The gospel of John tells us in the beginning of his text, that Jesus came into the world, and to His own people, but the world and His own people knew Him not.

 

Some called Him Elijah or John the Baptist, others called Him a prophet of old that has returned. Other than Peter, even His disciples were not sure of who exactly they left everything to follow.

 

Fortunately for us, we have the Gospels in the New Testament to show us exactly who He is. The Gospel of John records seven specific signs Jesus performed to demonstrate to the world the weight of exactly who He is–The Son of God…The Christ.

 

Journey with us this Lenten season as we discover each of these signs and how they point to the glory and knowledge of Jesus the Christ, so that we may have full eternal life in His name.

 

 

The season of Advent, leading up to Christmas morning, can be one of the busiest and spiritless times of our lives.

 

The end of the year is drawing near, school projects are due before Christmas break, cookies need to be made, presents need to be bought, and deciding how the family is going to split their time up visiting everyone can become a huge joy kill during a time when we are supposed to be experiencing the true joy of the Savior.

Is that God what desires for us? Or does He have something better in mind as prepare for the birth of His Son, Jesus?

 

Jesus is the embodiment of the Sabbath Rest God gave to creation in the beginning. God set apart the seventh day to rest from His work, so that the fruit of His work would experience who He truly is as He dwelled with them.

 

As we set apart this time of the year called Advent, let us find the moments to experience rest from the busyness of this season, and experience who Jesus truly is–God with Us, Emmanuel.

 

Sometimes we try to complicate church too much. We try to turn it into an attraction—a commodity that is crafted towards desires and preferences of the current age.

 

Let’s not do that anymore. What if we went back to the beginning and our foundation?

The Book of Acts gives us a clear road map of the expectations and mission for the Church. It contains the passion and zeal of the 12 Apostles, the excitement of crowds of people professing a faith in Christ, and instructions and best practices to maneuver the waves of persecution. We are excited to embark on this journey of discovery and renewal in our new sermon series, “The Book of Acts”, where we will stand on the firm foundation of the early church in rediscovering God’s call for Bethel Presbyterian Church.