July 5, Communion Sunday, Independence Sunday

Lesson: Ephesians 5.3-14

Sermon Title: Live in Love Live In Light

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INTRODUCTION

Time Off

Two factory workers were talking. "I know how to get some time off from work." said the man.

"How do you think you will do that?" said the other one. He proceeded to show her...by climbing up to the rafters, and hanging upside down.

The boss walked in, saw the worker hanging from the ceiling, and asked him what on earth he was doing? "I'm a light bulb" answered the guy.

"I think you need some time off," said the boss. So, the man jumped down and walked out of the factory. The second worker began walking out too. The boss asked her where did she think she was going?

"Home. I can't work in the dark."

    1. You cannot work in the dark.

    2. Is it as difficult to live in the darkness?

MAIN BODY:

  1. Why not choose to live in the light.

    1. The light produces sunshine, music, gladness, springtime, and joy.

    2. Listen to the words of "Sunshine In My Soul," written by Eliza E. Hewitt

1.
There is sunshine in my soul today,
More glorious and bright
Than glows in any earthly sky,
For Jesus is my Light.

Refrain

O there's sunshine, blessèd sunshine,
When the peaceful, happy moments roll;
When Jesus shows His smiling face,
There is sunshine in the soul.

2.
There is music in my soul today,
A carol to my King,
And Jesus, listening, can hear
The songs I cannot sing.

Refrain

3.
There is springtime in my soul today,
For, when the Lord is near,
The dove of peace sings in my heart,
The flowers of grace appear

Refrain

4.
There is gladness in my soul today,
And hope and praise and love,
For blessings which He gives me now,
For joys "laid up" above.

Refrain

    1. There is music.


    2. There is springtime

    3. There is gladness

    4. There is joy in the soul.

    5. There is laughter in the soul.

  1. This joy comes about because we are touched by Jesus.

He Touched me

(Bill Gaither / Gloria Gaither)

Shackled by a heavy burden,
'Neath a load of guilt and shame.
Then the hand of Jesus touched me,
And now I am no longer the same.

He touched me,
Oh He touched me,
And oh the joy that floods my soul!
Something happened and now I know,
He touched me and made me whole.

Since I met this blessed Savior,
Since He cleansed and made me whole,
I will never cease to praise Him,
I'll shout it while eternity rolls.

He touched me,
Oh He touched me,
And oh the joy that floods my soul!
Something happened and now I know
He touched me and made me whole.

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  1. His touch brings light, changes life.

    1. The light comes from Jesus Christ.

      1. He is the light of the world.

        1. 12Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. 13He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
          15 "Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
          on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--
          16 the people who sat in darkness
          have seen a great light,
          and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
          light has dawned."
          17From that time Jesus began to proclaim, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near," (Matthew 4:12-17, NRSVA).

        2. 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it, (John 1:1-5, NRSVA).

        3. 17"Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God," (John 3:17-21, NRSVA).

        4. 12Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life," (John 8:12, NRSVA).

        5. 35Jesus said to them, "The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going, (John 12:35, NRSVA).

        6. 44Then Jesus cried aloud: "Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness. 47I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. 48The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge; on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge, 49for I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak. 50And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me," (John 12:44-50, NRSVA).

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  1. He touches the mind and opens it from sleep to wakefulness.

    1. 13but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14for everything that becomes visible is light.

      2. Therefore it says,
      "Sleeper, awake!
      Rise from the dead,
      and Christ will shine on you."

  1. The mind is asleep, Christ awakes it.

  2. Dead is not without life, it is illiteracy

  1. He touches the heart and moves it from hardness to sensitivity.

    1. 14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep, (Romans 12:14-15, NRSVA).

      Paul writes in Romans 12 that we are to

    1. You cannot bless, weep, or rejoice with a hard heart.

    2. Our hearts must become soft, but strong in the strength that Jesus provides.

  1. He touches the spirit and creates ambition and desire.

    1. The ambition is not for worldly fame or achievement.

    2. It is the desire to become more like the example that we have been given.

    3. Your desire is to become as much like Jesus as it is possible for you to achieve.

  2. To know the meaning and purpose of this process it is necessary to be able to distinguish between darkness and light.

An ancient rabbi once asked his pupils how they could tell when the night had ended and the day was on its way back. "Could it be," asked one student, "when you can see an animal in the distance and tell whether it is a sheep or a dog?"

"No," answered the Rabbi.

"Could it be," inquired another, "when you can look at a tree in the distance and tell whether it is a fig tree or a peach tree?"

"No," the Rabbi replied.

"Well, then, what is it?" his pupils demanded.

The wise old teacher responded with words of immense wisdom: "It is when you look on the face of any woman or man and see that she or he is your sister or brother. Because if you cannot do this, then no matter what time it is, it is still night."

    1. This is the nature of this segment from Paul's Letter to the Ephesians.

    2. He writes about the nature and liabilities of the darkness

      1. You could create and endless list of things that are dark.

      2. The citation from Matthew 4 comes from Isaiah 9.2

        3. 2The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness--on them light has shined, (Isaiah 9:2, NRSVA).

        1. The darkness is ignorance of God.

        2. The darkness is the misunderstanding of God.

        3. The darkness is the misapprehension of God.

Misapprehension is the fearful or uneasy anticipation of the future; dread (1)

    1. Paul holds up the content, beauty and power of light.

      1. In the light there is thanksgiving.

      2. The fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true.

        1. What is good?

        2. What is right?

        3. What is true?

        4. What is pleasing to the Lord.

      3. Where are you gong to find the definitions that help you to create meaning and application?

      4. You turn to Jesus and the writings of the New Testament.

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  1. We stay in the light because of our covenant relationship.

    1. Arena Congregational Church: Church Covenant

We are banded together as a Congregational Christian Church to maintain the worship of God, to proclaim the gospel of Christ, to develop in men and women a consciousness of our relations and duties to God and our fellow men and women; and to inspire each other with love for redeeming truth, a passion for righteousness, and an enthusiasm for service. To this end we publicly pledge our personal loyalty to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, and we covenant with God and with one another that we will strive to express his spirit in our lives, both as individual believers and as a church; to live together as Christian friends and to submit ourselves to the government of this church; always working for its progress, giving liberally of our means for its support, and praying for its increase in efficiency, its purity in life and purpose, its peace and fellowship in service, and seeking in every way to make it an influence for the building up of the kingdom of God.

Adopted May 5, 2002

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CONCLUSION:

  1. So Open Up Your Heart and Let the Sunshine In

    1. This is a song by Stuart Hamblen

Mommy told me something
a little kid should know.
It's all about the devil
and I've learned to hate him so.
She said he causes trouble
when you let him in the room.
He will never ever leave you
if your heart is filled with gloom.

So let the sun shine in
face it with a grin.
Smilers never lose
and frowners never win.
So let the sun shine in
face it with a grin
Open up your heart and let the sun shine in.

When you are unhappy,
the devil wears a grin
But oh, he starts to running
when the light comes pouring in
I know he'll be unhappy
'Cause I'll never wear a frown
Maybe if we keep on smiling
He'll get tired of hanging 'round.

If I forget to say my prayers
the devil wears a grin.
But he feels so awful awful
when he sees me on my knees
So if you're full of trouble
and you never seem to win,
Just open up your heart and let the sun shine in.

So let the sun shine in
face it with a grin.
Smilers never lose
and frowners never win.
So let the sun shine in
face it with a grin
Open up your heart and let the sun shine in.

Amen!

1. misapprehension. Dictionary.com. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/apprehension (accessed: July 03, 2009).

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