Sunday Praise & Worship 10:00
Christian Education - 10:00 - Casual Dress - Loving Childcare
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Key Verse: John 8:12 Jesus said to the people, "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't be stumbling through the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life." In John 3 Jesus meets Nicodemus, a Pharisee and important Jewish leader, under the cover of darkness. Nicodemus wanted to know the truth, but his fear prevented him from openly approaching Jesus. In their discussion that evening, Jesus reveals to Nicodemus that he came into the world not to condemn it but to save everyone in the world from themselves. 20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21 But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.” --John 3:20,21 By 8th chapter of John’s gospel, Jesus and his disciples were in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Booths. In Jesus day, this festival was one of the "Pilgrim Festivals" in which Jews would make pilgrimages to the Temple with offerings for God from the harvest. The primary observance associated with the Festival of Booths is the building and dwelling in a temporary shelter, or "booth". This practice began in Leviticus 23 as a way of remembering the time the Hebrew people spent wandering in the wilderness during the Exodus. 34 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. Begin celebrating the Festival of Booths on the fifteenth day of the appointed month—five days after the Day of Atonement [Yom Kippur]. This festival to the Lord will last for seven days. ... 42 For seven days you must live outside in little shelters. All native-born Israelites must live in shelters. --Leviticus 23:34,42 The festival is a harvest holiday, comparable in many ways to the American holiday of Thanksgiving. The festival begins on the fifth day after Yom Kippur thus it acts as a transition from the solemnity of the most important Jewish high holy day to the joy of a festival and feast. Many modern Jews still set up these makeshift shelters in their yards and invite friends over to join them. During the past few weeks (October 6-13, 2006) Jews around the world celebrated the Festival of Booths in the Jewish year 5767. In Jesus’ day, light was an important symbol in the Festival of Booths. During the feast, many emblems and ceremonies remembered the pillar of fire that gave light to Israel during the Exodus. At this point, Jesus takes this important festival symbol of Jewish faith and simply applies it to himself: “I am the light of the world.” Light is also an important symbol for the messiah. When Jesus refers to himself as the light of the world, he infuriated the Pharisees, who responded by questioning his parentage. They must have thought their questions would discredit his ministry by creating a scandal. But Jesus made it clear that they do not know anything about Him, or His Father. At the end of John 8 when the Pharisees linked their heritage back to Abraham Jesus claims his heritage as the son of God, by clearly stating, “Before Abraham was, I am.” Knowing that Jesus was openly claiming to be God, they picked up stones to kill him. Even though Jesus had just proclaimed himself to be the light of the world, the Pharisees couldn’t see it. If someone can’t see light, it’s because they are blind not because light does not exist. A seeing man doesn’t need someone to prove light is, he simply sees the light. We welcome Ivan Turner, Jr. to bring the Message today as we worship at Skyline while Co-Pastors Bo and Vicki are in Annapolis celebrating their 20th Class Reunion at the Naval Academy. Ivan serves as a member of our Church Council and has led Bible studies, assisted with our Middle School Youth Group, and co-led last year’s Men’s Retreat at Sandy Cove. He participate in the Tuesday evening Bible Study and is particularly gifted by God with scriptural insight and wisdom.
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