Darkness on SermonAudio

Have you ever met a blind person? Your first response may have been pity for the person you met. Your second response may have been curiosity. How do they handle the normal activities of life without being able to see? Even with a cane or a seeing eye dog, there are plenty of challenges for blind people. But they are not completely without senses. After a while they learn to perceive things by hearing what is around them or feeling what is nearby. And sometimes they are able to develop those senses to a higher degree than those who can see. In John chapter 9, we will meet a man who was born blind. For many years, he lived in darkness and depended on others to guide him. Then one day, he met Jesus and everything changed. But what is remarkable about him is that he was able to see what many others could not.

I Am the Light of the World (Communion) I. Dark World II. Divine Light Read: John 8:1-20 Text: John 8:12

Passing the Laugh Test, means being spared from God Laughing and Mocking you and me, for our refusal to heed and obey, God's Word of Salvation, offered Freely in The Market Place of Free and Sovereign Grace. In Isaiah 55:1, God has metaphorically unlocked the prison door, broken the chains of our Deep Fall in Adam, and Sincerely Offered Salvation for FREE, to every sinner on earth. Gen. 3:15 But Fallen mankind, love satan, sin, self and the world, and refuses to leave their prison and chains. God at The Judgment, shall laugh and mock their foolish choice, of rejecting the Greatest Bargain EVER !!! No one in hell, will be able to say they COULD not be Saved; but that they WOULD not !!!

John 10:1-6 — Sheep don't study doctrine. They know a voice. Jesus draws the line between a shepherd who enters by the door and a thief who climbs the wall in the dark. This expository preaching message walks verse-by-verse through John 10:1-6, tracing the picture of a first-century sheepfold — one door, one porter, many flocks pressed together in the dark — to show how the religious leaders of John 9 fit the profile of the thief and robber Jesus describes. This is a message about knowing God's voice: not by argument, not by proof, but by recognition. The sheep aren't theologians. They just know the shepherd's voice when they hear it — and they know a stranger's voice just as fast. Drawing on Numbers 27, Jeremiah 23 and 50, Ezekiel 14 and 34, and the contrast between John 9's blind man and the Pharisees who cast him out, this expository preaching sermon asks a simple, searching question: when the true voice called, did you follow it — or have you been following a false shepherd without even knowing his name? This sermon walks through John 10:1-6, explaining: - Why there is "no door" between John chapters 9 and 10 — same men, same moment - The difference between a thief (stealth) and a robber (force) — and why John uses both words on purpose - Why the sheepfold in this parable is Israel, not heaven and not the church - How Jeremiah 50 describes shepherds who dry up and starve their own flock - Why legitimacy is structural, not self-declared — "he that entereth by the door" - How the blind man of John 9 responds to a voice before he ever has eyes to see - Why the shepherd leads sheep out, while the Pharisees only ever cast people out

The sermon defines the church's mission not as a counter-ministry but as a people devoted to Jesus Christ, building upon the foundation of 1 Peter 2:4-10. It explains that believers are living stones constructed into a spiritual house and a holy priesthood, set apart to offer spiritual sacrifices through Christ. The text emphasizes that this holiness is not achieved by human effort alone but is empowered by the gospel, resulting in a life marked by obedience and righteousness. By living out this transformed identity, the local congregation serves as a visible witness that proclaims God's excellencies to the world. Ultimately, the church exists to be a community of holy worshipers who declare the glory of Him who called them out of darkness into His marvelous light.

The sermon analyzes the message to the church in Pergamum, depicting Jesus advancing with a two-edged sword against Satan's throne while simultaneously protecting His people. It highlights the believers' tenacious faith despite living in a hostile spiritual environment and warns against internal compromises like the teachings of Balaam and the Nicolaitans. The preacher emphasizes that the Gospel alone is sufficient to dismantle darkness and defeat adversarial forces without reliance on worldly power. Finally, the message offers hope through the promise of divine sustenance and intimate fellowship with God for those who overcome. This vision encourages the church to remain faithful, focused on Scripture, and anchored in the glory of the future kingdom.

The song serves as a call to action for individuals to serve as a visible source of hope and guidance by allowing their internal light to shine, much like a radiant city positioned on a hill. By embracing the role of "the salt of the earth," the lyrics encourage the use of kindness, peace, and tangible good deeds to improve the world and "make life taste sweeter." Ultimately, the composition emphasizes a collective mission to illuminate darkness and leave a lasting legacy of love by lifting the weary and providing a beacon for those who are lost.

"Why do bad things happen to good people?" It is a question that captured the cultural zeitgeist years ago when a famous Rabbi penned a book by that very title. It is a question that resonates in hospital waiting rooms, in the quiet aftermath of a broken marriage, and in the dark nights of the soul when the heavens seem like brass. But as we open the pages of Scripture and look at the gritty reality of the human condition, we find that a much more searching question confronts us: Why do bad things happen to everybody? The truth is that we are fallen people living in a fallen world. Difficulty is not an elective in the school of life; it is the core curriculum. From the moment the first tear was shed outside the gates of Eden, humanity has wrestled with the unrelenting presence of pain. We often search for a formula to escape it, yet the deepest insights into the meaning of our existence are rarely found on the mountaintops of ease. Instead, they are forged in the "crucible of testing." Nowhere is this more vividly displayed than in the life of the Apostle Paul. We often view Paul as a spiritual titan, a man of iron will and unshakeable resolve. But when we look at the historical context of his second letter to the Corinthians, we find a man at his absolute lowest point. Paul was not merely having a "difficult season." He was profoundly hurt, deeply betrayed, and, by his own admission in chapter 7, "depressed." He had poured nearly two years of his life into the church at Corinth, leading them to Christ and nurturing them with the tenderness of a father. Yet, they had turned on him, led astray by "false apostles"—lying braggarts who slandered Paul's character and perverted