Discipleship: Following Jesus

It's often said of Ghandi that he uttered these words: “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”  These are tough words from a man who had a few things in common with Jesus Christ himself, yet didn't claim the title of "Christian" himself.  Was he right? How can those who call themselves Christians be so far from what Christ taught? What did Christ teach?

At the heart of Jesus Christ's teaching in the Gospel of Matthew is what tradition calls the "Sermon on the Mount."  By the time Matthew tells this part of story of Jesus in the gospel, Christ had already been traveling through the towns, pointing to God through his works of mercy, compassion, and healing.  By that point, a good crowd had gathered to follow him.  Jesus saw the crowds, sat down, and "taught them."

Eugene Peterson paraphrases part of the conclusion of Jesus' teachings like this: "These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on."

And it's from these passages in Matthew that the Christian martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in his book, The Cost of Discipleship, about the difference between "cheap grace" and "costly grace":
"Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ."..."Costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus, it comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. It is costly because it compels [one] to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him."
These teachings of Jesus come to us in our easy chairs with bold challenges.  There is no mincing of words here. When we read the Sermon on the Mount, we are confronted and made to think seriously about what it means to follow Jesus. Are we simply recipients of his great act on the cross, or is it normative and formational for the way that we live?

Our church community is diving into Matthew 5-7 for several months to come. The invitation for all to join in is multi-fold:
  1. Pick a number of days a week to sit down and read Matthew 5-7 in its entirety.  Feel free to use a variety of translations or paraphrases of the Bible (BibleGateway.com is a great website for this, or if you have an Android or Mac device, the YouVersion app "Bible" is a wonderful tool).
  2. Come and worship with us as we break open this sermon each week (Sundays, 10:30 AM). 
  3. Listen to the sermons online when you're unable to be in the worship gathering.
  4. Read the daily readings from our Community Scripture Way (CSW).
  5. Pick up a copy of Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship and read it.  (Pastor Jeremy has some cooies for $10 each. Let him know if you would like one.)
Schedule, CSW, & Sermon Recordings:
June 19, 2011 - Introduction (Sermon)
June 26, 2011 - Beatitudes: The Poor in Spirit (CSW, Sermon)
July 3, 2011 - Beatitudes: Those Who Mourn (CSW, Sermon)
July 10, 2011 - Beatitudes: The Meek (CSW, Sermon)
July 17, 2011 - Beatitudes: Those Who Hunger & Thirst for Righteousness (CSW, Sermon)
July 24, 2011 - Beatitudes: The Merciful (CSW, Sermon)
July 31, 2011 - Beatitudes: The Pure in Heart (CSW, Sermon)
August 7, 2011 - Beatitudes: The Peacemakers (CSW, Sermon)
August 14, 2011 - Beatitudes: The Persecuted (CSW, Sermon)
August 21, 2011 - Salt & Light: Flavor of the World (CSW, Sermon)
August 28, 2011 - Anger & Reconciliation (CSW) (Cancelled due to Hurricane Irene)
September 4, 2011 - Anger & Reconciliation (Sermon)
September 11, 2011 - Oaths & Authenticity (CSW, Sermon)
September 18, 2011 - Retaliation & Hospitality (CSW, Sermon)
September 25, 2011 - Enemy-Love (CSW, Sermon)
October 2, 2011 - Charity (CSW, Sermon)
October 9, 2011 - Prayer (CSW, Sermon)
October 16, 2011 - The Lord's Prayer (CSW, Sermon)
October 23, 2011 - Fasting (CSW, Sermon)
October 30, 2011 - Possessions (CSW, Sermon)
November 6, 2011 - An Overloaded Eye (CSW, Sermon)
November 13, 2011 - Worry (CSW, Sermon)
November 20, 2011 - Lordship (CSW, Sermon)
November 27, 2011 - January 1, 2012 - We took a break from this series for the seasons of Advent (11/27-12/18) & Christmas (12/25-1/1)
January 8, 2012 - Judgment (CSW, Sermon)
January 15, 2012 - Holiness, Dogs, Pearls, & Pigs (CSW, Sermon)
January 22, 2012 - Asking (CSW, Sermon)
January 29, 2012 - The Few (CSW, Sermon)