The month of February is drawing ever-nearer, and it’s time for us to do some mountain climbing! I’m not talking about real mountains, of course—Nebraska is sadly lacking in that department, much to this Colorado girl’s chagrin! But over the next five weeks, we’re going to be climbing some metaphorical mountains in worship at Auburn FUMC as we begin our new sermon series, entitled “Lofty Goals: Lessons from the Sermon on the Mount”.
In this pre-Lent worship series, we’ll be exploring the fifth chapter of Matthew and learning more about these important Christian life lessons that Jesus shared with his first disciples. Here’s a look at what’s to come:
1/29–#blessed (Matthew 5:1-12)
If you’re on social media, you’ve probably seen people used the #blessed hashtag. Celebrities say that they’ve been #blessed when their latest single is at the top of the charts, athletes say that God has #blessed them when they sign a multi-million dollar contract, and sometimes people say that they’ve been #blessed by finding an extra McNugget in their Happy Meal! But what does Jesus have to say about the true meaning of being blessed? (Hint: It has absolutely nothing to do with money or McNuggets!)
2/5—A High-Sodium Life (Matthew 5:13-20)
When it comes to picking a can of soup, you’re probably better off picking a low-sodium option—but when it comes to sharing your faith, you want to be as salty as possible! Jesus says that his disciples are supposed to be “salt for the earth” and “light for the world.” Today we’ll learn about how we can fill Auburn with light and “holy flavor” as we work to build God’s Kingdom together!
2/12—Rotten Roots (Matthew 5:21-37)
Jesus didn’t shy away from tough topics, and neither will we: today’s sermon is all about anger, lust, and swearing! (“Swearing” in this context means swearing oaths or making promises—don’t worry, there won’t be any four-letter words in this sermon!) We’ll look at what Jesus had to say about righteousness and temptation, and how we can destroy sin by knocking out the roots!
2/19—The Care and Keeping of Enemies (Matthew 5:38-48)
Frank Burns on M*A*S*H once said that “it’s nice to be nice to the nice”—and he was right! It’s easy to love the people who are naturally loveable…but what about the people who seem thoroughly unlikeable? Do we have to be nice to them too? Let’s discover what loving your enemies is all about, and along the way we’ll also learn about the history of commonly-heard phrases like “turn the other cheek” and “go the extra mile”!
2/26—At the Mountaintop (Transfiguration Sunday)
We’ll be ending our sermon series on the Sermon on the Mount in a very appropriate location: on top of a mountain! Come hear the story of the Transfiguration, which will help us transition into our Lenten journey (which will be based on the book “Gifts of the Dark Wood: Seven Blessings for Soulful Skeptics and Other Wanderers”, by Omaha-area pastor Eric Elnes.)
See you in church!