26.980 --> 00:11:29.980 as if there is truth and goodness and beauty. 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:35.980 The reason that is, is because, as verse 5 says, 00:11:36.080 --> 00:11:37.920 the light is shining in the darkness. 00:11:38.480 --> 00:11:42.320 And the darkness, even if it has not recognized it or overcome it, 00:11:42.379 --> 00:11:43.180 it is shining. 00:11:43.259 --> 00:11:45.180 It is giving light to every person. 00:11:47.080 --> 00:11:49.060 Every person lives under the authorship 00:11:49.059 --> 00:11:51.639 and within this story, 00:11:51.699 --> 00:11:52.739 without even realizing it, 00:11:52.739 --> 00:11:56.159 without any hope of evading this reality. 00:11:57.219 --> 00:12:02.619 To talk in this way can sound hopelessly fatalistic to some people, 00:12:03.139 --> 00:12:07.459 as if to say that we are all props in God's drama 00:12:07.459 --> 00:12:09.399 and cannot be otherwise. 00:12:09.659 --> 00:12:12.319 And furthermore, even more disturbingly, 00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:15.799 does this mean that if God is the author of everything, 00:12:15.919 --> 00:12:18.599 that God is also the author of rebellion? 00:12:19.059 --> 00:12:24.699 And the evil characters that reject His authority? 00:12:25.500 --> 00:12:27.339 What can be said about this? 00:12:29.259 --> 00:12:30.619 I'd say, first of all, 00:12:30.759 --> 00:12:35.479 the notion that God is authoring all of reality is a biblical one. 00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:37.119 It's embedded in creation, 00:12:37.299 --> 00:12:39.079 where God speaks through the Word as we read. 00:12:39.359 --> 00:12:40.939 It's embedded in this text. 00:12:41.979 --> 00:12:44.859 Jesus is called in Acts 3.15, 00:12:44.979 --> 00:12:46.639 the author of life. 00:12:46.639 --> 00:12:49.799 A couple of places in Hebrews, 00:12:50.179 --> 00:12:52.960 He's referred to as the author of salvation. 00:12:52.960 --> 00:13:00.460 And I want to submit to you that authorship is the best way to think about God 00:13:00.460 --> 00:13:03.400 and His relationship to our world. 00:13:03.399 --> 00:13:08.759 But it's only a metaphor. 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:12.579 It's not that God doesn't write stories quite as we do, 00:13:13.299 --> 00:13:16.939 but it's that we only approximate His authorship. 00:13:17.079 --> 00:13:21.139 See, we cannot create stories where creatures truly come to life. 00:13:21.139 --> 00:13:24.539 Most fiction authors, though, I believe, 00:13:24.539 --> 00:13:27.699 will tell you that in their experience of writing novels, 00:13:28.059 --> 00:13:30.679 their characters do take on a life of their own, 00:13:31.439 --> 00:13:35.679 where they surprise them and create changes in the plot. 00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:40.699 But what we see in the world here is that God can create characters 00:13:40.699 --> 00:13:44.659 who not only can love Him and partner with Him, 00:13:45.279 --> 00:13:47.500 but who can also speak back to Him, 00:13:47.799 --> 00:13:49.659 who can rebel against Him, 00:13:49.939 --> 00:13:52.559 who can militate against His purposes for them. 00:13:54.019 --> 00:13:58.959 This is the mystery of the world that God authors in the Logos. 00:13:58.960 --> 00:14:05.620 There's considerable freedom in this script, 00:14:05.980 --> 00:14:10.040 and yet it is still enveloped in His sovereign authorial control. 00:14:10.900 --> 00:14:14.139 And there are witnesses, the text tells us, 00:14:14.759 --> 00:14:15.920 verses 6 to 8, 00:14:16.280 --> 00:14:19.180 like John the Baptist, represented in John the Baptist, 00:14:19.300 --> 00:14:23.740 that call us to recognize God's authorship over us, 00:14:23.820 --> 00:14:24.460 to repent. 00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:26.780 But here's the reality. 00:14:26.779 --> 00:14:30.839 If we fail to heed those witnesses gladly, 00:14:31.459 --> 00:14:34.679 to see that we are characters in the divine drama, 00:14:34.980 --> 00:14:38.000 eventually we will realize that we are nothing but 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:42.360 tragicomic props in the drama. 00:14:45.039 --> 00:14:49.819 So again, this is the unavoidable fact that this starts off with, 00:14:49.839 --> 00:14:55.659 that we are in a universe that is a drama with an author 00:14:55.659 --> 00:14:59.240 to be created is to live under authority, authorship. 00:14:59.620 --> 00:15:02.120 And we have no choice but to acknowledge this. 00:15:02.939 --> 00:15:04.100 It's unavoidable. 00:15:05.879 --> 00:15:07.839 But it's not only unavoidable, 00:15:08.079 --> 00:15:10.879 it is actually the best news that you could ever hear. 00:15:12.279 --> 00:15:12.759 Why? 00:15:12.939 --> 00:15:14.339 Because this author, 00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:18.500 God, has written Himself into the drama. 00:15:18.719 --> 00:15:21.459 This is the second main thing I want you to see here. 00:15:21.460 --> 00:15:24.920 The Word has become flesh and dwelt among us. 00:15:25.139 --> 00:15:29.440 This means that God's sovereign authorship over our lives 00:15:29.440 --> 00:15:32.080 is not only something we must receive, 00:15:32.160 --> 00:15:35.960 but that we can receive and announce with joy. 00:15:37.000 --> 00:15:39.820 See, the whole world was not only written as a script 00:15:39.820 --> 00:15:42.940 with God authoring it from the outside, 00:15:42.940 --> 00:15:45.380 but instead, in verse 9, 00:15:45.460 --> 00:15:47.880 we are told that from the beginning, 00:15:48.400 --> 00:15:49.520 the true light, 00:15:50.320 --> 00:15:52.080 which gives light to everyone, 00:15:52.700 --> 00:15:54.860 was coming into the world. 00:15:55.780 --> 00:15:56.500 Verse 14, 00:15:57.280 --> 00:16:00.660 the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. 00:16:02.100 --> 00:16:05.520 What this is telling us is that God's authorial intention, 00:16:05.680 --> 00:16:07.940 the purpose of this all, 00:16:09.020 --> 00:16:11.720 was always to write Himself into the story. 00:16:11.720 --> 00:16:17.200 And this is the most profound dogma of the incarnation, 00:16:17.420 --> 00:16:18.980 that is the most profound drama 00:16:18.980 --> 00:16:20.920 that lies at the heart of reality. 00:16:21.259 --> 00:16:24.100 The teaching that God, the Son, the Word, 00:16:24.259 --> 00:16:27.440 took on flesh and dwelt among us, 00:16:27.480 --> 00:16:31.040 that He intended from all time 00:16:31.040 --> 00:16:33.840 to participate in the drama of the world. 00:16:33.960 --> 00:16:36.680 He didn't author characters that He hated 00:16:36.679 --> 00:16:41.439 or a world that He was neutral towards, 00:16:41.799 --> 00:16:44.179 but characters that He loved. 00:16:45.120 --> 00:16:47.659 A world that He wanted to be part of. 00:16:47.739 --> 00:16:48.879 And so from the beginning, 00:16:49.239 --> 00:16:53.779 His purpose was to step in to live among us. 00:16:54.599 --> 00:16:57.839 What's even more astounding about this drama 00:16:57.840 --> 00:17:01.960 is the way in which God is willing 00:17:01.960 --> 00:17:03.700 to write Himself into this story. 00:17:04.700 --> 00:17:05.920 He thought to Himself, 00:17:06.160 --> 00:17:08.660 even if my characters turn on me, 00:17:09.140 --> 00:17:11.340 I will go and live with them 00:17:11.340 --> 00:17:16.299 and win them back by outloving their hatred. 00:17:16.299 --> 00:17:20.359 I will give them the opportunity to be remade. 00:17:22.200 --> 00:17:24.279 And so verses 10 and 11 read, 00:17:24.700 --> 00:17:25.799 He was in the world, 00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:27.940 and the world was made through Him, 00:17:27.980 --> 00:17:29.740 yet the world did not know Him. 00:17:30.680 --> 00:17:32.079 He came to His own, 00:17:32.180 --> 00:17:35.839 and His own people did not receive Him. 00:17:35.839 --> 00:17:39.819 God the author knew that He was giving 00:17:39.819 --> 00:17:43.879 His human creatures the freedom to reject Him. 00:17:44.319 --> 00:17:47.179 He knew that He was giving them the freedom 00:17:47.179 --> 00:17:50.019 to hurdle themselves into the abyss. 00:17:51.099 --> 00:17:53.539 And so He determined from eternity 00:17:53.539 --> 00:17:56.139 that He would go as infinite light 00:17:56.139 --> 00:17:58.679 into the darkest possible places 00:17:58.679 --> 00:18:00.299 that they could conceive. 00:18:01.240 --> 00:18:02.539 Hell and death. 00:18:03.819 --> 00:18:04.839 And outrun them, 00:18:04.839 --> 00:18:06.299 and outstrip their rebellion, 00:18:06.659 --> 00:18:09.559 and banish the darkness with a light. 00:18:10.959 --> 00:18:12.419 An infinite light. 00:18:14.740 --> 00:18:16.559 And so He allows them, 00:18:16.779 --> 00:18:18.919 as the Gospel of John will reveal to us 00:18:18.919 --> 00:18:20.559 as we know so well, 00:18:20.919 --> 00:18:22.779 to grasp Him and kill Him, 00:18:23.119 --> 00:18:25.299 putting Him to death as their substitute. 00:18:25.539 --> 00:18:29.159 He goes all the way in to their sin. 00:18:29.740 --> 00:18:30.819 And their death. 00:18:30.819 --> 00:18:33.159 And by traversing a path 00:18:33.160 --> 00:18:36.080 into the depths of our story of death, 00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:38.880 He opens a path up to us 00:18:38.880 --> 00:18:41.740 to come into His light and life, 00:18:41.880 --> 00:18:45.080 to join Him in this victorious, 00:18:45.900 --> 00:18:47.120 heroic story. 00:18:47.300 --> 00:18:48.700 So we read in verse 12 00:18:48.700 --> 00:18:52.080 that even though His own rejected Him, 00:18:52.700 --> 00:18:54.240 there is another possibility. 00:18:54.240 --> 00:19:03.380 He gave the right to become children of God. 00:19:03.900 --> 00:19:05.099 Children of God. 00:19:06.599 --> 00:19:09.420 When we hear this news, 00:19:09.559 --> 00:19:10.359 this story, 00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:12.019 this drama told in this way, 00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:13.799 we can't help but wonder, 00:19:13.799 --> 00:19:17.460 why is it that everyone does not embrace 00:19:17.460 --> 00:19:18.899 this hero 00:19:18.899 --> 00:19:20.779 who would love us so much 00:19:20.779 --> 00:19:22.419 to write himself into the story 00:19:22.419 --> 00:19:24.019 and to outstrip the worst 00:19:24.019 --> 00:19:25.339 that we could possibly do? 00:19:26.419 --> 00:19:28.180 Why is it that there are some 00:19:28.180 --> 00:19:32.519 who continue to insist on being anti-heroes? 00:19:32.519 --> 00:19:35.299 Why doesn't everyone believe 00:19:35.299 --> 00:19:37.039 and become a child of God? 00:19:40.660 --> 00:19:42.119 I mean, there's a number of answers 00:19:42.119 --> 00:19:43.779 that might be true of people 00:19:43.779 --> 00:19:44.700 that don't believe. 00:19:45.180 --> 00:19:46.440 People in this room, perhaps. 00:19:46.559 --> 00:19:48.160 People we know, certainly. 00:19:48.879 --> 00:19:50.160 Maybe they think this is just 00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:51.339 too good to be true. 00:19:52.099 --> 00:19:54.119 And that the world is ultimately meaningless 00:19:54.119 --> 00:19:56.359 other than the meaning they give to it. 00:19:57.059 --> 00:19:59.339 Or maybe they think there's an author 00:19:59.339 --> 00:20:02.839 who has just consigned them to misery. 00:20:03.599 --> 00:20:05.319 Or maybe they believe in an author 00:20:05.319 --> 00:20:06.480 that has created the story 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:08.039 but hasn't actually stepped into it 00:20:08.039 --> 00:20:08.599 on their behalf 00:20:08.599 --> 00:20:10.759 and has just left them to fend for themselves. 00:20:12.519 --> 00:20:13.599 Maybe they're afraid 00:20:13.599 --> 00:20:15.659 that coming under this authorship 00:20:15.659 --> 00:20:17.220 will mean not freedom, 00:20:17.579 --> 00:20:18.599 but bondage. 00:20:21.000 --> 00:20:22.679 Maybe we will encounter 00:20:22.679 --> 00:20:25.339 all of these inexplicable rejections. 00:20:26.399 --> 00:20:27.439 Maybe. Maybe. 00:20:29.339 --> 00:20:31.199 But God's authorship doesn't preclude 00:20:31.199 --> 00:20:33.419 tragic elements. 00:20:35.399 --> 00:20:36.720 But what I know to be true 00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:39.119 is that there are a great number of people 00:20:39.119 --> 00:20:40.319 all around us 00:20:40.319 --> 00:20:43.519 that have not actually even heard the story. 00:20:44.659 --> 00:20:47.220 Sure, they know things about Christianity. 00:20:47.779 --> 00:20:51.319 They have ideas and preconceptions about Jesus. 00:20:51.539 --> 00:20:53.480 But they have not heard the drama 00:20:53.480 --> 00:20:56.240 told in this way 00:20:56.240 --> 00:20:58.299 as a word becoming flesh 00:20:58.299 --> 00:20:59.599 and dwelling among us 00:20:59.599 --> 00:21:01.620 and outstripping our rebellion 00:21:01.620 --> 00:21:03.279 and offering us life 00:21:03.279 --> 00:21:04.759 and light and love. 00:21:06.740 --> 00:21:09.279 And so before we consider 00:21:09.279 --> 00:21:11.420 all the reasons people might reject, 00:21:12.480 --> 00:21:15.539 we must be and speak words 00:21:15.539 --> 00:21:17.019 about this word. 00:21:17.120 --> 00:21:18.839 We must be little lights 00:21:18.839 --> 00:21:21.539 reflecting the light. 00:21:21.539 --> 00:21:23.000 We must, 00:21:23.859 --> 00:21:25.740 as those who have the word living in us, 00:21:26.079 --> 00:21:27.920 make that word flesh 00:21:27.920 --> 00:21:30.960 in our daily lives, 00:21:31.059 --> 00:21:31.759 in our community. 00:21:33.639 --> 00:21:36.079 Our author has written himself 00:21:36.079 --> 00:21:37.019 into the script. 00:21:38.460 --> 00:21:39.920 The word beyond all words 00:21:39.920 --> 00:21:40.960 has been made flesh 00:21:40.960 --> 00:21:42.000 and dwelt among us. 00:21:42.399 --> 00:21:44.899 He has come into the drama 00:21:44.899 --> 00:21:45.680 as the hero. 00:21:46.319 --> 00:21:47.399 This is not just something 00:21:47.399 --> 00:21:48.539 we have to accept. 00:21:48.619 --> 00:21:49.980 We do because it's unavoidable. 00:21:49.980 --> 00:21:53.400 But it's actually the best thing 00:21:53.400 --> 00:21:55.099 that we could ever hear. 00:21:56.440 --> 00:21:58.299 And it's something we can receive 00:21:58.299 --> 00:21:59.599 and announce with joy. 00:22:02.380 --> 00:22:04.039 And here's what it does. 00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:06.519 Here's what it does 00:22:06.519 --> 00:22:07.700 and what it changes for us. 00:22:07.759 --> 00:22:09.539 The author's participation 00:22:09.539 --> 00:22:10.599 in creaturely life, 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:12.740 it opens new possibilities 00:22:12.740 --> 00:22:15.120 for the drama of our lives. 00:22:16.759 --> 00:22:18.500 The dogma that the word 00:22:18.500 --> 00:22:19.680 has become the flesh 00:22:19.680 --> 00:22:21.480 means that your mundane, 00:22:21.799 --> 00:22:23.319 flesh and blood existence 00:22:23.319 --> 00:22:24.960 can have a share 00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:26.799 in divine drama. 00:22:27.619 --> 00:22:29.240 If you look at the second half 00:22:29.240 --> 00:22:30.259 of verse 14, 00:22:31.220 --> 00:22:33.380 you see the fact that the word 00:22:33.380 --> 00:22:34.460 has become flesh 00:22:34.460 --> 00:22:36.099 means that we see his glory. 00:22:36.839 --> 00:22:38.880 We can know it and believe it. 00:22:39.259 --> 00:22:40.880 But the text doesn't stop here. 00:22:41.000 --> 00:22:42.339 It goes on 00:22:42.339 --> 00:22:44.000 after the parentheses 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:45.579 in verse 15 00:22:45.579 --> 00:22:47.259 to tell us that we not only 00:22:47.259 --> 00:22:48.279 see and recognize, 00:22:48.399 --> 00:22:49.259 but that we're enabled 00:22:49.259 --> 00:22:50.639 to participate 00:22:50.639 --> 00:22:53.779 in the being of Christ 00:22:53.779 --> 00:22:54.799 and the authorship 00:22:54.799 --> 00:22:58.019 that he is engaged in 00:22:58.019 --> 00:22:58.639 in our world. 00:22:58.720 --> 00:22:59.720 The authorship of 00:22:59.720 --> 00:23:01.720 redeeming creation. 00:23:03.039 --> 00:23:04.619 Verse 16 says that 00:23:04.619 --> 00:23:07.359 from the overflowing abundance 00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:09.220 or fullness 00:23:09.220 --> 00:23:11.059 of Jesus Christ, 00:23:11.159 --> 00:23:12.039 the word become flesh, 00:23:12.039 --> 00:23:14.759 we receive grace 00:23:14.759 --> 00:23:16.159 in place of grace 00:23:16.159 --> 00:23:18.139 or grace upon grace 00:23:18.139 --> 00:23:20.299 as the ESV translates it. 00:23:21.259 --> 00:23:22.039 What is grace 00:23:22.740 --> 00:23:23.799 in place of grace? 00:23:23.980 --> 00:23:25.559 What is the grace 00:23:25.559 --> 00:23:26.500 that is superseded 00:23:26.500 --> 00:23:27.519 and what is the grace 00:23:27.519 --> 00:23:29.579 that takes its place? 00:23:30.559 --> 00:23:31.619 Look at verse 17. 00:23:31.720 --> 00:23:32.680 The first grace 00:23:32.680 --> 00:23:33.940 is the law 00:23:33.940 --> 00:23:34.899 that was given 00:23:34.899 --> 00:23:35.639 through Moses. 00:23:36.379 --> 00:23:37.279 The law, 00:23:37.839 --> 00:23:39.079 the Old Testament witness 00:23:39.079 --> 00:23:40.659 represented by John the Baptist, 00:23:40.660 --> 00:23:43.960 the law is grace. 00:23:44.519 --> 00:23:46.100 It's a revelation of God. 00:23:46.400 --> 00:23:46.660 However, 00:23:46.740 --> 00:23:48.259 the law was always 00:23:48.259 --> 00:23:50.220 primarily something 00:23:50.220 --> 00:23:52.040 directed to creatures. 00:23:52.759 --> 00:23:53.700 It was a communication 00:23:53.700 --> 00:23:54.460 of grace 00:23:54.460 --> 00:23:55.779 directed to them 00:23:55.779 --> 00:23:56.540 from without. 00:23:57.100 --> 00:23:58.779 Written on stone tablets 00:23:58.779 --> 00:24:02.240 in the Ten Commandments. 00:24:03.279 --> 00:24:04.320 But then we see 00:24:04.320 --> 00:24:05.740 this other grace. 00:24:05.940 --> 00:24:07.600 It's not in discontinuity, 00:24:07.700 --> 00:24:08.580 but it's the perfection 00:24:08.580 --> 00:24:09.120 of grace. 00:24:09.480 --> 00:24:09.900 And that is 00:24:09.900 --> 00:24:11.259 a grace that is so great 00:24:11.259 --> 00:24:12.140 that it can even be called 00:24:12.140 --> 00:24:13.880 grace and truth. 00:24:15.019 --> 00:24:16.259 The culmination of grace. 00:24:16.640 --> 00:24:17.960 And this is what comes 00:24:17.960 --> 00:24:19.000 to us in Jesus Christ. 00:24:19.080 --> 00:24:19.960 Not just a grace 00:24:19.960 --> 00:24:20.940 directed to us 00:24:20.940 --> 00:24:21.580 from God, 00:24:21.700 --> 00:24:23.120 but the grace of God 00:24:23.120 --> 00:24:24.380 Himself coming to dwell 00:24:24.380 --> 00:24:25.900 in and with us 00:24:25.900 --> 00:24:26.880 and opening up 00:24:26.880 --> 00:24:28.240 a new way 00:24:28.240 --> 00:24:28.920 of being 00:24:28.920 --> 00:24:29.580 in the world. 00:24:32.280 --> 00:24:33.620 Let me put it this way. 00:24:34.340 --> 00:24:35.320 The communication 00:24:35.320 --> 00:24:37.019 of God's Word 00:24:37.019 --> 00:24:37.380 to us 00:24:37.380 --> 00:24:38.360 in the Incarnation, 00:24:38.359 --> 00:24:39.000 it has become 00:24:39.000 --> 00:24:40.339 so personalized, 00:24:41.059 --> 00:24:42.019 so heightened, 00:24:42.819 --> 00:24:44.019 that it opens up 00:24:44.019 --> 00:24:45.219 radical new ways 00:24:45.219 --> 00:24:46.179 for us to 00:24:46.179 --> 00:24:46.979 enact 00:24:46.979 --> 00:24:48.199 the drama, 00:24:48.319 --> 00:24:49.219 to act as 00:24:49.219 --> 00:24:50.759 meaningful participants 00:24:50.759 --> 00:24:51.859 in the drama, 00:24:52.039 --> 00:24:53.459 both towards God 00:24:53.459 --> 00:24:54.839 and towards others. 00:24:55.719 --> 00:24:56.599 In Jesus, 00:24:56.759 --> 00:24:57.419 the Word of God 00:24:57.419 --> 00:24:58.159 has been spoken 00:24:58.159 --> 00:25:00.139 so close to home 00:25:00.139 --> 00:25:01.339 that we can be 00:25:01.339 --> 00:25:01.939 saturated 00:25:01.939 --> 00:25:03.099 and filled 00:25:03.099 --> 00:25:03.639 by the very 00:25:03.639 --> 00:25:05.059 breath of God 00:25:05.059 --> 00:25:06.139 in which that Word 00:25:06.140 --> 00:25:06.680 is spoken. 00:25:09.600 --> 00:25:10.460 We can be 00:25:10.460 --> 00:25:11.360 filled 00:25:11.360 --> 00:25:12.640 by His breath. 00:25:13.220 --> 00:25:14.560 That might sound weird, 00:25:14.720 --> 00:25:16.780 but it's a weird thing 00:25:16.780 --> 00:25:17.880 that happens in the Gospel 00:25:17.880 --> 00:25:18.920 of John 00:25:18.920 --> 00:25:19.820 in chapter 20 00:25:19.820 --> 00:25:21.320 after Jesus 00:25:21.320 --> 00:25:22.380 has completed 00:25:22.380 --> 00:25:22.900 His work 00:25:22.900 --> 00:25:24.120 and risen from the dead. 00:25:25.280 --> 00:25:26.740 He comes to His disciples 00:25:26.740 --> 00:25:27.680 and He appears to them 00:25:27.680 --> 00:25:28.259 and He shows them 00:25:28.259 --> 00:25:28.860 the nail marks 00:25:28.860 --> 00:25:29.420 in His hands 00:25:29.420 --> 00:25:29.920 and the wound 00:25:29.920 --> 00:25:30.580 in His side. 00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:32.220 And then He does 00:25:32.220 --> 00:25:33.840 this bizarre thing 00:25:33.839 --> 00:25:35.699 where He goes up to them 00:25:35.699 --> 00:25:39.500 and He breathes on them 00:25:39.500 --> 00:25:41.079 and He says, 00:25:41.220 --> 00:25:42.919 receive the Holy Spirit. 00:25:45.119 --> 00:25:46.199 And they probably said, 00:25:46.299 --> 00:25:47.480 don't breathe on me. 00:25:49.659 --> 00:25:50.459 No, He says, 00:25:50.579 --> 00:25:51.699 be filled with the Spirit. 00:25:51.799 --> 00:25:52.459 Be made new. 00:25:52.919 --> 00:25:54.119 Receive my life 00:25:54.119 --> 00:25:54.879 and my light 00:25:54.879 --> 00:25:55.459 and my glory. 00:25:55.579 --> 00:25:57.059 Let it overflow to you 00:25:57.059 --> 00:25:58.279 and let it overflow 00:25:58.279 --> 00:25:59.199 from you 00:25:59.199 --> 00:26:01.379 so they can experience it 00:26:01.379 --> 00:26:02.199 not only in their lives, 00:26:02.200 --> 00:26:03.660 but they can extend it 00:26:03.660 --> 00:26:04.380 to other people. 00:26:04.519 --> 00:26:05.160 And so Jesus 00:26:05.160 --> 00:26:06.920 not only breathes on them 00:26:06.920 --> 00:26:07.860 but in breathing on them 00:26:07.860 --> 00:26:08.200 He says, 00:26:08.580 --> 00:26:09.759 as the Father has sent Me 00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:11.259 so I have sent you. 00:26:13.000 --> 00:26:14.039 He gives them, 00:26:14.120 --> 00:26:15.299 He gives you 00:26:15.299 --> 00:26:18.120 the power to extend 00:26:18.120 --> 00:26:18.960 His forgiveness 00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:20.620 to other people. 00:26:22.220 --> 00:26:23.480 It's amazing stuff. 00:26:23.480 --> 00:26:25.940 By drawing near the Word 00:26:25.940 --> 00:26:28.660 and being filled with His breath 00:26:28.660 --> 00:26:30.100 which is another word 00:26:30.100 --> 00:26:30.880 for Spirit. 00:26:30.880 --> 00:26:32.160 Numa, 00:26:32.840 --> 00:26:34.200 Ruach in the Old Testament. 00:26:34.620 --> 00:26:35.220 You are freed 00:26:35.220 --> 00:26:36.840 not just to be bit actors 00:26:36.840 --> 00:26:37.540 in the drama 00:26:37.540 --> 00:26:39.240 or tragicomic props 00:26:39.240 --> 00:26:40.620 but to be participants 00:26:40.620 --> 00:26:41.380 in the work 00:26:41.380 --> 00:26:42.400 that He's authoring. 00:26:44.320 --> 00:26:45.000 And I know 00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:46.580 how this might sound, 00:26:46.660 --> 00:26:48.380 this is all so grandiose, 00:26:48.940 --> 00:26:49.920 so elevated. 00:26:50.040 --> 00:26:50.940 What does it have to do 00:26:50.940 --> 00:26:52.720 with my mundane life? 00:26:53.180 --> 00:26:54.520 As a housewife 00:26:54.520 --> 00:26:55.800 or a bureaucrat 00:26:55.800 --> 00:26:57.080 or a non-profit employee 00:26:57.080 --> 00:26:57.780 or an economist 00:26:57.780 --> 00:26:58.680 or a barista 00:26:58.680 --> 00:26:59.620 or a graphic designer, 00:26:59.619 --> 00:27:01.000 it has everything 00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:01.819 to do with it. 00:27:03.099 --> 00:27:03.819 In fact, 00:27:03.859 --> 00:27:05.019 it can revolutionize 00:27:05.019 --> 00:27:06.179 the way you think 00:27:06.179 --> 00:27:07.500 of your daily life. 00:27:08.839 --> 00:27:09.099 I mean, 00:27:09.159 --> 00:27:09.919 think about this. 00:27:10.679 --> 00:27:11.139 Jesus, 00:27:12.500 --> 00:27:13.879 even Jesus Himself, 00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:14.899 He had a really 00:27:14.899 --> 00:27:16.099 ordinary job 00:27:16.099 --> 00:27:17.239 as a carpenter. 00:27:17.899 --> 00:27:19.199 He wasn't rich. 00:27:19.899 --> 00:27:20.679 He had a fairly 00:27:20.679 --> 00:27:21.659 small band 00:27:21.659 --> 00:27:23.419 of very ordinary followers. 00:27:23.420 --> 00:27:25.279 He didn't wield 00:27:25.279 --> 00:27:26.180 earthly power 00:27:26.180 --> 00:27:27.120 or have a bunch 00:27:27.120 --> 00:27:27.600 of money. 00:27:28.720 --> 00:27:29.700 He didn't have tenure 00:27:29.700 --> 00:27:31.200 at an Ivy League university. 00:27:31.620 --> 00:27:32.039 He didn't have 00:27:32.039 --> 00:27:33.140 a public platform 00:27:33.140 --> 00:27:33.779 in the media. 00:27:34.279 --> 00:27:35.440 His life consisted 00:27:35.440 --> 00:27:37.480 really of small things. 00:27:37.620 --> 00:27:38.680 We think they're grand 00:27:38.680 --> 00:27:39.560 because we have them 00:27:39.560 --> 00:27:40.240 written down, 00:27:40.500 --> 00:27:42.539 but they're small things. 00:27:43.880 --> 00:27:44.820 But they were done 00:27:44.820 --> 00:27:45.680 in the power 00:27:45.680 --> 00:27:46.420 of the Spirit 00:27:46.420 --> 00:27:47.259 and for the glory 00:27:47.259 --> 00:27:47.900 of God. 00:27:48.539 --> 00:27:50.019 As He communed 00:27:50.019 --> 00:27:50.720 with the Father, 00:27:50.720 --> 00:27:53.200 He was filled afresh 00:27:53.200 --> 00:27:53.900 with the joy 00:27:53.900 --> 00:27:54.640 and purpose 00:27:54.640 --> 00:27:55.900 and a sense of calling 00:27:55.900 --> 00:27:56.779 even in the midst 00:27:56.779 --> 00:27:57.400 of the mundane. 00:27:58.299 --> 00:27:59.579 The mundane tasks, 00:28:00.079 --> 00:28:00.819 interactions with 00:28:00.819 --> 00:28:02.600 small, insignificant people. 00:28:06.940 --> 00:28:07.860 All of these 00:28:07.860 --> 00:28:08.720 could be transformed 00:28:08.720 --> 00:28:09.960 into expressions 00:28:09.960 --> 00:28:12.120 of the eternal drama 00:28:12.120 --> 00:28:15.059 that God is speaking. 00:28:16.460 --> 00:28:16.980 Now, 00:28:17.120 --> 00:28:18.039 I know you and I 00:28:18.039 --> 00:28:18.960 aren't the Word 00:28:18.960 --> 00:28:20.799 made flesh, 00:28:21.440 --> 00:28:22.640 but what Jesus 00:28:22.640 --> 00:28:23.900 is offering to us 00:28:23.900 --> 00:28:25.019 in the Gospel of John 00:28:25.019 --> 00:28:28.220 is an overflowing grace 00:28:28.220 --> 00:28:29.740 so that we can be 00:28:29.740 --> 00:28:30.740 little words 00:28:30.740 --> 00:28:32.019 in our little spheres. 00:28:33.039 --> 00:28:34.100 This is what it means 00:28:34.100 --> 00:28:35.640 to share in Christ's life. 00:28:35.860 --> 00:28:36.740 It isn't primarily 00:28:36.740 --> 00:28:37.720 about the size 00:28:37.720 --> 00:28:38.380 or quantity 00:28:38.380 --> 00:28:39.400 of what we accomplish. 00:28:40.500 --> 00:28:41.579 It's an invitation 00:28:41.579 --> 00:28:43.240 to a qualitatively 00:28:43.240 --> 00:28:44.740 new experience 00:28:44.740 --> 00:28:46.120 in the midst 00:28:46.120 --> 00:28:46.720 of the mundane, 00:28:46.860 --> 00:28:47.380 to experience 00:28:47.380 --> 00:28:48.020 our work 00:28:48.020 --> 00:28:49.260 and our relationships 00:28:49.260 --> 00:28:50.600 as ways 00:28:50.600 --> 00:28:51.340 to participate 00:28:51.340 --> 00:28:52.240 in His work. 00:28:55.120 --> 00:28:56.080 Maybe this isn't 00:28:56.080 --> 00:28:56.540 true of you. 00:28:56.600 --> 00:28:57.380 Maybe it's just true 00:28:57.380 --> 00:28:57.740 of the people 00:28:57.740 --> 00:28:58.420 that I hang out with 00:28:58.420 --> 00:28:59.500 down on Capitol Hill, 00:28:59.580 --> 00:29:01.380 but we all 00:29:01.380 --> 00:29:02.760 want to be so grand. 00:29:03.940 --> 00:29:04.820 We all think, 00:29:04.940 --> 00:29:05.580 if I can just 00:29:05.580 --> 00:29:06.860 accomplish this 00:29:06.860 --> 00:29:07.680 or get to this point 00:29:07.680 --> 00:29:08.020 in my career, 00:29:08.120 --> 00:29:08.960 achieve these things. 00:29:08.960 --> 00:29:11.720 But what Jesus 00:29:11.720 --> 00:29:12.640 is offering us 00:29:12.640 --> 00:29:15.000 is the opportunity 00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:18.079 to be an expression 00:29:18.079 --> 00:29:19.680 of His Word, 00:29:19.880 --> 00:29:21.279 to have a dramatic existence 00:29:21.279 --> 00:29:22.140 in the mundane, 00:29:23.420 --> 00:29:24.740 to participate 00:29:24.740 --> 00:29:27.259 with joy, 00:29:27.420 --> 00:29:29.160 to be full of life 00:29:29.160 --> 00:29:30.120 and light and love 00:29:30.120 --> 00:29:31.360 no matter where we are 00:29:31.360 --> 00:29:32.940 or what our situation 00:29:32.940 --> 00:29:33.600 in life. 00:29:33.599 --> 00:29:37.240 I encountered 00:29:37.240 --> 00:29:37.859 this morning 00:29:37.859 --> 00:29:38.659 on the way here 00:29:38.659 --> 00:29:40.959 my Uber driver. 00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:43.240 She convicted me 00:29:43.240 --> 00:29:44.539 the way she told me 00:29:44.539 --> 00:29:45.679 about God's goodness 00:29:45.679 --> 00:29:47.399 and the way He had helped her 00:29:47.399 --> 00:29:48.279 when she was homeless 00:29:48.279 --> 00:29:50.279 and the way she just 00:29:50.279 --> 00:29:51.339 wanted to praise Him 00:29:51.339 --> 00:29:51.779 and I thought, 00:29:52.199 --> 00:29:53.859 she's probably fulfilling 00:29:53.859 --> 00:29:54.579 her calling 00:29:54.579 --> 00:29:55.619 in better ways 00:29:55.619 --> 00:29:56.199 than I am 00:29:56.199 --> 00:29:57.039 with more joy 00:29:57.039 --> 00:29:57.980 and more meaning 00:29:57.980 --> 00:29:59.299 in a lot of ways 00:29:59.299 --> 00:30:00.299 than I am right now. 00:30:00.299 --> 00:30:02.500 she's participating 00:30:02.500 --> 00:30:03.819 in the drama of God 00:30:03.819 --> 00:30:08.319 and I'm a pastor. 00:30:10.839 --> 00:30:11.839 It made me think 00:30:11.839 --> 00:30:12.899 I've got to learn 00:30:12.899 --> 00:30:15.119 to be so filled 00:30:15.119 --> 00:30:16.099 with the breath of life 00:30:16.099 --> 00:30:16.700 and the joy 00:30:16.700 --> 00:30:17.419 and life and light 00:30:17.419 --> 00:30:18.879 that in the little things 00:30:18.879 --> 00:30:19.419 I'm doing 00:30:19.419 --> 00:30:23.000 I can experience 00:30:23.000 --> 00:30:23.799 this drama. 00:30:27.159 --> 00:30:28.119 So that's 00:30:28.119 --> 00:30:29.299 our text 00:30:29.299 --> 00:30:29.960 for this morning. 00:30:30.299 --> 00:30:32.359 In just a few hours 00:30:32.359 --> 00:30:34.680 you're going to go out 00:30:34.680 --> 00:30:35.159 and you're going to 00:30:35.159 --> 00:30:36.220 ring in a new year. 00:30:37.220 --> 00:30:38.859 If you're more focused 00:30:38.859 --> 00:30:40.220 and organized than me 00:30:40.220 --> 00:30:41.419 you might be making 00:30:41.419 --> 00:30:42.480 some really serious 00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:43.460 New Year's resolutions 00:30:43.460 --> 00:30:46.039 attempting in some way 00:30:46.039 --> 00:30:48.119 to author your life 00:30:48.119 --> 00:30:48.819 in advance 00:30:48.819 --> 00:30:50.339 and that's great 00:30:50.339 --> 00:30:52.200 in so far as it goes 00:30:52.200 --> 00:30:53.759 but let me encourage you 00:30:53.759 --> 00:30:55.980 first to seed 00:30:55.980 --> 00:30:57.220 the authorship 00:30:57.220 --> 00:30:58.200 of your life 00:30:58.200 --> 00:30:59.319 of your story 00:30:59.319 --> 00:31:01.240 to Jesus Christ 00:31:01.240 --> 00:31:02.240 in the attentiveness 00:31:02.240 --> 00:31:04.200 of listening to Him 00:31:04.200 --> 00:31:05.480 and responding to Him 00:31:05.480 --> 00:31:06.919 draw near 00:31:06.919 --> 00:31:07.879 and let Him 00:31:07.879 --> 00:31:09.599 fill you with His Spirit 00:31:09.599 --> 00:31:11.559 and direct you. 00:31:11.700 --> 00:31:12.039 He is 00:31:12.039 --> 00:31:13.259 He is already 00:31:13.259 --> 00:31:13.379 resolved 00:31:13.379 --> 00:31:16.039 as your author 00:31:16.039 --> 00:31:17.339 to work in you 00:31:17.339 --> 00:31:18.019 and through you 00:31:18.019 --> 00:31:19.659 in unique ways. 00:31:20.240 --> 00:31:21.200 They're probably 00:31:21.200 --> 00:31:22.259 different than what 00:31:22.259 --> 00:31:23.579 you might author 00:31:23.579 --> 00:31:24.759 but they're 00:31:24.759 --> 00:31:25.619 far 00:31:25.619 --> 00:31:26.759 far better. 00:31:26.759 --> 00:31:28.480 in the name 00:31:28.480 --> 00:31:29.019 of the Father 00:31:29.019 --> 00:31:30.039 and of the Son 00:31:30.039 --> 00:31:30.879 and of the Spirit. 00:31:31.599 --> 00:31:31.980 Amen. 00:31:32.180 --> 00:31:33.140 Let's stand together 00:31:33.140 --> 00:31:34.779 and let's make a confession 00:31:34.779 --> 00:31:36.819 of this divine drama 00:31:36.819 --> 00:31:38.339 in the words 00:31:38.339 --> 00:31:39.400 of the Nicene Creed. 00:31:41.319 --> 00:31:42.279 Church of God, 00:31:42.359 --> 00:31:43.500 what is it that we believe? 00:31:44.059 --> 00:31:45.879 We believe in one God, 00:31:46.279 --> 00:31:46.819 the Father, 00:31:47.019 --> 00:31:47.640 the Almighty, 00:31:48.200 --> 00:31:49.140 Maker of heaven 00:31:49.140 --> 00:31:49.720 and earth, 00:31:50.140 --> 00:31:51.000 all that is 00:31:51.000 --> 00:31:52.180 seen and unseen, 00:31:52.180 --> 00:31:53.840 and in one Lord, 00:31:54.019 --> 00:31:54.840 Jesus Christ, 00:31:55.240 --> 00:31:56.660 the only Son of God, 00:31:57.160 --> 00:31:58.340 eternally begotten 00:31:58.340 --> 00:31:58.940 of the Father, 00:31:59.460 --> 00:32:00.519 God from God, 00:32:00.980 --> 00:32:01.940 light from light, 00:32:02.440 --> 00:32:03.000 true God 00:32:03.000 --> 00:32:04.000 from true God, 00:32:04.480 --> 00:32:05.740 begotten not made, 00:32:06.100 --> 00:32:06.960 of one being 00:32:06.960 --> 00:32:07.700 with the Father. 00:32:08.320 --> 00:32:08.900 Through Him 00:32:08.900 --> 00:32:10.180 all things were made. 00:32:10.620 --> 00:32:11.180 For us 00:32:11.180 --> 00:32:12.400 and for our salvation 00:32:12.400 --> 00:32:13.720 He came down 00:32:13.720 --> 00:32:14.320 from heaven. 00:32:14.980 --> 00:32:15.700 By the power 00:32:15.700 --> 00:32:16.700 of the Holy Spirit 00:32:16.700 --> 00:32:18.320 He became incarnate 00:32:18.320 --> 00:32:19.480 from the Virgin Mary 00:32:19.480 --> 00:32:21.039 and was made man. 00:32:21.039 --> 00:32:22.440 For our sake 00:32:22.440 --> 00:32:23.379 He was crucified 00:32:23.379 --> 00:32:24.799 under Pontius Pilate. 00:32:25.240 --> 00:32:26.259 He suffered death 00:32:26.259 --> 00:32:27.000 and was buried. 00:32:27.599 --> 00:32:28.500 On the third day 00:32:28.500 --> 00:32:29.559 He rose again 00:32:29.559 --> 00:32:30.200 in accordance 00:32:30.200 --> 00:32:31.119 with the Scriptures. 00:32:31.779 --> 00:32:33.159 He ascended into heaven 00:32:33.159 --> 00:32:34.240 and is seated 00:32:34.240 --> 00:32:35.200 at the right hand 00:32:35.200 --> 00:32:35.819 of the Father. 00:32:36.379 --> 00:32:37.539 He will come again 00:32:37.539 --> 00:32:37.879 in glory. 00:32:51.039 --> 00:33:07.059 For our sake of God, 00:33:07.139 --> 00:33:08.039 the Holy Spirit 00:33:08.039 --> 00:33:09.000 and approved of the Holy Spirit 00:33:09.000 --> 00:33:13.279 in prayer 00:33:13.279 --> 00:33:14.500 and both of his 00:33:14.500 --> 00:33:15.659 and of His 00:33:15.659 --> 00:33:16.639 and Oế Boston 00:33:16.639 --> 00:33:17.759 on all things normal. 00:33:17.759 --> 00:33:47.740 Thank you.