In Matthew 5, we catch a glimpse of Jesus speaking into the foundation he is laying during his sermon on the mount. Before he gets too far, he takes a moment to specify that what he’s sharing is not new, in fact - it’s quite old. It’s foundational to the relationship between God and humanity. He pauses to reassure them that he’s not just spewing off from the top of his mind, but he’s actually speaking directly to the truths that God had given them long ago, and in fact, he was the one that would ultimately embody everything they were aiming and hoping for.

This week, we begin a new sermon series, “City On A Hill,” where we’ll learn more about what it means to live on mission as the body of Christ, partnering with Jesus to build his Kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven.

In this sermon, we look at why Jesus called his followers the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world" and what that means for us today.

As followers of Jesus, God has adopted us into his family and brought us together as his children. This experience is similar to getting married — we all must learn how to bend and change to maintain unity in this family. As God’s children, we all have the same inheritance and share the same mission. We’re meant to be a united family.

Jesus knew a thing or two about hatred. He was spit on, beaten, whipped, called names, lied about, brutalized, and murdered. If Jesus himself - the most loving, compassionate, inspiring, generous person to ever walk the earth - knew this kind of rejection, so will we.

We, by nature, don’t want someone ruling our lives, but the only way to have peace in this world is by having peace with God. As we reconcile ourselves to God, we must also reconcile with those around us.

Rescue:Freedom International is on a mission to end sex trafficking once and for all. They work tirelessly to fight exploitation across the globe and attack this injustice from every angle. By partnering with organizations and individuals alike, RFI free dozens of lives each month, help thousands of survivors thrive in freedom, and protect vulnerable people from exploitation.

This week, we were honored to hear from Rescue:Freedom CEO, Jeremy Vallerand for "Freedom Sunday" - a day where we heard the story of Rescue:Freedom, discovered unique ways we can support their mission, and learned about Jesus' heart of freedom for all of us.

This week, we unpack what Jesus meant when he said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God" (Matthew 5:8).

Mercy is a central component to God’s nature. Because God is a merciful God, it means your failure doesn’t get the final word! Because we've received God's mercy, He invites us to extend that mercy to others. The whole point of the Christian life is that the character of Jesus will be reproduced in our lives.

There’s something that happens to us when we turn our lives over to Jesus. We begin to realize that the things we craved before Christ could never ultimately satisfy. We begin to see just how fueled our hearts have been by cravings that lead us nowhere (the need for approval, experiencing pleasure, achieving promotion, the allure of a pain-free, comfortable life). The counter-cultural reality for Christians is not that our blessing is found in chasing satisfaction, it’s found in our pursuit of God who is our ultimate satisfaction!

We’re not called to be the most powerful, the most wealthy, the most influential in the world’s eyes - we’re called to be humble. To Jesus, humility doesn’t look like being on top or being the best. It doesn’t look like boasting in your strength, or bringing attention to yourself - that’s not where blessing lies. At the end of the day, Jesus is clear that the way of humility is the way to victory in our relationships, in our workplaces, and ultimately, in the Kingdom.