12-09-2018 - One Small Light
Christmas 2018 • Sermon • Submitted
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· 10 viewsJoin Pastor Matt and the Christ-followers at Charity as we Consider the Power of One Light in the Darkness
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8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
God’s Law Allows Us to SEE Where to Go and How to Have a Truly Happy Life
God’s Law Allows Us to SEE Where to Go and How to Have a Truly Happy Life
7 The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
8 The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living.
9 Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever. The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair.
(TNIV) 7 The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure, and all of them are righteous.
131 Christians Everyone Should Know Darkness Vanquished
Added to the emotional strain of forsaking his lover and the shift in philosophies, Augustine was struggling with himself. For years he had sought to overcome his fleshly passions and nothing seemed to help. It seemed to him that even his smallest transgressions were weighted with meaning. Later, writing about the pear stealing of his youth, he reflected, “Our real pleasure consisted in doing something that was forbidden. The evil in me was foul, but I loved it.”
One afternoon, he wrestled anxiously about such matters while walking in his garden. Suddenly he heard a child’s sing-song voice repeating, “Take up and read.” On a table lay a collection of Paul’s epistles he’d been reading; he picked it up and read the first thing he saw: “Not in reveling and drunkenness, not in lust and wantonness, not in quarrels and rivalries. Rather, arm yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, spend no more thought on nature and nature’s appetites” (Romans 13:13–14).
He later wrote, “No further would I read; nor needed I: for instantly at the end of this sentence, by a light as it were of serenity infused into my heart, all the darkness of doubt vanished away.”
(TNIV)
7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure,
and all of them are righteous.
7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure,
and all of them are righteous.
The Lord’s Light Brings SECURITY & DELIVERANCE
The Lord’s Light Brings SECURITY & DELIVERANCE
(NIV)
(NIV)
(NIV)
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation— so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?
1 The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
Perhaps you seek security in Arms, Locks, Fortunes or Familiarity… Perhaps you desire deliverance from your current or a life-long malady or calamity or just from simple boredom with who you have become.
Perhaps you seek security in Arms, Locks, Fortunes or Familiarity… Perhaps you desire deliverance from your current or a life-long malady or calamity or just from simple boredom with who you have become.
Deliverance is found **only** in the LORD himself - When Jesus Delivers you from SIN, SELF, and SATAN you may truly say “Whom Shall I fear...”
Deliverance is found **only** in the LORD himself - When Jesus Delivers you from SIN, SELF, and SATAN you may truly say “Whom Shall I fear...”
Security is found **only in the LORD himself - When Jesus is the source of Your Security, all other man-made devices and relationships will come into sharp focus and we will see them for what they are, temporary and often flawed attempts to secure our lives and possessions
God’s Light Guides us to the Place of TRUE WORSHIP
God’s Light Guides us to the Place of TRUE WORSHIP
(NIV)
(NIV)
2 For you are God, my only safe haven. Why have you tossed me aside? Why must I wander around in grief, oppressed by my enemies?
3 Send out your light and your truth; let them guide me. Let them lead me to your holy mountain, to the place where you live.
4 There I will go to the altar of God, to God—the source of all my joy. I will praise you with my harp, O God, my God!
2 You are God my stronghold.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?
3 Send me your light and your faithful care, let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.
The Lord’s Light Shines in the Darkness for the GRACIOUS, COMPASSIONATE & RIGHTEOUS
The Lord’s Light Shines in the Darkness for the GRACIOUS, COMPASSIONATE & RIGHTEOUS
(NIV)
(NIV)
4 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.
5 Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,
who conduct their affairs with justice.
The True LIGHT of the World Flows from the LIFE OF JESUS
The True LIGHT of the World Flows from the LIFE OF JESUS
(NIV)
(NIV)
4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.
As a young Navy pilot in WWII, George H.W. Bush embraced a philosophy of life tied to an aviation acronym, CAVU.
These letters stand for Ceiling and Visibility Unlimited. Every pilot, especially in those days of rudimentary instrumentation, prayed for the opportunity to fly in ideal conditions where you could see clearly in every direction.
The 41st United States President principled his life around CAVU so it wasn’t surprising that CAVU was the code used to announce his death at 94 on the night of November 30, 2018.
His faith in Christ released him to experience eternal CAVU. When Gabriel spoke with Mary, his words mirrored the substance of CAVU, “For nothing is impossible with God” (). Christ came to give us a relationship with God where we can experience CAVU (). BostonGlobe.com, 12/1/18
When We Walk in the LIGHT We have FELLOWSHIP & PURIFICATION
When We Walk in the LIGHT We have FELLOWSHIP & PURIFICATION
5 This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.
6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth.
7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness
Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[a] sin.