"What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. When that happens, be happy! Yes, leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way."
There are those who are guilty by association.
There are those who are honored by association.
Both guilt and honor by association are fallacies, they are not true, but based on the assumptions people make as the result of partial knowledge of a person. In short, it is stereotyping.
In Christ, we are blessed by association because having a relationship with Christ is based on the authenticity of our faith. We have a shared identity with the Redeemer, and because of this we are blessed with both eternal provision. We are also confronted with the very real possibility of persecution because of who Christ is in our lives. Can we accept that living for Christ set us up for both blessings and the potential for hatred, exclusion, mockery and cursing?
Sermonic Points:
1. I am blessed by knowing no matter the persecution or pressure we endure for Christ, I know that Jesus has my back; with Jesus, we've got this.
2. I am blessed by both present and eternal heavenly help and sustenance; GOD's promise of protection in Christ will seal us even through the hardships we may face because of the faith.
3. We are blessed by knowing others have gone this road before us and their testimony cheers us onward. Those who speak the truth have found themselves in trouble all throughout history, yet, GOD covers and protects those who dare to proclaim the truth of GOD's love, mercy and justice in Christ. - We are blessed by our association with Christ.
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July 14, 2023
Don't drown in the shallow-end of believing our own hype and press because your temporary resource supply appears to be limitless.
continue readingThere are 2 critical things we need to do to ensure we are caring for ourselves during this radically challenging season:1. Practice holistic self-care 2. Invest in and care for others
continue readingAs disciples we have a personal responsibility to inspect what we produce.
continue readingThe blessing in the text is not regulated to the reality of the hearers' experiences but revealed through relationship with the Teacher; the blessing is in the Person, Jesus. In other words, Jesus is letting these hungry and weeping hearers know that their change is connected to accessing the words He is giving them.
continue readingSermon 1 in this series will tackle the Lucan Beatitudes with the goal of bringing these words of blessing back to earth a bit. I do not know about anyone else, but I desire to know that the blessings of the Lord, the fulfillment of the Lord and the goodness of the Lord are not just regulated to the great by and by, but that as a citizen of the realm of GOD I can access the blessed life even while passing through this rocky world.
continue readingWe are called to move from a premise of revenge to operating as agents of restoration which is difficult and counter to our natural inclinations of paying others back for the wrong they have done toward us.
continue readingThese are the ways I prepare for the floods of life: 1. I have to have a relationship with Jesus that surpasses flattery and is founded on a resilient faith - yes there are many of us who specialize in religious language but do not yield to a redemptive relationship with Jesus.
continue reading"We are Loving, Living and Serving for the Sake of Jesus Christ"
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