Changing Perspective

If we’d been able to meet on Sunday, and if I’d been able to preach, my plan was to preach on the Beatitudes to kick off a new series on the Sermon on the Mount. The sermon would have been called “Changing Perspective.” Jesus began his famous sermon with some statements that would have seemed contradictory at the time. “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” “blessed are the meek,” and “blessed are those who mourn.” That’s not the normal way we think of being blessed. Throughout the whole sermon, I think that Jesus is showing us there is a different way of looking at things—that the normal perspective we have may not be the only way to see our circumstances.

If you haven’t read the Beatitudes lately, I’d encourage you to go and read it slowly and to think about what’s being said. At the beginning of this new year is a good time for us to think about what perspective we want to have going forward.

Josanne and I are both feeling quite a bit better today. I’m still supposed to be in quarantine at least one more day and hopefully after that, we’ll be able to get back a bit to normal. Thank you for your prayers and your notes of encouragement.

I hope to see you on Sunday.

God bless, Brian

Scripture readings for next Sunday Matthew 5:13-16—What do you think these images say about who we are supposed to be as God’s people?

Proverbs 4:10-19—Why is wisdom compared to light?

John 8:12-18—What’s the relationship between Jesus being the “light of the world” and him calling us to be the light of the world?

1 John 2:3-11—How are light and darkness used in this passage?