Matthew 5
Pastor Suzanne talked about how the “Beatitudes” in Matthew 5 are utilize a poetic format that was common at the time to talk about “The Good Life.”
Jesus’ descriptions of the good life flipped expectations of that time, and flips the expectation of our time to tell us that “The Good Life” or “The Kingdom Life” looks like being desperate, mourning, merciful, persecuted, and meek. This would have been especially good news to the direct audience Jesus was talking to – the poor, the sick, & the powerless.
Matthew 4
Pastor Sara talked about Jesus’ time in the wilderness as a time where Jesus experienced the challenge of hunger and loneliness and sleepless nights.
However, in the midst of this challenge and testing, Jesus did what humans across history had been unable to consistently do. He chose to trust God and remain faithful.
We now get to lean on the faithfulness of Jesus so that we do not have shame when we fail to accomplish perfect faithfulness.
Joy to the World
Pastor Sara talked about how “Joy to the World” was not originally a Christmas song – it was a reflection on the second coming of Christ using Psalm 98.
She reminded us that our ultimate hope was not in Jesus coming as a baby (though the promise of God with us is a comfort). Our ultimate comfort and hope is in Jesus returning and restoring all of creation.
