Sharing the Light and Life of Jesus

John 1:1-5

4/12/26

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  John 1:1-5

Today we are doing something a little different. We have been working on organizational direction and strategy, and we are beginning a series where we share that with you. 

We were really blessed to get connected with a pastor named Terry Long of North Carolina Baptist Association. Terry pastored a church and then took the role as the Church Health & Revitalization Strategist for North Carolina Baptist convention. Basically he meets with churches to talk about how to get healthy and growing. He does this by helping churches figure out where they want to go and then determining how to get there. 

He has met with a leadership group of about 13 people (staff, elders, team leaders) three times and had lots of calls with me. And so we want to begin sharing what we have learned. 

It's so important to get the vision of the organization correct. Vision has to do with where are we going? Where are we going as a church? 

Life lesson: it is important to know where you are going. 

When you know where you are going you know how to align other ministries and programs with that. Whatever you are looking at is where you are going. We have had some neat success over the years but also realize, like any organization, we have not all been pulling in the same direction.

Vision statements need to be addressed and retooled every 4-5 years. Freshen, refocus, and reconnect those who are in the organization. We were due for that. We have new people, new location, and merging that into people who have been here. 

You may wonder what does a church do to begin forming its vision. In our first session he asked us this question

In 5 years,  if God blesses,  our church will look like…

That is a great question to answer. It raises questions like what should a church look like? What is our job? What are our opportunities? What do we long to see accomplished.

Before simply sharing what we came up with, I want to look at a few things from the passage we read today that gets us in the word and sets up our vision. 

First, I want to share three diving convictions from the passage we read that shape our vision.

• The Centrality of Jesus

The first thing for our church is that Jesus has to be the focus of it. Jesus is the focus on what God is doing in the world. Jesus is kind of important, and we want everyone to know that. 

The first three words of this book echo the first three words of the Bible. Genesis 1:1 opens, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” John is connecting Jesus Christ with creation, claiming Jesus existed before creation. Jesus existed before the world began, before there was time. If you could extract footage of when God created the world out of nothing, Jesus was there. 

3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

All things came through him and do not exist without him. All depend on him, whether they acknowledge it or not. If that is the case, then we certainly are not going to build a church without him. 

His centrality leads to 

Tuna casserole. Tuna casserole without tuna is not tuna casserole. Similarly, church without Jesus is no church. He is the reason we are here. Take away Jesus and we have nothing.

We want Jesus– all of him in our church. Jesus taught glorious things. Jesus taught hard things. You can’t understand the glorious things without understanding the hard things and so we are going to compromise none of it. 

• The Necessity of Jesus

 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. John 1:1-4

Light is kind of important for life: without light everything would die. No light, no photosynthesis, no plants, no bugs, no birds, no grass, no cows, no food chain, no people. Without light the temperature of the earth would plummet and everything would freeze and die. 

We were created for Him. Without Him, we have no light and no life. You may say, “Hey, I’m just fine without Jesus.” But we’re like a cut flower without Jesus. We may look good for a moment, we may get some momentary praise. But we are dying. 

Even our best moments are running on empty. Every pleasure is muted, every success incomplete, because it’s disconnected from the very source it was meant to flow from. Real life isn’t found in having more—it’s found in being reconnected to Him. This is why having everything in the world is never enough.

Scripture says without Jesus we are dead in our sin (Eph 2:1–3). What’s it mean to be dead in sin? Death is fundamentally separation. Physical death separates us from other people. Spiritual death is eternal separation from the source of life/God.

By nature people are dead in sin, but God makes alive. This life comes through Jesus, He makes a way for us to come back to God. 

Jesus is the light of the world. He gives us life. That is true now, but it is certainly true of eternal life. You cannot have that without believing in and submitting to Jesus Christ. God opens his arms and calls all to come in, but you can't come in just any way you want. You have to submit to his plan, and it is by confessing Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. 

This is not always popular news, but it is good news, because it means your ability to find life is not dependent on income, vacation abilities, good looks, or new NIL deal. It does mean that it is dependent on you turning to and trusting in Jesus Christ. That is where you find this. It is by confessing Jesus Christ is Lord and submitting your life to him. 

The gospel is the good news that you no longer have to wander about in the darkness and despair of sin, but you can enjoy the light of righteousness through Jesus Christ. 

Do you need a recharge? Feeling weary inside? Want to ignite your soul, then go sun yourself in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. 

• The Mission of Jesus

 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 

Jesus’ mission was to bring light into the darkness. Throughout John’s Gospel we find an ongoing struggle between light and darkness

John describes the amazing fact of the resurrection as “That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it”

Jesus came to share the light. His people are called to share that. Churches are to share it. This should factor in somewhere with what we are doing. Jesus spent time with his disciples, teaching them, walking with them, being there for them, and then he sent them out. 

The darkness has done everything it could to oppose: it schemed and plotted, but it failed. No matter what the darkness does, the light will still shine; it will not be overcome. But it will try and we see its work in the world. 

Jesus is the light and his people follow him. 

7He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.

This describes John the baptist. He is not the light, but he bears witness to the light. This is his calling. This is our calling. We are to go out and into a dark world and share the light and life of Christ with others. We testify to who he is. 

This is the great commission. 

We are called to do this as Christians, to bear witness to Jesus. This is the role of the church. This is what believers are to give themselves to. 

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” matt 28:10

They are to make disciples and mature disciples. Share the light and life of Jesus and then help them reach maturity. 

We are to build into others, teach them, equip them to do the things Jesus calls us to do and then to share that with others. To use the illustration of light. The passing of a torch. A light touches it and ignites the torch, that torch then goes and lights another torch. That is what we are called to do. We are to bring the light to others. Teaching others gives them power. We want to empower- to invest with power- them so they shine in a dark world. 

What does darkness look like in our world? 

New Mission Statement:

Empowering followers of Christ to 

experience the light and life of Jesus 

and to share it with a world that is 

hurting and longing for hope.

Let me explain this. 

Empowering Followers of Christ
We exist to ignite and equip. We are not just gathering with no purpose. Every time we come together, our aim is that people leave stronger, sharper, and filled with the Spirit of God. The church isn’t meant to be passive; it’s a training ground for purpose. We go after truth, growth, and the power of God in a way that changes how you think, how you live, and how you show up in the world. We believe you can’t give away what you don’t possess—so we prioritize experiencing the truth and power of God for ourselves first, so we can carry it everywhere we go. We want to equip and send out spiritual leaders who strengthen the church and influence their surroundings (Eph 4:12).

We are not to do all the ministry but to equip others to share the light and life of Jesus. If you long to make a difference in the world we want to be a place that builds you up to do this and launches you out.

People are tired and burned out and alone. Come to church. We want you to be refreshed spiritually, find healing, find connection. Remember you have a greater purpose to life than just making a paycheck or getting bosses to do list done. You are a child of God and loved by God.

Light and Life
Jesus didn’t come to make people religious—He came to make them alive. To renew hearts and minds (Ezek 36). Help them find fullness of life (john 10:10). 

Light has an element of truth- revelation of word. His word is a light unto my path. Light conveys warmth– will know his disciples by the love they have.  His light brings clarity, truth, and direction in a confused world. His life brings fullness, joy, and purpose where there is emptiness. We are intentional about grounding people deeply in the Word of God while also helping them experience the vibrant, abundant life Jesus promised. This isn’t just information—it’s transformation. And that transformation is meant to be shared, naturally and boldly, in everyday life with both words and deeds (Matt 5:16).

Light illuminate. CS Lewis, Believe in God as believe in sun, not just because I see it but because by it I see everything.

Life: This also reminds that Jesus called his disciples to a way of life. It was to attend a once a week meeting. It is to live for him in every part of life. We want to share that with others. We don't just preach the gospel but we share our very selves. We want people to bring people into this. It is a way of life. 

Want families to experience this. Power in this. Great relationship with kids, a major thing has been our time in church, hearing the message, talking about what God is doing, confessing our sins, praying for God to work.

Experience and Share

There is a focus on sharing the light and love of Jesus with others. But in order to share something means that you have something to share. 

Share your pie. Means I have pie to share. 

We pursue a real, growing relationship with Jesus—becoming mature, grounded, and faithful in our daily walk with him. But it doesn’t and can’t stop there. 

What God forms in us, we intentionally carry into everyday life—at work, at home, and in our communities—living on mission, purposefully bringing his truth, love, and power to others.

Sharing can't just be something we talk about. It can't be something that we hear about. It has to be something that we are doing. How can you know the life changing news that life is found in Jesus and then ignore telling others about it. We are called to do this, and it is imperative that we commit to this as a church. We want to train, equip, and empower people to do this.

When you focus on sharing it makes you pay more attention to what you are learning. Small group leader. Love leading because it makes me go deeper in the word. So true! 

The hurting and Searching for Hope

There are fewer and fewer people going to church today in our nation and community. When people hurt they go to secular counselors, they turn to alcohol and drugs, they work more and more, but they don’t think about going to church. The Church feels irrelevant to what they are dealing with. 

Jesus called his followers to make disciples. If we don't do this we are not obeying him. 

Let’s be honest—people are struggling more than ever, whether they admit it or not. Success doesn’t fix emptiness. Comfort doesn’t heal heartache.  We are building a church that doesn’t avoid those realities but speaks directly into them with truth, compassion, and power. This is a place of healing, restoration, and renewed purpose. We are equipping people to step into the lives of others with confidence—to bring hope, to offer help, and to be a real answer where it’s needed most. Christ invites all to come and find the healing and rest that their souls long for (Matt 11:28). We have full confidence that he is able to take away their shame and make them radiant (Psalm 34:5). 

Lets be honest we all hurt and we all feel hopeless. We need to work through things, and as the Lords helps us we can help others. God redeems our pain! As we pursue Jesus, he heals us and gives hope. That gives us something to share. We rinse and repeat. 

We want truth without compromise. But we want to be real about life. It can be uncomfortable. Cant minister to people if you dont know them. No need for a theology that doesnt connect to where we are at. Want feet firmly planted in the word of God and sound theology and want the other foot planted right in our community and the mess that people deal with. 

We have seen people come to faith and come out of pain and darkness. I would hope we celebrate this, celebrate when people get into a Bible study for the first time, or celebrate when people have breakthroughs. We need more of it.

The gap between the halves and the have not grows in every segment of our society– church included. Those who have been going to Bible study for years can feel inconvenienced by people that may not understand the word, or whose lives are messy and full of self-inflicted pain, or simply theological novices. You won the first baptist church kids memory verse challenge every year for ten years and now they put you in a Bible study with a guy who has never read Genesis 1. How could they!! 

We have to make a place for these in the church. We need to move toward them, toward those who do not take their faith as seriously, and we do it not for them to bring us down but so we can bring them up. 

There is tension or perhaps balance in this mission statement. Tension is good. It means you are holding on to two things and not letting go of either. Do we want to be a solid church with mature people who are going deeper in the word– yes, absolutely. Do we want to be a church that is moving toward lostness and helping people in darkness find the light– yes absolutely. 

I hope that when you see this you see that this is just Keith’s way but this is from the word of God. We are trying to be a biblical church. Some times I get asked if we are charismatic or reformed or Baptist or Presbyterian or elder led or congregational. I tell people first thing we are trying to be a Christian Church that makes much of Jesus. I m all for the empowering of the Holy Spirit, and I want sound doctrine, and leaders who lead and a congregation that is empowered to ministry, but first and foremost I want people to know the good news of Jesus. 

 

I want to share a few ways that you can help us move forward as a church. I m not doing a hard sell today. I want to share this vision and let you marinade in it a bit. But I also want to get people on board. We live in a time when it is very easy to be critics of church and not helping. 

This reminds me of what CS Lewis spoke about a gluttonous woman who sin was not in the excess of food that she eats but in the delicacy of her tastes. He says, 

“All she wants is a cup of tea properly made or an egg properly boiled or a slice of bread properly toasted. But she can never find any servant or friend who can do these simple things properly because her properly conceals an insatiable demand for the exact and almost palatial pleasure which she remembers from the past, a past described by her as the days when you could get good servants, but known to us as the day when her senses were more easily pleased, which she had pleasures of other kinds which made her less dependent on those of the table. Joe Rigney, Lewis on the Christian Life, 91. 

People just want a proper church. I just want a proper set of songs, like they used to do back in the day. I just want a church with some proper preaching, proper procedures, proper application of the Holy Spirit. Church never meets your taste so you never really commit anywhere. Too many people never commit to a church because their tastes are too refined– self indulgent. The imperfect church is the perfect place to die to yourself and become more like Jesus. Here are three things you can do:

1. Help People Experience: 

Create a place that people are encountering Jesus. They feel the warmth of his love. They see the light of his revelation through the proclamation of his word. Are people experience prayer because of you? Are they experiencing God’s word because of you? Are you experience help and care?

Get to know people. Pray fervently. Share where you see God moving in your life. Share words to encourage other people. 

Teach your kids to do this. Who did you help today?

Create a thriving church. Lets work toward that. Yes, work and church go together. We want instant church. Church is about relationships– invest. It is about work in the word of God. It is expensive– give toward it. This is the purpose God has for you. 

Commitment and hard work. If you followed Jesus because he offered you a life of ease then you have not read his word. He promises eternal life, but the path to it is the way of the cross.

1. Seek to Be Empowered:

Next week we are going to go through what a disciple is and then we will talk about how we want to grow people and our plan for it. I think it will be more balanced than what we have had in past. But the key question is: do you want more of Jesus in your life?

Are you seeking to be used by him? Seeking that in church. Plug your phone in. Plug in with other people. Being in his presence. Letting people know you are here.

Step up to mentor people in need. Step up to be a part of a small group. Commit to grow and help others grow.

• Share: 

We are on a mission. This is only the life we get. It's one life, one chance. What are you doing with it? There are some things that are new in the mission. There are a number of things that you are going to hear again. If you are tired of hearing it you are going to hear it again. There is no way to build a church that is not sacrificing to help others know Jesus. 

This is a 5000 view of the church. Over the next few weeks we are going to get more into the day to day of the church. If we are going to do this then we are going to need people helping, sacrificing, and seeking to make it happen. 

4. As you hear this vision, do you feel personally committed to being part of it? Why or why not, and what would need to happen for you to fully buy in?

Lastly, I want to encourage you to be praying about what the Lord is calling you to do in this season. This vision may have some new stuff, it has some old stuff, and it has a lot of clarification. When you get clarity, it makes it possible to have greater unity, and when you get greater unity you get greater synergy. I’m praying that this clarity and unity would be a catalyst for our church. I want to encourage you to pray about where God is calling you to sacrifice and where he may be calling you to come with open hands.

Discussion Questions

1. In your own life right now, what does it practically look like for Jesus to be “central”? Where might other things be competing for that place?
2. What are some intentional ways you can “experience” Jesus more deeply this week (through Scripture, prayer, community, etc.) so that your faith becomes something you naturally share?
3. Which part of the vision statement—“experiencing the light and life of Jesus” and “sharing it with a hurting world”—comes more naturally to you, and which one challenges you more? Why?
4. As you hear this vision, do you feel personally committed to being part of it? Why or why not, and what would need to happen for you to fully buy in?