We continue our look at the story of Daniel. This week, we see Daniel’s friends faced with a difficult decision: do they disobey God and save their lives or obey God and potentially lose them? And what can we learn from the decisions that they make?

The people of Israel are living in a new world and in exile. Daniel and his friends have just lost their king, their homeland, and their names. The temptation is to conform to the kingdom of Babylon and forget they are citizens of God’s kingdom. Daniel is written to encourage God’s people to Hope in God and live faithfully even when it doesn't seem like God is in control. Faithful living looks like being in the world and not of it while doing good works to make it better. We are salt and light in this earthly kingdom. God is in control and this Hope motivates faithful living.

Today is the fifth and final message from The Sermon on the Mount.  We have looked at: the Beatitudes, the directive to be salt and light, the law and – last week – at the command to love our enemies. Today’s text is from Matthew 7, where Jesus says: judge not lest you be judged.

Today we return for a fourth message from the Sermon on the Mount – the greatest sermon ever preached by the greater person who ever lived.  The passage is from Matthew 5:43, it is the directive to love our enemies.

Welcome to week three of our study of the Sermon on the Mount. This series is the third part of our year-long exploration of Renewal. In the fall we turned to Romans 12 to focus on personal renewal; in the Winter we turned to the Book of Acts to think about church renewal. We are now focusing on the Sermon on the Mount to think about Community Renewal.

13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.