Teen Scene: July- September 2022

By R.H. Boyd Publishing Corp.

Teen Scene is an age-appropriate Christian quarterly lesson guide for young people ages 15-17. In addition to introductory material and biblical exposition, each lesson contains lesson applications along with activities and questions that enhance the students’ understanding of the presentation. Biblical principles are specifically written to reflect the interests and problems of growing teens.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation
• Release date: Jun 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781681679525

Book preview

True Light

John 1:1–14

Background Scriptures: John 1:1–14

Dictionary Term

Darkness: the total or near total absence of light

KEY VERSE: He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. (John 1:2–4, NRSV)

In the Beginning

By now in your reading experience, you have encountered the phrase In the beginning. This phrase is quite different from Once upon a time in that it is listing something in chronological order. While the Once upon a time phrase shows up before fiction, the phrase In the beginning appears in a number of places in The Bible. It has absolutely nothing to do with fairytales or fake stories. Here In the beginning is talking about a time that was before anything else existed. It also introduces the work and the Word of God as it was used to bring all of creation into being. If you are ever curious about where life began, look in the Bible in the book of Genesis.

Today’s scripture begins with the phrase In the beginning and was written by John. John writes to tell us about the Word that was In the beginning. It shows us how much power Jesus, the Word, and Son of God, has over everything that was created. Everything was created through Jesus Christ. This means that nothing is too great for Jesus to manage. Nothing is beyond His reach and no darkness is able to overcome His light.

Jesus is the True Light

John wrote this Gospel to provide evidence to the world so that everyone would believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. It was written so that when we become believers, we may have life in his name (John 20:31, NIV). This is the reason John begins the Scripture by providing his readers with the beginning of creation narrative. John begins by writing that there was nothing in the void but God and the Word. Jesus is the Word that John is speaking of. Jesus is the Word that is with God. Jesus was with God in the beginning before everything was created. Everything was made through Jesus. Without Jesus, nothing in the beginning and nothing that we know now would exist.

What is the definition of darkness as used in this lesson?

What was John the Baptist’s message to the people?

As a vehicle for God’s thoughts and wisdom, Jesus was more than just a man sent down by God. Jesus was actually a part of God’s identity. This is why it is so amazing that God sent Jesus down to walk around on the earth with us. God actually sent a piece of Himself to guide us, to give us life, and to show us the right way we should live and how to treat one another. This also means that God sent a part of Himself to be sacrifced on the cross so that we all could have access to eternal life.

Jesus was with God in the darkness of the void in the beginning; before God even created light. Therefore, Jesus understands darkness and light very well. He understands more than just physical darkness as in an instance when there is not a lamp or overhead light on, or during the night-time hours. But Jesus understands the spiritual darkness that is present inside of all people. It is because He understands the dark and what the darkness is about that He was sent down to earth as a man to be the light and offer salvation that we need. The writer of this Gospel initially compared Jesus to a man who had come before him. His name was John, also known as John the Baptist. John the Baptist was not the same person who wrote the Gospel of John. While he writes that Jesus is the life and light to all mankind, John the Baptist was a servant who came as a witness to the light that was coming. Many people who met John the Baptist throughout his ministry thought he was the Messiah. The One who had been promised in the Old Testament, but John did not hesitate to tell them that he was only there to tell them about the true Messiah who was coming to them. John the Baptist was only a man. Jesus was the true light who was coming to overcome and defeat the darkness.

Because Jesus has a complete understanding of darkness and is a part of God, darkness, or sin or evil, cannot defeat him. Though the enemies of Jesus tried mightily, they could never defeat or overcome Jesus! Though the world was created through Jesus, the very people that he was sent to save did not accept him. In fact, they tried to destroy him. Yet, those who did accept him and who believed in him were offered salvation and were given the right to his promise of eternal life. They became the children of God! Jesus’ promise and his light are still offered to us today. All we have to do is accept Jesus into our lives and believe. If we witness like John the Baptist, we will experience the joy of witnessing for ourselves how Jesus’s light can chase away all the shadows of darkness in our