Crossroads Community Church

June 12, 2014 · 0 Comments

Sunday June 8th, 2014:

Open Arms Sunday School were excited as they prepared Father’s Day Cards for this coming Sunday; Pictured here are Angelyn, Craison and Simon.

We always come with an expectant heart when we come into the Lord’s sanctuary. Worship was filled with joy and hope, Pastor Don shared announcements and prayed, ”Dear God We praise you for all that you give us and we know that when we are burdened with loss, pain or anguish you help us carry the load, we release our burden now, Thank You Father in Jesus name, Amen.”

Pastor Don began to teach, “In 1921, Dr. Evan Kone began to question the wisdom in using general anesthesia for every surgery. He believed that most could recover must faster from surgery using only local anesthesia.” He searched for volunteers to prove his theory but most did not want to out of fear. Eventually he did convince some and he was very successful but only after he boldly performed an exploratory surgery on himself! Today this is the routine practice for many minor surgeries. Now how many of us would be that bold? Maybe not physical surgery, but spiritually; we can take an exploratory honest look at our spiritual health by examining if our faith is as it should be. Jesus in his infamous Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, He calls us to be His followers in the highest standards of conduct. He teaches us and asks us to Love our enemies, to forgive those who do us wrong. He instructs us that there are two roads we can choose to take; the wide road that leads to destruction or the narrow road which leads to life. These are tough commands to say the least.

We read in Matthew 5:13 that we are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. This leaves us with two Questions “What do we understand from “we are to be Salt” and How are Christians like Salt?” Here is a brief history lesson, in ancient times Salt was a valuable commodity, it was used to preserve food, to enhance the flavour of food , it was used as currency and as means to pay for laborers known as “Salary”. So for Jesus to call his followers salt is a compliment. Today Salt is readily available but never the less essential for cooking and baking, a little goes a long way.

Now let’s apply this to spiritual value, being salt means we add to life’s standard, we preserve and maintain the moral compass of society and when we share the Good News of Jesus’ salvation even just a little it makes a huge difference to countless people. As Christians being Salt means we slow down and many times stop the moral and spiritual decay of the world. Christian movements have had tremendous impact on society at large; they have fought for Human rights as in abolishing slavery and for women’s rights as giving them the right to vote for example. Many organizations are founded by Christians such as the Red Cross and The Salvation Army, just to name a few. Many Relief organizations such as World Hope, and Samaritan’s Purse come to the aid of many displaced families in disaster stricken countries. Global Aids Partnership also helps many suffering from the disease by providing health care and education. That is in the broad spectrum but in our little corner of the world it is the way we act daily, the words we speak to people we meet and the way we treat our families and neighbors that show we are salt, that we are distinct from the world. We ought to encourage, speak hope and love and we should serve our communities out of love for Jesus. This is how we preserve morality and peace for Jesus’ sake. We don’t conform to what everyone else is doing as God advises us to, (Romans 12:2). Finally Beloved as Christians being salt we ought to instill thirst in the world; thirst for the knowledge of God and His salvation. The only satisfying water is Pure from God Himself which is Jesus His Son. As Christians we cannot lose our saltiness as Matthew 5:13 states, and we cannot do it on our own but when we let Jesus live through us He will enable us to remain the Salt of the earth, we will preserve the good in society, fight for what is right and we will reach many with His love. We are called to be the salt and to have positive lasting influence on the world around us and with Jesus ‘s pure water flowing through us we will to the Glory of God, have a wonderful week in Jesus name. Asherey Shalom…

To learn more visit www.crossroadschurchshelburne.ca