Dear Calvary Church Family,

This Sunday we will continue our new series on the Sermon on the Mount. Last Sunday I asserted that Jesus Christ is the most revolutionary person who ever lived, and the purpose of His coming was to initiate a counter cultural revolution. The message of Jesus was revolutionary and subversive over 2,000 years ago—and it still is. The grace He proclaimed is a radical grace, which is designed to usher in a radically new way of life. I’ve stated this in (at least) a couple of my sermons and I hope you’re hearing me—you (and I) cannot become the men, women, husbands, wives, children, fathers, mothers, friends, employees, or employers we are called to be without this radical “Jesus grace” doing IN us and THROUGH us what we cannot do on our own. Knowledge and willpower will simply not get us there.

Beginning this Sunday, we’ll take a deep dive into each Beatitude (and two weeks for peacemakers—are you apeacemaker or a peacekeeper?). The renowned mid-20th century pastor and theologian D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones in his commentary, Studies on the Sermon on the Mount said this, “Read the Beatitudes, and there you have a description of what every Christian is meant to be” (p. 33). And then a couple of pages later he tells us how we get there. “Each one of [the Beatitudes] is wholly a disposition which is produced by grace alone and the operation of the Holy Spirit upon us” (p. 35). So, this Sunday we’ll consider how we participate in opening the door to this radical, life changing, empowering grace that will do in us and through us what we cannot do on our own.

FINDING YOUR FIT CLASS

Beginning Sunday February 11 from 8:30-9:45am, I will teach a 4-week class (with homework) You can pre-register here. A concise way to describe the class is, “Discovering God’s Design for You to Live with PURPOSE and PASSION.” It will include developing a personal vision for your life through understanding spiritual gifts—how they operate as well as identifying yours and how to steward them, getting in touch with your God-given holy passions, understanding your personality type, considering your current stage of spiritual development, and putting together a giftedness profile.

See you on Sunday!

Pastor Gregg