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Mar 03, 2019

Salt and Light

Passage: Matthew 5:13-16

Speaker: Brian Land

Series: Sermon on the Mount

Category: Grace Brevard

In the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) Jesus showed us that we are people of His Kingdom, being sacrificially loved into his family so that we can extend that love outward. The rest of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) practically highlights what this Gospel looks like in everyday life. We begin with the truth that God’s people are called to be “In the World but not of the World.” Being adopted into the Lord’s family, we are commissioned as His ambassadors to live lives that reflect Him and His love with the hope that God Himself (instead of us) will be revealed and glorified, especially by those who don’t yet know Him.

ORDER OF Worship

PRELUDE: I Am Legend

CALL TO WORSHIP: Isaiah 42:6,16; 58:8; 62:2

LEADER: “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations,

16 And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known. I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light,

8 Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

ALL: 2 The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give.

READING: John 1:4-5 & 8:12

ALL: 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

LEADER: “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

MUSIC:

  • How Great Thou Art
  • God of Angel Armies
  • How Deep the Father’s Love
  • Love That Will Not Let Me Go
  • BAND: Lead Guitar & Vocals - Randy Johnson, Guitar - Matthew James Overholser, Violin - Clara Overholser, Banjo & Mandolin - Owen Grooms, Percussion - Jacob Goins

GRATITUDE: Jeremiah 29:7

LEADER: But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

MISSIONAL LIVING: Jerry Knight  

MESSAGE: “Salt and Light”

CENTRAL TEXT: Matthew 5:13-16

13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Illustrations: 

RESPONSE: Puritan Prayer - Regeneration

LEADER: O God of the Highest Heaven, You have loved us, espoused us, received us, and adorned us. We were dead in iniquities but Your Spirit has quickened us to the finished work of Your Son; opening us to the Word as light, guide, solace, and joy.

Help us to walk in Your great mercy and love. Keep us for we cannot keep ourselves. Lead us in the Way everlasting. Your presence alone an unending treasure.

ALL: Make us a blessing to our neighbors. Salt of the earth. A light to all.

BENEDICTION: Colossians 1:11-14 ESV

LEADER:11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

ALL: He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.  

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURES:

  • John 1:1-5
  • John 8:12
  • Mark 9:50
  • Isaiah 42:6
  • Isaiah 42:16
  • Isaiah 58:8
  • Isaiah 62:1-2
  • Genesis 1:1-3
  • Matthew 4:16
  • 1 Peter 2:12
  • Jeremiah 29:7
  • Ephesians 2:8-10
  • 1 John 4:19
  • Romans 12:14-15

MEDIA:

3.03.19 Album

DISCUSSIONS QUESTIONS:

Where are you on this scale?

(1) totally indistinguishable from the world ←-----> (10) Totally isolated from the World

What are the pros and cons of both sides of this spectrum?

   Where are we called to be? (or is it a third place?)

Being adopted and blessed by God (Beatitudes), we are empowered to deeply impact the world in which we live.

   What impact do you think you have on those around you?

   What impact does “the world” have on you?

   Do you see yourself as “instrumental” in the lives of others?

   In the course of culture?

1) Light Reveals

What does the Gospel “reveal” in culture and people?

   What are the different responses to brokenness being revealed?

   HOW are we a light in our world? What does it LOOK LIKE?

   How can we do this with humility and love?

How does this explain what Jesus meant when he said that he was the “light of the world” (John 8:12)

2) Salt Preserves

Especially back then Salt was essential to keep food from spoiling.

   We aren’t called to tell The World “you’re rotten” but be “one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.”

   HOW can we BE SALT to others (through our lives AND words)?

3) Salt Beautifies.

What’s the difference between changing and redeeming culture?

   (replacing vs. rescuing culture)

How does the Gospel do this?

   HOW can we participate in the redemption of people and culture?

Think about how “Salt and Light” show that we are:

   More Sinful than we Dare Face,

   More Loved than we Dare Dream,

   More Instrumental than we Dare Hope.

QUOTES:

  • “We draw people to Christ not by loudly discrediting what they believe, by telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light that is so lovely that they want with all their hearts to know the source of it.” - Madeleine L’Engle
  • Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it. - Mary Oliver
  • “The commands to love our neighbor, to do all our work out of a Christian worldview, and to be salt and light, working for the common good of all city residents—mean Christians will of necessity be doing cultural renewal.” - Tim Keller

BOOKS / ARTICLES

SERMONS / TALKS: