He Stepped into Darkness (John 1:1-18) - VCCC Sunday Live

This message unfolds the meaning of Christmas by confronting the reality of darkness and the radical way God chose to address it. Beginning with the parable of The Birds, the sermon exposes a central problem of the human condition: humanity cannot understand, trust, or follow God from a distance. The issue is not God’s indifference, but the vast difference between Creator and creature. Darkness is not merely confusion; it is estrangement.

Drawing from John 1:1–18, the message traces the nature, origin, and persistence of spiritual darkness. Darkness is shown to be progressive, intrusive, and deeply personal. Like the deadly London fog of 1952, it develops gradually, becomes familiar, and eventually blinds those living within it. Knowledge, culture, and progress do not cure it. Darkness is not the absence of light, but the resistance to it.

John’s Gospel reveals that the darkness has a cause. It began with the rejection of God’s Word and continues wherever truth is resisted. Humanity did not fail to recognize God because of ignorance, but because of rebellion. Even when the Light came into the world, the world did not receive Him. Darkness deepened most where revelation was greatest.

The heart of the message turns to the cure no one could have imagined. God did not shout instructions from heaven or send improved information. He came Himself. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The solution to darkness was incarnation. God entered the cold, the confusion, and the brokenness of the world to restore fellowship lost in the garden.

This sermon presents Christ not as an abstract answer, but as hope made visible. In Him, grace and truth take on a face. In Him, outsiders are adopted into a real family. Salvation is revealed not as theory, but as presence. The Light does not stand outside the darkness. The Light walks into it.

For those burdened by confusion, guilt, or distance from God, this message offers clarity and hope. For believers, it deepens awe at the humility of Christ and the grace that brings sinners home. Christmas is no longer sentimental or distant. It becomes the moment God stepped into the snow and opened the door from the inside.

The Light has entered the cold. And the darkness could not overcome it.

Devotional and Reflection Questions

1. Where do you most clearly sense the darkness John describes, confusion, guilt, fear, numbness, or distance from God?

2. In what ways have you tried to cope with darkness through control, distraction, or self improvement instead of coming to the Light?

3. John says the darkness did not comprehend the Light. Are there truths about Christ you resist because they expose something in you?

4. What expectations of God might prevent you from recognizing how He actually comes to you?

5. What does it mean for you personally that God chose nearness by becoming flesh rather than remaining distant?

6. Are there areas where you want God to fix things without entering into them with obedience, humility, or trust?

7. Do you relate to Christ more as an idea you agree with or as a Person you receive and follow?

8. What would it look like this week to intentionally walk toward the Light rather than manage the shadows?