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TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. John 1:12-13

Read: John 1:12-13
Listen: John 1

TODAY’S MESSAGE

Esther put her life on the line to save her people. Her actions point to the ultimate savior—Jesus Christ. In our passage today, we see that those who believe in Jesus are given “the right to become children of God.” To understand what that means, we have to start at the beginning.

God created the world and it was good. Yet, the first humans disobeyed God and introduced sin into the world. However, God loved us and he sent his son Jesus Christ to rescue us and pay the penalty for our sins. Jesus lived a sinless life and when he was killed on a Roman cross, he took on himself the sins of the world. Three days later, he defeated sin and death by rising from the dead.

Jesus invites us to share in his victory over sin and death. We are invited to experience the forgiveness and grace of God. We are invited to become children of God because of what Christ has done. To respond to this invitation, we need to trust in Jesus as our savior and follow him as the lord of our lives.

TODAY: If you have never made the decision to trust and follow Jesus Christ, there is no better way to start 2024. Pray something like this, “God, I know that I have sinned and disobeyed you. I put my trust in your son Jesus Christ as my savior and I choose to follow him as the lord of my life.”

JESUS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT:

Read Luke 9. Highlight anything that refers to the Old Testament and how Jesus fulfills it. Note the feeding of the 5,000 and consider what Old Testament stories this points back to.

Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.