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LEARN & GROW
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Week of October 25, 2009
KEY VERSE
"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.'"(John 8:12)
CENTRAL TRUTH
We do not need to walk in darkness, for Jesus has promised to be the light for us if we will follow Him.
DEVOTION
The words in the key verse, spoken by Jesus to believers and nonbelievers, were an encouragement to those who followed Him then, as well as to Christians down through the centuries. There are several references to God as "light" in the Old Testament, including David's praise: 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? (Psalm 27:1)
Little Nolan, our two year old grandson, was to make his acting debut in a church pageant, along with his parents and big brother, Drew. Though Nolan did very well in most of the rehearsals at coming in with the other children to gather around the man who was playing the part of Jesus, he did not have a speaking part, Nolan seized the opportunity to speak on the first night of the program's presentation when the church lights were turned out. He shouted at the top of his strong little-boy lungs, "Tooo Daaaark!" Nolan's words aptly describe our world today-TOO DARK. Widespread violence is just one of the indicators of the depravity. Moral decay and the breakdown of the family have caused much sadness. People are searching aimlessly for happiness, and suicide is on the rise. Yet, there is a light in the darkness. Jesus, who died for all mankind, is the only hope for light in this sin-darkened world. I love the words of an old hymn by Isaac Watts:
The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin,
The Light of the world is Jesus!
Like sunshine at noonday, His glory shone in.
The Light of the world is Jesus!
Chorus
Come to the light, ‘tis shining for thee;
Sweetly the light has dawned upon me.
Once I was blind, but now I can see;
The Light of the world is Jesus! May we allow Jesus' love in our hearts to light the darkness around us and to give us boldness to tell others of the Light of the World.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
What is an area in your life where you need to allow Jesus' light to shine in?
How can you share with others that Jesus is the Light?
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