20140105 Arise and Shine

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Sketchnotes unpacked

5 January 2014

Wesley Methodist Church

Ps Jeremy Ong

Text: Isaiah 60:1-6

Sermon: Arise and Shine

Is 60:1-4

Is 60: 5-6

Introduction

How has the past year been for you?

Was 2013  

a good year?

a difficult year?

full of victories?

full of failures?

What characterized 2013 for you?

Births? Deaths?

Bonus? Sack?

Context

 For Israel, this text (Is 60:1-6)
comes upon a drastic past
Assysria, Babylon had assaulted Jerusalem and burned down their walls
The exiles returned to Jerusalem
see ruins
thick darkness
destroyed capital

 

Exhortation

 Yet against this bleak backdrop
darkness
desolation
destruction
dismay
The prophet Isaiah brings a word of hope from God
"Arise and Shine
FOR the glory of the Lord will come upon you"

What a promise!

APPLICATION

Whatever has happened in 2013 leave it behind
Failure, success
Crisis,  whatever
all that is PAST

eg Bowling
Every game is a new start
no matter how the previous game went
Dont let the memory of the past weigh you down.

Philippians 3:13 (NIV)

¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead...

Remember
thelight that has come for us is Jesus.
He is the light of the world
He will shine though your darkness

 

Now we are in the church season of Epiphany, the climax of the the Christmas season.

It relates to the manifestation, appearance, revelation of Jesus Christ.

It is known as the "Three king's day" in Europe eg "Dia de los Tres Reyes"

The Magi were the first Gentiles to see Jesus.

Epiphany is thus also a call to evangelism.

When Pastor Jeremy joined poly, of the 18 classmates he was the only believer.
He had the opportunity to invite them to a Christian concert.
Catching up with some of them any years later, he discovers 4 of them are now believers.
What part did he play, he does not know.
Only he did take that opportunity to share "the light".
Even now he continues to meet up with the others and take the opportunity to share "the light".

You may find the place you are in is filled with darkness
Workplace?
Home?
Classroom?
Dark places full of sin:

But God has placed you there to be a light

Be like the Magi
Arise
Go
Shine light in dark places in society.

Our church Wesley Methodist Church Singapore is not that unified.
It is quite fragmented
May 2014 be a year of unity.

One way of promoting unity is for each of us to participate in the MJC
Meeting Jesus in the Gospels Campaign

When we do come together
God will be glorified

We will draw others to God

We will shine, for the glory of God

Let us have unity

as we gather around the Communion Table