Tag: Getting right with God

An Elevated Standard

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This week we are continue our summer teaching series, A Kingdom Vision. The rest of Matthew 5 in the Sermon on the Mount continues a series of seemingly disconnected blocks of teaching from Jesus. Well, they share a stylistic connection, but beyond that, they seem independent of one another. But something Jesus says at the beginning (and which we are going to talk about today) and the end, tie them all together in a way that is as unexpected as it is difficult to hear. Brace yourself for what comes next because it is going to challenge some of your most fundamental operating code. Let’s talk about how we don’t get into God’s kingdom and why that matters so much.

An Elevated Standard

Let me start out of the gate here by saying something you have probably never heard a preacher say in a sermon, and definitely not as his opening statement. Are you ready for this? Here goes: My goal this morning is to make you feel discouraged and depressed. Aren’t you glad you came today? But that’s okay, next week…I’m going to make it even worse! I’ll bet you can’t wait to hear that now. (But you definitely want to be here, because we have a special gift for guys next week about which I am personally very excited.) 

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Morning Musing: Exodus 32:30-32

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“The following day Moses said to the people, ‘You have committed a grave sin. Now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I will be able to atone for your sin.’ So Moses returned to the Lord and said, ‘Oh, these people have committed a grave sin; they have made a god of gold for themselves. Now if you would only forgive their sin. But if not, please erase me from the book you have written.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

When I was growing up, one of my sister’s friends lived in the single most confusing neighborhood in the world. Once you drove in, if you didn’t know where you were going, the odds were high that you were going to wind up lost. There was basically one way in without going to the opposite side of town, but once you got in there were about a thousand turns available to you. If you took a wrong turn along the way, it felt like the only way to get out was to retrace your steps turn-by-turn, going the exact opposite direction as you were going before. This idea of going back the way you came in life has a name. It’s called repentance, and that’s what we see happening here as we near the end of this tragically hilarious chapter.

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Morning Musing: Jonah 3:10

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“God saw their actions — that they had turned from their evil ways — so God relented from the disaster he had threatened them with. And he did not do it.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the greatest Christmas movies of all time (after Die Hard) is Home Alone. And whether you agree with me or not, it is a fact that it’s the third highest grossing Christmas movie ever (behind the recent remake of The Grinch at number two and Iron Man 3 running away with the top spot). In any event, one of my favorite scenes comes right at the very end when Kevin walks downstairs Christmas morning and finds his mom standing there. She apologizes earnestly for their forgetting him when they left on vacation and there’s this moment where it looks like he’s deciding whether to forgive her or not. Then he breaks into a big grin and everybody lives happily ever after (except the bad guys). That scene could have been inspired by what happens here in Jonah.

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