Message Notes for March 8, 2020

Series: I Am

Title: I am the light of the world

Exodus 3:13-15  … God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” …’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

Personal Notes:

What kind of things make us blind to truths and realities?

John 8:12nlt  “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

Three things Jesus’ light means:

1) No eternal darkness.

Isaiah 49:6 I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.

Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

2) Being keenly aware of our sin.

1 John 1:6-7   If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

3) Clear pathways for life-giving decisions and directions.

Guides us along life’s pathway and leads us into eternal life with him.

Psalm 36:9 nlt For you are the fountain of life, the light by which we see.

Psalm 119:105  Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.

What are we to do?

A) Ask God to melt your heart. Ezekiel 36:26-27

B) Take a leap beyond your knowledge box and eat from the tree of life. John 6:68-69

Family/Group Study Notes for the Week of March 8, 2020

Series: I Am

Title:  I am the light of the world

• Have you ever been in a situation where you couldn’t see what someone else could see?  What was that like?  Was it visual, spiritual, cultural, something about someone, or something about yourself?  What was it like not to see and then to be able to see?  How do you think this kind of blindness affects our decisions, relationships and understandings of others?
• Read John 7: 40-52.  What is going on in this passage?  What were some people seeing and others not seeing?  How were those who understood who Jesus was, treated by those who did not understand?  How is this similar to how people react today? 
• What do you think kept some of the people from seeing Jesus for who He was even though they had heard Him speak and seen His miracles?  What made them blind?  How can this be similar for people today?
• Read John 8:12. What does this passage mean to you?  What does Jesus want us to know about how He relates to us?  What does the “light of life” mean?  What do you think makes some blind to this?
• Read 1 John 1:5-10.  What does it mean that there is no darkness in God?  How does this relate to vs.6? How does walking in the light increase our fellowship with God?  If we are walking in the light, who are we walking with?  Why is it important for the light of Jesus to reveal our sin?  How does pride affect this?
• How can you lift Jesus up to the people around you and in the community? 
• Gather in smaller groups and pray for each other.