Benediction

The Sermon on the Mount

This weekend at Lakeside Church we are launching a new series on The Sermon on the Mount. This sermon, delivered by Jesus 2000 years ago, is the most important statement of the heart of God ever delivered. In this series we're going to take some time to search it thoroughly for its meaning and significance to us.

Two things you should know: First, this weekend I will be "preaching" the sermon. When I was in college, a friend of mine memorized the Sermon. Our pastor asked him to deliver the Sermon by memory in our weekend worship gathering. As I listened to him preach the Sermon on the Mount, I was moved by hearing the words of Jesus. I determined then to memorize the Sermon.

A few years ago I led a group of Lakesiders on a trip to Israel. We stood on a hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee, in a spot close to where Jesus probably delivered his Sermon. I had the privilege of preaching the Sermon to our traveling group that day. I will never forget the experience. But far more important than that experience, is the hearing of this message.

So this weekend at Lakeside I will preach the Sermon on the Mount. I will not begin teaching about it until the following weekend, when we will begin a series called Upside-Down Blessings. But this weekend, you'll simply hear the Sermon as Jesus might have delivered it so many years ago. (Except I'll deliver it in English.)

The second thing: This would be a great time to invite friends to come with you to Lakeside. They will never hear the word of God in a purer form than they will hear it this weekend. No commentary. No extras. Simply the words of Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount. 

Remember, too, that we begin our new weekend schedule this weekend. Here it is:

    Saturday: 4:30 & 6:30 pm

    Sunday: 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 am

(The Ten is in the Block. We are not hosting a Kidsfest program for this gathering. But children and family elements will be included in the worship program at The Ten. Check it out.)

Tales of the Human Spirit

I'm a sucker for a good story about the "Human Spirit." I just read a story about two Americans who competed in the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing. Marin Morrison and Nick Scandone were featured this week in Sports Illustrated. Marin was a swimmer with brain cancer; Scandone a sailor with Lou Gehrig's Disease. Marin came in last in the 100 meter freestyle, but was cheered like a conquering hero. Scandone won the gold. They never met, except on the pages of a sports magazine. They died on the same day, three months after competing in the games.

When I read stories of courage, perseverance and grace, I am moved. It moves me when a stadium full of Chinese strangers cheers wildly for a young girl they don't know, who struggles to stay afloat, much less win a race. I am in awe of a man who defies his atrophied muscles and wills his 90-pound body to victory in boat race. 

And I wonder how God fits into these stories? It seems God has built something into us that is inspired by the underdog, the overcomer, the loser who wins. Is that because it is Jesus' story? Jesus, the child whose life began outside a cheap hotel in a poor exurb of Jerusalem? Jesus, the kid who confounded rabbis though he had little formal education? Jesus, the one who turned the other cheek, and so practiced what he preached? Jesus, who died on a cross, but rose from the grave?

And I wonder if our spirits are moved by these stories of the "human spirit" because the stories are really shadows of the stories of the Holy Spirit. I wonder if this kind of grace and courage and determination is a breakthrough of the life that God intended us to live from the beginning, where we cheer one another on through impossible odds, where we believe in one another, where we hold up the hands of one another while the battle unfolds.

And I wonder how God responds when he hears these stories?