Tag: light of the world

Bibliography for “I AM: Seven Identity Markers for Jesus”

Matt EricksonLeave a comment

When I conclude a sermon series, I usually share resources I utilized in my study and preparation for sermons. Here is the bibliography for our recent series, “I AM: Seven Identity Markers for Jesus.”

Bibliography for “I AM: Seven Identity Markers for Jesus”

Kenneth E. Bailey. The Good Shepherd: A Thousand-Year Journey from Psalm 23 to the New Testament. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2014.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Christ the Center. New York: Harper & Row, 1960.

Raymond E. Brown. The Gospel According to John. ABD. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1966. Particularly Appendix IV: EGO EIMI “I AM,” pp. 533-538.

F. F. Bruce. The Gospel of John: Introduction, Exposition and Notes. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1983.

G. M. Burge. “‘Glory.” In Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, pp. 268-270. Edited by Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, and I Howard Marshall. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992.

________. “‘I AM’ Sayings.” In Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, pp. 354-356. Edited by Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, and I Howard Marshall. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992.

John Calvin. John. The Crossway Classic Commentaries. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1994.

D. A. Carson. The Gospel According to John. PNTC. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1990.

J. Ramsay Michaels. The Gospel of John. NICNT. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2010.

Eugene H. Peterson. Christ Plays In Ten Thousand Places. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2005.

________. The Jesus Way: A Conversation on the Ways that Jesus is the Way. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007.

G. F. Shirbroun. “‘Light.” In Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, pp. 472-473. Edited by Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, and I Howard Marshall. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992.

Francis Spufford. Unapologetic. New York: HarperCollins, 2013.

M. M. Thompson. “John, Gospel of.” In Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, pp. 368-383. Edited by Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, and I. Howard Marshall. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992.

N. T. Wright. “The Story of John.” In The New Testament and the People of God, pp. 410-417. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 1992.

________. Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters. New York: HarperCollins, 2011. 

Resources from the Bible Project:

“I am the Gate”

Matt EricksonLeave a comment

This past weekend at Eastbrook, we continued our celebration of the resurrection of Jesus through our preaching series, “I AM: Seven Identity Markers of Jesus,” drawn from the Gospel of John. This week our dear friend and ministry partner from Kenya, Canon Francis Omondi, continued the series by exploring Jesus’ statement, “I am the gate” (John 10:7).

You can find the message video below. You can access the entire series here. Join us for weekend worship in-person or remotely via Eastbrook at Home.

A Prayer to God My Light

Matt EricksonLeave a comment

“Because of the tender mercy of our God,
    by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness
    and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.” (Luke 1:78-79)

“The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.” (Luke 9:2)

“The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?” (Psalm 27:1a)

Lord, You are my light—
the sunrise shining upon my life
with salvation beams of brilliance
bathing me in divine joy and mercy.

Lord, You be my light—
in a world still starved for light
and buried in death’s darkness,
deliver us through Your saving work.

Lord, You will be my light—
in the end of all things
in the new heaven and earth,
Your brilliance bursting forth fully upon us.

Jesus Shines God’s Light: 4 Ways Jesus the Light of the World Reveals Who God Is

Matt EricksonLeave a comment

This past weekend at Eastbrook, I preached on Jesus’ powerful statement: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). I wanted to spend a little time today exploring four ways that Jesus shines the light of God into the world that we might more fully consider the significance of Jesus’ identity and mission.

As the light of the world, first of all, Jesus came to shine God’s light into the world through His incarnation by which He displays the very nature and character of God. As we read in Hebrews 1:3, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” And as John the Evangelist writes in John 1:14, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” In His incarnation, Jesus shines the light of God, displaying who God is.

Second, as the light of the world Jesus came to shine God’s light into the world through His proclamation and teaching, which reveals divine truth.  After Jesus’ powerful teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, we hear, “the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law” (Matthew 7:28-29). This idea is echoed in John’s prologue: “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). Jesus’ teaching shines the light of God’s truth into the world, revealing who God is.

As the light of the world, thirdly, Jesus came to shine God’s light into the world through works of service and healing. Peter, one of Jesus’ followers, spoke of Jesus’ wonder-working power in this way: “Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him” (Acts 2:22). The works of service and the healing—these signs and wonders—display God’s purposes for humanity. And it is through His service and miracles shining God’s light, that Jesus also displays who God is.

As the light of the world, fourthly, Jesus came to shine God’s light into the world through enter into human suffering and transforming it. We read about Jesus’ transformative suffering on the Cross in the first letter of the Apostle John, chapter 4, verses 9 and 10: “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10). Jesus’ crucifixion shines the light of God, displaying who God is and just how far God will go on behalf of humanity.

As the light of the world Jesus reveals the Father in various ways, but chiefly here through His incarnation, His teaching, His service and healing, and His entry into and transformation of human suffering.

“I am the Light of the World”

Matt EricksonLeave a comment

This past weekend at Eastbrook, we continued our celebration of the resurrection of Jesus through our preaching series, “I AM: Seven Identity Markers of Jesus,” drawn from the Gospel of John. This week I continued the series by exploring Jesus’ statement, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12).

You can find the message outline and video below. You can access the entire series here. Join us for weekend worship in-person or remotely via Eastbrook at Home.

“Jesus said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” (John 8:12)

Jesus the light of new creation

The connection between light and creation (John 1:4-5; Genesis 1:3)

The true light giving light, wisdom, and God’s illumination (John 1:9; Psalm 119:105)

Jesus the light of new freedom

The connection between light and the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:2, 10; Exodus 13:21; Leviticus 23:33-43)

The suffering servant as the bringer of the light of life in death’s darkness (John 1:4-5; Isaiah 53:12)

Jesus makes us light like Him

We are changed by Jesus’ light (John 9:6-7; 12:35-36)

We become a reflection of Jesus’ light to others (Matthew 5:14-16)

Dig Deeper

This week dig deeper in one or more of the following ways: