Serious Joy

Meekness is often overlooked in the list of Christian character traits, but it should define us because it is the very heart of God.

It is a time of mourning for us as a church as we deal with the loss of our beloved founder and senior pastor, Terry Rogers. But we do not weep as those who do not have hope. Christ is risen, and that is our assurance and our hope also. Let us weep. Let us mourn, but let us not be dismayed, for our hope is secured in the completed work of our risen Lord.

There is comfort in our suffering and grief when we realize that God is ultimately and decisively in control...the same God who is your Father, who loves you beyond measure, and works all things for your good.

We know that we are feeling Godly sorrow that leads to repentance and not worldly guilt when our affections toward God are exposed, when we are convicted to push further into righteousness, and when we are moved to declare salvation to others.

Christian mourning is blessed because it moves us with compassion for the lost to proclaim the kingdom of God, and we are comforted seeing the new life that is given by Christ to all who come to Him. Mourning over the sins of the world is at the heart of the Great Commission.

Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount by saying "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." He starts there, because that is where we must start...poor in spirit. In this message, we explore some of what that means.

Jesus came to show us The Way. The Way is humble and authentic. The Way is passionate for the glory of God in all things to the joy of all people. The Way is hard. The Way is sure. The way is Jesus.

Today we begin a series through the Sermon on the Mount. We will take our time discovering and re-discovering Jesus' teachings of The Way.

It may seem like Jesus is asking too much, or like the mission is too big...to make disciples of all nations. It may seem overwhelming to teach "all that he has commanded", but be encouraged that He had all of that in mind when He gave us that impossible mission.

Woe to us if we do not share the great gift of Christ with the world. He has given us the Keys of the Kingdom so that we can swing wide the gates of Heaven to a lost and dying world.

When life comes at you hard, we have our marching orders. Better yet, we have an assured victory. Press on, faithful soldier. Press on.