Why and How Do We Proclaim the Same Good News as John the Baptist?

The Church of St. John the Divine

Why and How Do We Proclaim the Same Good News as John the Baptist?

December 10, 2023 • The Rev. Trent Pettit

If evangelism and mission are so integral to what it means to be a Christian, what gets in the way? How do we make this a natural part of our lives, where we witness, like John, to who God is and what he is doing? We look at why we proclaim the same gospel as John, and how to proclaim it prayerfully, humbly, and boldly.

Who Was John the Baptist and What Did He Do?

December 3, 2023 • Dr. Kira Moolman Pettit

Even in the womb, John joyfully testified to who Jesus was. Born to an older cousin of Jesus’ mother, Mary, John’s birth was also miraculous, and his life’s work fulfilled prophecies of one who would come before Jesus to prepare the way. Despite the eccentric figure that John might be in our imaginations – the miracle baby, leaping in the womb, and then the wild prophet wading in the river Jordan, foraging for food, preaching, and baptizing – he is not so different from you or me. John knew that he was called to tell people that Jesus was coming, and he witnessed to who Jesus was. A voice in the wilderness, John preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. This session will look at who John was and what he did.

What is the Good News?

December 3, 2023 • The Rev. Dr. R. Leigh Spruill

In every account of who John the Baptist was, we read that he was a witness and a voice calling out. In this session, we will look at the content of the message that John called out. Using Isaiah 40, a key text of our accounts of John the Baptist, we see the good news of who God is and what he has done, is doing, and will do. There is comfort in knowing that sin is repaid, that God’s glory has been revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ, and that the Triune God who made the world also saves it and sustains it. Our response to this good news is to prepare the way for Jesus to come again. As we remember his first coming as a child at Christmas, we repent, believe, and pass it on.