18
February 2015
Opening
Prayer/Worship
Hymn: What a
friend we have in Jesus
Theme: Christ, the
Image of God
Topic: Let
Light Shine Out of Darkness
Reading: 2
Corinthians 4:3-6
And
even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.4In
their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to
keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is
the image of God. 5For we
do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as
your slaves for Jesus’ sake. 6For it
is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our
hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ.
Introduction
Today
marks the beginning of Lent in Christendom.
Lenten season is a time of remembrance of Christ’s 40 days fasting
before He commenced His earthly ministry.
We use the period of lent to fast, pray, and ‘get closer’ to God,
remembering His great love for us through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ
for our sins. Our theme for the next few
weeks will be on Christ, the image of God, and today’s topic is on how Christ
is the light of the world. The Scripture
asked the question: can two walk together unless they agree? God put this question in His Word to draw our
attention to the fact that He wants us to know and understand His love for
us. This is why He came in flesh and
blood, in the person of Christ, for He wanted to feel and understand our
weaknesses and needs. God now knows and
understands all our needs, and wants us to come to the knowledge and
understanding of His plans for us in and through Christ, the True Light that
shines out of darkness. During this
Lenten season may we come to a deeper knowledge of God through the life of His
Son Jesus Christ.
Questions/Discussion
1. What is your
understanding of the metaphor: let Light shine out of darkness?
John 1:6-18
There was a man
sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a
witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.8He himself was not
the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9The true light, which enlightens
everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in
the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not
know him. 11He came to what
was his own, and his own people
did not accept him. 12But to all who
received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of
God, 13who were born, not
of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word
became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a
father’s only son, full of grace
and truth.15(John testified to him and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I
said, “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” ’)16From his fullness
we have all received, grace upon grace. 17The law indeed was
given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever
seen God. It is God the only Son, who
is close to the Father’s heart, who
has made him known.
John 8:12-18
Again
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.’ 13Then the Pharisees said to him, ‘You are
testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.’ 14Jesus answered, ‘Even if I testify on my own
behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I
am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15You judge by human standards; I
judge no one. 16Yet
even if I do judge, my judgement is valid; for it is not I alone who judge, but
I and the Father who sent me. 17In your law it is written that the testimony of
two witnesses is valid. 18I
testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf.’
2 Corinthians 4:6
For
it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our
hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ.
2. What are the
lessons for us in Mark 9:2-9 regarding Jesus, the Light of the world?
Mark 9:2-9
Six days later,
Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain
apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3and his clothes became dazzling
white, such as no oneon earth could bleach them. 4And there appeared to them Elijah
with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5Then Peter said to
Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one
for Elijah.’ 6He did not know
what to say, for they were terrified. 7Then a cloud
overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the
Beloved; listen to him!’8Suddenly when they
looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. 9 As they were
coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had
seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
3. How do we
experience the True Light of God (Jesus) in our lives?
2 Kings 2:1-12
Now when the Lord was
about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on
their way from Gilgal. 2Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.’
But Elisha said, ‘As the Lord lives,
and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So they went down to Bethel. 3The company of
prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, ‘Do you know
that today the Lord will
take your master away from you?’ And he said, ‘Yes, I know; keep silent.’ 4 Elijah said to
him, ‘Elisha, stay here; for the Lord has
sent me to Jericho.’ But he said, ‘As the Lord lives,
and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So they came to Jericho. 5The company of
prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha, and said to him, ‘Do you
know that today the Lord will
take your master away from you?’ And he answered, ‘Yes, I know; be silent.’ 6 Then Elijah said
to him, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has
sent me to the Jordan.’ But he said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave
you.’ So the two of them went on. 7Fifty men of the
company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as
they both were standing by the Jordan. 8Then Elijah took his
mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one
side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground. 9 When they had
crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Tell me what I may do for you, before I am
taken from you.’ Elisha said, ‘Please let me inherit a double share of your
spirit.’ 10He responded, ‘You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me
as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not.’ 11As they continued
walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of
them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. 12Elisha kept watching
and crying out, ‘Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!’ But
when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in
two pieces.
Psalm 50:1-6
1 The mighty one,
God the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.
3 Our God comes
and does not keep silence,
before him is a devouring fire,
and a mighty tempest all around him.
4 He calls to the heavens above
and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 ‘Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!’
6 The heavens declare his righteousness,
for God himself is judge.
before him is a devouring fire,
and a mighty tempest all around him.
4 He calls to the heavens above
and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 ‘Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!’
6 The heavens declare his righteousness,
for God himself is judge.
John 11:17-27
When
Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four
days. 18Now
Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two milesaway, 19and
many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their
brother. 20When
Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at
home. 21Martha
said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.22But
even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.’23Jesus
said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ 24Martha
said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last
day.’25Jesus
said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those
who believe in me, even though they die, will live, 26and everyone who lives and believes in me will
never die. Do you believe this?’ 27She
said to him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the
Son of God, the one coming into the world.’
Intercession/Worship
Conclusion
During
this Lenten season may we come to a deeper knowledge of God through the life of
His Son Jesus Christ.
Closing Prayer (Collect
for the Last Sunday after Epiphany)
Almighty God, on the holy mount
you revealed to chosen witnesses your well-beloved Son, wonderfully
transfigured: mercifully deliver us from the darkness of this world, and change
us into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord who
lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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