Welcome to the In-Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Monday, December 19th.

The story of Christmas doesn't start with the manger.

Let's begin a series that ushers in Christmas with a reminder of the spiritual realities that began before Bethlehem.

If someone should ask you, who is Jesus?

How would you answer that question?

And when you'd finish giving your answer, would they have a keen interest in him?

Would they have a deep, warm feeling down inside that they want to know more about him?

Would they ask you, how do I have a personal relationship with him?

Or would they just sort of shrug up your answer as something they've heard before and go on their way?

Well, the answer to that question is it depends upon how you answered that question.

And how you answered that question would depend upon your understanding and knowledge of who Jesus is and your personal experience with him.

And you may say, well, I know who he is, he's my savior.

Is he more? Well, he's the Lord.

Is he more? Well, he's the pattern for my life.

But is he more? It just may be that there's one aspect of the life of Jesus Christ and who he is.

That you and I need to look at in a very fresh way.

So I want you to look, if you will, in John chapter 1, and I want us to read these first 18 verses together.

Because these first 18 verses are so like the foundation for the whole gospel of John.

Because he makes an assertion here, a declaration, a proclamation, and then he spends the rest of the gospel affirming and declaring and proving that what he said about Jesus Christ is really true.

John chapter 1.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by him, and apart from him, nothing came into being that has come into being.

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