3 August 2025Find out more about Jesus⁠https://hillschurch.org.au/Jesus⁠Find the answers to life's biggest questions. Try Alpha.⁠https://hillschurch.org.au/alpha⁠Can we pray for you? Request prayer.⁠https://hillschurch.org.au/⁠ and click 'Prayer Request' Button.To give/tithe to the work of Hills Church, follow the link below⁠https://hillschurch.org.au/give⁠OverviewIn John 8:12 –30, Jesus declares Himself “the light of the world,” offering to guide us out of spiritual darkness into life. Speaking in the temple courts after showing mercy to the adulterous woman, He affirms His divine identity (“I am who I am”) and contrasts His heavenly origin with the crowd’s earthly blindness. Those who follow Him will never walk in darkness, because His truth and the Father’s witness illumine the path to eternal life.Sermon Notes • We’re now in the last third of Jesus’ Galilean ministry, with mounting opposition from religious leaders. • Last week’s episode (John 8:1–11) saw Jesus expose hypocrisy, extend mercy to a condemned woman, and call her to “go and sin no more.”Scripture Passage • John 8:12 –20• Jesus stands in the temple treasury and announces, “I am the light of the world.”• He defends His divine testimony: the Father Himself bears witness (vv. 14–18). • John 8:21 –30• Jesus warns that those who reject Him “will die in their sins” and cannot follow Him to the Father (vv. 21–24).• He reaffirms, “I do nothing on my own but say only what the Father taught me” (vv. 28–29).• Many who heard Him believed.Main Points1. Christ’s Provision: The Light of Life • In a festival marked by fading lampstands and pouring water, Jesus claims to be the perpetual, world-wide light that guides us out of darkness (v. 12).2. Divine Identity & Authority • By invoking the Father’s testimony, Jesus appeals beyond human standards to the Law’s own rule that two witnesses establish truth (vv. 14–18).3. Necessity of Faith & Obedience • Those who refuse to believe remain in darkness and face spiritual death (vv. 21–24). Belief and following Him (“walking in the light”) open the way to life (vv. 12, 30).Illustrations & Stories • Feast of Tabernacles Context: The temple’s seven-branched menorah is extinguished at festival’s end, but Jesus offers an eternal flame that never goes out. • Burning Bush Connection: Just as God named Himself “I AM” at Sinai, Jesus uses that divine name to assert His deity and to provoke belief or stone-worthy offence.Application • Confess Your Darkness: Identify areas where you’ve “walked in darkness”—pride, fear, hidden sin—and bring them into Christ’s light through confession (1 John 1:7–9). • Walk in His Light Daily: Cultivate rhythms—Scripture meditation, prayer, community—that keep you plugged into Jesus, the source of spiritual illumination. • Bear Witness to His Light: As recipients of Christ’s light, reflect it to others by living transparently, extending grace, and pointing people to Jesus.#hillschurch #beencouraged #nathanbell #evertonhills #brisbanechurch #brisbane #wesleyanmethodistchurch #hillschurchsermon