Matthew 5: 13-16.

The call to the Old Testament people of God had always been that they were to be those who would represent God’s plan for the whole world. They would be different not for the sake of difference, but that they might reveal God’s plan for the whole world. It’s no surprise that when Jesus begins His sermon outlining how people of this new kingdom will live, He begins by establishing their identity.  So when He announces that these disciples of the kingdom are salt and light, He is urging them to see themselves differently.

This life we have received is lived out in the midst of a culture that has decided it wants to live a different way, one that largely lives without any reference to God.

  • How do you live in such a culture?
  • How do you live alongside people who may think that belonging to church and believing in Jesus are somehow quaint activities, good for some, but not for them?
  • How do you work for organisations whose practices may leave so much to be desired: using people, wasting resources, fearful of change, ruthless leadership?
  • How do we act as the flavouring of a society – people whose creative reactions to situations change the experience for many?
  • Or as light – offering new perspectives for others?

The video Live Stream had a serious problem, so this has been removed and replaced with an audio version of the sermon.