Converted Heart Christian Methodist Episcopal Church

Guest (Male): Welcome to Converted Heart Church. Whether you’re joining us for the first time or are a valued member of our community, we’re delighted to have you with us today. As we continue to navigate through these challenging times, we believe that every person who enters our virtual doors is guided by the Lord. Though we may be apart physically, we greet you with a smile and embrace you with a virtual hug. On behalf of our pastor, Dr. Darryl Burton, and First Lady Burton, and the entire Converted Heart family, we joyfully welcome you into our spiritual home.

We are Christ-centered, preaching messages of love and hope; community-minded, being aware of the needs of the community; cultivating relationships, partnering with businesses who have the same vision; and caring heart, connecting the heart of God with the heart of the people. Thank you for being with us. We’re thrilled to have you here and look forward to sharing this journey of faith and fellowship with you. Please enjoy the service.

Dr. Darryl A. Burton Sr.: Hallelujah. Let’s praise and worship. For this is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. I was glad when they said unto me, "Let us go into the house of the Lord." We are in the house this morning, and so we're going to give God our best praise and worship today. We greet you in the wonderful and mighty name of Jesus the Christ, the one who woke us up this morning, the one who kept us still clothed in our right mind, the one who has blessed us to have these bodies in health and strength to be able to be here today.

I’m grateful for your presence today. Let me jump right into our time of call to worship this morning. It’s coming from Psalm 107 from the NIV. It says, "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—those He redeemed from the hand of the foe, those He gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south. Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind, for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things."

I read for our hearing this morning Psalm 107, verses 1 through 9. Can we go ahead and give God some praise this morning? Praise the Lord. I hope you're ready to worship. I know I am. I hope you're ready to praise the Lord because I am. Some of us had tough weeks last week, tough situations, but guess what? You made it through. You are here today only because of the grace of God. He sustained you. He kept you.

When you wanted to get mad, He helped you have a settled spirit. When you wanted to cuss somebody out, He helped you with the words. I’m so grateful today that I'm not going to let any distractions distract me from praising the Lord. Are you going to let any distractions distract you from praising the Lord today? No matter what kind of text, phone call, or what I see on the news, I'm not going to let it distract me from giving God my best praise today. We're going to go ahead and get ready to go higher in worship with Reverend Kim as she comes and leads us in the name of the Lord. Amen.

Reverend Kim: I am always grateful and thankful to God for who He is. The song says, "I love to praise Him." It's a participatory song, so we're all going to participate and sing this song. Amen.

Guest (Male): I love to praise Him. I love to praise His name. I love to praise Him. I love to praise His name. I love to praise Him. I love to praise His name. I love, I love to praise His holy name.

I love to praise Him. I love to praise His name. I love to praise Him. I love to praise His name. I love to praise Him. I love to praise His name. I love, I love to praise His holy name.

For He’s my rock, my rock, my rock, my sword, and shield. And He’s the wheel, the wheel in the middle of the wheel. I know He’ll never, He’ll never ever let me down. He’s just a jewel, a jewel that I have found.

Hallelujah, hallelujah, I love to praise His name. Hallelujah, hallelujah, I love to praise His name. Hallelujah, hallelujah, I love to praise His name. I love, I love to praise His holy name.

For He’s my rock, my rock, my rock, my sword, and shield. And He’s the wheel, the wheel in the middle of the wheel. I know He’ll never, He’ll never ever let me down. He’s just a jewel, a jewel that I have found.

Hallelujah, hallelujah, I love to praise His name. Hallelujah, hallelujah, I love to praise His name. Hallelujah, hallelujah, I love to praise His name. I love, I love, I love. If you love Him, I love in the morning, I love in the noonday, I love in the nighttime, I love to praise His holy name.

I love to praise His holy name. The name of Jesus, the name of the Lord is worthy to be praised. How great is our God? Sing with me. Sing with me, how great is our God. All the world will see how great a God that we serve.

The splendor of the King, clothed in majesty. Let all the earth rejoice, all the earth rejoice. He wraps Himself in light, and darkness tries to hide and trembles at His voice, and trembles at His voice. How great is our God. Sing with me, how great is our God. And all will see how great, how great is our God.

Age to age He stands, and time is in His hands. Beginning and the End, Beginning and the End. The Godhead, Three in One: Father, Spirit, Son. The Lion and the Lamb, the Lion and the Lamb. How great is our God. Sing with me, how great is our God. And all will see how great, how great is our God.

Name above all names. Worthy of all praise. My heart will sing, how great is our God. Name above all names. You are worthy of all praise. And my heart will sing, how great is our God. Name above all names. Worthy of all praise. My heart will sing, how great is our God.

Hallelujah. We praise You, for You are worthy. Hallelujah. We find You to be all that. Jehovah, the God that provides, the God that is here, the God that heals, the God that guides, the God that can change our minds. Hallelujah. We praise You and we magnify You, Jesus. Mighty name, Amen. The name above all names, and He's so worthy. In our hearts, we sing how great and we all see. They see us singing in our hearts how great and will say, "Who is this God that these people are singing about?" Amen.

Dr. Darryl A. Burton Sr.: Let us pray. Thank You, Lord, for Your willingness and Your ability to be able to do all things but fail. Now, Lord God, may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be found acceptable unto You, for You are my rock and my redeemer. Lord God, use Your servant now for this preaching moment. Lord God, because I know that You are able.

I know that You are able to help me to stand. I know that You are able to help me to have clarity of thought. I know that You are able, Lord God, to give me the power that I need to preach Your awesome word. Now, Lord God, bless and open the hearts of these Your people that sit here, and those who are near and far. Lord God, we thank You for Your presence that You have allowed us to experience this morning. It’s in Jesus' name that our hearts say, Amen, Amen, and Amen.

Hallelujah. We're grateful to God for this wonderful opportunity today once again to stand before you, my brothers and sisters, and proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ on this morning. I'm grateful for another Sunday of worship and praise. In fact, I look forward to every Sunday that I come and stand to give God's word to you.

This past week, I spent most of my time reflecting on the darkness that we have embarked upon in this country and beyond. I spent most of my time thinking about the impact of this war and these United States who have initiated this war, and where it may take us in the days and weeks and months to come, further perhaps down a dark path. This certainly doesn't sound encouraging to us, I know it doesn't, but I don't want to leave you there with that sobering thought because we have no control over that decision. Since we did not, there's another way we can respond when things are not in our control, my brothers and sisters.

That led me to our text on this morning coming to us from Ephesians chapter 5, verses 8 through 21. I'm going to spend more time in verse 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 on this morning. Thank you once again for reading our scripture. If you allow me to just lift up one verse for our foundational springboard to go into this sermon on this morning, and that is verse number 8.

Verse number 8 says, "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light." For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light. Let me say it one more time for the Holy Spirit. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.

I want to attack this topic with the title "Becoming Children of Light." Becoming children of light. Many of us sense quite a weariness that comes from living in confusing times. Conversations that used to be simple now feel complicated. Issues that once seemed clear now are layered and emotionally charged. Families are wrestling with differing convictions.

Young people are trying to discern identity in a culture that consistently redefines it. Even faithful believers sometimes wonder, how do I navigate all this with wisdom and grace? It’s not merely that the world feels darker, it often feels disorienting. Disorientation can be exhausting. Perhaps we should ask the question: where in your life do you feel that disorientation?

We are surrounded by information, yet many feel unsure about the truth. We are connected digitally, yet many feel spiritually isolated. We have opinions everywhere, but peace feels scarce. To that kind of environment, Paul speaks powerful words from Ephesians chapter 5, verse 8: "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light."

Here is the heart of the message today. If you belong to Christ, you are no longer darkness. You are light in the Lord. Our calling is to live in a way that matches who we already are in Him. Notice Paul’s tenderness and certainty. He does not shame believers for having lived in darkness, but Paul reminds them of their transformation.

It is in the text: "You were once, but now." Paul uses a predicate noun to declare identity. There are people who will always remind you of what you once were. There are always people who will remind you of what you once were. You have some so-called family and friends who will bring up your past in a heartbeat. There is probably someone right now within your circle who began to remember what you once were.

But now, by the grace of God, consider what you have become. If I can share some light upon myself on this morning, I was told many years ago that I was too hard—hard with very little compassion, hard with very little flexibility, hard with very little willingness to see another person’s opinion. If you knew my story, if you knew how I was raised, if you knew the fights that I fought daily in my neighborhood, if you knew how hard I tried to fit in some circles, perhaps you would understand why I had a hard disposition.

But by the grace of God, a change came over me. I was once that way, but now I’m not that way. I am not a complete package, but I will likely never be on this side of the Jordan a complete package until I get on the other side of the Jordan. But God is still working on me. What about you on this morning? Is God still working on you?

You once were, but now you're somebody totally different. You once were in the world, but you're not of the world because the Bible tells us not to be of the world, but have a different mindset of being transformed by the renewing of our minds. God is still working on me, and I’m sure He’s still working on you.

The context of our text is that this church in Ephesus is one of the churches Paul established. It was among the most prominent churches in the region. Paul knew this church very well because during his third missionary journey, he stayed with this church for nearly three years. He rooted himself in the area and was successful in preaching and teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Therefore, Paul was familiar with this church’s behavior. He’s familiar with their struggles, their tendencies, their lack of self-control, and everything that pulled them away into sensuality and every kind of impurity. At this point, Paul encourages this church at Ephesus to live differently. God is calling us to live differently, my brothers and sisters. You must decide what living differently looks like right where you are.

In chapter 4 of Ephesians, around verse 17, Paul encouraged these believers not to live as the Gentiles do in futility of their thinking. The word "futility" means a quality of being futile, ineffective, and useless. They were living as the world lives: one foot in the church on Sunday morning, but the other foot in the world on Monday through Saturday. Paul said that they knew better. They knew that this behavior was not acceptable behavior as a believer in Jesus Christ.

Paul did what many of us are afraid to do: he called them out. But it wasn’t calling them out to embarrass them, but calling them into what they ought to be in Christ. Their behavior was once something that mirrored the world: the wickedness of the world, the deceitful desires of the world, the lies of the world, the self-centeredness of the world. Paul said that this is not who you are.

Swing back around to the text in verse 8. Paul tells us, "For you were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light." Somebody say "live." Live as children of light. If you read that passage too fast, you will miss what Paul is saying to us on this morning. Let me tell you what he did not say.

Paul did not say you were once in darkness, or that you are in the light. No, it’s deeper than that because Paul is communicating to this church, and what he is saying to us on this morning is describing a change of our nature, not just a change in our environment. He’s talking about a change of our nature, not just a change in our environment. Let me make it plain for us on this morning.

Paul is describing a transformation of a spiritual condition. Watch this: before Christ, what was the problem? Before you came into a relationship with Jesus, how would your character have been described? Well, before Christ, darkness characterized our thinking. Darkness was at the center of our desires. Darkness determined our decision-making and direction.

Before Christ, you did what you wanted to do. You went where you wanted to go. You cussed people out if they looked at you the wrong way. You lived by the flesh and did not walk according to the spirit. Before Christ, you engaged in hatred, jealousy, and all fits of rage. Before Christ, you were lost and on your way to hell. But that was who you were before Christ.

Those environments altered our character and changed our nature. But now, there's good news. Since you have met Jesus, our nature will reflect that of light. The light does not strain to be seen. It just simply shines. The Bible says in Genesis chapter 1, around verse 3, that God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

The Bible did not stop there. He said He separated the darkness from the light. Light is the foundation of the creation story. Light exposes what’s in the dark. When I turn on the lights in our home, the light begins to let me see what’s around me. It allows me to see what needs to be seen. The pastoral beauty of this text is that Paul is not placing pressure on the believer to generate light.

He didn't call us and make us to generate light. You were not made to generate light. You are light in the Lord. The source is Christ. The call is to walk in what you have already been ordained to be. Colossians chapter 1, verse 13: "He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son Jesus."

Allow me to quickly give us three observations of what it means to become children of light. My first observation of becoming children of light is simply live as children of light. Somebody say "live." Live as children of light. Somebody needs to understand the question before us is not, "How do I fix the world?" The question is: are you living consistently as light according to what God has made you to become?

The first step of living as children of light is embracing our identity in Christ. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we are not merely stepping out of darkness, we are transformed into bearers of light. This transformation is not superficial but a fundamental change in our spiritual DNA. Through Christ, everything changed. Every time Christ stepped into an environment, the situation changed. The environment changed. The people changed. Why? Because Christ was there.

His redemptive work on the cross brings us out of the darkness and into the light, giving us a new identity. It is an identity rooted in righteousness. It shifts both the spiritual reality and the call to action. We are now to live as light in the Lord. Our identity as children of light is both a gift and a calling. The gift is an unearned grace that God bestows upon us when we come into the light of Christ.

However, this gift comes with some responsibilities to reflect His light to others. 1 Peter 2:9 reinforces this: "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, people belonging to God, that you may declare His praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." Isn't it good news to remember what you used to be before Christ and now what you are now that you have accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior?

Our lives should then reflect that something new is on the inside of us. When there's something new on the inside of us, which is the light of God, the world should be able to see the light that you shine as you go into your neighborhoods, as you step into your family situations, as you walk into your places where you work. Somebody should see some light in you because you are now a new creature in Christ Jesus.

That brings me to my second observation: you must exhibit evidence of the light. Somebody say "exhibit." Exhibit evidence of the light. Paul carefully communicates what this evidence is in verses 9 and 10. He says, "For the fruit of the light consists of all goodness—somebody say goodness—righteousness, and truth, and finds out what pleases the Lord."

Let me say that again. "The fruit of the light consists of all goodness, righteousness, and truth, and finds out what pleases the Lord." I hope y'all didn't miss that. Fruit is an important imagery in scripture because fruit has several characteristics. It is visible. You can see it. It is natural. It grows from a natural tree. It is evidence. It proves what kind of tree it is.

Jesus taught the same principle in Matthew chapter 7 and 16. He said, "You will recognize them by their fruit." Paul is saying to us on this morning that light is not merely believed, it is demonstrated. As Christians, I must see some evidence. Just because you say that you are a child of God, there must be some evidence of that claim. I’m not going to take your word for it.

We have the propensity to say one thing and do another. We have the propensity to tell somebody something but we turn around and do something totally different. I was talking to a young lady this past week, a few days ago in fact, and she described that her church leader had embarrassed and berated her. The leader came back and called to apologize. However, this young lady shared with me that she was going to wait and see the evidence of her forgiving heart.

Perhaps the reason why our witness isn't strong is that people in our circles don't see the evidence of Christ inside of you. They don't see the goodness inside of you. They don't see righteousness working inside of you. They don't see the fruit of the spirit working inside of you. They don't hear the truth coming from your mouth. Evidence of the light may look like choosing righteousness, choosing forgiveness instead of paying back somebody.

Choosing truth with gentleness instead of gossiping about somebody. Showing up for someone in pain instead of scrolling past their struggle. A person walking as light should be one who cares about the people, acts with compassion, and refuses cruelty and selfishness. Paul says that the proof that the light of Christ lives in you is not the volume of your confession, but the visibility of your fruit. There must be some evidence.

That now brings me to my third and final observation of this text. Becoming children of light means that you as a light must be awakened and revealed. Here in verse number 12 and 14, Paul says, "For it is shameful even to mention that the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, and everything that is illuminated becomes light. This is why it is said, 'Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine in you.'"

Paul reminds believers that darkness thrives in secrecy. Darkness depends on concealment. Sin prefers shadows. But when light enters, what was hidden becomes visible. That’s why the Gospel of John, chapter 3 and verse 20 through 21, says, "Everyone who does evil hates light, but whoever lives by the truth comes into the light." Sometimes the most powerful witness is not confrontation, but consistency.

A life shaped by Christ naturally reveals the difference between darkness and light. Church, I’m here to let you know on this morning, Paul has shown us three truths about becoming children of light. First, our identity is changed. We were once in darkness, but now you are in the light of the Lord. Second, our lives must exhibit evidence of the light: goodness, righteousness, and truth.

Finally, the light we carry has power. Somebody say "it has power." The light that you carry has power. Everywhere you walk, if you are a light and you are exhibiting the light of Christ, everywhere you walk, you have some power. It reveals what darkness hides. It transforms what it touches and awakens those who are spiritually asleep. The world we live in does not need any more arguments.

Light does not fight darkness with noise. Light simply shines. I just came by today to let you know I need you to shine. If you are a Christian and you believe in Jesus Christ, you are to be shining wherever you go. You are to let your light shine so men may see the good works that Christ is doing in you. Christ doesn't fight darkness with noise. It simply shines.

The question before us this morning is not whether Christ is the light. The question is whether we are living as children of light He has called us to be. You’ve got to ask that question for yourself. You’ve got to look inside of yourself. You’ve got to look at the man in the mirror and ask yourself, "Am I being the light that God has created me to be?"

And if I'm not being the light that God has created me to be, Lord help me right now to be the light that You have created in me. Whatever darkness that's in my life, whatever behaviors I'm doing that's not of You, Lord begin to work on my heart. Begin to change my mind. Begin to change my thinking. Lord, if my walk is not worthy of You, Lord God, begin to change my walk.

Begin to change my words. Begin to change my thinking. Begin to change some people I hang around with. If my walk is not shining the light that it should shine, oh Lord God, begin to turn me around. Begin to work on me right now. Lord, I need You. How many of you need the Lord to begin to work on you? I do, because I have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

But thanks be to God, I'm not what I used to be, but God has changed me to be something different in Him. He’s changed me to be a better light so I can reflect more further, that I can reflect in neighborhoods I go into, I can reflect in my family, I can reflect on my job. Anybody want to be a reflector of light? To be a reflector of light is what God is calling us to do.

The good news of the gospel is that Christ's light still shines. And when His light shines on you, darkness loses its grip. Darkness loses its claim on you. When that light begins to shine in us, when our hearts are changed, when our minds are thinking differently, the darkness that tries to get you to go in places you want to go and do the things you want to do, it begins to loosen its grip because it can't hang on to you because God is working on you.

So, wake up! Rise up and let Christ shine in you. Then go into the world and walk as children of light. Paul does not say we step into a better lighting condition. He says we become something different. We were in darkness, but in Christ, darkness lost its claim on our identity. And now light shines on us and helps us to see who we are in Him. Come on, let’s give God some praise for His word on this morning.

Becoming children of light is our message on today. As we stand to our feet, the doors of the church are open. There may be one here who doesn't know Jesus in the pardon of your sins. Perhaps you are still walking in darkness. God has called you out of darkness. If you are accepting the Lord today, I’m speaking to those who are watching near and far. If you want to accept the Lord today, take out your mobile device and text the word "JOIN" to 240-269-5193.

He’s calling you right now. He’s calling you out of darkness into His marvelous light so that you can be the light that He has ordained. Is there anybody here? I think everybody here that I can see has a relationship with Christ. You may sit down, my brothers and sisters. Thank you. But again, I want to extend this invitation to those who are watching me from near and far to become children of light.

We are living in some dark and difficult days, my brothers and sisters. The days are going to get darker. And as the days get darker, that means that our light should shine brighter. We should illuminate brighter wherever we go. We have to make sure not to compromise. We have to make sure that we still represent the light that God has placed in our hearts. Amen.

Again, my brothers and sisters, if you wish to connect with us, text the word "JOIN" to 240-269-5193. We’ll be waiting to hear from you. I thank God for you. I’m praying for you. Those who are out there, I'm praying for you. Whoever you may be that's struggling, that has one foot on Sunday morning in the light, getting the feeding of the word, but the other foot is still in the world. You're compromising. Your light cannot stay bright when you're compromising who you are in Christ Jesus.

Make sure that you are connected; be connected to God’s word. Come on, let’s give God some praise again for this wonderful opportunity today to serve Him in this capacity. I’m grateful to God for each of you being here today. We look forward to coming together again to expound on this word as we go further into the study on Wednesday. Join us for Bible study Wednesday as we go deeper into this whole idea of becoming children of light. May God bless you and may God keep you.

Let us bow for a final blessing before we leave this place. Father God, we thank You for allowing us to hear Your word today and reminding us of what we are. We are no longer darkness, but we are light. So, let us live as light this week and beyond, in our environments, our homes, our places of work, even among other people. Let us be that light.

Now to Him who is able to keep us from falling and to present us before Your glorious presence without fault and with great joy, to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages now and forevermore. Let the people of God say, Amen, Amen, and Amen. Come on, give God some praise as we prepare to leave today. May God bless you and may God keep you, my friends. Look forward to seeing you again on Wednesday.