ENCOUNTERING CHRIST

Good Morning Loving Church,

Today is Tuesday, June 21^st, 2016. Today is the 173^rd Day of 2016.

There are only 193 days left in this year; and, there ONLY 26 DAYS left until VBS BEGINS; and, only 187 days left until CHRISTMAS…

Today is Hunter Priest’s Birthday!

On this Day in 1834: Cyrus McCormick, a Christian inventor and businessman, patents the world’s first truly workable reaper. He will make a fortune from it, much of which will go to charity.

ENCOUNTERING CHRIST IN THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT

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.”

Salt and Light!

There are not many passages from the New Testament that are better known among Christians than this.

As you have heard many times, Jesus uses this double metaphor to describe our life and the impact we should have on the world around us…

Salt was mostly used to add flavor to a bland world. A world without Christ and HIS people would be dull and deadly.

The Presence of Christ in the life of HIS people should bring joy and happiness and a way of living (even in the hard times) that is a marked contrast from those who do not know HIM.

“Salt” was commonly used as the primary preservative of things that perish; especially for the storage of meat.

The presence of Christians in a culture act as a preservative by showing the culture a living illustration of how living in obedience to Jesus brings blessings and spiritual health to one’s life and family.

“Salt” that had been contaminated and could not be used to either season or preserve food was stored and used to melt snow. It was literally “trampled under people’s feet.”

And so it is with the soiled Christian. The dirtiness of sin in our life soils our life and the world around us knows it quite well.

So, the soiled “Salt” is put away and ignored and only brought out to be trampled under foot.

All Christians ought to passionately desire to bring spice and joy and happiness into their world. We ought to desire to serve God to preserve our culture and our Nation by being examples of how holiness brings blessing.

None of us want to be soiled and ignored.

We do not want to be someone deserving of being trampled under the feet of the world.

We have heard this numerous times: let us seek to be “Salty Saints!”

The lesson for TOMORROW EVENING, (June 22^nd) is “THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH”.

Each Wednesday will feature a stand-alone lesson, so even if you can’t make them all; be sure you catch as many of these lessons as you can.

Carpe Diem!