Let There Be Light Series

Introduction

We are going to light up August!

Light is a reoccurring theme in the bible, and for good reason.

Light is something we all need in our lives, right?

But also light is something our friends and community need.

I believe that, through Christ, we can offer that light, that will lift and bring colour to those around us.

We can be light in the dark

So for 3 weeks, I will be speaking about light and shining.

In order to do that I feel the need to firstly talk about dark.

[Turn off some lights on stage]

Obviously – this does not make it dark in the room, but I thought I’d set the tone….

What sort of things do we experience when we are in the dark?

• Lost

• Darkness robs us of our usual control over our environment, leaving us feeling helpless.

• Alone / left out Imagine being alone in a vast, silent space with no visible landmarks.

• Darkness can make us feel isolated.

• Fear

Our minds start playing tricks on us in the dark.

When we can’t see clearly, we feel vulnerable.

Our survival instincts kick in—we become hyper-aware of potential threats.

To be mentally in darkness brings feelings of being overwhelmed, despair, hopelessness.

In the dark we can over-think.

As we lie in bed at night,

o memories resurface.

o Regrets, mistakes, missed opportunities

—they all seem more emotional in the quiet of the dark night.

It’s like our conscience turns up the volume.

We can think of the world in darkness if we look too much at the news, because 95% of the news portrayed is negative

Darkness can bring

Shadows into our life

Or Gloom

Or total blackness at its worst.

😉 You might think that this is not a good start to a summer series!!

But I wanted to get the darkness out of the way.

Because many “see” so much darkness around them.

To be honest – you can’t see darkness;

because the dark doesn’t exist.

Light exists!

And the dark is nothing – darkness is not a physical substance.

You cannot bring dark into a room, but you can bring light into a room.

Darkness is just an absence of light.

Therefore, ……. the less light there is, the darker it gets.

There really is a lot of dark around . . . and . . . even within us.

I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know.

What is needed in a dark world, and a dark life?

LIGHT!

Ok - [Turn on stage lighting]

We need light -

Positive

Bright

Hope

Direction

warmth

to see colours

I said that the bible is littered with light –

from the opening words of Genesis – through the Old and New Testaments, LIGHT is mentioned –

some 235 times in 46 of the 66 books!

Throughout the Bible, light serves as a powerful metaphor.

In Genesis,

God speaks light into existence, separating it from darkness.

The psalmist declares,

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” (Psalm 27:1).

And in the Gospel of John, Jesus proclaims,

“I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

The issue:

We are in a tension:

Mostly we like the idea of living in the light for all of the reasons I’ve spoken about.

So we want light!

- All the positive benefits that light brings.

BUT…. Some might be hesitant of too much light.

Why?

Because light will

show up the cracks

reveal the dirt

highlight the problems.

Some hold back from being in the spotlight, because it will mean dealing with the dirt and cracks in their life.

Jesus said that He is – The Light Of the World!!!

That’s a huge light!

And you would think that people would welcome the Light of the world –

Take away the gloom,

the sense of being lost, and

bring vision and hope and direction to life!!!

But, you know, a lot steer clear of such a bright light – Jesus Christ – because

? they fear that the darkness in their life will be revealed.

? They are afraid the mess of their life will be exposed.

? That they will have to deal with the cracks and dirt and black stains will show up.

They reason:

? God’s light will condemn them

? It will make them feel guilty and bad and shamed.

And with that thought, many think of Christians as self-righteous people who do good and live as near to perfect lives;

- and they can’t face that!

They don’t want to have a finger pointed at them, like a condemned prisoner; so they stay in the shadows.