~ LISTENING CENTER ~

Date: March 7, 2021 Title: An Introduction to the Gospel of John Speaker: Chuck Sabo Sermon Note Sheet (PDF) Download Audio Watch it on

* This week's message launches a study on The Gospel According to John considering the fit, form and function of John's gospel. Its fit within the Bible, its form in terms of some of its unique structure, especially in comparison to the other gospel accounts, and then finally its function or purpose. * As part of this, we'll consider a two-fold purpose that the Apostle John seems to have been given by the Holy Spirit. A two-fold purpose that was closely related to one of the major challenges faced by the early church in the late first century when John penned this book, namely the challenge of Gnosticism, a false religion that sought to undermine the identity and work of Jesus Christ. * So, first and foremost, it was John's intent to make the deity of Jesus Christ crystal clear to us. To make it absolutely clear that Jesus is God ... the Son of God who became The Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world. * But then it seems that John’s secondary purpose was for the knowledge of the deity of Christ to fuel the unity of the church, so that the church could more effectively fulfill its mission in a climate where false teaching was on the increase. * The deity of Jesus undergirds the unity of the church ... that we may be one, so that the world may know! This is the heart of John's gospel and timeless truth that we need to hear, understand and apply today.