Contributing to the Light
Selected Texts
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – September 14th, 2025 (am)
Good Morning Grace Church, today is the day we launch Project Illuminate.
· Which means that today is the day that we begin to trust God to provide through us the amount he has led us to pledge.
As we do, I want us to consider this question: “What are we contributing towards?”
· Of course there are specifics that we’ve already laid out in past meetings
o You know by now that we’ve named our campaign “Project Illuminate” because of the need to replace many of the light bulbs around the church
o Additional classrooms, playgrounds, projectors, score boards, siding, and more.
· But there is always a bigger picture in mind ~ that lightbulbs in the sanctuary are just a means to an end ~ and it is that end that we want to consider today.
Prayer for Illumination
· Oh Lord, lead us this morning.
· Scripture says that it is only in your light that we are truly able to see light (Ps. 36:9).
· Lead us into the light this morning, so that we might see You and understand what it is we’re contributing towards this morning and why it is of the utmost value and most worthy not just of our money, but of our whole lives.
· Would you allow us to enter into this project together with joy
Scripture Reading: Genesis 1:1-4
Introduction
We live in a world that is governed by light and darkness.
· Physical light and darkness largely govern our patterns of work and rest, of school and sleep, of social engagement and isolation, of stock market activity, of when we can buy groceries or book a flight
· It even governs our emotions and energy levels, how we feel in the middle of the night is different from how we feel in the middle of the day, and on and on.
o Of course there are exceptions to the rule ~ 24hr convenience stores, night jobs ~ but we might see those as modern inventions to accommodate our unwillingness to submit to these patterns of light and darkness
We also live in a world that is defined by light and darkness.
· How many times have you heard it said this week that we’re in a dark day or a dark chapter in human history
o Darkness, as a concept, is often used in moral terms to refer to things that are bad and evil
· Where on the flip side you might hear someone say – the future is bright or they might describe something as a “ray of light”
o So light, as a concept, is often used to refer to things that are good and hopeful
· So we attribute moral significance to the concepts of light and darkness.
Light and darkness are also central concepts in Scripture.
· They are instrumental elements to the story of Scripture from beginning to end.
As our capital campaign is titled “Project Illuminate” and plays on this theme, I thought it might help us to focus on the concept of light and darkness this morning.
· To focus on what Scripture has to say about it, specifically on what our role might be, as Christians, regarding it, and then to consider how “Project Illuminate” helps us to be what Scripture calls us to be.
1. They Story of Light and Darkness according to Scripture
· Focusing on five ways this theme develops through the storyline of Scripture
At Creation – Genesis 1
The story of light and darkness begins in the very first words of Scripture where we learn that, on the first day of creation, God created light
· Our first observation about the light is that ~ the light was good.
o This is the first of God’s creative acts as described in Genesis 1
· Against the backdrop of a world that was without form and void ~ where darkness was over the face of the deep.
o One thing to notice ~ while light is said to be good, there is no positive evaluation of the darkness.
o On other days of the creation week, when God creates two elements that are compared with one another, they are both called good
§ The land and the sea on day three . . . and it was good
§ The sun and the moon on day four . . . and it was good
§ The creatures of the sea and the creatures of the air on day five . . . and it was good
o But on day one - darkness is not described as one of God’s creative works, nor is it called good, instead it is associated with the unformed and chaotic world that is waiting for God when he begins to put creation into order.
o And when God does speak, his creative act is one that puts limits on the darkness
§ He separates it from the light
§ And establishes his authority over it by giving it a name, “night,”
§ And then he assigns it a function in his very good creation.
· But even within its assigned function, the darkness is still portrayed as something that is in need of a master.
o For on the fifth day, God made two great lights –the sun and the moon
o And Genesis tells us that the sun was created “to rule” the day while the moon, along with the stars, was created “to rule” the night”
o So light is given the position of ruling and reigning in God’s creation while darkness and night are portrayed as being in need of a ruler in the form of light.
That is how the story of light and darkness begins in Scripture, and as the story continues, what we see this concept that “light is good” gets developed further while darkness becomes a metaphor for things that are evil.
As Good and Evil
LIGHT - The goodness of light is communicated most clearly in the idea that it is associated with God, as God himself is said to be a source of light
· Isaiah 10:17 he is called the “Light of Israel”
· In Psalm 104:2 he is said to cover himself “with light as with a garment.”
· 1Tim. 6:16 he is described as “dwelling in unapproachable light”
· 1John 1:5 . . . God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
We also see that when God shows up in the storyline of Scripture, he is portrayed as fire or light
· A burning torch to Abraham, a burning bush to Moses, and a pillar of fire in the wilderness
And when God’s goodness is shown to people it is described in terms of his shining upon them.
· So the blessing in the book of Numbers says, “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you . . .” (Num. 6:24-25)
· And the Psalmist says in Psalm 118, “The LORD is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us.” (Psa. 118:27)
And so we are taught that the good life is found only as we live within God’s light
· So David says Psalm 36 “. . . with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light” (Psa 36:9)
DARKNESS - As light is being applied to the goodness of God in the developing story of Scripture, darkness is being applied to what we might call the darker side of life.
· It is one of the plagues in Egypt in Exodus (Exod. 10:21)
· In Proverbs, the way of darkness is associated with those who are wicked and evil and crooked and devious (Prov. 2:13; 4:19)
· It is used to describe calamity and disaster in Isaiah (Isa. 45:7)
· And to describe the realm of the dead in Job (Job. 17:13)
· The New Testament authors then apply darkness to the spiritual forces that are opposed to God
o So in Acts 26:18 Luke says that those who are under the power of Satan dwell in darkness
o And in Eph. 6:12 Paul speaks of Satan’s evil forces as the cosmic powers over this present darkness
SUMMARY: So light and darkness are concepts that go beyond the physical realm and into the spiritual and moral realm.
Now as the history of humanity unfolds, we see that the creatures who were created to live with God in obedience descend deeper into sin and separation from God, as they do, the concepts of darkness and light take on yet another dimension.
Darkness becomes a metaphor for judgment and light for salvation.
As Judgment and Salvation
DARKNESS – JUDGMENT
Beginning with darkness this time, we see in the OT prophets that there is a darkness that is associated with God. This is not the darkness of evil but rather a dark day of judgment that is brewing for all who have disobeyed him. This day is commonly referred to as the “Day of the Lord.”
So Isaiah prophesies:
Is. 13:9 Behold, the day of the LORD comes,
cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,
to make the land a desolation
and to destroy its sinners from it.
10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations
will not give their light;
the sun will be dark at its rising,
and the moon will not shed its light.
11 I will punish the world for its evil,
and the wicked for their iniquity;
I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant,
and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.
And from the prophet Joel we hear . . .
· The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. (Joel 2:31)
And Amos asks: “Why would you have the day of the LORD? It is darkness, and not light,” (Amos 5:18)
And while these words were spoken in specific contexts, the storyline of Scripture would have us see that they are rightly interpreted as pointing to the just condemnation of all mankind. For ever since the fall of Adam, all of humanity has dwelt in the darkness of sin, for as Psalm 14 says, “there is none who does good, not even one.”
LIGHT - SALVATION
And yet, at the same time and from the mouths of these same prophets, we hear prophesied alongside this day of dark judgment a day when the light will again shine.
So Isaiah says,
Is. 9:2 The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone.
And it’s this very same prophecy that Matthew latches onto when he writes his gospel and he applies it to Jesus as the light that has come into the darkness (Mtt. 4:15).
· And we know that Jesus saw himself as the fulfillment of this prophecy, for in the gospel of John he describes himself as the light of the world (Jn 8:12).
· And Jesus goes on to describe his whole mission to the world in terms of light and darkness when he says:
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. . . . 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
But Jesus does more than just invite people out of darkness and into the light.
· For Jesus, in going to the cross, he actually enters into the darkness himself.
· This is the darkness of evil and sin as he took on the sins of all humanity as well as the darkness of God’s judgment as Jesus suffered God’s wrath against our sin
· And it was both physical - evidenced by the physical darkness that descended upon the land at the time of his crucifixion (Mtt. 27:45) – and spiritual.
But what happens when light enters into the darkness?
· No amount of darkness can quench the light, so also Jesus, having entered into the darkness was not consumed by it
· yes he suffered mightily, yes he was broken unto death, but three days later he would rise again – the light of the World would rise again to shine his unfading glory forever and ever such that John would one say of him – “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5)
TRANSITION: This victory of light over darkness then becomes the distinguishing mark between those who would come after Jesus as the authors of the New Testament, use the terms light and darkness to describe the primary distinction that exists between all of humanity.
That is the distinction between those who have been raised to spiritual life and light and those who remain in spiritual death and darkness.
As Spiritual Life and Spiritual Death
Jesus highlights this distinction when he says,
· John 12:46, “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness”
· and in John 12:36 “While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light”
Paul develops this idea when he says to those who have believed in Christ:
· Eph. 5:8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.
· Col. 1:12-13 . . . the Father . . . has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
But to those who reject Christ he says:
· “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Cor. 4:4)
Such is the state of our world today. We live in a world that is defined by light and darkness where the God who is light has sent his Son to be the light of the World such that whoever believes in him might become sons of light and yet many willingly choose to remain in the darkness where they commit dark and evil acts against God and one another and where they remain under his dark judgment.
But in the final chapters of Scripture, we learn that it will not always be like this.
At the end of time
For if we read our Bibles all the way to the end, we will come across passages like
· 1John 2:8 . . . the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.
· Romans 13:12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand.
Which hint that a change is coming . . .
And eventually we will arrive at Revelation 21 and 22, which speak of the day when the darkness will be put away, once and for all. A day when all evil and all evil doers will have been dealt with and when all judgment will have been doled out such that all darkness will be vanquished from the landscape for all of eternity.
And the eternal city in which God’s people will dwell will have “no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light” (Rev. 21:23) and “night will be no more. . . . for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever” (Rev. 22:5).
That is the story of light and darkness according to Scripture
· When we zoom out and look at the whole story we see it is one where we want to be in the light and not in the darkness
· It is one where knowing and following God puts us in the light and where sin and rebellion against God keep us in the dark
· And it is one where the light ultimately prevails over the darkness
How then should we live?
Now here is the question we’ve been working towards this whole time: If this is the story of light and darkness in Scripture, and if this story is not yet over, which means we are caught up in this story, today, then how are we, as followers of Christ, called to live in the midst of it?
2. Called to Contribute to the Light
To answer this question, let’s look at Matthew 5 where Jesus says to his disciples:
· “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Mtt. 5:14-16)
While I’d love to begin a new sermon here, time won’t permit it, so let us just say that:
· Those who have been brought into the light of Christ are called to then bear the light of Christ to the world around them.
· We are called to contribute to the light
o Those who bear the light of Christ should not hide it deep within themselves
o The church that bears the light of Christ should not hide it in dim hallways or inhospitable grounds.
Christ has brought us into the light so that we might shine that light to others.
· As Peter says ~ we are to be a people who proclaim with our whole lives the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness and into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9)
Certainly, this calling is to be met with our whole lives
· We are called to be a light first and foremost in the way that we live, and we do so insofar as we live like Christ, in humble and sacrificial love, sharing the truth of the gospel in love, and in the way that we love God, and our neighbors, as well as our enemies.
· But one aspect of our lives is our finances
· Just as we contribute our time and gifts and energy to being a light, so also we are called to contribute our finances
· That is what we’re doing today
So how does Project Illuminate give us the opportunity to contribute to the light?
3. Contributing to the Light through Project Illuminate
Ninety percent (90%) of what we raise goes towards this building, to better equip us to be a light to our community:
But it’s the ten percent (10%) tithe on what we raise that I want to tell you about today. By God’s grace, we’ve been reconnected to an old member of Grace Church named Mark Ambrose who, with his wife Laura, lives in one of the darkest regions of the world . . .
Conclusion
These are the ways that Project Illuminate will be contributing to spreading the light of Christ around us.
· May we do so understanding our part in the storyline of Scripture
· May we do so understanding that we are a people who once dwelt in darkness but now have been rescued by the light of the world
· May we do so to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness and into the light ~ so that the light of Christ might shine here in DuPage county and on the other side of the world in Cambodia.
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Works Consulted
McKenzie, Steven L. & Thomas Römer (Main Eds). Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception – 16 (Lectionary – Lots) De Gruyter: Berlin, 2018.
Mounce, William D. (General Editor). Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 2006.
Popović, Anto. “The Creation of Light and of Time in Genesis 1:3-5” Pub. In Antonianum, Jul-Sep 2020. Atla Religion Database with AtlaSerials Plus
Waziri, Jerome. “The Concept of Light in the Fourth Gospel and its applicability to the church today.” Published in: Journal of Biblical Theology, Oct.-Dec 2020. Atla Religion Database with AtlaSerials Plus.
NEXT SUNDAY: Sermon Series–Hebrews: Jesus Is Better, Hearing the Heart of Hebrews, Hebrews 1–13