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I John 1:1
I. That which was from the beginning. Who was from the beginning?
        A. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."
        B. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God
           and the Word was God.
        C. When Micah announced that Bethlehem of Judah was to be
           birthplace of the Messiah, speaking of the Messiah he
           said, "Whose going forth has been from old, from
           everlasting."
        D. He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.
        E. Paul tells us in Timothy that "God was manifest in the
           flesh."        
        F. Jesus said to Philip, "He that has seen Me has seen the
           Father."
II. "Which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which
     we have gazed stedfastly upon, and which we have handled of
     the word of life."
        A. John is here reflecting of the time he spent with Jesus
           while Jesus was here on the earth.
                1. He realized that when he heard Jesus speaking, he
                   was hearing the voice of God.
                2. When he looked at Jesus, he was looking at God.
                3. When he touched Jesus, he was touching God.
        B. For the life was manifested, and we have seen and do
           testify unto you that eternal life which was with the
           Father, which was manifested unto us.
                1. The life of God was manifested on the earth. That is
                   what Christmas is all about.
                2. We celebrate the day that the Creator came to vist
                   and live among His creation.
III. "That which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you that
     you might have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship 
     is with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.
        A. This is what is was all about. This was the purpose for
           God sending His Son into the world. To restore sinning
           man back into fellowship with God.
        B. The issue that bars man from fellowship with God is sin.
                1. The prophet Isaiah said, "Your sins have separated
                   you from God."
                2. As long as man is living in sin, he cannot have
                   fellowship with the holy, righteous God. In a couple
                   of verses further on John will tell us that if we
                   say that we have fellowship with God and we are
                   walking in darkness, we lie, and do now know the
                   truth.
                3. The word gospel means good news, and the good news
                   is this, that man who was alienated from the life of
                   God because of his sin, can now have fellowship with
                   the eternal God by virtue of the fact that God
                   became flesh, and dwelt among us, and He gave His
                   life to atone for our sins.
                4. Through the years, man has been struggling in an
                   attempt to reach God but to no avail.
                5. Man has sought to atone for his sin by all kinds of
                   penance.