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Speaker: Jerry Cisar
Do you consider yourself an outsider? The one who says, “I’m always the kid, my nose pressed against the window, looking at everyone inside having a good time.” An outsider to the presence of God, or the blessing of God, or the people of God?
If so, maybe it is because of your uncleanness. Maybe it’s because of the family you were born into. Maybe it’s because you are a woman. Maybe it’s because you are short, or fat, or weak, or not so beautiful, or poor?
This week’s text, Matthew 8:1-17, tells the stories of three specific outsiders who were as outside as one could get in the Jewish world. One is a leper; another a gentile enemy; and the third a woman! How does the in-breaking kingdom of heaven change their status?
Our text begins when the Sermon on the Mount had just finished—a sermon which makes us wonder, “Can we really live this way?” (We must.) But have you ever wondered what it would look like if God lived out the Sermon on the Mount? If God acted as if the poor, those who mourn, the lowly, and those suffering injustices were the blessed ones… If God loved his enemies—or at least those everyone assumes are His enemies… If God did not worry or judge, but was generous… If God, in human form, lived as God wills… what would it look like?
Join us in worship as we explore events that show us exactly what it would look like.