New Hope UMC of the Northern Berkshires

This Sunday we talked about God's unchanging nature, and the way God's revelation continues to, well, reveal in different ways as our understanding evolves.

Also, we talked about pizza.

As we continue to talk about the Sermon on the Mount, we find that we are invited by Jesus to be salt and light. It's actually a remarkable invitation! Listen and find out why.

In today's sermon we look at the extensions, the part of the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus shares some Hebrew scriptures, but expands them. Does he really think that just being angry is enough to condemn us? No, he does not. But he does realize that sometimes one thing does lead to another, and he helps us set up fences, or guardrails, around our actions to protect us from harming ourselves, and others.

The Sermon on the Mount opens with the famous Beatitudes. Those comforting words remind us that God's grace is poured out especially for those who need it most. But they don't always seem as clear as we'd like them to be. Blessed are the poor in spirit? That seems strange. Until we think about what Jesus meant by "poor in spirit." Theirs, ours, all of ours, surely, is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Today we talk about the unfortunate wedding guest who chose to come to the King's son's wedding dressed inappropriately. We talk about what it means to dress up for God, and, no, we're not talking about pants!

This is the last sermon in our series on Finding Community. Today we talked about God’s community: the community of support that is there in front of us, giving us courage to face the journey, and the strength to succeed.

What it means to make gifts, material and otherwise, to God. Why it’s significant that we are Christians engaged in the work of Christ in our community.

We hear that one thing: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, and we post it on mirrors and carry it on cards in our wallets. But the larger context of that verse comes in the midst of the Apostle Paul’s financial distress. He talks about how the church in Phillipi supported his ministry financially, and he celebrated it. He’d have done ministry either way, but he celebrated that their giving helped support his ministry and that their reward would be in heaven.

How are we rewarded when we make sacrifices for the church?

Here's a link to the whole worship service: https://youtu.be/UU4dJzjP6WU