Mercy Hill

Do you remember in your freshman English class learning about the importance of a thesis statement? In case you forgot, a thesis statement is a short, but clear explanation of the purpose and direction of a paper. Matthew 5:16-20 is Jesus’s thesis statement in the Sermon on the Mount; it tells us his purpose and his direction.

His purpose is two fold. He is going to explain who He is in relation to the teaching of the Old Testament. Then, he is going to explain to his listeners what God requires from citizens of his kingdom.

John Stott said, “The greatest hindrance to the advance of the gospel worldwide is the failure of the lives of God’s people.” Last week pastor Brandon laid out what it looked like to be a citizen of God’s kingdom by embracing the invitation of the beatitudes. Join us this week as we continue our new series through the sermon on the mount, and embrace the call of Jesus to be salt and light to a dying and dark world.

In a world full of Ted Talks, inspirational addresses, academic lectures, viral videos, brand messaging, political speeches, and, yes, Sunday sermons, the Sermon on the Mount still stands out as one of the most intriguing and challenging teachings of all time. Why does this one sermon delivered two thousands years ago, still capture our attention?

First, because of who delivered it: Jesus. When you back up your teaching with a resurrection from the dead, people tend to listen to what you say. Secondly, though, is because of what the sermon contains: A powerful invitation to a counter-cultural and counter-intuitive way of living in the world. Jesus paints a picture of God’s kingdom and asks us if we want live as citizens of it.

Join us as we finish out our series "Fragile Identities"

Join us as Pastor Brandon Nichols continues us through our series on Fragile Identities.

Join us as we begin our mini-series, "Fragile Identities"

Join us as we wrap up our series through Ephesians!

Join us as we near the end of our series through Ephesians

Join us as Pastor Brandon continues us through our series in Ephesians.

Join us as our Associate Pastor, Mike Childs, continues to preach through our series on Ephesians!