This year for our Advent Bible study we will be looking at the Gospel of John. For the last 3 years we have studied the synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke during Advent. So this year we turn to the unique story that the Gospel of John places before us. John is different. John is full of symbolism and what the author calls signs of Jesus.
We notice from the very outset that this story will be unlike the others because there is no birth narrative. We hear that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. There are no angels, no shepherds, no Magi, no little town of Bethlehem. Jesus simply was.
In John, we discover many stories not found in the other Gospel accounts. Jesus turns water into wine. He talks with a Samaritan woman at a well. He raises Lazarus from the dead. We are introduced to “Doubting Thomas”. We also discover that there are many things left out in this account that we have come to expect in stories about Jesus. In John, there are no parables, no exorcisms, and no references to repentance.
We will spend 3 evenings discussing this unique Gospel. We’ll meet on December 3rd, 10th, and 17th at 7 pm. We will begin with dessert and end around 8 pm each night. I invite you to come and immerse yourself into this beautiful version of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. I invite you to come during this season of waiting and watching to hear about the one who always was and who always will be, to hear about the one who was seemingly in total control during the crucifixion, and to hear how eternity begins now in a life with Christ.
In God’s Peace,
Pastor Derek
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