Darkness on SermonAudio

John 11:7-16 — The disciples begged Jesus not to go back to the place that nearly killed him. He went anyway. God never promised to move the stones — He promised to walk with you through them. This expository preaching message walks through John 11:7-16, where Jesus turns back toward Judea — the very place his disciples had already watched him nearly stoned to death — to raise Lazarus from the dead. Their fear wasn't cowardice; it was memory. But Jesus answers their fear not with comfort, but with a clock: "Are there not twelve hours in the day?" This message is for anyone facing a "Judea" of their own — a place they've already been hurt once and don't want to face again. It walks through what it means to walk in the light of God's will versus stumbling in the dark of your own fear, and closes with Thomas's surprising declaration: "Let us also go, that we may die with him." This verse-by-verse exposition of John 11:7-16 traces the doctrine of God's appointed timing back through Genesis 1, and forward through Ecclesiastes 12, Romans 8:28, and the resurrection hope of 1 Corinthians 15 — showing that walking in daylight never promised an easy road, only an appointed one. This expository preaching message through John covers: - Why the disciples' fear of Judea was reasonable — and why reasonable isn't always right - "Are there not twelve hours in the day?" — God's fixed and numbered timing - The difference between walking in the light and stumbling in the dark - Why Jesus calls Lazarus "our friend" instead of "your friend" - Why Jesus was glad he wasn't there to stop Lazarus's death - The old biblical word for death: "sleep," and what it means for believers today

Acts 13:4-12 4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. 6 When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 7 He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, "You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? 11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time." Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

Jesus is the Light of the world, and those who believe on Him are called to follow Him. Genuine discipleship means more than beginning with Christ; it means continuing to follow Christ in His Word.

The Ways They Walk Ephesians 4:17-19 I. In The Darkness. v.18 II. In The Dullness. v.19

This sermon was preached on September 13, 2026 at Antioch Presbyterian Church, a congregation of Calvary Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America located in Woodruff, South Carolina. Pastor Zachary Groff preached this sermon entitled "Principles of Holiness" on Exodus 22:16-31. For more information about Antioch Presbyterian Church, please visit ⁠antiochpca.com⁠ or contact us at ⁠⁠⁠[email protected].

I Cannot Come Down Series through Nehemiah, No. 12 Nehemiah 6:1-9 9/13/26 Sunday AM Sermon

When Jesus and His disciples met a man who had been blind from birth, the disciples wanted to know who was to blame. But Jesus showed them that sometimes our struggles are not about punishment or blame—they can become opportunities for God to reveal His power. When we face difficult situations, we may ask, "Why me?" But God can use even our hardest seasons for His glory. Your situation may be difficult, but it is not beyond God's ability to change. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world." He then healed the man, and for the first time in his life, he could see. This reminds us that Jesus can bring light into our darkest situations. Even when we don't understand what God is doing, we can trust Him and obey His Word. Where there is darkness, Jesus can bring light; where there is hopelessness, He can bring hope.

Verse by verse exposition through the book of Hebrews. (Sermon also includes the reading and exhortation from the Lord's Table liturgy) Heb 12:18 For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore. 20 (For they could not endure what was commanded: "And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow." 21 And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.") 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.