Weekly Update – September 4th, 2020
Dear Church Family,
The Sermon on the Mount is the most famous sermon ever recorded. It is a summarization of the teachings of Jesus given during his short 3 year ministry and it has been studied for over 2000 years since. Many take the contents of this sermon and they try to sift helpful tips for living well out of them, or they will pull one line out that they really like and try to live by it. Others look at this sermon as something more of an ideal that will only be displayed in heaven and living out the truths in this sermon is seen as something impossible. But when we come to the sermon’s introduction, the beatitudes, we see how Jesus intended for us to understand his sermon.
It is easy to approach the beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-12 and see them as something that we should be doing. We should be poor in spirit, we should be merciful and we should be peacemakers for example. Then from what we should be doing, the promises that follow are almost seen as something earned. If I am poor in spirit, then I will see the kingdom of heaven (v. 3), if I am a peacemaker, then I will be a son of God (v. 7). But the reality is, the beatitudes are not something we should do, but rather people we should be.
Never in Scripture do we see any kind of exhortation given to earn favor from the Lord. Instead what we see are characteristics that should be present in our lives that display change and transformation brought about by the Spirit of God. The beatitudes are no different. Never should we think that because we worked for peace in an event that God will now call us his sons or that because we were merciful that God will now grant us mercy. We should understand it in the reverse order. We are peacemakers because we are sons of God, or we are merciful because we have received mercy. We are blessed because of who we are not by what we are doing, but yet it is because of who we are that we seek to live out these beatitudes.
As we continue to walk through the Sermon on the Mount this Sunday, let us remember that none of the commands given in this sermon are meant to be accomplished in our own strength and power. Neither are any of these commands given in order for us to be made right with God. Instead they are traits that should be evident in our lives because of the Spirit of God in us, fueling us to then live out his love to those around us, so that Jesus Christ might be on display to the watching world
This week we will continue in our series on the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7. On Sunday we will take a look at “The Beatitudes: Loving Others” from Matthew 5:1-12. I hope that you will join us in person or by livestream.
Serving Him with You,
Pastor Michael Nelson
Written by Pastor
Michael Nelson
Announcements:
Food Pantry: With the current situation we have not promoted the food pantry in the past few months. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t a need though. We have moved the food basket out to the foyer of the sanctuary if you would like to consider giving to our food pantry. You can find a list of items that we need HERE.
Nursery: On September 13th, we will open our nursery back up. The plan is to have two rooms that would hold children ages 0-3. We plan to fully comply with all regulations from the CDC and Jackson County as we seek to safely and wisely care for our children. To start, the nursery will only be for our worship service.
Sunday School: This week we will be in Philippians 4:6-13 of our summer Bible Study series in Philippians. We will meet in the Fellowship Hall this week as we spread out and remain socially distanced. We will begin at 9:15am. You can find the Bible Study schedule HERE. You can find a video explaining what to expect in Sunday School HERE.
Health Guidelines: With no changes from the Health Department, we will continue in Phase 2.5 here in Jackson County. That means masks are still required. You can find the official guideline on mask wearing from the health department HERE. You can also find a video that outlines what Phase 2.5 looks like for our church HERE.
Awana
On October 4th, Awana will kick off for the year. From 5:45 – 7:30pm, children ages 3 to 6th grade are welcome to come and hear the truth about Jesus, memorize Scripture, and play games every Sunday evening. There will be no Bible Study during this time nor will there be a nursery.
Bible Study
We are currently in a study through the book of Philippians. We will meet in the Faith Center on Sundays at 9:15am. You can find the Bible Study schedule HERE. You can find a video explaining what to expect in Sunday School HERE.
Giving
To Give Online, Go HERE.
You can also mail your offering to 1416 Main Street, Grandview, MO. 64030
Prayer
An updated Prayer Guide can be accessed HERE.
Worship Service
Worship Service begins at 10:30am on Sunday mornings.
Guide for Worship can be found HERE.
Livestream
Continue to join us at 10:30am on Sunday mornings.
Facebook live: HERE.
YouTube: HERE.
Join us and invite a friend or family member to watch with you.
Sunday School
Children and Youth Sunday School classes are not meeting at this time.
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