WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.200 Good morning, delighted that you are here. 00:00:07.500 --> 00:00:08.700 My name is Thomas. 00:00:08.839 --> 00:00:13.080 I'm the rector of this church and delighted on behalf of our team to welcome you here. 00:00:13.640 --> 00:00:15.120 ! We love this time of year. 00:00:15.120 --> 00:00:18.280 A lot of things get started that we pause over the course of the summer. 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:21.359 You heard a little bit about our children and youth ministry earlier. 00:00:21.460 --> 00:00:22.440 It's a big part of our church. 00:00:23.300 --> 00:00:27.339 And actually beginning this Sunday, what we're going to do for the next several weeks 00:00:27.339 --> 00:00:31.940 is, and we do this this time of year pretty much every year, 00:00:32.039 --> 00:00:34.460 is to focus in on the DNA of our church. 00:00:35.259 --> 00:00:37.439 What really is Church of the Advent all about? 00:00:37.539 --> 00:00:38.340 What do we care about? 00:00:38.420 --> 00:00:39.219 What are our values? 00:00:40.299 --> 00:00:42.240 What does it mean to live out our mission together? 00:00:43.100 --> 00:00:45.480 One of the things I hope becomes clear over these weeks 00:00:45.480 --> 00:00:48.820 is that Advent is not just what happens on Sunday mornings. 00:00:49.719 --> 00:00:54.240 We believe that not just our church, but the church exists for the sake of others, 00:00:54.240 --> 00:01:00.840 for the sake of people outside the walls, people who might never set foot inside this building. 00:01:01.359 --> 00:01:05.240 We believe that God put the church in the world for the sake of the world, 00:01:05.480 --> 00:01:06.439 for the life of the world. 00:01:06.820 --> 00:01:10.159 So we're going to be looking at what that means for us now that we're here 00:01:10.159 --> 00:01:13.599 in this new building and location, how we live out that mission together. 00:01:14.180 --> 00:01:17.299 And if you've been a part of our church, you know we've been through a lot of change. 00:01:17.299 --> 00:01:24.340 So this gives us an opportunity to sort of reimagine our mission together in Shaw and throughout D.C. 00:01:24.500 --> 00:01:27.920 I sent a letter back in January to those of you who are part of our church. 00:01:28.519 --> 00:01:31.539 I know that feels like years ago, back in January. 00:01:31.939 --> 00:01:35.920 But laying out some of our priorities, some of our commitments, 00:01:36.099 --> 00:01:38.239 you'll see that printed on the front of the bulletin. 00:01:38.519 --> 00:01:41.019 That's what we're going to be looking at together over the next few weeks. 00:01:41.539 --> 00:01:43.299 So this morning we're starting with this. 00:01:43.299 --> 00:01:48.640 Part of what it means to be a church that exists for the life of the world 00:01:48.640 --> 00:01:53.439 is to be a church that bears witness to Christ. 00:01:54.879 --> 00:02:00.439 Or in the words of Jesus in Matthew 5, when he talks about bearing witness, 00:02:01.039 --> 00:02:05.420 it means being salt and light in the world. 00:02:05.539 --> 00:02:07.599 So let's pray and then we're going to open God's word together. 00:02:09.759 --> 00:02:11.300 Lord, we thank you for your word. 00:02:11.300 --> 00:02:14.040 Lord, we thank you for your presence here in our midst. 00:02:14.160 --> 00:02:15.380 We thank you for your Holy Spirit. 00:02:16.800 --> 00:02:23.640 Lord, at this time, would you help us to let go of the things that are tugging at our attention, 00:02:24.560 --> 00:02:29.540 the distractions that are competing for the top spot, Lord, in our mind? 00:02:30.480 --> 00:02:33.840 Would you help us to let go of our ego, our insecurity? 00:02:35.140 --> 00:02:38.020 Would you help us to have soft and open hearts? 00:02:38.020 --> 00:02:40.700 And Lord, would you speak to us? 00:02:41.760 --> 00:02:42.980 Would you speak to us now? 00:02:43.340 --> 00:02:44.700 We pray this in Jesus' name. 00:02:44.980 --> 00:02:45.200 Amen. 00:02:47.040 --> 00:02:52.180 So we're going to consider these images of salt and light and then what they mean for us 00:02:52.180 --> 00:02:55.900 as we look to the days, weeks, months, and years ahead. 00:02:56.460 --> 00:03:01.680 The first thing Jesus says in this passage is, and he's addressing his community of disciples, 00:03:01.680 --> 00:03:05.920 he says, you are the salt of the earth. 00:03:06.300 --> 00:03:07.719 You are the salt of the earth. 00:03:07.819 --> 00:03:09.980 Very famous image here. 00:03:10.099 --> 00:03:13.500 People who aren't Christians, never read the Bible, are familiar with this verse. 00:03:14.260 --> 00:03:18.040 If you know about salt in the ancient world, you know that it had a number of uses. 00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:22.780 It was used as a preservative in the days before refrigeration. 00:03:22.860 --> 00:03:25.219 It was used as an ingredient in fertilizer. 00:03:25.219 --> 00:03:28.960 It also had specific Old Testament connotations. 00:03:29.199 --> 00:03:31.060 It was a symbol of covenant faithfulness. 00:03:31.719 --> 00:03:36.960 So the Israelites were instructed to salt all of their offerings when they offered them to the Lord. 00:03:38.259 --> 00:03:42.199 People debate what does Jesus specifically have in mind here. 00:03:42.340 --> 00:03:47.340 I think it's safe to say probably Jesus isn't focusing on one versus another meaning. 00:03:47.460 --> 00:03:49.819 I think he probably has all of these meanings in mind. 00:03:49.819 --> 00:03:54.900 But I would suggest that when Jesus says, you are the salt of the earth to us, 00:03:55.319 --> 00:04:01.900 what he primarily has in mind is the flavor-enhancing capacity of salt. 00:04:02.419 --> 00:04:09.699 And the reason I think that is because in this passage, he goes on to warn them against losing their saltiness. 00:04:09.799 --> 00:04:11.959 In other words, becoming flavorless. 00:04:12.979 --> 00:04:19.680 So I think primarily he's thinking about the fact that salt uniquely enhances flavor. 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:27.759 The food critic and novelist Jay Rayner said that salt is the difference between eating in technicolor and eating in black and white. 00:04:28.519 --> 00:04:29.500 And I think that's true. 00:04:30.399 --> 00:04:37.199 Thomas Keller, the renowned chef, the most well-known as the chef proprietor of the French Laundry, 00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:39.639 three Michelin star restaurant out in California, 00:04:39.639 --> 00:04:43.659 he says that for both professional chefs and home cooks, 00:04:43.660 --> 00:04:50.400 the single most important skill you can gain is the ability to salt your food properly. 00:04:51.400 --> 00:04:52.480 It is that important. 00:04:53.360 --> 00:04:56.280 So anybody wanting to up their game in the kitchen, 00:04:57.120 --> 00:05:01.180 the first thing you need to do is to learn how to use salt. 00:05:01.180 --> 00:05:04.819 If you salt a tomato, what happens? 00:05:05.720 --> 00:05:07.420 The tomato tastes brighter. 00:05:07.759 --> 00:05:09.199 It actually tastes sweeter. 00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:11.400 It tastes more like a tomato. 00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:14.660 So if you have a bunch of late summer tomatoes and you don't know what to do with them, 00:05:14.939 --> 00:05:16.360 just put a little salt on them. 00:05:16.780 --> 00:05:18.579 Put them on between two slices of bread. 00:05:18.840 --> 00:05:20.540 It would be the best thing you've ever eaten, right? 00:05:21.100 --> 00:05:22.340 Salting pasta water. 00:05:22.399 --> 00:05:23.819 And I'm not talking like a little pinch. 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:27.360 I'm talking like a good handful of salt in that pasta water, right? 00:05:27.620 --> 00:05:30.379 That's going to make your pasta, it's going to give it depth. 00:05:30.720 --> 00:05:32.560 It's going to give it groundedness. 00:05:32.620 --> 00:05:34.300 It's going to give it an earthiness, right? 00:05:34.340 --> 00:05:35.500 It's going to give it a kind of oomph. 00:05:35.580 --> 00:05:37.500 Otherwise, it'll taste flat, right? 00:05:37.540 --> 00:05:40.620 You have a good sauce, but the pasta underneath just tastes like it doesn't, 00:05:40.879 --> 00:05:42.540 they don't get along, you know? 00:05:42.660 --> 00:05:44.220 The pasta is going to be a disappointment. 00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:48.080 If you salt your beef or your poultry right away, 00:05:48.080 --> 00:05:50.560 and I'm not talking like an hour before you cook. 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:52.460 I'm talking you get home from the store. 00:05:52.860 --> 00:05:54.020 You unwrap it. 00:05:54.340 --> 00:05:55.980 You salt it liberally. 00:05:55.980 --> 00:06:00.860 And then you take it, put it in the fridge, cook it the next day. 00:06:01.700 --> 00:06:04.520 It's going to have a beefy, rich flavor. 00:06:05.420 --> 00:06:09.680 The crust, if you're searing it, is going to be ten times better, right? 00:06:09.740 --> 00:06:10.680 Color equals flavor. 00:06:10.980 --> 00:06:12.720 It's going to be a nice brown crust, right? 00:06:13.480 --> 00:06:16.319 Even desserts benefit from salt, right? 00:06:16.580 --> 00:06:18.300 Sprinkle some salt on your fruit. 00:06:18.460 --> 00:06:21.700 Sprinkle some salt on anything that you're… 00:06:21.700 --> 00:06:23.080 It's going to sharpen the flavor. 00:06:23.360 --> 00:06:24.780 It's going to balance the sweetness. 00:06:24.779 --> 00:06:26.519 Put it on chocolate or caramel. 00:06:27.319 --> 00:06:28.719 It's going to make it ten times richer. 00:06:29.039 --> 00:06:29.699 Are you hungry? 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:35.299 Salt enhances the flavor of whatever you put it on. 00:06:35.399 --> 00:06:38.079 So, let's come back to the Scripture here. 00:06:39.419 --> 00:06:43.959 What is Jesus trying to communicate about the role of Christians in the world? 00:06:43.959 --> 00:06:52.500 With the coming of Jesus, a new reality begins to emerge, right? 00:06:52.579 --> 00:06:56.039 The kingdom of God, Jesus says, is breaking into the world. 00:06:56.579 --> 00:06:58.479 Imagine overlapping timelines. 00:06:58.680 --> 00:07:02.399 There's the timeline that we're a part of now, and there's a new reality, and it's overlapping, 00:07:02.519 --> 00:07:08.060 and it's breaking in, and it's starting to shine through, and you can see little glimmers of it everywhere. 00:07:08.060 --> 00:07:09.480 It's a new way of life. 00:07:10.199 --> 00:07:12.920 It's a new way of being human together. 00:07:13.399 --> 00:07:19.439 It's a preview of the world as it will be when Christ makes all things new. 00:07:19.579 --> 00:07:20.840 We're getting a preview now. 00:07:20.839 --> 00:07:32.560 And as this new reality emerges, more and more people are going to have the opportunity to taste and see the goodness of God. 00:07:34.179 --> 00:07:39.379 But this new reality needs salt. 00:07:40.179 --> 00:07:41.500 It needs salt. 00:07:41.919 --> 00:07:46.519 It needs Christians to enhance the flavors of the kingdom of God. 00:07:46.519 --> 00:08:00.479 It needs people who are able to, by the way they live, magnify kingdom values and kingdom priorities in such a way that they are put on display 00:08:00.479 --> 00:08:06.719 so that when people taste them, they have to have more, right? 00:08:06.719 --> 00:08:11.599 If you eat well-seasoned food as that kind of food, then you don't even know why, but you just eat it, 00:08:11.659 --> 00:08:13.979 and then you want to eat more, and you want to eat more, and you want to eat more. 00:08:13.980 --> 00:08:17.759 That's the kind of balance that comes with a well-salted dish. 00:08:18.660 --> 00:08:20.900 And that's what Jesus says he wants for the kingdom. 00:08:21.180 --> 00:08:23.900 The people taste it, and they just, they gotta have more. 00:08:26.020 --> 00:08:32.879 So the kingdom needs Christians, Jesus says, to help people experience the kingdom of God in technicolor, not just black and white. 00:08:33.139 --> 00:08:34.159 So what does this look like? 00:08:34.779 --> 00:08:39.000 Well, Jesus has just described this in the verses that lead up to this. 00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:50.259 So if we read this in context, you go back to Matthew 5 verse 1, Jesus is describing what salty people look like in what we commonly refer to as the Beatitudes. 00:08:51.580 --> 00:08:51.740 Right? 00:08:51.899 --> 00:08:53.899 So we might summarize it this way. 00:08:53.940 --> 00:08:59.019 If you look at those first verses, if you have, we have pew Bibles now, so you can turn to Matthew 5 if you want. 00:08:59.019 --> 00:09:06.960 If you look at these Beatitudes, Jesus is saying to be salty is to be, for instance, poor in spirit. 00:09:08.579 --> 00:09:17.240 The kind of person who knows that we are spiritually bankrupt and that we depend entirely on the mercy of God. 00:09:17.279 --> 00:09:18.460 That's a salty person. 00:09:18.460 --> 00:09:25.740 A salty person is someone who mourns, is someone who's not afraid of grief and loss. 00:09:25.820 --> 00:09:35.639 In fact, they're maybe well acquainted with grief and loss, and more importantly, they know what it means to encounter the love and comfort of God in the midst of grief. 00:09:37.220 --> 00:09:39.740 So it's people who know how to grieve and mourn. 00:09:41.060 --> 00:09:42.620 It's people who are meek. 00:09:44.120 --> 00:09:44.320 Right? 00:09:44.320 --> 00:09:56.100 A meek person is a salty person because it's someone who has rejected the culture of self-promotion, and they've embraced a life of humility and blessed self-forgetfulness. 00:09:56.240 --> 00:09:58.879 That's putting something else on display. 00:10:00.560 --> 00:10:08.720 A salty person is someone who's willing to forgive and to show mercy rather than harboring resentment and seeking vengeance. 00:10:08.720 --> 00:10:20.160 A salty person is someone who has a single-minded devotion to God, purity of heart rather than duplicity or compromise. 00:10:21.840 --> 00:10:36.879 A salty person is someone who pursues harmony, who works to re-knit the social fabric of society rather than giving in to the temptation to polarization or division. 00:10:36.879 --> 00:10:37.379 Right? 00:10:37.600 --> 00:10:40.820 It's an entirely different way, for instance, of approaching politics. 00:10:42.419 --> 00:10:43.820 That's a salty person. 00:10:43.879 --> 00:10:47.360 A salty person, we can sort of summarize what Jesus says at the end of this section here. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:53.620 There's someone who is so committed to following Jesus that they're willing to be persecuted because of it. 00:10:54.379 --> 00:11:00.779 They would rather have Jesus and whatever that costs them than have anything else without Jesus. 00:11:00.779 --> 00:11:06.819 The world sees that and they realize there's something different here. 00:11:08.620 --> 00:11:12.699 Something that, something inside me craves. 00:11:13.019 --> 00:11:14.299 That's a salty person. 00:11:15.860 --> 00:11:19.100 And remember the purpose of salt. 00:11:20.559 --> 00:11:26.419 If your food tastes salty, it means you've put too much salt on it. 00:11:26.419 --> 00:11:27.059 Right? 00:11:27.059 --> 00:11:30.959 The purpose of salt is never to draw attention to itself. 00:11:32.779 --> 00:11:39.899 Salt uniquely is used to enhance the flavor of all of the other ingredients around it. 00:11:40.120 --> 00:11:41.059 Not itself. 00:11:41.379 --> 00:11:41.559 Right? 00:11:42.360 --> 00:11:47.959 So, Christians likewise who are called to be salt, we have to remember, friends, it's not about us. 00:11:49.039 --> 00:11:51.679 It's not about putting our life on display. 00:11:51.819 --> 00:11:54.259 It's not about putting our church on display. 00:11:54.259 --> 00:11:59.319 The goal of salt is to enhance the flavors of the kingdom. 00:12:00.559 --> 00:12:06.399 So, a salty Christian is someone who, in all they say and do, is pointing to someone bigger. 00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:07.139 What? 00:12:07.220 --> 00:12:07.779 Someone greater. 00:12:07.879 --> 00:12:08.939 They're pointing to Christ. 00:12:09.620 --> 00:12:14.500 So, this, I believe, is what Jesus has in mind when he calls us to be salt in the world. 00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:17.399 And then he uses a related image. 00:12:17.500 --> 00:12:18.740 He uses the image of light. 00:12:19.419 --> 00:12:20.939 You're the light of the world. 00:12:20.940 --> 00:12:29.240 And throughout Scripture, we see light being associated with God's truth and God's holiness and God's presence and God's salvation. 00:12:29.860 --> 00:12:32.440 Light exposes what darkness conceals. 00:12:33.720 --> 00:12:36.620 Light helps people to see what is real and true. 00:12:38.060 --> 00:12:40.420 And notice the picture that Jesus chooses. 00:12:40.640 --> 00:12:42.920 He says, a city is set on a hill. 00:12:43.280 --> 00:12:45.520 A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 00:12:45.519 --> 00:12:54.259 So, this is not an image, as compelling as it might be, this is not an image of one lone heroic person holding a candle up in the darkness. 00:12:55.319 --> 00:12:57.199 It's an image of a whole community. 00:12:58.120 --> 00:13:00.740 It's an image of a whole community visible together. 00:13:01.100 --> 00:13:03.279 Jesus is speaking to his followers in the plural. 00:13:03.639 --> 00:13:07.980 He's saying, you all together, when you're all together, are the light of the world. 00:13:07.980 --> 00:13:11.180 So, here's the image he's trying to convey. 00:13:11.500 --> 00:13:13.820 Imagine that you are traveling at night. 00:13:14.300 --> 00:13:16.680 And this is in the world before electricity. 00:13:17.200 --> 00:13:25.600 So, other than whatever moonlight or starlight there may be, at night, it was pitch black dark once the sun went down. 00:13:25.879 --> 00:13:31.159 If you've ever been out in the country, when it's pitch black dark and there's no electric lights around, you know exactly what I'm talking about. 00:13:31.159 --> 00:13:34.319 So, imagine traveling at night in the pitch black dark. 00:13:34.419 --> 00:13:37.039 You can't even see where you're stepping. 00:13:37.679 --> 00:13:48.179 And then you look up and you see up on a hillside what looks like just this glowing sort of halo, right, across the horizon. 00:13:48.319 --> 00:13:51.059 And what you're seeing are the lights of a town. 00:13:51.339 --> 00:13:55.279 And you're seeing all of the firelight and all of the candlelight of that town. 00:13:56.039 --> 00:13:57.899 Now, what would that represent to you? 00:13:57.899 --> 00:13:58.340 Right? 00:13:59.600 --> 00:14:01.939 That light means a lot of things that you're looking for. 00:14:02.139 --> 00:14:03.559 That light means shelter. 00:14:04.360 --> 00:14:05.879 That light means warmth. 00:14:06.259 --> 00:14:07.579 That light means hospitality. 00:14:07.959 --> 00:14:09.279 That light means community. 00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:15.659 That light means that you no longer have to be alone in the dark. 00:14:17.639 --> 00:14:21.759 This is what Christian community is meant to be in the world. 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:27.960 A visible sign that you don't have to be alone in the dark anymore. 00:14:28.759 --> 00:14:30.519 There is another way to live. 00:14:30.939 --> 00:14:36.600 And there is a community of people who are ready to welcome you in and encourage you down that path. 00:14:37.500 --> 00:14:40.639 And Jesus is very clear on the nature of this light. 00:14:40.759 --> 00:14:43.299 He says, let your light shine before others. 00:14:43.439 --> 00:14:43.759 Why? 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:43.879 Why? 00:14:44.240 --> 00:14:51.159 So that they may see your good works and give glory to you? 00:14:51.360 --> 00:14:51.600 No. 00:14:51.779 --> 00:14:54.299 Give glory to your Father who's in heaven. 00:14:55.179 --> 00:14:55.399 Right? 00:14:55.480 --> 00:14:59.960 So just like salt, the purpose is not to draw attention to ourselves. 00:15:01.039 --> 00:15:02.360 Wow, that's such a great person. 00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:03.379 Wow, that's such a great community. 00:15:04.200 --> 00:15:06.319 It's to draw attention to God. 00:15:06.399 --> 00:15:09.519 Man, when I'm in that community, I experience the presence of the Lord. 00:15:09.519 --> 00:15:13.720 Salt and light. 00:15:14.919 --> 00:15:19.059 Put these two images together, and this is what Jesus is saying. 00:15:20.019 --> 00:15:23.139 The world contains darkness and decay. 00:15:24.399 --> 00:15:25.480 There are lies. 00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:29.439 There's injustice, both immediate and personal and systemic. 00:15:30.279 --> 00:15:31.220 There's loneliness. 00:15:31.500 --> 00:15:32.139 There's exploitation. 00:15:32.799 --> 00:15:33.579 There's confusion. 00:15:33.740 --> 00:15:34.439 There's alienation. 00:15:34.759 --> 00:15:36.480 There's spiritual hunger and longing. 00:15:36.480 --> 00:15:40.720 But Jesus has come. 00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:42.840 God in the flesh. 00:15:43.440 --> 00:15:44.340 He has lived. 00:15:44.480 --> 00:15:45.240 He has died. 00:15:45.539 --> 00:15:51.460 He has risen to set us free from sin and death, to one day renew all of creation. 00:15:52.480 --> 00:15:56.500 And through Jesus, a new reality is emerging everywhere. 00:15:56.639 --> 00:15:59.220 The kingdom of God is growing up in our midst. 00:16:00.120 --> 00:16:05.100 And one day, the whole world is going to be renewed and look like the kingdom. 00:16:05.100 --> 00:16:11.480 But now there are merely glimmers of this, previews of the world to come. 00:16:12.460 --> 00:16:21.080 And God has established churches to be communities of salt and light, which are living previews of the world to come. 00:16:22.279 --> 00:16:22.379 Right? 00:16:22.379 --> 00:16:35.759 Churches that are rooted in Christ, that are joined to one another, who together are pushing back the darkness, magnifying the ways of the kingdom, and pointing people toward Christ. 00:16:36.179 --> 00:16:38.220 I believe that's what he has in mind. 00:16:38.220 --> 00:16:48.420 One of my favorite preachers from a bygone age used to get to this point in the sermon, and then he would say, so what? 00:16:48.960 --> 00:16:49.399 Okay? 00:16:49.980 --> 00:16:50.700 So what? 00:16:51.779 --> 00:16:53.240 What does that mean for us? 00:16:53.240 --> 00:16:56.980 At Advent, we're looking toward the future. 00:16:57.200 --> 00:17:00.560 We're looking toward where we're going from this day on. 00:17:00.740 --> 00:17:08.620 And if you're going to be a part of this ride and a part of this movement, which I hope and pray you are, every single one of you, what does this mean for us? 00:17:09.019 --> 00:17:12.620 And I would say this morning, we're just going to focus on one central application. 00:17:12.619 --> 00:17:20.839 But I think it's one that merits a lot of thought and prayer coming out of today as we go into our week, month, year. 00:17:21.899 --> 00:17:24.279 If we're going to be salt and light, it simply means this. 00:17:24.399 --> 00:17:26.879 It means having the courage to be different. 00:17:28.639 --> 00:17:30.719 It means having the courage to be different. 00:17:32.179 --> 00:17:38.359 You know, Jesus warns his disciples against losing their saltiness and against hiding their light under a bowl. 00:17:38.359 --> 00:17:46.939 And what he's saying is he's calling us to be openly and noticeably publicly different from the people around us. 00:17:48.019 --> 00:17:57.539 So he's saying that as Christians, being different, you know, not fitting in is essential to what we have to offer the world. 00:17:57.539 --> 00:18:06.000 And I don't know, maybe it's just where I am, stage of life, age, you know, like I just turned 49, I'm on the cusp of 50. 00:18:06.539 --> 00:18:11.200 And you just think about things differently at this stage than I did when I was 20 or 30. 00:18:11.819 --> 00:18:16.759 And I just, I think one of the things that I'm just kind of tired of and done with is caring about fitting in. 00:18:17.779 --> 00:18:20.000 You just get to the point where you're just tired of it. 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:28.420 Because you've had enough experiences of realizing that no matter what I say or do, no matter how hard I try, there are going to be some people that respond positively and there are some people who don't. 00:18:29.039 --> 00:18:34.000 And really very little of it has to do with us, me, you, right? 00:18:34.039 --> 00:18:37.400 Mostly has to do with whatever's going on inside that person, right? 00:18:38.480 --> 00:18:41.579 So Jesus is saying, stop trying to fit in. 00:18:41.579 --> 00:18:51.859 When we look at the past hundred years in the life of our country, I would say that, yes, the church has gotten it wrong in many ways. 00:18:52.339 --> 00:18:57.859 And there are a lot of ways that abuses of power and scandals and all of that have done enormous damage. 00:18:57.980 --> 00:19:01.740 And there are, in other times and places, we talk about that and we address it openly. 00:19:01.819 --> 00:19:02.399 It's very true. 00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:09.740 But one of the things that doesn't get talked about enough is the amount of damage that has been done by flavorless Christianity. 00:19:09.740 --> 00:19:12.759 flavorless Christianity. 00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:20.900 I'm talking about that lukewarm, watered down, scrambling to fit in, scrambling to keep up. 00:19:22.920 --> 00:19:30.279 I think that when people encounter, when people are genuinely spiritually hungry and they are longing for something different, for something more, 00:19:30.900 --> 00:19:37.180 and their first encounter with Christianity and Christian community is a kind of flavorless, watered down example of it, 00:19:37.180 --> 00:19:42.000 I think that oftentimes that does the damage of inoculating them against the real thing. 00:19:43.460 --> 00:19:48.259 I think they come in and they experience it and they say, well, I thought there was something more here, 00:19:48.340 --> 00:19:52.259 but you're just kind of like a generic version of what I'm already seeing out here. 00:19:52.480 --> 00:19:56.259 It's just, it's kind of the same, but it's like not even done as well. 00:19:57.400 --> 00:19:57.700 You know? 00:19:58.120 --> 00:20:00.299 And so they just said, well, I guess I'll keep looking. 00:20:00.299 --> 00:20:08.460 And I don't know how many untold thousands of people have had that experience, but I know enough of them and I've heard enough of their stories 00:20:08.460 --> 00:20:12.919 to say it's probably underestimating to say it was merely thousands. 00:20:14.099 --> 00:20:19.299 I actually think, and this is actually true if you look at the statistics and the research that's coming out now, 00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:20.480 just in the last two or three years, 00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:27.980 I think that there's a groundswell of people who would not necessarily consider themselves to be churchgoing or religious people 00:20:27.980 --> 00:20:31.400 who are longing for something different. 00:20:31.620 --> 00:20:36.819 They're wanting a true alternative to what they see and experience in the secular world. 00:20:36.900 --> 00:20:38.180 They're hungry for something. 00:20:40.319 --> 00:20:45.680 And imagine if they come into a community where there is a kind of a white hot faith, 00:20:46.099 --> 00:20:48.079 where people are all in. 00:20:48.079 --> 00:20:51.919 Imagine what that says to that person. 00:20:52.299 --> 00:20:55.859 It says, your instinct and your desire to look for something, 00:20:56.039 --> 00:20:58.579 the thing that you're looking for is real and true, 00:20:58.679 --> 00:21:00.559 and this is what people look like who have found it. 00:21:02.079 --> 00:21:05.659 And I think that this kind of hunger for an alternative is evident everywhere. 00:21:05.960 --> 00:21:09.519 You know, I'll pick an example that I know is relevant 00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:15.519 because it's an area where I think many Christians are most tempted to hide and to compromise, 00:21:15.519 --> 00:21:19.819 and that's in the realm of how we think about marriage and sexuality. 00:21:20.319 --> 00:21:24.059 Just to say that makes Christians cringe, right? 00:21:24.180 --> 00:21:29.619 And it's because for decades, many people have dismissed the Christian vision of sex, 00:21:29.639 --> 00:21:33.539 and what I'm talking about is the idea that sex is something that is meant to be experienced 00:21:33.539 --> 00:21:37.000 within the context of a lifelong covenant, right? 00:21:37.000 --> 00:21:43.119 And so for decades, this has been dismissed by the broader culture as being outdated, 00:21:43.359 --> 00:21:44.740 as being oppressive. 00:21:46.460 --> 00:21:52.900 And so as Christians, and as somebody who sort of came to faith right around the turn of the century, 00:21:53.059 --> 00:22:00.440 right around the year 99, 2000, you know, believing this kind of thing just felt crazy. 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:04.359 It felt like you were, and that was a long time ago, right? 00:22:04.359 --> 00:22:08.879 And so as Christians, it's so easy to feel embarrassed of this and ashamed of it 00:22:08.879 --> 00:22:11.679 and to want to make sure people know, yeah, I'm a Christian, 00:22:11.759 --> 00:22:16.579 but I'm not that kind of Christian who still believes in that stuff, right? 00:22:17.599 --> 00:22:21.779 Something interesting is happening in our culture right now, right? 00:22:21.819 --> 00:22:24.639 Because the sexual liberation movement happened, 00:22:24.719 --> 00:22:27.979 and it was ostensibly a liberation from all of these oppressive norms. 00:22:27.980 --> 00:22:35.559 But we've gotten enough distance from that movement now in 2026, looking back, 00:22:36.240 --> 00:22:38.620 that there are a lot of people beginning to question, 00:22:39.200 --> 00:22:41.980 what were we actually doing there, and was it any better? 00:22:42.819 --> 00:22:46.180 We've lived with the consequences of the sexual revolution for long enough 00:22:46.180 --> 00:22:48.319 that we see more and more feminist writers 00:22:48.319 --> 00:22:51.860 who are reconsidering modern sexual ethics altogether. 00:22:51.859 --> 00:22:57.339 So I'm thinking of people like Mary Harrington or Louise Perry, right? 00:22:57.419 --> 00:23:00.719 When Louise Perry wrote her book, I think it was published in like 2022, 00:23:01.419 --> 00:23:03.439 she wrote The Case Against the Sexual Revolution, 00:23:03.879 --> 00:23:06.639 and at the time she was a secular progressive feminist. 00:23:07.219 --> 00:23:08.919 She had worked in a rape crisis center, 00:23:09.240 --> 00:23:14.659 and her experiences and her research led her to actually argue 00:23:14.659 --> 00:23:19.240 that sexual liberation has overwhelmingly failed women. 00:23:19.240 --> 00:23:22.839 Because she says, and this is her argument, 00:23:23.019 --> 00:23:26.059 when consent becomes the only moral standard, 00:23:27.799 --> 00:23:30.440 when we stop asking other questions like, 00:23:30.440 --> 00:23:31.620 is this loving? 00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:38.019 Is there an imbalance of power that is created in these kinds of relationships? 00:23:38.660 --> 00:23:42.859 When we ask, who actually bears the physical and emotional risks 00:23:42.859 --> 00:23:45.900 in a consent-based relationship? 00:23:45.900 --> 00:23:49.160 Or does this produce commitment, 00:23:49.600 --> 00:23:53.680 or does this ethic actually make it easier to use and discard people? 00:23:54.740 --> 00:23:54.900 Right? 00:23:55.019 --> 00:23:59.580 Does it take the consumerism that is so prevalent in our culture already 00:23:59.580 --> 00:24:03.600 and redefine our most important valuable relationships 00:24:03.600 --> 00:24:05.440 through the lens of consumerism? 00:24:05.820 --> 00:24:06.000 Right? 00:24:06.460 --> 00:24:09.060 So Perry concludes in her book, she says, 00:24:09.140 --> 00:24:11.200 you know who is really on to something? 00:24:11.940 --> 00:24:12.860 The Christians. 00:24:12.859 --> 00:24:13.299 Right? 00:24:14.579 --> 00:24:20.019 This historic ethic of covenantal lifelong partnership 00:24:20.019 --> 00:24:22.559 was historically, she says, 00:24:22.639 --> 00:24:25.579 a radical and stabilizing victory for women. 00:24:26.819 --> 00:24:32.459 It restrained male power in a society where men were dominant. 00:24:32.779 --> 00:24:32.959 Right? 00:24:33.139 --> 00:24:36.319 It required fidelity from both sexes. 00:24:36.779 --> 00:24:38.979 It bound sex to commitment 00:24:38.980 --> 00:24:43.360 and provided enormous protection primarily for the most vulnerable, 00:24:43.519 --> 00:24:44.339 women and children. 00:24:45.500 --> 00:24:47.620 And so she says, you know, I think they were on to something. 00:24:47.720 --> 00:24:50.680 I think we should maybe consider going back to something like that. 00:24:50.740 --> 00:24:50.940 Right? 00:24:51.460 --> 00:24:52.980 Now this is just one example. 00:24:53.079 --> 00:24:54.819 This is not a sermon on sexual ethics. 00:24:55.640 --> 00:24:57.140 But it's just one example 00:24:57.140 --> 00:24:59.420 that shows us 00:24:59.420 --> 00:25:03.320 that we are harboring and holding on to something 00:25:03.320 --> 00:25:05.279 that is extremely beautiful 00:25:05.279 --> 00:25:07.080 and extremely valuable 00:25:07.080 --> 00:25:11.100 when we talk about the vision of human life and flourishing 00:25:11.100 --> 00:25:13.300 that we have as followers of Jesus. 00:25:14.320 --> 00:25:15.400 And I'm telling you this, 00:25:15.519 --> 00:25:17.100 we have not always gotten that right. 00:25:17.460 --> 00:25:19.440 We have messed that up many, many, many times. 00:25:19.680 --> 00:25:21.259 But what we have been given, 00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:23.060 what has been entrusted to us, 00:25:23.059 --> 00:25:26.819 that is something that the world desperately needs 00:25:26.819 --> 00:25:29.839 even if they don't always recognize it. 00:25:30.200 --> 00:25:32.539 So the point is not to have the courage to be different 00:25:32.539 --> 00:25:35.039 only when people like Louise Perry say it's cool. 00:25:36.619 --> 00:25:39.119 The point is we have to have the courage to be different 00:25:39.119 --> 00:25:42.839 even if the world doesn't always recognize the value in that difference. 00:25:44.399 --> 00:25:47.779 Because it is valuable regardless of that. 00:25:49.039 --> 00:25:49.159 Right? 00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:50.919 So what does this mean for us moving forward? 00:25:50.920 --> 00:25:53.320 I just want to offer a few ways 00:25:53.320 --> 00:25:55.600 that this becomes practical and actionable. 00:25:57.480 --> 00:25:59.460 The first thing I would encourage you to do 00:25:59.460 --> 00:26:02.580 is simply to take some time to examine 00:26:02.580 --> 00:26:06.200 where you have maybe quietly adopted 00:26:06.200 --> 00:26:08.960 values of the surrounding culture. 00:26:10.560 --> 00:26:14.700 Areas where you may feel like you have in your life 00:26:14.700 --> 00:26:17.600 more recently began to lose your saltiness. 00:26:17.599 --> 00:26:23.159 It could be in the way we think about money. 00:26:24.459 --> 00:26:28.179 It could be in our relationship to our pursuit of success. 00:26:28.480 --> 00:26:30.019 It could be in the area of sexuality. 00:26:31.219 --> 00:26:33.439 It could be in how you engage politics 00:26:33.439 --> 00:26:37.719 and engage with or refuse to engage with people 00:26:37.719 --> 00:26:39.039 who believe very different things. 00:26:39.839 --> 00:26:41.559 It could be in status. 00:26:41.559 --> 00:26:45.879 You know, when you're 20, it's easy to say status doesn't matter. 00:26:45.980 --> 00:26:48.740 But when you're fairly successful and in your middle life, 00:26:49.579 --> 00:26:50.379 maybe it does. 00:26:51.339 --> 00:26:53.220 It could be in how you think about your enemies. 00:26:53.819 --> 00:26:56.339 You know, where are you following the crowd versus following Jesus? 00:26:57.639 --> 00:26:58.579 That's the first thing. 00:26:59.639 --> 00:27:03.299 Number two, I would say this makes it absolutely clear 00:27:03.299 --> 00:27:07.339 that every single person in this room, myself included, 00:27:07.700 --> 00:27:10.740 we need strong Christian community. 00:27:11.960 --> 00:27:13.460 We need friendships. 00:27:14.079 --> 00:27:17.980 We need brothers and sisters who can encourage us, 00:27:18.859 --> 00:27:20.919 who can challenge us to live differently. 00:27:22.599 --> 00:27:26.119 You know, faithfulness is pretty difficult when we're isolated. 00:27:26.659 --> 00:27:28.519 Remember those National Geographic shows 00:27:28.519 --> 00:27:30.579 where you see like a herd of gazelle 00:27:30.579 --> 00:27:31.799 and then there's like one gazelle 00:27:31.799 --> 00:27:33.500 that's like off on the other side of the screen 00:27:33.500 --> 00:27:36.759 and there's like three lions chasing that one gazelle, right? 00:27:37.220 --> 00:27:38.440 Whenever I hear somebody say, 00:27:38.579 --> 00:27:39.660 yeah, I follow Jesus, 00:27:39.779 --> 00:27:41.920 but I'm just not really sure I'm ready to be part of a church right now. 00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:44.559 I'm like, you're a gazelle and you don't know it. 00:27:44.980 --> 00:27:46.019 You know, right? 00:27:46.740 --> 00:27:48.720 We're not designed to do that alone, right? 00:27:48.779 --> 00:27:51.720 So the lions look for the gazelle that's not part of the herd, right? 00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:52.859 And that's the target, right? 00:27:52.920 --> 00:27:55.200 So if you're not meaningfully engaged in a church, 00:27:55.220 --> 00:27:57.460 you've got a target on your back, right? 00:27:58.460 --> 00:28:00.460 And what is that verse in Genesis? 00:28:00.620 --> 00:28:03.180 Satan is crouching like a hungry lion at your door, right? 00:28:06.140 --> 00:28:07.600 Christians need community. 00:28:07.759 --> 00:28:09.000 We need people in our lives. 00:28:09.039 --> 00:28:10.759 And there are a lot of ways to get involved here. 00:28:11.120 --> 00:28:12.200 If you're a part of our church, 00:28:12.279 --> 00:28:14.160 you need to be a part of a small group or core group. 00:28:14.960 --> 00:28:16.160 You absolutely have to. 00:28:16.440 --> 00:28:18.420 And those are launching right now. 00:28:19.600 --> 00:28:22.660 You need to be engaged in serving in some way 00:28:22.660 --> 00:28:27.319 because being in a church as someone who is a stakeholder, 00:28:27.460 --> 00:28:28.860 contributing to the good of the whole, 00:28:29.299 --> 00:28:31.519 if you've never had that relationship with the church, 00:28:31.579 --> 00:28:32.759 it's a completely different experience. 00:28:33.600 --> 00:28:35.900 It's the kind of like, you know, 00:28:36.480 --> 00:28:40.880 the sort of secret sauce for getting to know people in the church 00:28:40.880 --> 00:28:42.400 is to get involved and serve. 00:28:43.700 --> 00:28:47.019 And you should really prayerfully consider committing and becoming a member. 00:28:47.019 --> 00:28:48.119 If you don't have, 00:28:48.980 --> 00:28:51.139 if you have thoughts or reservations about becoming a member, 00:28:51.240 --> 00:28:52.539 come talk to me, come talk to Hillary. 00:28:53.059 --> 00:28:55.200 We'll answer whatever questions or concerns you have. 00:28:56.000 --> 00:28:57.019 You should become a member. 00:28:57.539 --> 00:29:00.000 You should commit because you need a church in your life. 00:29:00.859 --> 00:29:01.700 Number three, 00:29:03.299 --> 00:29:04.420 being salt and light, 00:29:04.619 --> 00:29:06.099 having the courage to be different, 00:29:06.240 --> 00:29:08.559 this means that we have to practice our conviction 00:29:08.559 --> 00:29:10.740 without contempt. 00:29:10.740 --> 00:29:15.700 Being different does not require being angry 00:29:15.700 --> 00:29:17.980 or defensive or unkind. 00:29:18.259 --> 00:29:19.559 Sometimes people preach the gospel 00:29:19.559 --> 00:29:23.259 and they are so incredibly offensive 00:29:23.259 --> 00:29:26.059 and hurtful in the way they do it to certain groups, right? 00:29:26.440 --> 00:29:27.779 And you say, 00:29:27.880 --> 00:29:28.920 you don't need to be offensive. 00:29:29.079 --> 00:29:29.400 And they say, 00:29:29.440 --> 00:29:30.920 well, the gospel is inherently offensive. 00:29:31.099 --> 00:29:31.460 And it's like, 00:29:31.799 --> 00:29:33.180 yeah, the gospel is inherently offensive, 00:29:33.299 --> 00:29:35.620 but you're also inherently offensive, right? 00:29:36.660 --> 00:29:37.779 And you need to stop. 00:29:37.779 --> 00:29:39.940 So being different does not require being angry 00:29:39.940 --> 00:29:41.240 or defensive or unkind. 00:29:41.519 --> 00:29:42.279 So you can hold, 00:29:42.460 --> 00:29:44.539 and some of you model this so beautifully. 00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:46.059 I mean, I've seen you do this. 00:29:46.680 --> 00:29:48.579 You can hold firmly to the truth 00:29:48.579 --> 00:29:51.099 while at the same time listening carefully 00:29:51.099 --> 00:29:52.619 and welcoming generously 00:29:52.619 --> 00:29:55.859 and treating people with dignity, right? 00:29:56.019 --> 00:29:58.139 This church is committed to civil discourse. 00:29:59.059 --> 00:30:00.220 We are committed to learning 00:30:00.220 --> 00:30:01.460 how to explore our differences 00:30:01.460 --> 00:30:04.000 with mutual respect and dignity. 00:30:04.579 --> 00:30:06.619 In fact, we had a series of events before COVID 00:30:06.619 --> 00:30:09.199 that I'd like to restart called Common Cup 00:30:09.199 --> 00:30:11.599 where we actually invited people in, 00:30:11.839 --> 00:30:13.279 had contentious conversations 00:30:13.279 --> 00:30:16.059 about very polarizing topics 00:30:16.059 --> 00:30:17.159 like gentrification 00:30:17.159 --> 00:30:19.379 or nationalism versus patriotism. 00:30:19.739 --> 00:30:20.299 And then we would, 00:30:20.639 --> 00:30:21.500 at the end of the night, 00:30:21.579 --> 00:30:23.039 after a good, robust argument, 00:30:23.339 --> 00:30:24.379 take communion together 00:30:24.379 --> 00:30:27.259 because our unity comes through Christ 00:30:27.259 --> 00:30:30.379 and not through agreeing on policy, right? 00:30:31.839 --> 00:30:33.539 Finally, being salt and light, 00:30:34.000 --> 00:30:35.179 having the courage to be different, 00:30:35.180 --> 00:30:37.180 means that our distinctiveness 00:30:37.180 --> 00:30:39.759 must encompass our whole lives. 00:30:39.759 --> 00:30:42.880 It should be evident in our integrity at work, 00:30:43.360 --> 00:30:45.259 in our generosity with money, 00:30:45.820 --> 00:30:47.480 in our care for the vulnerable, 00:30:48.299 --> 00:30:50.380 in our faithfulness in relationships, 00:30:50.740 --> 00:30:53.100 in our willingness to forgive our enemies, 00:30:53.860 --> 00:30:55.460 in our willingness to sacrifice 00:30:55.460 --> 00:30:56.720 for the sake of others. 00:30:56.720 --> 00:31:01.940 So I encourage you to pray about that this week. 00:31:02.019 --> 00:31:03.120 This is part of our DNA. 00:31:03.299 --> 00:31:04.039 This is who we are. 00:31:04.299 --> 00:31:05.360 This is where we're going. 00:31:05.779 --> 00:31:06.740 So ask yourself, 00:31:07.000 --> 00:31:10.019 where am I compromising out of a desire to fit in 00:31:10.019 --> 00:31:12.180 and what would faithful obedience look like? 00:31:12.799 --> 00:31:14.920 And remember, the goal is not to be different 00:31:14.920 --> 00:31:16.539 merely for the sake of being different. 00:31:16.799 --> 00:31:18.240 It's to become more like Jesus 00:31:18.240 --> 00:31:20.400 and to bear witness to Him. 00:31:21.120 --> 00:31:21.720 Let's pray. 00:31:21.720 --> 00:31:26.339 Lord, we know that even as we say these things, 00:31:26.420 --> 00:31:27.920 they're not possible apart from You, 00:31:28.759 --> 00:31:30.839 that it is Your grace that changes hearts 00:31:30.839 --> 00:31:31.920 and Your grace alone. 00:31:32.600 --> 00:31:35.380 And so we pray, Lord, as we come before You, 00:31:36.100 --> 00:31:37.779 as we confess our faith, 00:31:38.120 --> 00:31:39.620 as we petition You in prayer, 00:31:39.759 --> 00:31:41.640 as we confess our sin, 00:31:41.759 --> 00:31:43.400 as we gather around Your table, 00:31:43.720 --> 00:31:45.460 and as we receive Your body and blood. 00:31:46.299 --> 00:31:47.700 Lord, we pray that You would 00:31:47.700 --> 00:31:50.660 turn these hearts of stone into flesh. 00:31:51.660 --> 00:31:52.779 We pray that You would 00:31:52.779 --> 00:31:54.860 plant Your Word deeply in us. 00:31:55.720 --> 00:31:57.440 We pray that we would, by Your grace, 00:31:57.539 --> 00:32:00.380 live lives that glorify and reflect who You are. 00:32:00.539 --> 00:32:01.840 We pray this in Your Son's name. 00:32:02.120 --> 00:32:02.340 Amen.