This past Sunday (August 31), Pastor Yonas brought our time in the Psalter to a close for the summer. I pray your souls have been refreshed through this unique book—a collection of God’s words given to us to pray back to Him. I also hope that praying and singing the Psalms together has opened new avenues for engaging our good Father through His Word, both individually and communally.
This Sunday, Lord willing, we return to Matthew. Once again, we will sit at the feet of our Lord and learn what it means to be disciples who follow Jesus and call others to follow Him as well. Our mission is to grow disciples who grow disciples. Our time in Matthew’s Gospel is strategically connected to this mission, and I am glad to be at the feet of Jesus, learning to obey all that He has commanded (Mt. 28:18–20).
We will be in Matthew 6:1–4, where Jesus turns to our motives. He is not only concerned with what we do but also with why we do it. Let me encourage you to jump back into the Sermon on the Mount in preparation. The Sermon spans Matthew 5–7. We are currently in the main body (5:17–7:12) and moving closer to its very heart (6:5–15). Between now and Sunday, take some time to reacclimate yourself to your Lord’s words. He begins with the Makarios statements and identity markers in the introduction (5:3–16), then calls His disciples to a greater righteousness that reaches to the heart (5:17–7:12). Finally, He concludes with a call to choose one of two paths in response to His words (7:13–27). Truly, this is the greatest sermon ever preached. May our Lord, by His Spirit, use it for our good and His glory!
Grateful to sit at His feet together,
Pastor Lew