We’ve spent this year focusing on Jesus Christ. We started by listening to his Word to the seven churches of Revelation, and found he was also speaking to us. We then read through the entire Word of God in 90 days, which ended up being a great blessing to us all in unexpected ways. Then we took a deep dive into who Jesus said he was in John 14:6. This fall, we’ve explored the depth and wonder of “Christ in us, the hope of glory” through Paul’s letter to the Colossians, being reminded that it really is all because of Jesus. As wondrous and incredible as Jesus is, perhaps the most amazing aspect, the part of Christ that makes all the rest possible, is the Incarnation — Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, God himself, taking on human flesh in the form of a baby. This Advent, we will be exploring the wonder of the incarnation as recorded by the Apostle John in the beginning of his Gospel.

This year we’ve been focusing on Jesus Christ — starting out with his words to the 7 churches of Revelation, then reading the entire Word of God, then looking at Jesus’ radical claims about himself in John 14:6-7. We now turn to Paul’s letter to the Colossians, a letter in which Paul proclaims that Jesus is the source, the means, the point and the end result of, well, everything. It’s a short but powerful letter that encourages and invites us to move deeper in our relationship with Jesus Christ.

As we walk with Jesus over the years, and particularly when we read through the Bible, there are a lot of questions that come up.  Some of them are kind of silly or fun, like wondering if Jesus drank coffee.  Some of them are more serious and difficult, like wondering what it means when we read that “God regretted making mankind” (Genesis 6:6) or that there are sins that “lead to death.” (1 John 5:16).  Through this series, we are looking to answer some of the questions that you’ve been asking as a result of reading through the Bible in 90 days, as we did earlier this year.   

We live in an age where there are an infinite number of places and ways to find meaning, purpose, life, truth, etc.  We also live in a culture where we’re taught and told that any of these options are equally valid.  And yet, 2,000 years ago, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).  It was a radical statement then, and it’s perhaps even moreso now.

 

Through this series, we’re taking a deeper look at just what Jesus meant in this verse, and what it means for us and our lives today. As we do so, we’ll gain a better and deeper understanding of who Jesus is and what following him looks like 2,000 years after he walked the earth.  Jesus isn’t one option among many, Jesus is the way, the truth, the life.  

The legend of the phoenix is a fascinating one.  At the end of its life-cycle, it bursts into flames, reducing the once-glorious bird to ash. But out of those ashes is born a brand-new phoenix.  The resurrecting imagery of the bird is one that has been embraced by the church since the early church father, Clement of Alexandria.  There is even a possible  reference to the phoenix in Job 29:18, which the NRSV translates as, “Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days like the phoenix.”

 

During the seasons of Lent and Easter, we are going to follow the Path of the Phoenix, from the ashes of Ash Wednesday to the flames of Pentecost, by reading through the entire Bible in those 90 days (you can learn more about B90 here).  The sermons each Sunday during this series will come out of our reading from the previous week. Whether you are reading every page of the Bible as part of B90, or follow along with the sermons each week, we’re glad you’re joining us on this journey.