04/19/2026
Short Sermon Lessons From The First Chapter Of The Book of St. John.
St. John 1:1-18 is called the Prologue. It’s the gospel in seed form. Here’s how you can teach or preach it in 6 natural sections, with a sermon illustration for each one.
Sunday October
1. The Eternal Word: Jesus Before Time | John 1:1-2
Text: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God."
Preaching Point: Jesus didn’t start in Bethlehem. He was already there at Genesis 1:1. He is uncreated, eternal, and fully God. You can’t understand the manger unless you start with eternity.
Illustration:
Think of an author writing a novel. The author exists before chapter one and isn’t bound by the pages. He can step into his own story whenever he wants. Jesus is the Author who stepped into His creation at Christmas. When you see the baby in the manger, you’re seeing the One who made the wood the manger was carved from.

Sunday December 2025
2. The Creator Word: Everything Through Him | John 1:3
Text: "All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made."
Preaching Point: Nothing exists apart from Jesus. Your breath, the stars, DNA, laughter — all of it came through Him. That means your life has a Designer, not an accident report.
Illustration:
A violinist was once asked why Stradivarius violins sound so different. He held one up and said, “Because of the maker’s touch. Antonio didn’t just assemble wood — he breathed his intent into every curve.” Look at your hands. Your fingerprints, your tears, your ability to love — all bear the Maker’s touch. You’re not mass-produced. You’re a Stradivarius. That means God only made one of you. Yahweh made many people but each one is unique! It’s just one of you. The sound you made in your life is the sound that God gave you. People remember you by your life sound. Play your life sound like God intended you to play it!
resenting a journey of faith, emotion, and devotion that blends highs and lows into a divine masterpiece. It highlights God's grace and love as the melody of life, where believers, through trials and joy, compose a "new song" of praise, reflecting both earthly experience and heavenly anticipation.
A Journey of Faith and Emotion: Just as a song has different notes and tempos, life includes laughter, tears, struggles, and triumphs. The Psalms illustrate this, covering the full range of human experience from deep sorrow to joyful praise.
A Masterpiece of Grace: A well-lived Christian life, marked by endurance and devotion, is seen as a beautiful, graceful song composed in partnership with God. Even "half notes" or incomplete parts of life are part of a symphony God is completing.
Worship and Expression: Music is not merely entertainment but a powerful spiritual tool used for prayer, teaching, and expressing gratitude, such as in Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16.
The "New Song": Scripture frequently mentions singing a "new song" to the Lord, representing salvation, redemption, and the ongoing renewal of faith.
Communal Harmony: Just as a symphony requires different instruments, believers are encouraged to form a chorus together, creating a "harmony" of praise and unity.
From the song at the Red Sea (Exodus 15) to the final songs in Revelation 14, music in the Bible is a central, spiritual, and powerful expression of a life lived in relationship with God
Sunday January 2026
3. The Life & Light: Darkness Can’t Win | John 1:4-5
Text: "In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."
Preaching Point: Jesus brings two things we desperately need: life and light. Life = spiritual vitality. Light = truth and exposure. And here’s the promise: darkness doesn’t get the final word. It can’t put this Light out.
Illustration:
In the Luray Caverns of Virginia, tour guides turn out every light deep underground. It’s the darkest dark you’ve ever felt — you can’t see your hand an inch from your face. Then they strike one single match. That tiny flame beats the whole cavern. Darkness can’t do anything but retreat. That’s Jesus in your addiction, your depression, your family mess. One spark of Him and darkness has to back up.
Sunday January 2026
4. The Witness: Pointing to the Light | John 1:6-8
Text: "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light."
Preaching Point: God sends witnesses, not saviors. John the Baptist knew his job: point, not perform. Every Christian has the same calling. We’re not the Light, but we reflect it so others can believe.
Illustration:
During the 1940s, the US Coast Guard used lightships — anchored boats with huge lanterns — to warn ships off dangerous coasts. The lightship wasn’t the harbor. You didn’t dock there. But if you followed its beam, you’d find safe passage. John the Baptist was a lightship. So are you. Don’t tell people to come to you. Tell them to follow your light to Jesus.
Sunday January 2026
5. The Rejected Light: His Own Received Him Not | John 1:9-11
Text: "The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him."
Preaching Point: This is the tragedy of Christmas. The Owner of the house showed up and got treated like a stranger. Familiarity and religion can blind us to Jesus. We can be in church and still miss Him.
Illustration:
Vincent van Gogh sold one painting in his lifetime. Today The Starry Night is priceless and protected by glass. He was in the world, painting masterpieces, and his own generation didn’t know him. Jesus walks into our lives with grace we can’t buy, and too often we say, “No thanks, I’m busy.” The saddest words in the Bible might be “did not know him.”
Sunday February 2026
6. The Adopting Word: Children of God | John 1:12-13
Text: "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."
Preaching Point: You can’t earn your way into God’s family, but you can be born into it. It’s not about heritage, effort, or someone else’s decision. It’s about receiving Jesus. He gives you a new birth certificate with His name on it.
Illustration:
A couple walked into an orphanage and saw a little boy with a sign around his neck: “Name: None. Age: 5.” They chose him, signed papers, and gave him their last name. Later he asked, “Why me?” The dad said, “Because we wanted you. That’s it.” When you receive Christ, God hands you a new sign: “Name: Child of God. Father: Abba.” Not because you were impressive, but because He wanted you.
Sunday March 2026
7. The Incarnate Word: God Moved Into the Neighborhood | John 1:14
Text: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."
Preaching Point: “Dwelt” literally means “pitched his tent.” God didn’t shout advice from heaven. He moved into our campsite. In Jesus, you see what God is like: 100% grace, 100% truth, no compromise.
Illustration:
After Hurricane Harvey, a Texas pastor’s house flooded like everyone else’s. But instead of retreating to a hotel, he pitched a tent in his driveway and started serving neighbors from there. People said, “You could have left.” He said, “How can I ask you to trust me if I won’t stay with you in the mess?” That’s the Incarnation. Jesus pitched His tent in our broken world and said, “I’m not leaving.”
Sunday March 2026
8. The Superior Word: Grace Upon Grace | John 1:15-17
Text: "John bore witness about him… For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."
Preaching Point: Moses brought the law and it was good — it showed us God’s standard. Jesus brought grace and truth. Not grace instead of truth, or truth instead of grace. Both, in fullness. And it comes in waves: grace upon grace.
Illustration:
Think of the ocean at the beach. A wave knocks you down, and before you can get up, another one hits. That’s how God’s grace works. You use up grace for yesterday’s failure, and there’s a fresh wave for today’s fear. The law was a signpost telling you the water’s over your head. Jesus is the lifeguard who jumps in.

Sunday March 2026
9. The Explaining Word: Jesus Makes God Known | John 1:18
Text: "No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known."
Preaching Point: Want to know what God is like? Look at Jesus. He’s not just a messenger from God. He is God, explaining God, in a language we can understand: a human life.
Illustration:
If you’ve ever tried to explain electricity to a 4-year-old, you don’t start with ohms and voltage. You flip a light switch and say, “See? It makes the dark go away.” We couldn’t understand God in His fullness — it would blow our circuits. So God “flipped the switch” in Jesus. Watch how Jesus treats the outcast, the broken, the child, and you’re seeing the heart of the Father.
JPB
