Gospel

When Isaiah prophesied the words, “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined,” Israel was in a state of continual decline morally, spiritually and nationally as a result of their idolatry and rebellion against God.

God’s people had turned their backs on God, and thus were walking in darkness. This darkness bred evil and cruelty, and the nation was suffering. However, Isaiah prophesied that the people who walked in darkness had seen a great light.

This light, bright and shining with a divine origin, would be the salvation of Israel. This Light is later identified in John 1:4-9 and John 8:12 as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (and Isaiah would go on to prophesy about Him in Isaiah 9:6-7).

Today, many Christians walk in darkness as they have turned away from God and look to their possessions, bank accounts, careers and families to bring them fulfillment. Many Christians have begun living for the best life in this world, and have discarded the idea of Heaven altogether.

This has led to many Christians unwittingly walking in darkness, and suffering as a result.

However, this situation can be remedied through simple repentance and faith in the Lord. If the Christian church will once again place Jesus at the center of its existence, and more importantly the Gospel at the center of its belief system, then we will not only see a revival, but we will also see our hope and peace restored as we look forward to the Lord’s Kingdom.

For more, check out Pastor Leland Acker’s message here:

Later in his life, the Apostle John continued to minister, serving as pastor of the church at Ephesus, proclaiming the Gospel, and even being imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos, where he penned Revelation. John, one of the closes friends to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, preached His gospel, not only out of duty and faith, but from a deep abiding love for our Lord.

So, when new theories and doctrines began to arise concerning Jesus, John was moved by his passion for the Lord, and more importantly by the Holy Spirit, to confront these new theories. From this passion, we got the The Gospel According to John, and The First Epistle of John, more commonly known as 1 John.

In these books, John noted how he personally knew Jesus Christ, thus giving him the expert authority to declare who Jesus really is. He then boldly proclaimed that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, the incarnation of God, yet, was fully human. He proclaimed how Christ paid for our sins on the cross and the forgiveness that is freely available to those who believe.

In modern times, we again face new theories about Christ, and new doctrines that seek to redefine Christianity. We also face old traditions that de-emphasize Who He is. To re-center on the Lord, we began a new sermon series back in July called “The Real Jesus Christ.”

“The Real Jesus Christ” seeks to set aside the religious politics of our day, and get back to the core beliefs that make us Christian. This series seeks to truly teach Who Jesus is, and by doing so cultivate the faith of all who hear. As of the writing of this post, we are in the middle of John 6, as Jesus feeds the multitudes. You can catch up with our series by listening to the playlist here: