Opening the Text

1. Read John 1:6-13 aloud together. After the cosmic introduction of verses 1-5, what surprises you about where John takes us in verse 6?
2. The sermon pointed out that you could skip from verse 5 to verse 14 and not feel like you missed anything. Why do you think John includes this section about John the Baptist and the world's response to Jesus? What would we lose without it?
3. Verse 7 says John came "so that through him all might believe." Why would God send a witness ahead of Jesus? What does this tell us about God's heart toward us?

The World Did Not Recognize Him

1. Verses 10-11 describe a tragic irony: "the world was made through him" yet "the world did not recognize him." How is it possible that creation failed to recognize its Creator?
2. The sermon suggested that we often assume Jesus was being intentionally obscure or confusing. How does that assumption differ from what John is actually telling us in these verses?
3. If God's holiness means he is radically different from our expectations, what does Jesus' birth in a stable among rejected parents reveal about who God actually is?
4. Read verse 11 again: "He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him." What does it tell us about God that he was willing to be rejected by his own creation?

Repentance as "Turning to Look"

1. The sermon explained that "repent" literally means "turn around" or "look a different direction." How is this different from how we typically understand repentance? How does this meaning connect to John the Baptist's role as a witness?
2. What assumptions about God might you need to "turn from" in order to see him more clearly in Jesus?
3. The sermon asked us to imagine what we would expect if we truly encountered God or the "savior of the world." Be honest — what would you expect? How does Jesus challenge those expectations?

Receiving and Becoming

1. Verse 12 says that to those who "received him" and "believed in his name," he gave the right to become children of God. What does it mean to "receive" Jesus? How is this different from simply knowing facts about him?
2. The sermon said that God's grace is open to all people — those cast aside like the shepherds, foreigners like the wise men, and even those the world considers sinners. How does the Christmas story itself demonstrate this?

Personal Reflection and Application

1. The sermon quoted Athanasius: "Even on the cross He did not hide Himself from sight; rather, He made all creation witness to the presence of its Maker." How does the cross reveal who God is rather than hide it? What does this mean for how we understand God's glory?
2. How does knowing that God is "holy" — not in the sense of being distant and unapproachable, but in the sense of being shockingly different in his love and grace — change how you approach him in prayer or worship?
3. As we prepare for Christmas, what is one way you can "turn and look" at Jesus this week — letting him reveal who God truly is rather than expecting him to match your assumptions?