Children’s Sermon

John 1:10-18

What John Said

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John 1:10-18
What John Said

By Dr. Carol J Miller

NOTE TO THE TEACHER: This piece of Scripture is one of the most important texts in the whole New Testament. John used easy words when he wrote it; words like In, Word, God, light. They are not hard words to say or read or spell. But when John uses them, they tell us wonderful things about God and why God sent Jesus. Children can read these words, but even grown-ups feel that they are being taken by these little words into deep, deep idea that need a lot of thinking about!

John is telling us why God sent Jesus. Let’s see if we can think a little about this. John started by telling us that Jesus Christ is God’s Word.

Now think about this question: How do you know what a person is like; maybe a new kid at school? [Accept all answers]. What if he doesn’t talk? Can you get to know him if he doesn’t say anything? [Accept all answers]. If the new kid won’t talk, you can’t really know him. He needs to express himself. He needs to give us some true words; not lying or bragging, but true words. Then we can get to know him.

Well, John says that Christ is God’s Word––giving us Jesus to talk with us, and live with us is the way God expressed himself. Now hang on hear and pay good attention: When we see and read about Jesus we are finding out things about God because––Jesus is God speaking to us, letting us know what God is like. Does everyone get that? [Allow children to ask questions].

John says this in a wonderful way. Listen again: “And the Word” [Whose word? God’s Word] “became flesh.” That happened when Jesus was born. Jesus was God’s word living in the world––so that we could come to understand God better.

John says that Christ was full of “truth” about who God is and how much God loves us. John says Christ was full of “grace”. Grace means the love God has for you even though you did not earn that love. God loves you just because you belong to God.

John closes this section with these wonderful words. “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who…has made [God] known. If you want to know what God is like; how God wants us to act, how much God loves us; if you want to know what God is like, John says just look at Jesus and do as Jesus does.

Scripture quotations from the World English Bible

Copyright 2013, Richard Niell Donovan