New Here? Fill out our connect card We will send you all the details to our online community & a FREE Gift! Find the card here!
 back

Worship Experience

December 8, 2024

Join Us Online for Worship

NEWSONG ON FACEBOOK
NEWSONG ON YOUTUBE
GIVE HERE

Sermon Notes

The Waiting || No More Darkness - Just Life || December 8, 2024


  1. THE REALITY OF DARKNESS
  2. Isaiah 9:1–2 (ESV) 
  • What Does Darkness Represent?
  1. Disorder and Chaos
  • Genesis 1:1–2 (ESV) 
  1. Separation from God: Darkness is often a metaphor in the Bible for life apart from God. Without God’s light, people stumble and lose their way.
  • Psalm 82:5 (ESV)
  • Romans 1:21–23
  1. Sin and Its Consequences: Darkness also represents the consequences of sin, including oppression, injustice, and personal brokenness.
  • Proverbs 4:19
  • Isaiah 59:9 (ESV)
  1. Hopelessness and Fear: Life in darkness often feels overwhelming and hopeless, as if there is no way forward.
  • Lamentations 3:2 
  • Darkness represents:
  • Disorder
  • Chaos
  • Confusion
  • Uncertainty
  • Trouble
  • Death
  • Evil
  • Prison
  • Bondage
  • Connection to Our Lives Today: Many people today feel as if they are walking in darkness. This darkness might be caused by personal struggles like anxiety, addiction, or grief, or by global challenges like injustice, war, or the decline of faith in society. In this state, it’s easy to lose hope or feel abandoned by God.
  • Darkness can manifest in broken relationships, financial crises, health challenges, depression, or a lack of direction.
  • Even as believers, there are times when we experience moments of waiting in what feels like spiritual darkness, wondering when God's light will shine through.
  1. THE PROMISE OF LIGHT
  2. Isaiah 9:2 (NLT)
  • God’s Deliverance: The light symbolizes the intervention of God. It is not a human solution to their problems but a divine act of grace and power.
  1. LIGHT REVEALS GOD’S PRESENCE
  2. HOPE:
  3. VICTORY OVER DARKNESS
  • BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD
  1. In the midst of their rebellion and captivity from Assyria, God says He will bring light for them in their darkness.
  • Isaiah 9:2
  • The Nature of This Light
  1. The Light Restores Order to the Chaos, Confusion and Uncertainty
  2. JESUS, THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
  3. Isaiah 9:6 (ESV) 
  4. Jesus declares that He is the Light of the World
  • John 8:12 (ESV)
  1. John reveals that Jesus is the Light
  • John 1:1–5 (ESV)
  1. Jesus Reveals He is the Long Awaited Light of the World by where He begins His Ministry
  • Matthew 4:12–17 (ESV) 
  • What Does It Mean That Jesus Is the Light?
  1. HE BRINGS JOY
  • Isaiah 9:3
  • Joy of His Presence
  • Joy in His Provision
  • Harvest: there is tremendous joy in the harvest and what God provides
  • Joy in Victory
  • Dividing the Spoils: There is joy in the victory and in the blessings of the victory.
  1. HE REVEALS THE TRUTH
  • Jesus shines a light on God’s character, showing the world who God truly is.
  • John 1:14
  1. HE GUIDES OUR PATH
  • Jesus provides clarity and direction for those who follow Him.
  • Psalm 119:105
  1. HE EXPOSES SIN AND DARKNESS
  • Light not only reveals the path but also exposes what is hidden in darkness. Jesus confronts sin and calls people to repentance.
  • John 3:19-21
  1. HE CONQUERS SIN AND DEATH
  • Jesus’ light is victorious over the darkness of sin, death, and evil. His resurrection is proof that darkness cannot overcome the light.
  • John 1:4–5 (ESV)
  1. THE CALL TO REFLECT THE LIGHT
  • Isaiah 9:3: The light not only dispels darkness but also brings joy and transformation. WE HAVE TO LET OTHERS KNOW
  • Matthew 5:14–16 (ESV)
  • Ephesians 5:8–9 (ESV)



Reflection/Application Questions

  1. What areas of your life feel like “deep darkness” right now? How can God’s light - Jesus - bring you hope?
  2. How does the promise of Isaiah 9:6-7 strengthen your faith during difficult times?
  3. In what ways have you experienced Jesus as the Light of the World in your life?
  4. How can you actively wait on God’s promises during seasons of uncertainty?
  5. What does it look like to trust God’s timing when His promises seem delayed?
  6. How can you reflect the light of Jesus to someone in your life who is walking in darkness?
  7. How do the titles of Jesus in Isaiah 9:6 (Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, etc.) bring comfort to you?
  8. What practical steps can you take this week to “live as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8)?

9. How can the truth that “the darkness has not overcome the light” (John 1:5) encourage you to persevere in your faith?

Time of Response

Take a few minutes of silence. Allow your own thoughts to quiet and be still. Where does the Holy Spirit want you to decrease so that Christ could increase in your life? What part of your life, if reduced, would make more room for you to thrive spiritually?

Give Here


QUESTIONS TO ASK WHILE READING SCRIPTURE


What does this reveal about God?

What does this reveal about you in relation to God?

What do you need to do about it?

The Covenant Prayer from John Wesley's Covenant Service, 1780 (adapted)

I am no longer my own, 

but Yours. 


Put me to what you will, 

rank me with whom you will. 


Put me to doing, 

put me to suffering. 


Let me be employed for You or laid aside for You, 

exalted for You or brought low for You. 


Let me be full, 

let me be empty. 


Let me have all things, 

let me have nothing. 


I freely and heartily yield all things 

to Your pleasure and disposal. 


And now, O glorious and blessed God, 

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 

You are mine, 

and I am Yours. 


So be it. 


And the covenant which I have made on earth, 

let it be ratified in heaven. 

Amen. 

 

I HAVE A QUESTION

SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS:

On this website's homepage.

Click on the card that says "Let's Talk."



https://newsongcommunity.church/lets-talk



QUESTIONS ANSWERED:

Wednesdays FaceBook Live stream 11:55am - 12:30pm 

(On occasion, questions answered following Sunday.)

How Can I Be Intentional When Reading Scripture?

One Method To Use When Reading Scripture: 

The S.O.A.P.S. Method

S.cripture: Write down the Bible passage you will be studying.

O.bservations: Examine the text and write down what you notice and see. Start with the obvious and move to the deeper.

A.pplication: Apply God’s Word to your life in a practical way. What is God saying about Himself, about you and about what He is calling you to?

P.rayer: Respond to God’s Word with your own words.

S.hare: Commit to share what God is showing you with someone else.



  • Inductive Bible Study: 
  • Observation (what does the passage say?)
  1. What is happening in the passage?
  2. Who is involved in the passage?
  3. What happened before and after the passage.
  4. Where are they located and how is that influencing the passage.
  • Interpretation (what does it mean?)
  1. What is the passage saying considering everything I have observed and what I know from the rest of Scripture
  2. What does the scripture say within context of the entirety of Scripture?
  • Application (how does it apply to my life?)
  1. What does the passage say about God?
  2. What does the passage say about me and to me?
  3. What am I being called to DO because of the passage of Scripture?

How do I talk with God?

WAYS TO PRAY


One Way to talk with God is to:

Pause.

Rejoice.

Ask.

Yield.


ANOTHER OPTION

Adoration

Confession

Thanksgiving

Supplication: Requests

Engage with God - One Another - and the World

as we become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ!

Newsong Community Church is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, registered in the US, registration number 92-1509328.

Contact Us

18465 Old Perkins Road Prairieville, LA 70769 Mail: P.O. Box 1525 Prairieville, LA 70769

[email protected]

225.313.6736

Copyright 2024, NEWSONG COMMUNITY CHURCH | Prairieville, LA. All Rights Reserved.