Minutes from our first study

Hey gents~ It was GREAT meeting with you guys last Monday night. I was close to tears at the beginning of our time together. It's a joyful experience to see us all in a circle enjoying fellowship time and reading the word together. Great stuff.
Here's just a brief recap of our discussion from John 1. After reading through the text together, Jamie began by asking about God's reason for including John the Baptist in the divine story. It wasn't something many of us had thought of, and it sparked a discussion about Jesus' vocation, the implications of disciples (the Greek word mathaitais), and the state of God's people during the intertestimental period (roughly 400 years between the last accounts in the OT and the infancy narratives in Matthew and Luke. For a fairly brief and good summary, check out http://www.gotquestions.org/intertestamental-period.html).
We also looked at verses 10-13 and talked about the meaning of those verses, discussing both ideas of predestination and John's interest in relating his presentation of Jesus to the response of the Jews (God's 'own people', v.11) and the openness of the gospel to Gentiles.
Justin suggested the importance of applying the text to our lives so that we seek after Jesus as the first disciples earnestly sought after him. Once we come to Christ in that way and recognize him as God by means of divine grace and faith, we should bring others to see him and know him as well. (Just as Philip did in 1:46. "Come and see.")
We talked about the wide range of titles John applies to Jesus, including Word (the Greek word logos), Christ, Son of God, King of Israel, Son of Man, Rabbi, and perhaps most uniquely, Lamb of God (more on that one this week!).
Paul mentioned the absence of the word 'belief' as a noun in the narrative and suggested we recognize the verbal aspect of believing as we go through the text.
Finally, we paid respects to John the Baptist for his willingness to humbly point to Jesus, even when he had the opportunity to claim glory for himself. Jesus was his own cousin, and John never got bogged down with jealousy and was never confused about his calling and his role.
To follow up on a few hanging questions and comments:
I looked up the reference to "the Prophet" that was stumping many of us. The best thing I've found is a reference in Deuteronomy 18:15-19 that would have led the Jews to believe that a prophet was coming from God who would speak the truth and provide God's word. The Jews in John 1 erred by separating the expected messiah from this "Prophet". Jesus fulfills both rolls.
Also, we talked back and forth a bit about 1:10 and whether or not the world knew or recognized Jesus. I said at one point that some DID in fact recognize him, so that this text should not be read literally. I've thought more about that, and I'm not sure I agree with myself. In reality, did anyone truly know or recognize Jesus' full identity while he was with them pre-crucifixion? Or, did it take the resurrection for people to truly and fully understand? It's a question worth discussion, and I think I'd actually err on the side of agreeing with John that noone truly knew him while he was in the world. Thought?
Thanks for reading this far. This is probably WAY more than you bargained for. If so, let me know, and I'll keep it shorter next time.
Agape~
Bill