Dear Church Family: 
 
It was a blessing as always this past Sunday to celebrate the ordinance of communion at the close of our service. The regular observance of the Lord’s Table is one of God’s wonderful ways of enabling us to “keep the main thing the main thing” in our lives.
 
As you know, the focus of our time in the Scriptures was taking a deeper look at John 1:14-18 and in particular John’s emphasis on the fact that the Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ was a demonstration to man of the “grace and truth” of God. Lord willing, we will explore the glory of God and the import of His “grace and truth” as demonstrated through the Lord Jesus Christ further this coming Sunday.
 

SENDING MAIL TO OUR CHURCH

 
In the last several weeks a few of you have unfortunately sent letters, offering checks, and other items through the mail but have addressed them incorrectly. While our Church is located physically at 6140 E. Thunderbird Road, Scottsdale, that is not the Church mailing address. Letters sent to the Church physical address on Thunderbird Road will not get to us. You should stop payment on any checks you have written and sent to the Church at that address in the last 30 days and re-issue those checks and mail them to our Church’s proper mailing address.
 
As indicated on the back of the Church bulletin, the CORRECT CHURCH MAILING ADDRESS IS AS FOLLOWS:
 
4727 E. Bell Road, Suite 45
PMB #386
Phoenix, AZ  85032
 

PRAYER REQUESTS 
 

Our Church takes the spiritual discipline of prayer very seriously. As has been shared many times, while the word of God is the “engine” that drives the Church, prayer is its “fuel”.
 
We want to remind you that there is a “prayer request” sheet in the bulletin each week, and there is also a form on the Church website to utilize for prayer requests as well. You can submit your prayer requests on the website, or you can also submit them by sending an email to the Church email address for prayer requests as indicated on the back of the bulletin, specifically reformedlivingprayers@gmail.com, or simply by filling out the form in the bulletin and dropping it in one of the offering bags on Sunday morning.
 
Also, make sure you let us know if the request is to be directed to the Elders only, or to the members of the Prayer Team. The Prayer Team consists of 23 individuals at present who are members of our Church and who are dedicated to this ministry.  All members of the Prayer Team have covenanted that they will keep all prayer requests strictly confidential.
 

ENCOURAGEMENT 

 
Given the fact that we are emphasizing John 1:14 from the pulpit last Sunday and this coming Lord’s Day, I thought you would all be encouraged by chapter 3 in Robert J. Morgan’s book, One Hundred Bible Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart, as he focuses upon that verse. In the translation that Morgan uses, it states as follows: The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (HCSB). Here is Morgan’s discussion of this verse.

 
When was the last time you spent the night in a tent? It was last night. According to II Corinthians 5, we are currently living in the tents of our bodies, eagerly waiting Resurrection Day, when we will receive permanent structures (our glorified bodies). Furthermore, we are told in John 1:14 that when Jesus took on flesh in Bethlehem, He pitched His tent among us. The Greek term for “took up residence” has reference to tenting.
 
John 1:14 is arguably the Bible’s greatest verse about the Incarnation. The Word (God the Son) became flesh (human) and took up residence (pitched His tent) among us [or as we observed in our sermon a couple of weeks ago, He “tabernacled” among us]. We observed His glory and saw that He was the one and only God the Son, full of grace and truth.
 
The prologue of John (John 1:1-18) is one of the greatest introductions in the world of literature. The theme is Jesus, and the progression of thought is remarkable. In memorizing John 1:14, take time to study the entire passage, using this outline as a guide.
 
1. Jesus is the God who made us (1:1-3). He is God, existing from the beginning and through whom all things were made.
2. He is the life who sustains us (v.4a). In Him was life!
3. He is the light who illumines us (vv.4b-5). His life is our light. It shines in the darkness, and the darkness can’t overcome it.
4. He is the message who excites us (vv.6-9). John the Baptist testified about Him, and so can we.
5. He is the Savior who redeems us (vv.10-13). All who receive Him and who believe in His name are given the right to become children of God.
6. He is the Friend who dwells among us (v.14). He pitched His tent here and tabernacles among us.
7. He is the Lord who surpasses us (v.15). John the Baptist said of Him, “The One coming after me has surpassed me, because He existed before me.”
8. He is the Son who blesses us (vv.16-18). No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son has revealed Him, and from the fullness of His grace we all received one blessing after another (v.16 NIV).
 
The word “incarnation” means “embodied in flesh”. Dr. J.I. Packer wrote, “The Incarnation is itself an unfathomable mystery, but it makes sense of everything else that the New Testament contains.” Packer points out that the reality of the Incarnation pervades the prologue of John. “The Church of England reads it annually as the Gospel for Christmas Day, and rightly so,” said Packer. “Nowhere in the New Testament is the nature and meaning of Jesus’ defined Sonship so clearly explained as here.”

Morgan then ends his chapter with the following quote from Samuel D. Gordon:

“Jesus is God spelling Himself out in language that man can understand.”

I am so looking forward to exploring John 1:14 and related verses and looking deeper at the glory of God in the face of Christ and the depth of His wonderful grace and truth. Soli Deo Gloria!
 
Love, 
 
John & Terri
John 1:14