Going Deeper with the Message:

Salt + Light
by: Andrew Archer

I believe people today are more close-minded than ever before. Especially in our cultural context in America. Even when engaging in reasonable discourse, which is a rarity in and of itself, most of us don’t want to listen—we only want to be heard. Think about social media. No one is ever listening to anyone else, and that almost certainly includes me and you. Everyone is just shouting whatever they feel strongly about and no one is ever listening, except those who already agree.

When it comes to making an impact on our target audience, whoever that may be, oftentimes our words fall short. Sometimes that is because the person we are speaking to doesn’t want to listen but it also can be due to the way in which we are communicating our message. Regardless of the reason it’s ineffective the point remains, oftentimes our words fall short.

As Christians we have an opportunity to impact the world for the better. We should care about people—the imago dei—and our society. We should want them to thrive and we know that things will go better if we all do things God’s way. But the question is how do we influence our culture in a positive way?

On Sunday Tim shared a portion from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Here Jesus gives us a great picture of how we are to primarily impact the world in which we live. He says this in Matthew 5:13-16:

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

“You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

Jesus shows us how we can make the greatest positive impact on the world and it’s primarily by being salt and light. It’s not with our words, remember, we live in a society that is not keen on listening.

If we want to know who is truly making an impact in this world, it’s really easy to tell; it’s not the person screaming the loudest, but rather the person shining the brightest. And the way in which we shine the brightest is by living out of who God says that we are—salt and light of the earth.

So, this week let’s not be people that shout—on social media, in person, or anywhere else—but rather people who shine the light of Christ’s love to a dark and hopeless world. Don’t let anything diminish your impact by tainting what you are—the salt and light of the earth.

Going Deeper with the Message:

Who can you purposely love for God?
by: Barbara Barnhart

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. and love your neighbor as yourself. (Deuteronomy 6:5, Matthew 2:37-39, Mark 12:30-31, Luke 10:27)

I have been taught if you see something in scripture that is repeated over and over it must be very important. The scripture Pastor Tim referred to on Sunday must be very important. It is repeated in both the Old and New Testaments. As we continue to discuss the Relevance of the Church today, we know that we have a message that can change the world one life at a time, we need to be the church we want the church to be and we need to receive the invitation “inside” so we can love those “outside.” Loving God and loving others is a process.

One of my darling 4 year olds one Sunday asked me “I have never seen God, have you?” In explanation, I pointed to God’s creation, to praying, to the Bible, only to have the little girl look more and more perplexed. Her being perplexed brought about my insecurities which brought about my go-to defense mechanism—sarcasm. I know, I know, 4 year olds and sarcasm don’t mix. I told her I had times when I wished I could just call God and talk to Him. She immediately asked me, “What’s His number?” Most anyone else would just let it go, but no, I make my lovingly sarcastic response “1-800-HEAVEN.” Immediately, I made sure that it couldn’t be a real phone number (not enough numbers) and then felt shame and remorse for not understanding how to explain trust to her.

One of my favorite scriptures is Luke 2:52: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people.” We need to realize that Jesus “grew up” to love His heavenly Father with all His heart, soul, mind and strength. The question we must ask ourselves is why would we think that we can automatically love God and others with such fervor?

Growing in our love for God and others is a
process—not something that happens overnight.

Our ability to Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength began in us because God loved us first. He is the One who helps us to grow and mature in our relationship with Him. This growing relationship with God enables us to love others as we are called to.

A Facebook memory from 2010 popped up today that reminded me of the process:

“Life is made up of moments that we choose to either touch a life with the love of Christ or ignore the needs of that life. Help me Heavenly Father to focus on living out my relationship with you—24 hours a day, 7 days a week—moment by moment!”

This week, look for opportunities to grow in your relationship with God and ways to live that out by loving your neighbor as yourself.

Going Deeper with the Message:

You Are a Superhero
by: Michelle Lemley

Our society values independence. We see it as a mark of pride, a badge of honor if we do everything ourselves and people say, “How does she do it all?” I like to think that I’m juggling life well, but sometimes when I try to do it all, I just fail at a whole bunch of things.

My family is used to coming to me for everything, and I love being their go-to. I cherish that my kids think of me as a superhero with the power to kiss away their hurts and find any missing toy. But sometimes it’s too much for even Super Mom. And this is when it’s time to assemble my Parenting Pros, the team of elite guardians who can answer any question, solve any math problem, or diagnose any mysterious ailments. Sometimes this team is just there for a text or phone call, or sometimes they’re there to do it all when mom and dad need some time away. Big or small, I am learning to rely on my circle of friends and family to make sure I’m doing the best things to raise these boys up to be the men God intends them to be.

On Sunday, Pastor Tim continued our series about the relevance of the modern church. He described the church as a spiritual family which enables us to support one another in 5 important ways:

1 — developing spiritual maturity
2 — meeting physical needs
3 — receiving unconditional love and forgiveness
4 — allowing us to make a unique contribution
5 — impacting the world for Christ

Just as my family extends outside of my home, the church family includes more than just the leaders or staff who prepare services. We all have a role to play in creating our spiritual family. All who have accepted Jesus become adopted into a communal kingdom which has the power to be the church we want the church to be. We need each other to lean on. Just as a forest of trees stands stronger than a tree on it’s own, when surrounded by supporters, we can hold each other up in turbulent times. And if that forest is rooted by the stream that provides everlasting life, we have the ultimate source of strength and resilience to spread to all those around us.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 reads: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

God has designed us to work with each other and to help one another. And the third strand of that cord is the Lord himself, who strengthens our relationships and binds us more tightly to one another. It is through Him that we are able to connect with other members of our spiritual family and impact the world for Christ.

I encourage you today to become more invested in our spiritual family in one of the 5 ways that Pastor Tim outlined. Find a way to use your God-given gifts to be a Super Supporter of someone around you.