Every year, we choose a book of the Bible to study in chapel, which becomes our banner for the year. In the Old Testament, a banner was something to rally under. So even though our CVCA community attends over 150 different churches, lives all over NE Ohio, and comes from many different backgrounds, ultimately, the banner we rally under is Jesus Christ. One specific way we honor Jesus is by valuing His Word. This year, we are studying the Gospel of John with the banner “Come and See.”

While most of us are familiar with Jesus, this year’s banner invites us to take a fresh look at the Savior. Sometimes, we can glaze over the stories about His life because we’ve heard them before, but this year, we are slowing down to take a closer look.

“Come and See” comes from a story in the first chapter of the Gospel of John. After hundreds of years of waiting and hoping, the long-awaited Messiah finally arrived. As news spread about Jesus, friends told other friends. In John 1, Phillip almost couldn’t keep the news to himself, so he sought out his friend Nathanel. Philip found Nathanael and said, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael responded, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see” (John 1:45-46). Nazareth was a no-name town. To Nathanael, nothing significant came from there. Jerusalem, maybe… but not Nazareth.  And yet his friend, Philip, invited him to “Come and See” for himself. It’s an invitation to come and experience Jesus.

For those wrestling with doubt, Jesus invites you to experience who He is. At the end of the Gospel of John, Jesus extends His hands to a doubter named Thomas and invites him to “Come and See” that He is who He says He is.