The Life was made Manifest

If you’ve ever taken your children or grandchildren to a petting zoo, then you probably have a memory of a special time. Oftentimes, what kids experience about animals in their upbringing is limited to something they read about in picture books or see in some form of video. But when they go to a petting zoo, it’s a full sensory experience. They hear the sounds firsthand and they know the feel and smell of the animals firsthand. And if you regularly go to a zoo that allows such contact with the animals, you even come to know certain things about particular animals beyond “just the facts.” John takes a similar approach to the topic of Jesus in this Sunday’s passage and he begins with the testimony that “the life was made manifest” (verse 2) to John and others whom God gave the authority to proclaim this testimony: people who saw Jesus, touched Jesus, heard Jesus, and came to deeply know Jesus as the Son of God and a son of man. As John opens his letter, he is doubly emphatic in affirming Jesus’ humanity in this way, but why is Jesus’ humanity so significant in the life of a believer? Much hangs in the balance over whether or not you believe in the humanity of Jesus Christ. How much? Maybe even the gospel itself!

We invite you to come join us this Sunday morning for our in-person worship service at Leptondale Bible Church in Newburgh, starting at 10:55 AM. For those unable to attend, our service can be viewed live on the church’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/leptondalebiblechurch. This Sunday, we’ll conclude our Christmas sermon series titled “The Word became flesh” with a message from 1st John 1:1-10 titled “The Life was made Manifest.”

God bless!                          
Pastor Mike