Out of the Shadows

“What if there was a place so safe that the worst of me could be known, and I would discover that I would not be loved less, but more in the telling of it?”

- John S. Lynch, The Cure

OUT OF THE SHADOWS

• Life is found by WALKING in the LIGHT.

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

1 John 1:5-7

- God is LIGHT. (Life, Truth, Pure, Holy)

- Darkness (sin) breaks FELLOWSHIP. (God & Others)

- Light REVEALS and HEALS.

• Confession brings FREEDOM.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

1 John 1:8-10

- Stop PRETENDING.

- Stop DEFENDING.

- Start CONFESSING.

Confess: to agree with God about your sin, say the same thing, admit.

“You are only as sick as your secrets.”

- Alcohol Anonymous

• Jesus is God’s provision for our SIN and SHAME.

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

1 John 2:1-2

- Jesus is our ADVOCATE.

- Jesus is our ATONING SACRIFICE.

What are you hiding in the shadows?

Where have you been afraid to let God’s light in?