God Is Light

An assembly from the Culham St Gabriel archive

Suitable for Whole School (Sec)

Aims

To consider that God is present in all places at all times.

Preparation and materials

• You will need a leader and four readers.

• Optional: you may wish to light a large candle during the assembly.

Assembly

Leader: We are often told that God is everywhere. But where is everywhere? And what difference does it make to us if he is everywhere? The idea of God being everywhere is hard to grasp, so Christians sometimes use the image of light to help them explore what it means.

Explain that four students are going to read passages about light from the Bible. Explain that, after each reading, you are going to make a few short comments that you would like the students to consider quietly. You may wish to ask the students to shut their eyes while they are thinking.

Reader 1: Read Genesis 1.1-5.

Leader: Christians believe that the first act of creation was light. Without it, there would have been nothing.

- Light is amazing. It has been there since the creation of the universe.
- Light is all around us and belongs to us all. We all have equal access to it.
- No one can own light. If you try to do so by putting it in a box, it disappears into darkness.
- Unlike land or food, we cannot ‘buy’ light.
- There is no place light cannot reach if it is given a clear run.
- Light makes everything clear by removing darkness and shadows so that we can see things as they are.
- Light enables life to grow and flourish.

Reader 2: Read 1 John 1.5.

Leader: Christians believe the following things about God.

- God is all around us and is available to all, believers and non-believers alike.
- God cannot be ‘owned’ by any one group or imprisoned in any one understanding of what he is like. He does not ‘belong’ to anyone.
- God wants each of us to grow and flourish.
- God lights up our lives and enables us to see where we are to go.

Reader 3: Read John 8.12.

Leader: Christians also believe the following things.

- Jesus is the light that is God.
- Believing in God makes a difference.
- All people live in God’s light, but in Jesus, that light is focused and concentrated like the bright beam of a powerful searchlight.
- Living a life close to God produces a sense of peace.
- Following God will produce certain actions, such as loving and caring for others.

Reader 4: Read John 1.9-11.

Leader: Christians believe these things, too.
 
- The light of God shining in the world shines in the darkness and shows them what to do.
- A response is needed to the knowledge of God.

Time for reflection

Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for Jesus, the light of the world.
May your light shine in our lives, showing us the things that we need to change.
May your light shine in the world, exposing the darkness of injustice and suffering.
May your light help us to love one another and to live in peace.
Amen.