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Identity and Vocation (Epiphany 1: Baptism of Christ)
A sermon on the baptism of Christ by Ben Sternke at Christ Church’s worship gathering on the first Sunday of Epiphany (January 10, 2010), from Isaiah 43:1-7 and Luke 3:15-21.
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The Sermon on the Mount, Day 42
Today is our day to practice worship together. Christ Church gathers at 5pm on Sunday evenings, and tonight we’ll read Matthew 7:1-12 in the context of worship together. If you’re not part of Christ Church, get together with a group of friends and practice the following exercises:
- Eat together
- Receive communion together (choose a reading from John 6:43-58, or 2 Cor 11:23-26, a liturgical book like the Book of Common Prayer)
- Read Matthew 7:1-12 together and share your experiences from your exercises this week
- Pray for anyone in need
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The Sermon on the Mount, Day 9
Read through today’s recap and practice the exercise at the end:
Before we move into the next portion of the sermon on the mount let’s stop and consider what we’ve discovered:
- Jesus announces the arrival of God’s available Kingdom, the true “promised land.” That was his gospel (Mt 4:12-17).
- Jesus proves the reality of God’s new rule by demonstrating power over human brokenness, suffering, and disease (Mt 4:23-25).
- Jesus points out that the lowest of the world, and even the persecuted, can be considered “blessed” by this new access to God’s present Kingdom (Mt 5:1-12).
- Jesus says the people who are blessed by God’s present Kingdom constitute a new humanity, becoming the “salt and light” of the world (Mt 5:13-16).
- Jesus says this new humanity who are blessed by God’s presence and power will fulfill the law and exceed the righteousness of man’s most stringent efforts (Mt 5:17-20).
As we move into a part of Jesus’ sermon that describes the greatest set of ethics ever taught we will be tempted to think that Jesus is calling us to do our very best to live that way. But that, of course, is impossible and would require us to forget everything we’ve learned up to this point; namely, that the real gospel – the real “blessing” – is God Himself (Gen 15:1). The only way, then, to be the “salt and light” that Jesus describes is to be with God, living under his good rulership as our King.
So then, how are we to be with God?