How the church loves

introduction:

PRAY!!!

introduce yourself:

Life update:

Today is the 4th Sunday of Epiphany.

At Norman we are big on following the Liturgy calendar

In the time of Epiphany we are in between Christmas and Lent

Epiphany is a great time to read the gospels and to get ready for Lent and Easter

Tell about Lance and Conner and the move to Norman

Talk about the boys being independent Because they are growing up.

They know so much more than I do now.

We celebrate When kids hit Milestones of independence

And we can grieve those as well

If you a parent you know that you want you kids to be strong independent people

so, they can make out in the world without us!

There is this idea that as Westerners

we celebrate independent Maybe a little to much

You may have Heard or told Stories

what my generation

Calls the boot strap Theology

long story short

where people talk about pull themself up by their bootstraps

These people make on their own

I was one of these people.

I was raised by my grandparents

I believe in if I couldn’t do it myself

I didn’t deserve whatever it was I was trying to get done

I still struggle with this idea today

we live in a radically independent driven society!

memoirs ( books) Of people who came from poverty and now make six figures.

But as I read scripture and I sit with those words of God’s

I can’t help but questions

are we allowing the Bootstrap mindset

to take us over?

Here is the Reality

I don’t see a bootstrap mindset in the word of God!

honesty Here is that hurt my pride

I could be good with the bootstrap mindset

until I get so overwhelmed i crash!

And I get a wake up call that I just can’t do things alone

Jesus calls those who are radically drive to Independence

To lay down that Independence

and find what it looks like to have Dependence

DEPENDENCE ON GOD

Jesus bring the need for Dependence on God

and less independence

sermon on the mount

Our Scripture for today is

Matthew 5v1-12

Jesus is about to tell all the listeners and us the types of people that He will

seated at his table in His kingdom!

Matthew 5:1-12 “Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when others persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Matthew 5:1-12 In this passage,

Jesus is teaching a crowd of people about the

importance of living a righteous and virtuous life.

He also teaches about the importance of fulfilling the law and the prophets and about the importance of being a light for others to follow.

Overall, the passage is emphasizing the importance of living a life of holiness and righteousness.

Jesus is just getting started teaching this passage is the beginning of Jesus Sermons to that people.

I get blow away cuz Jesus doesn’t start his sermon Ministry

We how we should live by rules

he begins with

with showing us who he plans to sit at table in His kingdom

We we think of having a dinner party

we don’t think to invite

the weak

the ones who are in mourning

We want the extrovert The life of the party

Back in Jesus’ day people only had the righteous over

never the poor in Spirit

Jesus is telling us the people that get looked down upon In his and our

will be at his table in his kingdom

not alone will they sit there

they will

be BLESSED!

Little history recap:

Back in this time rabbis

Made list of who were blessed and who were cursed

Someone who was blessed in the eyes of a rabbi

would be someone who followed the Torah

and people who where mourning would be listed as cursed

But Jesus is here to turn thing upside down!

We might think yeah! You Go Jesus tell them how it is!

But we know are world today has a list that looks like the

rabbis and pharisees Of Jesus Day!

We don’t need Society To tell us where we sit

we do to ourself with the bootstrap method

I don’t know about you but I don’t fell blessed

when I am low on money

or mourning a loved one

All the people Jesus listed are in a difficult situation

We don’t always feel love when we are difficult situation

and we can find it hard to love other when they are in difficult situation

commentaries over this sermon say Jesus is trying to tell us to love God and love people.

Jesus goes on to talk about the salt of the world

and the light of the world

How important It is to be different

To love those who are different

and to shine your light when no one wants to see it

Tell the story of Jean and tattoos

and how the child she fear was you

The story made you cry

felt anger build up in my toward God

the wrost part was she use a word I can’t stand secular

I did do a follow up for this parent

and advised her to have the family over for dinner

or rethink the events so going to

because I am praying for them to be filled with more “ Secular” people

or also know as God children!

As people who have been saved for a long time

or grew Up on the bootstrap method

or maybe you just never missed a Sunday

Can easy forget about those who have seen felt God

We talk about people outside the church as if Jesus didn’t died for them too.

We want to grow church’s and youth groups but we want to complain About the people in church that are not following God!

No matter if you grew up in a strict Church going home You had to come before God!

This is not my only Conversation Of people complaining

About how someone in the church or a church even does Measure up to the righteousness!

Jesus tells us where those people belong.

The ones we don’t want around our kids or even ourself

they belong at his table in his kingdom!

Like I said before Jesus is just get started with this sermon He going to flip so many more thought and action upside down.

I was reading in Psychology Today

a study was done and it reveal that people who claimed to be christians

where more suspicious And unwelcoming of people who are different

while secular People were more likely to be open and accepting to those who are different.

this includes

Race

religion

sexuality

I recently had a Conversation About how we don’t save people

Jesus does!

Are job as people who follow Jesus is to look like Jesus

condemning People because they are not as righteous As we think they should be

is not looking like Jesus.

I think what Jesus us saying to his listeners here is

are you going to follow me no matter what?

Jesus is laying Out the Kingdom’s vision of what it looks like to follow him!

He saying I am not like what you known for all these years of listing to the law

Law told you to do all these things independently

while we get made at those who are not following the law

and who we think could use a little

more bootstrap pulling

But Jesus is saying come to me let’s do this life together

no works can make Jesus love you or me or all the

secular People out there.

Like I said I am bad about think I can do thinks on my own andI don’t need help.

But when it come to Jesus I want to be clinging on to him and not on to myself.

I want to see

people like he does and love them like he does.

I am weak in my own Independence my own righteousness

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven