κήρυξον τὸν λόγον

And when the days of their purification were to be fulfilled according to the Law of Moses, they brought him into Jerusalem to stand him before the Lord ... and to give a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”  If I didn’t know better, I might gloss right over this. So Let me paint a picture for you. There is no small detail here.  This place is huge. ... 2,000 years ago, Jerusalem was a hustling-and-bustling city with nearly 80,000 people. The Jewish historian Josephus estimated there were 6,000 Pharisees. The temple complex Herod built was about the size of nine city blocks here in Appleton City. I am talking about from Hickory to Beech and Main to First Streets. There are people coming and going to offer their sacrifices. There are merchants lined up selling their animals for the sacrifices. There are priests going to and fro performing their religious duties. Members of the Sanhedrin are gathering along ...

It’s no surprise to find God “in the beginning.” At the beginning of Genesis, at the beginning of John, at the beginning of creation ... We hear about God.  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. This was the beginning. Apart from this there was no other beginning, for God didn’t begin to be ... he is eternal. Thus it follows that the word is eternal because it didn’t begin in the beginning but was already in the beginning as our Gospel for this beautiful Christmas Day declares.  In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. The word is uncreated, infinite, and eternal. He’s always been, and he always will be. He was in the beginning . And He always will be.  If it were any other way, well, he wouldn’t be God, now would he?  Everything else ... everything that is not God, whether visible or invisible ... is part of God’s creation. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen 1:1). He created everything ...