The Light of the World

Today at GSJ, we celebrated another year of service for the Children’s Choir. The third Sunday of each month is normally set aside to allow the children a more visible and viable role in corporate worship. What a joy it was to see the children in a unique way use their God-given talent to the praise of His glory. We were especially blessed with a musical rendition by Brianna Warren, one of our youth who is currently mastering the art of playing the piano. The church responded with great joy as her growth as a musician became extremely apparent.

I preached a message during our 8am service entitled “The Light of the World” taken from Matthew 5:14-16. My appreciation for this passage of scripture has deepened over the years and since it weighed heavily on my mind this week, I could not wait to preach it. In fact, the Sermon on the Mount, which happens to be the greatest sermon I’ve ever read, by the greatest preacher who ever walked this earth (Jesus), is one of my favorite New Testament discourses. After sharing with His disciples the character which should color one’s conduct in kingdom living, Jesus proceeds to let them know who they really are and what He expected of them. Here is the Sermon Outline:

Title: The Light of the World

Text: Matthew 5: 14-16

Thrust: One who names the name of Christ must have conduct that is consistent, continuous and conspicuous for the world to see and God to be glorified.


I. The People of the Light

A. The Light Identified v.14a

1) Jesus is the Light of the world (John 8:12; John 9:5)


2) You are the light of the world (Eph. 5:8; John 12:36; Matt. 6:22; Rom. 13:12; 1 John 1:7)

a. the poor in spirit (v. 3)

b. those who mourn (v.4)

c. those who are gentle (v.5)

d. those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (v.6)

e. those who are merciful (v.7)

f. those who are pure in heart (v.8)

g. those who are peacemakers (v.9)

h. those who are persecuted (v.10-12)

B. The Light Illustrated – v. 14b; 15a

1) a city on a hill

2) a candle in the house

II. The Power of the Light

A) To dispel darkness

B) To determine direction v. 15b

III. The Purpose of the Light

A) Your good works exposed v.16

B) God’s name exalted v.16

During the 11am worship we had a special guest minister, Rev. Derick Buggs, Associate Minister from the Bethlehem Baptist Church here in South Bend, where my brother and fellow blogger, Pastor Keith D. Witherspoon serves as pastor. Using as a text, Jeremiah 29:10-14, he challenged our youth to trust God’s plan and promises for their lives regardless of the pain life gives or the peer pressure they will face. Rev. Buggs, under the teaching of his pastor is becoming a solid, sound and strong preacher of the Gospel. Special thanks to Pastor Keith D. Witherspoon for sharing his son in the ministry with us this Lord’s Day.

After church, I headed to Bethlehem Baptist Church for dinner upon the invitation of the pastor as they concluded their Annual Senior Day. Truly, this has been a full day and I can’t wait to recuperate on Monday. Pray that the Lord refreshes, reinvigorate and renew me for the responsibilities of this coming week.

The Name the 'King' Gave

I am currently reading Dr. David Jeremiah’s devotional entitled, Signs of Life: Back to the Basics of Authentic Christianity. In the meditation entitled “Turn on the Lights” he refers to a short story he found in a devotional by Kim P. Davis with Beth Moore, called, Voices of the Faithful: Inspiring Stories of Courage from Christians Serving Around the World (page 164). It stresses the importance of letting our light shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify the Father in heaven, Matthew 5:16. Let me share the inspiration I received today. It reads:

"A missionary named Gerri told of working in an African town. One day exciting news reached her. The Lozi king is coming to attend church services and to eat at her house. As far as Gerri knew, the king usually didn’t visit private homes, and word of his upcoming visit spread through the town like wildfire.

When the day finally arrived, the king entered Gerri’s house. She explained in the Lozi language that she was a missionary and that, in Lozi, the name Gerri sounded like “Jelly” because the “r” sound is hard for the people to pronounce. She boldly asked the king for a Lozi name. Though she didn’t know it at the time, such a request was against protocol, but the king smiled and said, “I’ll think about it.”

Later as he prepared to leave, the king said, “My wife and I have decided upon a name for you. It will be Liseli [pronounced lee-SHE-lee]. It means ‘light.’ Just as the sun gives light and life to plants, animals, and people, I want God’s Word to be life and light to the people of Western Province.”

Gerri later wrote,” I was stunned and pleased to receive this blessing. After the king left the room, a lady seated nearby privately said, ‘Ah, you are a very lucky woman to be given a name by a king.”

Well, the King of Kings has given you a name – and it’s LIGHT! (pp. 14-15).

May the glorious light of God's presence shine through our very lives so that there is no question as to who we are or Whose we are.