SUNDAY WORSHIP February 16, 2025 11:00AM Sunday's Bulletin Surprising Teaching Rev. Dr. Christopher Ponnuraj, preaching Mr. John Strybos, Music Director, Organist Choir: Eliza Bonet, Lauren Mitchell, Robert Orbach, Susie Reisinger Come and share the joy of Christ's love with us.
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Friendship and Fellowship Hour after 11:00 AM service in Bodge Lounge. Join us!
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If you would like to learn more of Christ love, please join us in our worship on Sundays at 11:00 AM. Peace! Rev. Dr. Christopher Ponnuraj The gospel lesson for this Sunday is taken from St. Luke 6:17-26. Many theologians debate whether this sermon is another version of the Sermon on the Mount which is recorded in the gospel of St. Matthew chapter 5. We see many common themes in both these gospel passages. If we compare these two sermons of Jesus, the one St. Matthew's account is longer, in detail and on a mountain, which is termed as “Sermon on the Mount”. The sermon recorded by St. Luke is brief and on the plain land, which is called Sermon on the Plain.
This sermon seems to have been delivered in the proximity of Lebanon, as we read in verse 17 “And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases;” The Sermon on the Mount gathered people from Galilee, Judaea, Decapolis and people from the other side of Jordan. So, we can see that we are talking about two different locations and two different groups of people, what is in common is that both Jews as well as Gentiles had come to hear Jesus and to be healed by Him. Jesus, who had prayed all night on a mountain and had come down to a level place. The text goes on to say that Jesus was healing. He was healing those who were possessed by unclean spirits. The people in the crowd came up and tried to touch Him. When they did touch Him, power was coming out of Him, and they were all healed. Jesus always considered His teaching to be more important than His ministry of healing. He came to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD. We see that the desire to hear Him precedes these miracles of healing an exorcism. It is interesting to know that this sermon is addressed by Jesus to his disciples and not to the crowd which had come. Many people might have heard the words of Jesus who were not his disciples. This did not concern Jesus, only those who were truly disciples could understand the meaning of the words of Jesus. The same is true today. Many think that they have heard the words of the gospel, but without faith, all those who hear are nothing but words. People take the words of Jesus in all kinds of ways. To some, Jesus is the ultimate person to establish peace and justice. To others, Jesus is a victim of religious prejudice. To others, Jesus is the supreme liberator who overthrows the rich. The Sermon on the Plain is a favorite of those who seek economic justice. People read the words of Jesus and come up with all kinds of different ideas of what Jesus was about. If they are not disciples of Jesus Christ in the judgment of God and not of man, they do not understand Jesus at all. |
Jesus begins with a series of blessings. Luke has only four of them, which is less than the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount begins with the Beatitudes. The first of these blessings is quite like the first beatitude in Matthew. The difference is that Matthew says, “poor in spirit” and Luke simply says, “the poor.” Is Luke talking about the economic poor? Are all poor people going to heaven? Is it a blessing to be impoverished?
In verse 20 we read “And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples and said: “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God”. So, it seems better to understand that Jesus is referring to our attitudes about wealth and not the wealth itself. It is the love of money that is the root of all evil, not money itself. Hoarding wealth and depending upon it for one’s sense of security rather than the LORD is what is sinful. In the Christian context, physical wealth goes along with spiritual gifts as means by which the Christian church was to care for each other.
In verse 20 we read “And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples and said: “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God”. So, it seems better to understand that Jesus is referring to our attitudes about wealth and not the wealth itself. It is the love of money that is the root of all evil, not money itself. Hoarding wealth and depending upon it for one’s sense of security rather than the LORD is what is sinful. In the Christian context, physical wealth goes along with spiritual gifts as means by which the Christian church was to care for each other.
If you would like to learn more about the teaching of Jesus,
please join us in our Sunday worship on Sunday at 11:00 A.M.
Peace!
Rev. Dr. Christopher Ponnuraj
Minister
please join us in our Sunday worship on Sunday at 11:00 A.M.
Peace!
Rev. Dr. Christopher Ponnuraj
Minister
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