Awaken

Our theme for this year is AWAKEN and we plan to help you wake up, beginning in practical ways . . .

• The coffee will be ready by 8:45. The room will be set.
• Moms, you can drop your kids off in their rooms.
• Catch up with a friend, read over your lesson, focus on being alert to the Spirit
• Then, @ 9:15, we’ll get started with worship

And by worship, we don’t just mean singing each week. Worship means to ascribe worth or honor to another. We honor God by understanding His character (who He IS) through His Word.

That’s what truly AWAKENS us!

Ephesians 5:14 (quoted in the video) and the verses around it give us a larger perspective. Starting in verse 8, we read:

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹² It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³ But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. ¹⁴ This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
    rise from the dead,
    and Christ will shine on you.”

¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

I don’t know about you, but when I read that passage, I can’t help but see flashes of the latest news story . . . corruption, greed, deceit. Evil takes my breath away, makes my breathing tight, ties my stomach in knots. Maybe our world is just too dark these days . . . do you ever think that? Do you feel hopeless and helpless to stop it?

If so, we need to be AWAKENED today. We have gotten drowsy in the dark, and it’s time to wake up.

First, we wake up to God

Who is God in this passage?

• The Lord
• Christ
• Light

Because God is light . . . who are we?

We are light!

We’re not just hoping for light, hanging on until the next sunrise . . . WE ARE LIGHT. Don’t be fooled by the darkness. You’re just standing in a shadow. Step into the light, shine the light, and live your light!

“Wake up, sleeper,
    rise from the dead,
    and Christ will shine on you.”

¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

AWAKEN, my friends . . . we have much to live for in the days ahead.