Sermonette: August 7, 2023

I remarked the other day that when I was young, I would hear “old” people talk about how fast time went the older they got. I thought that was pretty silly. Time was time, it didn't change speed. Now, being that I am included in that “old fogy” group, I do indeed understand that time goes by more quickly the older I get. Now here we are nearing the end of summer. How did that happen so quickly? Seems like just last week seed was going in the ground and now it is time for harvest. Teams involved in fall sports are practicing and the summer sports are nearing their end. Parents are shopping for kids' school supplies. One thing that is also going by quickly is the amount of daylight we have each day. On a daily basis we only lose a couple of minutes of daylight each day and isn't even noticeable. But, at a few minutes a day, think what we have lost since the solstice on June 21. We now have over an hour less daylight than we did then. This brings to mind how often the word "light" is found in our Bible. In the third verse of our Bibles, Genesis 1:3, God said let there be light and bam! (I added the bam), there was light. In 1 John 1:5, he writes God is light and there is no darkness in him. In Matthew we read that Jesus likened God's word to a lamp. He said you don't light the lamp and then put a basket over it. Instead, when we light the lamp, we put it on a lamp stand so that it can light the darkness. In Psalm 4:6, the writer says, “O that we might see some good. Let the light of your face shine on us O Lord.” I could go on and on of course but I'll end with an “I am” statement from the Gospel of John. Jesus made a number of "I Am" statements during his ministry. This one in John 8:12 says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

We need light, both physically and spiritually. If we walk in darkness we may lose our way or even stumble and fall. In our own house, we can find our way because we are familiar with it. We know where every piece of furniture is located. We might bump into a chair once in a while but no problem, we can find our way. Think of this in a spiritual sense. If we walk in darkness, without God's light, we also may lose our way and maybe stumble and fall. We can negotiate our way in our home at night but what if every night, someone comes in and rearranges our furniture. You might think you are on the right path but you run into everything. You could even get injured. You need to turn on the light. That's what Satan does in our lives. He will put many stumbling blocks in our way. He doesn't want us to find our way. He doesn't want us to follow God's light.

When children have special music for our worship service, sometimes they sing “This Little Light of Mine.” This little light of mine, I'm going to make it shine. Jesus gave it to me, I'm going to let it shine. I pray that each of you are led by God's light. I urge you to let others see the light God has given you. Blessings.