We begin this Lord’s Day a
four part Message Series called “More than Just Survive”. If you want to know
what it is about…well…check out the video link below….and feel free to share it
with friends and neighbours:
Most often, when we hear of Saints, we think of
those of long ago, perhaps our Patron Saint, the Saint whose name we took for
Confirmation, or that of our Parish School or Church. Because they may seem so
'far off' from here and now, we can tend to think of them as people whose lives
were a breeze, who never had hardship or suffering, who walked a meter above
the earth. This separates us from them, and 'gets us off the hook' in terms of
thinking about being a future Saint in the Church of God.
But the Saints actually teach us how we can become
like them, not in leading lives of idealism, but real lives faced with
challenge. Even in the hustle and bustle of life, they make us ask the question
– “what are you chasing?” Put another way, they make us take a long hard look
at where we are rooted and where we get our strength and significance from.
Over the next four weeks we will take a look at
these who questions:
·
What are you chasing?
·
Where are you rooted?
You may
wish to listen again to the Audio of the Lord’s Day Message
The Beatitudes reflect the heart and mind of Jesus the
Lord. This is what a Christian looks like, because this is what Jesus Christ
looks like. We are called to resemble – reflect Him. These values and virtues
should distinguish us as followers of Jesus, 'saints' in the making! They make
us people who are not “running around”, chasing that which we can not even
name, but rather people who – Rest in
the Lord, Resist the World, Reflect our God. These three are the attributes
of the saints and they are counter-cultural but they are also firmly implanted
in the fact that (1 John 3:1-3) “we may
be called children of God.”
Over the next three weeks will examine these three
aspects of being saints and being people who don’t just want to survive. For
the world will ask - who wants to be poor in spirit, or mourn, be meek, be
hungry and thirsty for righteousness, be merciful, be clean of heart, be
peacemakers, or be insulted or persecuted for the sake of righteousness?
Whereas we see these as positive, our society sees them as negative - for
losers and the weak. These are the values and virtues that saints are made of.
These are the extra-ordinary gifts that they shared with others and with the
Church, and continue to share with us. They not only unite us to God, but bring
us into harmony with one another. They lead us away from “the rat race” into a
rootedness which allows us not to “survive” but to “thrive.”
Message this week – Before concluding – listen in mediation to
this beautiful song which will be our “theme song” during this series – it is
called “Good, Good
Father” by Chris Tomlin. Don’t only listen to the tune, but examine the
words. In particular listen for the words…..”and I am loved by you…its who I
am.” There it is – the secret to being a saint – and not just surviving!