SESSION 4: LIVING IN THE LIGHT OF CHRIST
(Meditations for March 12-18)

Before the Session
Read through the scripture, meditations, and prayers from The Upper Room March 12-18. Write on large sheets of paper the scripture references and questions listed in "Reflection on The Upper Room" in the pages at the back of the March-April issue of the magazine. Display these on the wall or on tables in your meeting space.

Opening Prayers and an Introduction to the Study (5 minutes)

An Introduction to the Theme for the Session (5 minutes)

Invite the group to join you in saying responsively,

*LEADER: Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life."
PEOPLE: "In him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it."
LEADER: Jesus said, "You are the light of the world....Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven."
PEOPLE: Let us live in the light of Jesus Christ.
ALL: Amen.

*These statements are quoted or adapted from John 8:12, John 1:4-5 and Matthew 5:14,16.

Introduce the theme of the session, saying,

Scripture uses light as a metaphor to describe God. In the midst of a seemingly dark world with mounting hostility, violence, and war, God's light shines even in darkness. As followers of Christ, we are called to live in the light and to shine the light of Christ into the world.

Reflection on The Upper Room (25 minutes)

Invite discussion of the meditations for March 5-11. What does each meditation say about living in the light of Christ? What do the meditations say to you about letting the light of Jesus Christ shine in your life? Which meditations are most meaningful to you? Which come closest to your understanding and experience of how Christ's light shines?

After they have discussed the daily meditations from The Upper Room, invite each of the participants to walk around the room, to choose one of the following scripture passages and either to reflect on or to discuss the questions listed below:

March 12 1 Samuel 7:1-13
Memorize Verse 3: "Direct your heart to the Lord, and serve him only."
What in your life hinders your drawing close to God?
What separates you from God? from others? from yourself?
In what ways do you "direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only"?

March 13 Isaiah 49:13-16
How is a mother's love for her children like God's love for human beings?
Reread verse 13. In what ways do people suffer?
How have you experienced God's comfort and compassion? How do other people in your community experience God's comfort?

March 14: Matthew 18:21-35
How have you experienced God's forgiveness?
What does God expect of us?
Should all sins be forgiven? Should all sins be forgotten? Why? Why not?
Who has hurt you? How and when do you plan to forgive them?

March 15 Luke 19:1-10
If you were Zacchaeus, how would you feel at the beginning of the story? at the end of the story?
How did the crowd feel when Jesus invited himself to Zacchaeus' home to have a meal?
What made Jesus say, "Today salvation has come to this house" (Luke 19:9)? What did Jesus mean?
How would you tell the story about a contemporary Zacchaeus?

March 16 John 1:1-5
Read aloud verses 4-5.
What does it mean to say that Jesus Christ is life? light?
What are specific ways that Jesus Christ gives life and light to all people?
How does the light of Christ shine in your life?
In what ways could you shine the light of Christ in the lives of other people?

March 17- Proverbs 9: 1-12
What metaphor describes Wisdom?
Read aloud Proverbs 9:10. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight." What does it mean to know and fear the Lord?
In what ways is the knowledge of God expressed in words and actions?

March 18 Genesis 3:8-13
In the story of Adam and Eve, who takes responsibility? Who confesses?
How do you respond when you get caught doing something wrong?
1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins." Is confession a requirement of God's forgiveness? In what ways have you been changed by confession? By forgiveness?

In the Light of Christ (20 minutes)

Bring the group together. Ask: What are some of the ways we use word light? Record responses on a large sheet of paper-for example: "Turn on the light," "in light of," "You light up my life." "enlightenment."

Tell participants to form small groups. Give each group a dictionary, a thesaurus, a book of quotations, and a concordance. Make sure each person has a Bible. Provide large sheets of paper and markers.

Ask someone in each group to write at the top of a large sheet of paper, "Living in the light of Christ means...." and at the top of another sheet of paper, "Being light for the world means....."

Invite the group members to look up the word light in the dictionary and in the thesaurus. Then ask them to use the concordance to find Bible verses in which the word light is used. As they work, encourage them to write on the large sheets of paper insights gained from their research that help them to understand what it means to live in the light of Christ and to be light for the world.

Bring the groups together. Ask: What does it mean to live in the light of Christ? How do we shine the light of Christ into the world?

If you have time, invite people to respond to these statements:

• Before we can bear Christ's light to the world, we need to confess our sins and to turn toward God in faith. Faith is contagious. When we have faith, the light of Christ is in us and the light shines through, giving light to others.
• As light for the world, those who follow Christ's way communicate honesty, kindness, gentleness, humility, self-control, compassion, peace, generosity, righteousness, and justice.

Suggested Activities for Multigenerational Groups

• Read aloud Matthew 5:14 and16. Ask: What are some specific ways we can let our light shine? Then invite the participants to make candles. Provide construction paper, markers, scissors, and glue or tape. Suggest that the participants write at the top of a sheet of the construction paper "You are the light of the world....Let your light shine." (Young children will need help writing.) Then ask them to make a candle by rolling up the paper and gluing or taping the edge to keep it from unrolling. Have each person cut a flame from yellow paper and glue or tape it to the candle. Glue on construction paper. Invite the group to sing together, "This Little Light of Mine" (UMH 585)
• Tell participants to work with partners who are older or younger. Ask each pair to write a poem about living in the light of Christ. One way to write the poem is to follow this pattern:
  
  Begin with the word light or Christ, the topic of the poem.
  Add a list of words-verbs or adjectives-describing the topic of the poem.
  Write a short sentence describing the topic of the poem.
• Written out, the poem will look a little like a candle (all it needs is a flame)-for example:
  • Christ
  • preaches
  • prays
  • heals
  • forgives
  • loves
  • questions
  • dies
  • reigns
  Christ lights up the darkness.

Closing Prayers (10 minutes)

Provide each person with a candle and a paper candle holder. (If your group includes small children, be sure an adult is standing nearby to help.) Turn off the lights. Light your candle, using the flame from the candle lit at the beginning of the session. Then light the candle of the person beside you, who will light the candle of the person beside him or her.

Say a Prayer: Loving God, lead us to live in the light of Jesus Christ and to shine your light in the world. Amen.

Invite the group to join you in singing, "Light of the World," (TFWS 2204) or "Shine, Jesus, Shine" (TFWS 2173).

This Week at Home
(facilitators: make copies of the following brief suggestion and distribute to people as they leave)

Prepare for the next lesson by reading each day the scripture, meditation, and prayers from The Upper Room.

Whenever you turn on a light this week, thank God for the light of Christ that shines in the darkness. Be reminded to let your light shine in good works.