The Gift

Before there was a cradle, there was Christ. This message from John 1 lifts our eyes beyond the manger to the eternal Word who was with God and was God. Jesus did not begin in Bethlehem. He stepped into it. The Creator of all things entered His creation so He could redeem it.

John presents Jesus as the Son of God, the true Light who shines into real darkness. This sermon traces that light from eternity, to incarnation, to the cross, showing why Christmas is not sentimental nostalgia but divine intervention. The Light does not negotiate with darkness. He conquers it. Rejected by His own, Jesus willingly submitted to the Father’s will and bore our sins so we could become children of God.

Christmas, then, is not only about a birth in Bethlehem but about a new birth by faith. The Word became flesh so God could be with us, walk with us, and save us. This message calls us to move past the manger, follow the star to the cross, receive Christ personally, and carry His light into a dark world through lives that reflect Him.