Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   Gateway Church gathers for worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd. (Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia. For directions, click here. Ministry of the Word: Recent sermons Our quarterly e-magazine Gateway Today For the Gateway family Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY AUDIO The light is come Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA December 29, 2002 Main Scripture text: John 1:1-18. The contrast between light and darkness is a constant theme in the Bible. starting in Genesis 1. Not content with chaos and meaninglessness, God brooded over the darkness, and then declared, "Let there be light." The Gospel According to John begins with same theme, but now the divine Word which spoke light into darkness becomes flesh and enters human history as a man to deal with sin, the thing that has distorted God's creation. Even atheists who say God doesn't exist recognize that something is wrong with the world. What we disagree on is: (1) the nature our problem; (2) how we solve it; and, (3) who is to be in charge. The Bible declares that the problem in our world is sin, and that the essence of sin is the rejection of God's authority. Two-thousand years ago, it seemed as though the darkness had won. But when the fullness of time had come, God stepped forward and again proclaimed light -- only this time the Light was wrapped in swaddling clothes and was lying in a manger. The solution to the world's darkness is Jesus, the Light of the world, the light that overcomes the darkness of sin and despair. Who is in charge? If we want light, the answer must be Jesus. Supporting texts: Genesis 1:1-3 | Genesis 3:1-15 | Hebrews 13:8 | Revelation 3:20 | 1 John 1:5 A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here. (Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.) An audio tape of this sermon is available free of charge (U.S. requests only). Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify tape number 021229a: The Light is Come. © 2002 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us