The difference between my son and I is 33 years and 2 feet.  33 years on the calendar, and 2 feet on the growth chart.  Of course there are other differences, but these are the two easiest to see.

Now imagine my son trying to wear my clothes.  Comical isn’t it?  My golf shirts look like bed sheets on his body, though they fit me just fine.  My shoes will hardly stay on his feet, but they feel just right to me.  Josh may put on my clothes and pretend they are his, but any discerning eye can easily see that he does not fill them out.

I was thinking about this today as I reflected upon the Sermon on the Mount – specifically the section from Matthew 5:17-48.  In these verses Jesus begins to explain what “good works” He was talking about in 5:16. In the first century, people had an awareness of the ten commandments – Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not lie, etc.  In fact, the Scribes and the Pharisees had even divided and defined these commandments in such a way that they were attainable for the religiously committed.  When Jesus begins to preach, though, He calls ALL (even the religious leaders) to “repent.”  Repentance is necessary because Jesus knew that the righteous “clothes” God wants us to put on are actually 2 feet larger than any of us ever imagined.  Though we may try in our own strength to wear God’s clothes, they simply do not fit.  They drape about us like bed sheets covering our meager virtue.

There is One, however, who can truly fills out the righteousness God described in the Law.  That One is Jesus.  “I have come to fulfill them (the Law),” Jesus said in 5:17.  He fills out the full uniform of the Law and the Prophets to show us our true moral size and to remind us of our need for Him.

This Sunday at Wildwood Community Church, we will be continuing our series on the Sermon on the Mount by looking at Matthew 5:17-48 in our morning worship services (at 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00).  We will study these verses together and also celebrate the Lord’s supper together.  I hope you can join us Sunday!

This morning in the sermon at Wildwood Community Church, we focused on Matthew 5:11-16.  These verses detail for us both what we can expect from the world (persecution), but also what the world can expect from us (rejoicing, impactful, and visible lives).

In the message (you can access the sermon audio online here), I mentioned a number of ways Wildwood (as a church) is involved in shining as light and serving as salt in our world.  Below are a list of links for how to get involved with these ministries going forward:

• Eden Clinic (Crisis Pregnancy Center) –  
• Young Lives (Ministry to Teen Moms) – Still in the early stages .  . . stay tuned for more details!
• Care Portal (Helping meet the material needs of Foster Kids in the Norman area) – contact Lisa in the church office (405) 329-3939 to find out how to get involved.
• Latvian Orphan Camp (June 2017) – Contact Bruce in the church office for more details on how to pray for this trip.
• Nicaraguan Mission Trip (July 2017) – Contact Jonathan in the church office for more details on how to pray for this trip.
• Food and Shelter for Friends (cook and serve meal on second Friday of each month)
• Kennedy Elementary School Partnership (Teacher support and student mentoring)
• Also . . . help us share Christ with kids in our community through Vacation Bible School this summer.  Click here to sign up!
• These are all just representative of the many opportunities for us to be salt and light.  You don’t have to wait to be a part of an organized program to “go public” with your faith and point others to Christ.

“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” – Jesus (in Matthew 5:16)

I concluded the message by challenging all to “take our faith public” this week by serving someone new.  If you take a step in this direction this week . . . LET ME KNOW ABOUT IT!  Email me at markrobinson@wildwoodchurch.org , or comment to this post and let me know how you have been salt and light this week.

On Sunday, April 30, 2017 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Matthew 5:11-16.  This message was part 2 in the “Sermon on the Mount” Series.  Below you will find the audio to this sermon posted for you to listen to or share.

Click the link below to download audio & listen offline:

Sermon on the Mount 2

 

Use the media player below to listen online:

 

On Sunday, April 30, 2017 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Matthew 5:11-16.  This message was part 2 in the “Sermon on the Mount” series.  Below you will find questions related to this message for further reflection and group discussion.

Sermon Questions:

1. Pray
2. Read Matthew 5:11-16
3. I made a statement early in the message today – “Jesus did not come simply to educate us, but to activate us.”  What comes to mind when you hear that idea?
4. Have you ever experienced persecution for your faith in Jesus (at any level)?  What are some stories of persecution that you are familiar with? 
5. We are commanded to rejoice when persecuted. How can a believer in Christ do such a thing?
6. Do you practice a visible or an invisible faith?  What evidence would your friends and neighbors have of your relationship with Christ? 
7. What is one way you can “go public” with your faith this week?
8. What is one particular application you took away from this passage/message?

To access these questions in pdf format, click here.

Are you scared of the dark?  Some of you are.  I certainly used to be.  Truth be told, I still don’t love it, especially if I am alone. 

When I was young, I would have my parents leave the lamp in my bedroom on, and then turn it off after I had fallen asleep.  That way, I would not have to deal with the dark.  Of course, on occasion I would wake up in the middle of the night and pull the covers up a little tighter, adding an extra layer of cotton protection between me and the dark unknown.  Can anyone relate?

Jesus talked about the darkness.  So did the prophet Isaiah.  In fact, God has preserved a number of references to the dark in our Bible . . . especially as a morally depraved backdrop against which the Light of God’s holiness can shine.

Physical Darkness is scary because it creates many unknowns.  What was that sound?  Is that a shadow? Without lightbulbs, we are left to our imaginations to answer these questions . . . and this can create fear.

Spiritual Darkness is also scary.  What happens after death?  Is there meaning in life?  Without Jesus Light, we are left to our imaginations to answer those questions . . . and this can create despair.

Though we have come to know Jesus as our Savior, we sometimes wake up to the reality that our world is still living in the shadows of darkness.  When this happens we sometimes want to pull the cover of our Christian community around us closer, and create greater distance between us and the world.  However, is this what we are called to do?  Is this how Christians are supposed to live inside this dark world?  Is this how a group of blessed/happy people are supposed to live? 

Jesus didn’t think so.

In fact, Jesus speaks to His followers (us), who are following Him inside a dark world (our world), and challenges us to shine as light.  How does that work?  What does that mean? 

This Sunday morning at Wildwood Community Church in our 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00 worship services, we will be continuing our series on Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount” by looking at Matthew 5:11-16.  Make plans to join us as we see what it means to be salt and light inside a world that rejects us.  Remember, we are not alone!  I look forward to worshipping with you on Sunday!

On Sunday, April 23, 2017 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Matthew 5:1-10.  This message was part one of the “Sermon on the Mount” series.  The sermon audio is included below for you to listen to or share.

 

To listen offline, click the link below to download:

Sermon on the Mount 1
To listen online, use the media player below:

On Sunday, April 23, 2017 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a message based on Matthew 5:1-10.  This message was part 1 in the “Sermon on the Mount” series.  Below you will find questions related to this message for personal reflection or group discussion.

Sermon Questions:

1. Pray
2. Read Matthew 5:1-10
3. Make a list of the things and phrases you think describe the “blessed life.”  How does your list differ from the list Jesus mentions in today’s passage?
4. Of the 8 “blessed are the ______” statements in Matthew 5:1-10m which do you find hardest as a description of a life that is “blessed”?  In what way was Jesus correct in calling the life marked by these 8 characteristics “blessed”?
5. What are some practical ways that you can begin to set your “clock” to “Kingdom Standard Time”?
6. What does humbling yourself before the Lord look like right now?  (Approaching Him as one who is “poor in spirit,” “mourning,” “meek,” etc.)
7. What is one particular application you took away from this passage/message?

To access these questions in pdf format, click here.

If I were to give you a pen and paper and asked you to make a list describing the “blessed life,” what kinds of things would you write down? 

• Some would write about money and possessions (the blessed life includes a nice house here in town PLUS a mountain condo or lake house, etc.).  
• Others would record people (a wife, a husband, 3.5 children, friends, etc.) 
• Still others would think of societal success (no wars or rumors of wars, social justice on all fronts, the end of racism, etc.) 
• While others would detail experiences (Disney World, Europe, and the beach.)  

Each of our lists describing the “blessed life” would be slightly different, but most would include at least some of these elements.

Now I want you to flash back 2000 years to the tranquil countryside of Galilee off the shore of the Sea of Tiberias.  In this setting Jesus preached some of His first public sermons.  Matthew records one of these sermons in Matthew 5-7: the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus begins this message in His introduction by telling us what He sees as the “blessed life.”  It makes sense that He would begin there.  After all, if Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the people would expect Him to make them happy, to comfort them, to make them  . . . BLESSED.

So Jesus begins His sermon with His list of what a blessed life looks like.  We see this list in Matthew 5:1-10.  Don’t you want to know what He said?  What was on His list?  Well then come Sunday to Wildwood Community Church as we will see what Jesus Christ thinks the “blessed life” looks like.  We will be starting a new sermon series on the “Sermon on the Mount” this week in our 8:30, 9;45, and 11:00 worship services.  We would love to see you in one of them.  Oh, and if you can’t wait to see how Jesus describes the blessed life, go ahead and grab a Bible and take a look for yourself at Matthew 5:1-10.  Looking forward to worshipping with you on Sunday!