Sermons

FILTER BY:

← back to list

Jul 24, 2022

John - Light of the World

Passage: John 8:12-30

Speaker: Brian Land

Series: John: Come and See

Category: Grace Brevard

Keywords: lead, hope, darkness, fear, light, direction, wilderness

Theme: It is readily apparent that we are surrounded by darkness. And, if we are honest with ourselves, also have that darkness seeping out from within. Jesus stands up at the end of the Feast of Booths (which commemorates the 40 years in the wilderness where Israel followed God in the form of a cloud by day and fire by night) and proclaims “I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.” This second “I AM” statement reveals Jesus not only as the One-And-The-Same Lord that led Israel through the desert, but the Lord that has come to enter into our dark wilderness in order to reveal it, heal it (us) and lead us to the Real Promised Land.

Theme: It is readily apparent that we are surrounded by darkness. And, if we are honest with ourselves, also have that darkness seeping out from within. Jesus stands up at the end of the Feast of Booths (which commemorates the 40 years in the wilderness where Israel followed God in the form of a cloud by day and fire by night) and proclaims “I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.” This second “I AM” statement reveals Jesus not only as the One-And-The-Same Lord that led Israel through the desert, but the Lord that has come to enter into our dark wilderness in order to reveal it, heal it (us) and lead us to the Real Promised Land.

CENTRAL TEXT: John 8:12-30

12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. 17 In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. 18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” 19 They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

21 So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23 He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” 25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” 27 They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. 29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him.

CALL TO WORSHIP: 

Rev 21:22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there