Halloween Sermon 2010

Let Your Light Shine

When I started writing this sermon I had a completely different idea in my mind. The day I told Ben I would preach on Halloween I had an idea in my mind and as the sermon started to write itself I realized that, that sermon was not for you guys. It was for a different congregation and it was a sermon I wasn’t ready to give so those words have confused me for a couple months. But every time I thought about a sermon for Halloween the topic that kept coming to my mind was Masks. But that was about all that would come to my mind, I even had a song picked out, and once again that wasn’t the right sermon. So last week I was sitting on my bed and I read today’s scripture and it gave me today’s sermon.

Let your light shine.

What a statement. As I have wrestled with this sermon I have wrestled with that statement. This school year I started a new job and a new chapter in my life. I had to tell Camp goodbye and decided to give my hand to my calling in youth ministry. Every time that I go to work I feel like I am going to a battle zone. Slowly the chaos has settled down and the bullets that fly my way are not as scary as they were when I started.

I walked into that church with all the confidence that I could muster, with all of my knowledge from camp and school, and with a lot of ideas, and what I thought was patience. After my first youth meeting I walked out in tears, destroyed, and very confused. Why were these kids there? No one makes them go and yet, they show up and they are mean and rude and sometimes violent.  I had officially joined a world that I didn’t know how to handle. Each week I showed up with a smile and left with tears.

I spent a lot time in frustrated prayer; ok I still spend a lot of time in frustrated prayer. My kids confuse me, but that’s it they have become my kids. In about 2 months time those holy terrors found a place in my heart and yes, I’m still just as confused as the day I started, but somewhere along the way I found some strength. And part of that strength came from knowing that in a few weeks time I was going to take a week off for Arkalalah and to come home and preach! There was a particular Thursday that I remember meeting with Ben and let’s just say I was about as destroyed as I could be from the night before, and about the only words I could come up with were “I don’t know” every question that he asked that was my answer. I was so lost and so confused that I was doing good to be out of bed and dressed, I even made it to class that day so I was very proud of myself. I wasn’t sure how I could go back or how I could continue. Why was I there? Had I misread what God had been saying to me? That other job down the road looks so much nicer right now. Now looking back on that week and all the weeks before that with my kids this song really seems to apply to me and my situation. That’s right, another song! J

The Lost Get Found – Britt Nicole

Hello my friend
I remember when you were
So alive with your wide eyes
Then the light that you had in your heart was stolen
Now you say that it ain't worth stayin'
You wanna run but you're hesitatin'
I'm talkin' to me

Don't let your lights go down
Don't let your fire burn out
'Cause somewhere, somebody needs a reason to believe
Why don't you rise up now?
Don't be afraid to stand out
That's how the lost get found
The lost get found

So when you get the chance
Are you gonna take it?
There's a really big world at your fingertips
And you know you have the chance to change it
There's a girl on the streets, she's cryin'
There's a man whose faith is dyin'
Love is calling you

Don't let your lights go down
Don't let your fire burn out
'Cause somewhere, somebody needs a reason to believe
Why don't you rise up now?
Don't be afraid to stand out
That's how the lost get found
The lost get found

Why do we go with the flow
Or take an easier road?
Why are we playin' it safe?
Love came to show us the way
Love is a chance we should take
I'm movin' out of the way

Don't let your lights go down
Don't let your fire burn out
'Cause somewhere, somebody needs a reason to believe
(Stand out)
Don't let your lights go down
Don't let your fire burn out
(Stand out)
'Cause somewhere, somebody needs a reason to believe
Why don't you rise up now?
Don't be afraid to stand out
That's how the lost get found
The lost get found

So when you get the chance
Are you gonna take it?
There's a really big world at your fingertips
And you know you have the chance to change it

*************************************************************************************

The other day I sent my parents an email, which actually turned into a prayer. I was struggling with trying to be a decent student, a good friend, and a youth leader. Each one of those jobs at any given time is a full time job by itself. I was frustrated because every time I got motivated to start my huge projects with fast arriving due dates, someone would call or text or come over with some major life crisis.  I was barely staying afloat for myself and yet there I was again, swimming for others too. It was one thing to deal with my kids’ problems, that’s what I’m called to do, but why do all of my friends seem to be having multiple crisis at the same time as all of my homework is due? Is anybody thinking that’s called life? I am!!!  It just so happens that October equals crisis time in my world. It’s just not always my crisis. It would be so much easier for me to just stay in bed, or drop out of school, or to quit my job. It would be so much easier to quit everything that is difficult and to walk away, or to just let myself settle for being depressed and never good enough. But if I gave every time life threw me a little curveball, where would I be today? I most definitely would not be up here right now.

Hello my friend
I remember when you were
So alive with your wide eyes
Then the light that you had in your heart was stolen
Now you say that it ain't worth stayin'
You wanna run but you're hesitatin'
I'm talkin' to me

 Don't let your lights go down
Don't let your fire burn out
'Cause somewhere, somebody needs a reason to believe
Why don't you rise up now?
Don't be afraid to stand out
That's how the lost get found
The lost get found

Well I have said this to myself many times. Sometimes this is my motivation and prayer to get out of bed.  So now I’m talking to you. What is hiding your light? Today’s scripture:

¹⁴"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶In the same way let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

Tells us we are the light of the world. Jesus tells us that when we believe in Him we will be able to do things greater than He did. (John 14). And He tells us to go out and make disciples of all nations (Mat. 28). And to pick up our cross and follow Him (Mark 8), we are supposed to get out of the boat and walk on the water with Him. SO I ask again, what makes your candle flicker? What causes you to want to stay in bed and give up? What is stopping you from letting your light shine and to be that city on a hill that can’t be hidden? Give it to God, whatever it is.

“Cast your cares on the LORD
       and he will sustain you;
       he will never let the righteous fall.” Psalm 55:22

Let go of whatever is holding you back and let God use it to guide you in reaching out. Don’t give up, don’t back down, instead stand up, stand strong and don’t be afraid to let your light shine unto all the earth.

“There’s a flame inside my soul,

some shine bright, some shine small.

The rains will come and the waters will rise,

but don’t you ever lose your light…

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.”

Play song!