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Feb 24, 2019

Blessed with Persecution

Passage: Matthew 5:10-12

Speaker: Brian Land

Series: Sermon on the Mount

Category: Grace Brevard

Order of Worship

PRELUDE: Sandra McCraken - Flourishing

CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 27:1-4;13-14 ESV

MUSIC: 

READING: Philippians 3:8-10 ESV

PRAYER: Refuge (adapted from The Valley of Vision)                   

ALL: O Lord, Let me dwell in thy most secret place under Your shadow;

where is safe impenetrable protection.

LEADER: I am entirely dependent upon You for support, counsel,

and consolation. Uphold me by Your Spirit.

ALL: Strengthen me inward for every purpose in life.

Anew each day in the finished work of Christ.

LEADER: Take my body, soul, talents, character, success, family, friends,

work, and future. My very end.

ALL: Take them. They are Yours. I am Yours.  Now and forever.

GRATITUDE: Psalm 89:5,14 ESV

MISSIONAL LIVING: Family Place

MESSAGE: Blessed With Persecution

CENTRAL TEXT: Matthew 5:10-11

Illustrations: 

RESPONSE: The Apostle’s Creed

ALL: I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and buried.

He descended to the dead. The third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit. The holy Church. The communion of saints.

The forgiveness of sins. The resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

BENEDICTION: 2 Thessalonians 3:5 ESV

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURES:

  • 1 Peter 3:13-18
  • Isaiah 51:7
  • John 13
  • John 15:20
  • 1 Corinthians 4:11-13
  • 2 Timothy 3:12
  • Romans 12:14
  • Psalm 119:84
  • Matthew 10:16-25

MEDIA:

2.24.19 Album

DISCUSSIONS QUESTIONS:

  1. The Book of Matthew revolves around the Kingdom of God vs. the Kingdom of the World.
  2. What does it look like to live out “Kingdom of God righteousness” in our real worlds (think about values, goals, actions etc)?
    1. In our relationships?
    2. In our work?
    3. In school?
    4. At home?
    5. With our ambitions?
    6. With our words?      
    7. Within conflict?
    8. With our schedule?
    9. With our money?
    10. In our hard times?
  3. How can these contradict living in the Kingdom of the World?
  4. On a foundational level, what do Christians believe and do (in love, not arrogance) that is offensive to others?
  5. Persecution comes from “righteousness’ sake”:
    1. Sometimes Christians are persecuted not for righteousness sake but because we are arrogant jerks. Examples?
    2. Why would the above examples of following the righteousness of Christ invite “persecution” from others?
    3. How does the Gospel THREATEN those who subscribe to the faith and values of “the world”?
  6. What different negative consequences (“persecution”) potentially come up from living Counter-Cultural (even “anti-cultural”)?
    1. At work when you refuse to cut corners?
    2. Among friends when you choose love over easy-pleasure?
    3. In conflict when you forgive instead of retaliate?
    4. Socially when you don’t agree with the “party line”?
  7. Jesus himself paid the ultimate persecution-price, securing for us citizenship in God’s Kingdom. How is this hope-filled?
    1. When “persecution” arises, what do we have to ultimately believe about WHO we are, our CITIZENSHIP and what is truly VALUABLE in order to “rejoice and be glad”?

QUOTES:

  • “Wherever St. Paul went, there was a riot. Wherever I go, they serve tea.” - N.T. Wright
  • “Christians share their meals, but not their wives. They live in the flesh, but they are not governed by the desires of the flesh. They pass their days upon earth, but they are citizens of heaven. Obedient to the laws, they yet live on a level that transcends the law. Christians love all men, but all men persecute them. Condemned because they are not understood, they are put to death, but raised to life again. They live in poverty, but enrich many; they are totally destitute, but possess an abundance of everything. They suffer dishonor, but that is their glory. They are defamed, but vindicated. A blessing is their answer to abuse, deference their response to insult. For the good they do they receive the punishment of malefactors, but even then they, rejoice, as though receiving the gift of life. They are attacked by the Jews as aliens, they are persecuted by the Greeks, yet no one can explain the reason for this hatred. To speak in general terms, we may say that the Christian is to the world what the soul is to the body.” - Letter to Diognetus
  • “Christ’s great commission requires of us great disobedience. The goal of disobedience is not to change the world but to testify about another world. . . .Separate me from my wife and children, ruin my reputation, destroy my life and my family – the authorities are capable of doing all of these things. However, no one in this world can force me to renounce my faith; no one can make me change my life; and no one can raise me from the dead.” - Pastor Wang Yi

BOOKS / ARTICLES

SERMONS / TALKS: