The Authority of Jesus
I’m out of the office, so I asked Ryan Romeo to write to you this week. – David
This has been such an an amazing season to be a part of Living Streams. On Easter weekend, we had 6 services with over 2,000 people in attendance and nearly the same online! Our biggest Easter yet. We also saw 14 people baptized in person and 3 online, and many more dedicated or re-dedicated their lives to Jesus. What an amazing week! Then we moved right on to more awesomeness and started the Sermon on the Mount series.
But in the midst of all the excitement around here, the one thing I keep feeling is that we are an island of good news in a sea of uncertainty. If you want to have a bad day, just turn on the news and it will take care of the rest. We hear stories of the pandemic, rumors of war or financial depressions. We hear of the mental health crisis or the ever deepening divide between political parties.
The fruit of all this worry and uncertainty pushes those of us in the church to feel more and more pressure to say the right thing or to stand for the right causes. It’s a pressure that, if we aren’t careful, will push us into being just as confused as the world around us. But in the midst of all of this, there is one simple practice we all must find ourselves running to when we need discernment. One simple practice that will push back the darkness and bring hope and clarity.
Reading the words of Jesus.
I love that we are now doing a series on the Sermon on the Mount. We are diving headlong into the greatest sermon ever preached — words that bring light and alignment in the midst of a dark and crooked world. The words of Jesus carry authority, a kind of authority that the people in his time had never heard before.
At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 7, it says, "When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority..”
Jesus taught with authority. He said things like, if you build your house (meaning your life) on the foundation of his teaching, that you would weather any storm that comes along. He said that heaven and earth will pass away, but his words would remain. These are bold statements of authority!
But he was right.
For millennia, his teachings have been strong enough to lead countless people through dark and confusing times. They have led all kinds of people, from world leaders to janitors, passionate church pastors to murderers on death row.
And his words still have the power to lead us through the times in which we find ourselves.
I want to encourage you this week — if you’re feeling overwhelmed by this dark season of our world, if you’re feeling lost and confused — read the words of Jesus. Dive into one of the gospels and let his teachings be a salve to your broken heart and a map to your confusing time. Take time daily to open the word of God, and watch your perspective shift and the darkness wane. Then join us Sunday as we continue this practice together, as a family, sitting at the feet of our wise and loving King, Jesus.
See you on Sunday!
Ryan