Always See the Light

Happy Sunday. I hope that you had a great Christmas. Jeanie and I attended the Christmas Eve service at Johnson fairy Baptist Church last week. If you went to a Christmas Eve service, there's a good chance that at the end of the service you lit a candle and sang a song.

I suppose there were well over, 1500 people for that service, maybe a couple thousand, I don't know. It's big. They had several services on the 24th. We watched online one of the Christmas Eve services held by the church of the city in Franklin, Tennessee. Our granddaughter Annabelle was in the children's choir.

At the end of the service, the kids led the congregation singing Silent Night, and the candles were lit there, and several thousand people stood singing, holding a candle. Maybe you took part in a service like that this year. Maybe it was a smaller crowd. No matter the size, I'm always impressed that all of those candles begin with just one candle.

You know, it doesn't take long to fill up a room with light. One becomes two, and then two becomes four, and then eight, and 16, and so on and so forth, and before long all the candles are lit. To me there's a great lesson there. One light can make a huge difference.

At the service that we attended this year, the pastor called up a young boy to the stage, maybe 9 years old or so, and the young boy lit the first candle. I bet he'll never forget that night. I bet his family was proud of him. But I hope that during the service that he was able to turn around and see the big building filled with light.

When the first candle was lit, the lights went out and the room was pretty dark, but before long it was GL blowing. In John 1 verse 5, we're told this of Jesus: "The light shines in the darkness, and the Darkness has not overcome it." "The light shines in the darkness, and the Darkness has not overcome it."

I've heard from several people recently, and maybe you've said this, maybe you've had a tough year, but several have said, "I can't wait for 2024 to be over." For some it's been health issues. Some of you have gone to too many funerals this year. Many have gone through very tough times.

I want all of you to remember that "the light shines in the darkness, and the Darkness has not overcome it." I pray that a Bel, as a Believer, you will always focus on the light and never focus on the dark. I pray you always see the light. Now, I'm not saying that you should ignore the problems around you. I'm, I'm saying that you should always look for the positive more than for the negative.

Philippians 4:8 puts it best: "Whatever is true, whatever is Honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there's any Excellence, if there's anything worthy of Praise, think about these things." It really is talking about what we dwell on. Dwell on these things, the good things. Always see the light.

As I Was preparing this message, I received word that Donnie pryck has gone to heaven. Donnie was an amazing man. I, I met him at Mississippi State over four decades ago. Donnie was born with cerebal paly. It racked his body and impacted his life in a huge way, but Donnie was a fighter.

He worked hard. He worked really hard. He earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Mississippi State and later a doctorate from Old Miss. For 30 plus years he worked at MSU. He worked with students with disabilities as a coordinator of MSU Student Support Services.

He made an impact on so many people. He made an impact on all who knew him. Despite being born with cbal paly, Donnie was married, with a son and a grandson. He lived a full life. He was a man really strong in his faith in Jesus. He really let his light shine.

I am so thankful for those who have helped light my way. So many of you have encouraged me in 2024 by reaching out and letting me know that you're watching. It means a lot. I ask for your prayers as we look forward to 2025, and always remember, "the light shines in the darkness, and the Darkness will never overcome it."

Pray with me. Father, thank you for the light that Christmas brings to our lives. I'm talking about faith now. I'm talking about Jesus coming into our lives, stepping down into our world so that we'll be okay, because this world can be tough.

I pray for those that I know this year have had difficult years, but I pray that the difficulties do not outweigh the blessings that they've received. Thank you for the gift of Life. Most of all, thank you for our faith and the gift of eternal life. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

God bless. Thanks for joining me today.