Sermon Tone Analysis

Don’t be an oxymoron

If you were sucked out of your spheres of life suddenly - would your absence be noticed?

/

Tasteless salt and hidden light

You can apparently hang with the Jesus’ crowd and be useless, stupid and impossible -

CONTEXT: The light of the world has come.

Those who turn to Jesus as God become light and salt themselves.

There’s only one instruction in this passage: let your light shine (not be salt, or be light - followers of Jesus are)

There’s hidden implications (beware of being useless or hidden -

{Useless (tasteless salt)

Stupid (hiding after lighting a lamp)

Impossible (hiding a city on a hill)

}

// Hammo salt

[avoid all the extra things Jesus didn’t say -

Christians must be noticed

Not about preservative, claensing, sacrifice, covenant… simple: stands out

[

Kinda funny image.

Especially here in central Australia we know you can’t hide light in the bush darkness.

You can’t hide light.

Nor is anybody so stupidd as to trouble themselves to light something, then cover it up.

Light is for seeing.

Followers of Jesus will be noticed, will stand out, be easily recognised.

Are you?

What is being noticed?

// not volunteerism -

[meeting with Kate Worden - the tone ||]

Christians shine good deeds

Or, literally - shine your light!

In front of others.

I wonder what you would put in a list of good deeds.

What do you think people would notice?

Before we get too carried away with this list, a much better option is to check with Jesus.

Remember, this is the beginning of a sermon on how to repent, and how to catch people for God - when Jesus the Light of the World shines light -

Overflowing heart of righteousness

Not activism, not volunteerism (though they may be a byproduct) -

anger, angry words, lust, marriage keeping,

An overflowing heart of goodness.

These good deeds seem less like deeds at this point and more like what we love.

And some of it isn’t able to be ‘seen’ at all.

Remember this is part of a call to turn to God.

Is this noticed in my life?

In your life?

Is it even a small flickering candle of this kind of heart?

Night time stars - glowing

They work by absorbing the light from elsewhere and then radiating it.

How do we shine?

Later on in the sermon on the mount Jesus says:

What are you absorbing?

Remember, the key to the sermon on the mount is at the beginning - REPENT.

Absorb the light of Jesus the Son of God - seek his ways, tell him your failings, hunger after righteousness.

Then shine.

// Christian journalist approached by another in the team to share some things, they weren’t friends - why approach me - because I saw you didn’t gossip about people so you were safe -

The Heavenly Father is Glorified Now and Later

Some of you are here because you saw the good actions of a Christian and you have turned to Jesus for yourself.

Light for the world, salt for the earth, light to shine for eveyrone in the house - does our life show Jesus’ commands are good to follow - are we a walking advertisement that following Jesus is good (even in the hard)?

Glorify your Father in Heaven - this isn’t randomly just good - people will make the connection ebtween your way of life and your commitment to Jesus - this only happens because Jesus expects that you will identify yourself with him.

Who sees you? - in your casual dealings (shopping, driving, consuming), workplace (your ethics, your colleagues, clients, boss), home (family, neighbours) -

What do they see?

Salt and light are not always welcome:

Not all seeing and noticing is good.

I think Peter is remembering Jesus’ words from Matthew.

Literally some people will see your good deeds and bad mouth you - becayuse your saltiness is not to their taste.

There are many ways that following Jesus will mean that we don’t join in.

Their abuse ultimately brings glory to God - they’re seeing your behaviour, attributing it to being a follower of Jesus -

Maybe your life with a heart turned to God overflowing with good actions will lead people to turn to Jesus too.

Maybe they’ll attack you, unfriend you, be confused by you -

It’s God’s problem whether the glory happens now in their life, or on the final day when he returns and every knee will bow.