This autumn we will looking at the Sermon on the Mount in a new sermon series for Sunday mornings at Sunnyside and St John’s.
The Sermon on the Mount is a powerful guide to how we are called to live as Christians. It begins with the Beatitudes, a beautiful vision of a set of ‘blessed attitudes’ (David Pytches) that are the ethical foundations of God’s Kingdom of Righteousness. It continues with teaching about how being a follower of Jesus should make a difference to how we live which will then have a positive impact on the world around us. Our relationships, our priorities, our attitudes, our focus should all be different because we are seeking to follow Jesus’ example and often, this will make our choices very different to those of the culture around us. Although sometimes these choices will be hard, we have the promise of fullness of life to encourage us and the Holy Spirit to help us as we seek to be salt and light.
Below you can see where we will be going over the coming weeks as we explore Jesus’ words together.
Being Salt and Light: living as followers of Jesus
‘Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 7.21)
“You Christians look after a document containing enough dynamite to blow all civilisation to pieces, turn the world upside down and bring peace to a battle-torn planet. But you treat it as though it is nothing more than a piece of literature.” (Mahatma Gandhi)
15th October Being Salt and Light: a vision of the kingdom
readings: Matthew 5:1-16; James 1.19-25
Jesus gives us a vision for a set of attitudes that will lead to Godly character in his followers. The Beatitudes as they are known begin a sermon which goes on to give the ethical foundations which we are part of being salt and light to the world around us.
22nd October Being Salt and Light in our Relationships
readings: Matthew 5.17-48; Exodus 20.1-17
Being a follower of Jesus should make a difference to all our relationships: family, sexual, marital, neighbours, business and community. They should be characterised by love, integrity and a desire for the good of the other, be they friend or foe.
29th October Being Salt and Light in our Motives
readings: Matthew 6.1-18; Mark 12.28-34
Our desire and attempts to live differently should be motivated by our love of God not what other people think. Our Father will see our hearts and reward us for being faithful to him and for him.
5th November Being Salt and Light in our Priorities
readings: Matthew 6.19-34; 1 Peter1.3-9
Knowing that we are loved and saved by Jesus will change how we see the world and affect our priories. If we focus on cultivating the blessed attitudes and Godly character Jesus speaks about, other things will fall into their proper place.
12th November Remembrance Sunday
19th November Being Salt and Light in our Attitudes
readings: Matthew 7.1-12; John 15.9-17
We have an unhealthy tendency to look at the failings of others rather than noticing how we fall short in similar ways. Loving and accepting people does not mean we have to agree with them, but it is not our task to judge them.
26th November 2023 Being Salt and Light: Making a Choice
readings: Matthew 7.13-8.1; John 10.1-10
Following Jesus is a choice we need to make gain and again. Sometimes it will seem to be a hard path but it is worth it. We have the Holy Spirit to help us choose God’s way and show us how to put his words into practice in our lives.