Source Series

Source

Series: Turn on the light

Sunday Sermon / December 9th, 2007

Intro: Every light has a source; an origin. Every ray of light has a source and when you trace it back from the object seen to the source that is shining you may understand why a thing appears the way it does.

Have you ever been in a place in your life where you questioned everything?

Have you ever been in a place in your life where you felt disconnected and misunderstood?

Or times when you just felt confused by the way things unfold in life?

This was the situation for the church John was writing to. Some ‘Enlightened’, hyper-spiritual and false teachers had put down roots into this church. Their teachings started up-rooting the true Christians there.

John doesn’t tell us the circumstances but they up and left the church. Apparently, the Christians were left wondering what happened. (False teaching, false examples of Christ, false charisma left the people confused and disheartened)

I believe the Church in America is right in this spot.

I truly believe that people are generally and genuinely searching for answers. Most people recognize their own need for answers and even more people recognize that mankind has a real need for answers.

• Some settle for: “Distraction” (Everything from adrenalin to addiction)

• Others believe the answer lies in reducing the “footprint” of man: (Nature, abortion and even genocide[other people are the problem])

• Others look to government for answers (education, benefits and protection.)

• Still others think that if we can just eliminate religion and God: (Golden Compass movie)

• Even those looking at faith for answers are on thin ice:

Barna Research published this week the results of it’s 2007 findings:

The research discovered that people are reframing not just faith in general, but Christianity in particular. While slightly fewer adults - and many fewer teens - are identifying themselves as Christians these days, the image of the Christian faith has taken a beating. This battered image is the result of a combination of factors: harsh media criticism, "unchristian" behavior by church people, bad personal experiences with churches, ineffective Christian leadership amid social crises, and the like. The result is that those who choose to remain Christian - however they define it - are also reformulating the popular notion of what "Christian" and the Christian life mean. Some of those changes are producing favorable outcomes, while others are less appealing.

• Self Trust but suspension of everything else.

• Frustration with church as usual

• Questioning everything

What is your answer? What is your source?

How do you see the world?

Text: 1 John 3:1-10 “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

4Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. 10By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

I. God’s Love is our source.

“1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

A father carries pictures where his money used to be. ~Author Unknown