We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
If you’ve ever built on rock, you’ll know that laying the foundations is the hardest part.
To finish this series we pulled together a couple of contributors to create something in the middle of a TED-talk meets tag-team-wrestling.
Piety is our outside life matching our inside life.
Jesus gets rid of the “cross-the-line” mentality and gives sin a radical new meaning: anything de-humanising to ourselves or to others.
The Beatitudes are a portrait of hope: God’s Kingdom at work in our broken world; God’s Kingdom at work in us; God’s Kingdom at work through us.
This. Is. Radical.
“The Sermon on the Mount is like a great album with flow and rhythm, made to be enjoyed as a whole. If we read it as just a couple of isolated-soundbites we will ruin it, miss the point and misinterpret it, which ultimately means we will miss out on living it.”
This is Paul’s big picture of worship: YOU as a priest in this world, as a mediator reflecting God into this world; doing the work of making-things-new; standing in the gap for those who need you to; being salt and light.
Because our priorities are our worship, make worship your priority. Be ruthless to keep worship of Jesus as your protos; your first, prominent and highest priority – and everything else will take its rightful place.
Joy isn’t the absence of pain, but the presence of hope amidst it.
Let all that I am praise the Lord;
may I never forget the good things he does for me.
Collective worship is a space to surrender our lives afresh and true worship is always an act of vulnerability. It leaves us asking, “Did it cost me something?”
“Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.”
Worship is not about a place, but our posture: the Father is looking for those who are looking back at Him.
When we begin to glimpse the reality of God, the natural reaction is to worship him. Not to have that reaction is a fairly sure sign that we haven’t yet really understood who he is or what he’s done.
One cannot define one’s neighbour;
one can only be a neighbour.
What does it look like to go to your job on Monday and say, “OK God, I have got my personality, my skills, my spiritual gifts...what does it look like to just be transparent here?”
Since God has invited us to be a part of His mission to restore and renew the world, let’s not just leave it up to the superstars or salaries, but let’s band together as the church, to collaborate, dream, plan and do – getting everyone involved. Let’s do this together.
You already live outward everyday; you embody who you are and it’s on display. You have experiences and you have stories, and armed with these you are the visible image of our invisible God. Those stories tell us what God is up to in the world.
Light is the antithesis and conquerer of darkness–a symbol of God’s presence, life and mission–and we are a lampstand of this light, placed here in this city, right now.