How the Sermon on the Mount radically reshapes our understanding of discipleship, power, the Church, and what it actually means to follow Jesus. In this third installment of the Sermon on the Mount Series, Mike Erre and Tim Stafford explore Matthew 5:13–16—Jesus’ iconic words about being salt and light—and how these metaphors confront and correct the often diluted, political, and performative expressions of modern Christianity.

Far from being a call to performative evangelism or cute youth group slogans, “salt and light” is a commission to become a prophetic community marked by humility, weakness, and faithfulness. This episode dives deep into how Jesus takes on Israel’s vocation and hands it to the unlikely crowd gathered at the mountainside—and how that redefines what it means to be Church today.

Key Takeaways: • Being “Salt of the Earth” Means Prophetic Contrast – Saltiness was about pervasive usefulness and presence, but can be utterly compromised when diluted by power, partisanship, or religiosity. • Light to the World as a Communal Witness – Not individual evangelism, but a collective embodiment of God’s faithfulness in front of a watching world. • Beatitude People Are the “You” – Jesus applies Israel’s covenantal vocation to a new community made up of the poor in spirit, the meek, the mourners, and the merciful. • Political Without Partisanship – A call to embrace kingdom politics rooted in service, hospitality, anti-violence, and justice—not power games or cultural domination. • Reconstructing the Church – How communities formed around the wrong metrics (platforms, celebrity, performance) have lost their saltiness, and how we might recover it.

Resources Mentioned: • Matthew 5:13-16 – Read the passage • Isaiah 51 & 60 – Prophetic background for Jesus’ “light of the world” imagery • Leviticus (re: salt covenants) • Tony Campolo and Red Letter Christians – Red Letter Christians • Book of Acts – For contrasts between early Church and modern church structures • Tim Gombis – Faith Improvised Podcast

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Music in this episode by Timothy John Stafford

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