This Sunday is the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany and the fifth Sunday in our Worship Series, "The Great Invitation". Our subject this week in the series is "Salt and Light and Righteousness Abounding".
Who have you invited to church this week? Remember, our charge from Jesus Christ as his disciples is to take the Word, the Gospel, to all the world, or at least our little section of the world. Who needs to hear the Good News? Who do you know that would benefit from being in a relationship with Jesus and with other followers? Invite them to join you at church this week. You may make a difference in their life with a simple invitation.
Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12) – God tells the prophet to announce the sins of the people. The people ask why God won’t pay attention to them despite all the things they do: fasting and prayer. Yet, that is not what God wants. The fast God wants is the sharing of bread with the hungry, homes with the homeless, cloths with the naked. Do these things and you will find God.
Psalm 112:1-9 (10) – The righteous are defined by what they do for others. This Psalm, without verse 10, is a nice pairing with the Isaiah reading above.
1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16) – In the final passage of his setup to dealing with the troubles in the First Church of Corinth Paul declares that he doesn’t speak with the wisdom of the world or with the wisdom of philosophers but with the power of God’s Spirit. It is a power that lives in human weakness and those who don’t follow God’s Spirit just don’t get it. How do we hear and understand the Spirit of God? Paul answers, “We have the mind of Christ.”
Matthew 5:13-20 – In verses 13-16, Jesus says we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. What do you think Jesus meant? How can you and I be the salt of the earth and the light of the world? In verses 17-20, Jesus says that he hasn’t come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. What do you think he meant by that? He didn’t say he came to enforce the law but to fulfill it. So, what does it mean to "fulfill the law"?
Psalm 112:1-9 (10) – The righteous are defined by what they do for others. This Psalm, without verse 10, is a nice pairing with the Isaiah reading above.
1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16) – In the final passage of his setup to dealing with the troubles in the First Church of Corinth Paul declares that he doesn’t speak with the wisdom of the world or with the wisdom of philosophers but with the power of God’s Spirit. It is a power that lives in human weakness and those who don’t follow God’s Spirit just don’t get it. How do we hear and understand the Spirit of God? Paul answers, “We have the mind of Christ.”
Matthew 5:13-20 – In verses 13-16, Jesus says we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. What do you think Jesus meant? How can you and I be the salt of the earth and the light of the world? In verses 17-20, Jesus says that he hasn’t come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. What do you think he meant by that? He didn’t say he came to enforce the law but to fulfill it. So, what does it mean to "fulfill the law"?
May your week be blessed with God's love! May you be the light that shines God's love out into the world!
Peace in Christ,
Pastor Gary Taylor
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