Sermon title: Christology: Jesus’ Return Part A

Sep 06, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Empty Shells and Full-Circle Worship

The taco shell sits hollow without shared offerings – a metaphor for half-hearted worship. Just as a taco needs filling, communal faith thrives when everyone brings their unique gifts to the table. Jesus meets anxiety about health, family, and world events not with platitudes but with the concrete promise of His presence. True worship happens when distractions are laid aside and hands lift not just bread and juice, but the full weight of gratitude for a King who calms storms. [17:36]

“Do this in remembrance of me.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-24, ESV)

Reflection: What “empty shell” have you been bringing to worship lately – routine prayers, distracted singing, or withheld generosity? What tangible offering (time, creativity, or presence) could fill someone else’s spiritual hunger this week?

Day 2: The Eternal “In the Beginning”

Before creation’s first light, the Word already was – not a created being but the Creator’s breath made flesh. Jesus’ preexistence anchors every miracle, every storm-calming command, every resurrection touch. The same hands that shaped galaxies later wiped tears from a widow’s eyes. When anxiety whispers that life is chaos, the One who existed before clocks ticks holds your tomorrow. [40:23]

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:1-3, ESV)

Reflection: What current worry feels too big for Jesus’ control? How does His existence before time itself reshape your view of His power over your “right now”?

Day 3: When Funerals Become Parades

A coffin carried through Nain’s gates met the Life-Giver mid-procession. Jesus didn’t offer condolences – He gripped death’s shoulder and said, “Get up.” The widow’s tears halted as her son sat up, death’s script rewritten. Every resurrection miracle whispers this: the King who interrupts funerals will one day turn all graves into launchpads. [41:03]

Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. (Luke 7:14-15, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you stopped expecting resurrection – in a relationship, a dream, or a hardened heart? What would it look like to walk toward that situation today holding Jesus’ hand?

Day 4: Storms Still Obey Their Maker

The disciples’ terror mirrored the churning sea – until the Creator yawned. “Silence” wasn’t a prayer request but a royal decree. Waves didn’t gradually calm; they froze mid-crash like disciplined soldiers. Every life storm since answers to the same Voice that first said, “Let there be boundaries.” [39:53]

And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. (Matthew 8:26, ESV)

Reflection: Is your current storm making you question Jesus’ care or His capability? How might His power over creation’s chaos affirm both His love and His authority?

Day 5: Algorithms and Altar Calls

Thumbs-up buttons and shared videos seem mundane until they become lifelines. When a taco fellowship invitation or worship song bypasses algorithms to reach a hungry heart, ordinary acts become holy. Every “like” clicked in faith, every meal shared in love, becomes a brick in the kingdom’s digital and physical walls. [14:24]

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1, ESV)

Reflection: What daily routine (social media use, meal prep, or small talk) could you reclaim as sacred ground? How might your next mundane act point someone to the Original Creator?

Sermon Summary

Jesus stands at the center of the whole summer’s search for who he is. Christ means “the Anointed One,” the chosen one promised in the Old Testament, and Messiah carries that same weight. Jesus Christ is not a name with a last name attached. Christ declares that God’s promised King has come.

Jesus bears the divine nature of God himself. God forgives sins, and Jesus forgives sins. God receives worship, and Jesus receives worship. Jesus does not push that worship away because he is not merely a good man, a wise teacher, or another prophet. Jesus shows the works and the authority that belong to God.

John’s opening words press the point even further: “In the beginning was the Word.” The Word was with God, and the Word was God. John reaches back to Genesis, where “in the beginning, God created,” and identifies Jesus as existing before all creation. Jesus did not begin in Bethlehem. Jesus entered Bethlehem as the eternal Word who became flesh.

Jesus also shows God’s power in plain sight. The storm obeys him. The sick are healed by him. The dead are raised by him. The widow walking with the funeral procession for her only son meets Jesus, and Jesus touches the young man and brings him back to life. Jesus is not distant from pain, death, fear, or human need. Jesus walks right into the broken places and speaks life.

The Christmas story holds together what human reason may want to separate. Jesus is fully God, and Jesus is fully man. Mary bears a real child, names him Jesus, and holds the One through whom all things were made. The incarnation means that God did not save from far away. God came near.

Worship answers this truth with focused hearts. God knows yesterday from tomorrow, holds every anxious concern, and remains the King who is worthy. Communion brings the church back to Jesus himself, remembering his body and blood with bread and juice. The gospel calls scattered people, sick people, anxious people, and faraway people to look again at the Anointed One, the eternal Word, the divine Son who came in flesh.

Key Takeaways

1. Christ Means God’s Anointed King [39:53] Christ identifies Jesus as the promised Messiah, not merely as a religious title. The Old Testament expectation of God’s chosen deliverer finds its fulfillment in him. Jesus carries the authority of the King God promised to send. [39:53]
2. Jesus Receives What God Receives [40:23] Jesus forgives sins and receives worship because divine authority belongs to him. These are not small details added to an otherwise ordinary life. Jesus reveals God’s own character and right to rule. [40:23]
3. The Eternal Word Became Flesh [40:23] John places Jesus before creation itself. Bethlehem marks Jesus’ entry into human history, not the beginning of his existence. The incarnation means that the eternal God truly came near in a human life. [40:23]
4. Jesus Walks Into Death’s Shadow [41:03] Jesus meets the grieving widow where loss has already taken everything from her. His power over death is personal, compassionate, and real. Jesus does not merely speak about life; he gives it.

## [41:03]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[12:11] - Greeting Those Joining Online
[13:17] - Preparing for Scripture and Communion
[15:45] - Church Announcements
[16:05] - Children’s Music Program
[16:52] - Spiritual Disciplines Bible Study
[17:04] - Next Week’s Taco Fellowship
[19:01] - Prayer for Worship
[39:53] - Jesus the Anointed One
[40:23] - Jesus’ Divine Nature and Preexistence
[41:03] - Fully God and Fully Man

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

John 1:1–14

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” [40:23]
“He was in the beginning with God.”
“All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.” [40:32]

Observation questions

What descriptions of Jesus appear in John 1:1–5, and what do those descriptions say about his existence before creation?
According to John 1:3, what is Jesus’ relationship to everything that was made?
What two responses to Jesus are described in verses 10–13, and what is given to those who receive and believe in him?
What examples show Jesus carrying authority and power that belong to God, including over sin, worship, sickness, storms, and death? [40:06]

Interpretation questions

If “Christ” means “Anointed One,” how does that change the meaning of saying “Jesus Christ”? What does it declare about Jesus’ identity and authority? [39:53]
John says the Word was both “with God” and “was God.” How does this help a believer understand why Jesus could forgive sins and receive worship? [40:06]
What does it mean that Bethlehem was not the beginning of Jesus’ existence, but the moment when the eternal Word entered human history in flesh? [40:23]
Jesus brings life to people who are suffering and facing death. What does this reveal about the kind of King Jesus is—not only powerful, but compassionate? [40:41]

Application questions

When anxiety about family, health, work, or the future feels heavy, how could remembering that Jesus is the eternal King help bring a clearer focus? [19:17]
Is Jesus most often thought of as a helpful teacher, a good example, a Savior, a King, or God in the flesh? Which part of his identity needs to become more central in daily faith?
Jesus does not stay distant from pain and death; he comes near and speaks life. Where is there a broken, fearful, or grieving place in life that needs to be brought honestly to him?
Jesus receives worship because he is worthy of what belongs to God. What distractions, worries, or lesser priorities most often compete for the heart’s worship?
John says that those who receive Jesus and believe in his name become children of God. What might it look like this week to live with the confidence and trust of someone who belongs to God’s family?
Communion centers the church again on Jesus’ body and blood. How can taking the bread and juice become more than a routine and help the heart remember the nearness, grace, and truth of Jesus? [13:47]

Sermon Clips

32s

#StudyingWhoJesusIs

“You know, we've been all summer long thinking through a study on who Jesus is. We've seen him we've seen him as the anointed one. We've come to learn that the word Christ, Jesus Christ, Christ means the anointed, the chosen one. And we've come to learn that the word messiah is also the anointed one from the old testament. We have seen that Jesus has the divine nature. Just as God can forgive sins, Jesus forgave sins.”

34s

#JesusTheMiracleWorker

“We we've seen those things, his divine nature, his preexistence. We have seen the attributes of God and Jesus. We've seen Jesus calm the storm. We've seen Jesus heal the sick. We've seen Jesus Jesus even raise people from the dead, the widow walking by, having a funeral service for her only son. We saw Jesus touch and bring him to life. We've seen Jesus with those powers. We've seen Jesus become fully god, fully man, and fully god in in the Christmas story.”

28s

#JesusFullyGodAndMan

“of God and Jesus. We've seen Jesus calm the storm. We've seen Jesus heal the sick. We've seen Jesus Jesus even raise people from the dead, the widow walking by, having a funeral service for her only son. We saw Jesus touch and bring him to life. We've seen Jesus with those powers. We've seen Jesus become fully god, fully man, and fully god in in the Christmas story.”

26s

#PowerOverDeath

28s

#DivineNatureOfJesus

28s

#CommunionSunday

“I want you to listen carefully. I want you to pay attention to what God has to say to you because the message of the the the sermon today is exceedingly important. And by the way, it is what we call communion Sunday. It is the lord's day as we celebrate it. And so you're gonna make your piece of bread. You're gonna make sure you have some juice so that as we take and we remember him with the breaking of the bread and the drinking of the juice,”

38s

#InviteHisPresence

“And so, lord Jesus, we invite you and your spirit to be present in this room. May the distractions in our mind be minimal, and may we quickly put them away, those that are causing a stress and anxiety. Some people, Lord, came here this morning, and they're anxious about life in general, things going on in the world. They're they're concerned about their family, their friends, their health. Lord, I just ask that this next hour that we have with you would be an hour filled focused in on you, that we would see that you are the king who is worthy. You have everything under control,”

34s

#FocusOnTheKing

“May the distractions in our mind be minimal, and may we quickly put them away, those that are causing a stress and anxiety. Some people, Lord, came here this morning, and they're anxious about life in general, things going on in the world. They're they're concerned about their family, their friends, their health. Lord, I just ask that this next hour that we have with you would be an hour filled focused in on you, that we would see that you are the king who is worthy. You have everything under control,”

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