And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."
Sermon 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. Perhaps this Kairos moment we are in is a time for us to dig deep into what Jesus has to say to all people regarding GOD's concern for the marginalized, the excluded, the misused and the oppressed. The premise of this series is that the Lord of the level place comes down from the mountain in order to meet diverse ordinary folks in the plain, where he can teach them on their level and give a word of relevance to them in the midst of their social condition.
1. The blessings of GOD are bigger than the circumstances of our lives. Jesus can say the poor are blessed because their blessing is bigger than the reality of what the face.
2. Poverty or emptiness does not define anyone. Rather, our relationship with Jesus and the power of the Kingdom at work in our lives defines who we are. We are Kingdom citizens regardless as to what society may label us.
3. It is not the will of GOD that anyone suffer under societal oppression. The Good News of the Kingdom is that Jesus's invitation to the Kingdom is an invitation to stand up against societal structures that stand in the way of flourishing; GOD wants us to have the Kingdom!
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July 14, 2023
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.
continue readingDon'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 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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