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Toby Castleberry: The Word of Good News (John 1:1)
Toby Castleberry, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Vernon, started 100 days of sermons noting the world is in dire condition and is looking for an answer. He wanted his hearers to be certain they have hope and a “reason to be filled with joy”—a Savior, Jesus Christ.
Castleberry described John 1 as “like trying to learn to swim by jumping in the deep end [or] to drive by entering the Daytona 500.” He also challenged believers in Jesus not to give into thinking the good news has been robbed from them.
His sermon is an exposition of John 1:1, in which Jesus’ beloved disciple John begins to describe Jesus’ identity. The focal point is the Greek word logos, which Castleberry asserted is translated most literally as “message.”
“The gospel starts with Jesus, because Jesus is the gospel,” Castleberry maintained. False religion seeks to change Jesus, he contended, before describing what Islam, Hinduism, Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses teach about Jesus.
This sermon was livestreamed Aug. 7, 2021, as the first in a series of 100 sermons titled “So Loved: The Good News of Jesus,” being delivered one sermon each day. The series is scheduled to conclude Sunday, Nov. 14, 2021, and can be followed here.
The sermon podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
Sermon notes are available here.
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