Word of Life Church Podcast

During Lent we follow Jesus from Galilee to Good Friday in Jerusalem. It’s a journey to the center of salvation. That the cross is the center of salvation is a confession all Christians can agree on, but precisely how the cross is the epicenter of salvation belongs to sacred mystery. The cross is a mystery, not because we have no idea what it means, but because we can never fully fathom or articulate the depth of its meaning.

Jesus who is the light of the world says that we are salt and light. As salt, Jesus is sprinkling us throughout the earth that we might provide moral flavor and preserve society from collapsing in on itself due to moral rot and decay. As light, we are reflecting the light of God's love into a world growing dark because of tribalism, rage, and despair. We are called to reflect something different in the world God loves. The pollution of perpetual rage has left people in a place of bitterness, cynicism, and despair, which is an awful state of existence. We who follow Jesus are the hopeful hope-bringers who shine the hope of the gospel into the darkness of despair.

Moses says if Israel is going truly be the people of God they must have a different economy.The Prophets say worship is meaningless if it doesn't affect how we make and spend our money.Jesus says love of money is the single biggest challenge to full participation in the kingdom of GodThe Apostles say the newness of Christ touches all areas of our life, including our money.

The interesting thing about Jesus and money is that he really doesn't say anything other than what Moses had already said. What Jesus does is call his followers to take seriously what Moses said about money and to live according to God’s alternative economy. We see this especially in the story of Jesus and the rich young ruler.

“True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring. A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth.” –Martin Luther King, Jr. (1967)

Other than God himself, the Bible talks more about money than any other topic. We cannot separate our relationship with God from how we think about, how we make, and how we spend our money!

A portent is a sign that anticipates a momentous event. Isaiah’s Arise, Shine song is a portent of the three kings who came from the East bearing gifts to pay homage to the Christ child. But the event itself — the Adoration of the Magi — is a portent of an even more momentous event: The Gentile world coming to faith in Jesus Christ.

When the angel appeared to the shepherds, he gave them five gold rings in the Christmas announcement. These five announcements ring true:Fear NotGood NewsGreat JoyAll PeopleA Savior

It’s only by reading the Scriptures in the light of Christ that we get their full meaning. No one could have “predicted” that Messiah would be born of virgin from Isaiah 7. But once we are told that Messiah was born of virgin, then we can see it. Christians must read all the Bible in the light of Christ to discover all its riches