The Lord is not a distant or indifferent judge; He is a compassionate Father who intimately knows our human condition. He understands our weaknesses, our struggles, and the burdens we carry because He remembers that we are formed from dust. This profound knowledge of our frame is not a cause for His disappointment but the very foundation of His mercy. We can approach Him with complete honesty, for He already knows our every need and failure, and He meets us there with steadfast love. [30:01]
As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. (Psalm 103:13-14, ESV)
Reflection: In what specific area of your life do you most need to embrace the truth that God fully knows your weakness and loves you with compassion anyway?
The love of God is not measured by human standards but by the immeasurable distance between the heavens and the earth. His mercy is vast, and His commitment to remove our failures from us is complete, separating us from our transgressions as far as the east is from the west. This is a permanent and decisive act of grace, not a temporary overlooking of sin. To receive this truth is to find a deep and lasting peace for the soul, a reason for genuine praise. [31:35]
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:8-12, ESV)
Reflection: Where do you need God’s grace to help you truly believe that your sins have been removed as far as the east is from the west, and what might it look like to live in that freedom today?
In Christ, our fundamental identity is not found in our past, our sins, or our weaknesses. Jesus looks upon those who follow Him and declares a present reality: you are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. This is not a distant goal to achieve but a current truth to embrace. You are called to be an agent of flavor and preservation, an illuminator of darkness, reflecting God’s kingdom right where you are. This identity is a gift of grace, bestowed upon you by the One who makes all things new. [50:54]
You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. (Matthew 5:13-15, ESV)
Reflection: How might your daily interactions change if you began each day consciously believing you are already the salt and light Jesus says you are?
The call to a righteous life is not a burden we must bear in our own strength. The law is fulfilled in the way of love, and this love is first poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit as a gift from God. This divine love, perfectly demonstrated on the cross, is the very power that enables us to obey. Our ability to love God and neighbor self-sacrificially flows from the love we have received, transforming duty into joyful response and making the impossible possible. [01:02:12]
God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:5-6, ESV)
Reflection: What is one relationship or situation where you feel unable to love well, and how can you ask God to fill you with His love for that specific circumstance?
Because our identity is secure in Christ, we are freed from the fear of being defined by our failures or the opinions of others. We are called to step into the good works God has prepared for us, not with timidity, but with the boldness that comes from being a redeemed child of God. This means actively looking for the moments God provides to show His love, to be salt that enhances and light that reveals. We are invited to live courageously, trusting that the same love that saved us will also sustain us in our mission. [01:07:35]
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16, ESV)
Reflection: Where is God inviting you to ‘be salty’ or ‘shine’ this week in a way that feels a little bold or beyond your comfort zone?
Psalm 103’s assurance of mercy and pardon opens this service, reminding hearers that God knows human frailty and removes transgression as far as the east is from the west. That gospel comfort frames the ensuing instruction: Jesus calls those gathered—people marked by need, meekness, mercy, and persecution—to a surprising identity. They are already the salt of the earth and the light of the world: not aspirational goals but present realities rooted in Christ’s arrival and the unfolding fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham and Israel. These images signal both flavor and preservation for a broken world and illumination that pushes back cosmic darkness.
Jesus does not abolish the law but fulfills and reinterprets it, moving legalism into the language of love. The command that one’s righteousness must exceed that of the scribes is not an impossible demand; it is made possible because God pours divine love into believers’ hearts by the Spirit. That love is the cross-shaped power by which humans can love God with whole selves and love neighbors sacrificially, thus embodying the law’s true intent.
Practical application emerges plainly and urgently. Being salt means enhancing life’s goodness and preserving neighborly flourishing; being light means exposing what hides in shadows and guiding others to God’s glory. The life of faith is not quiet privatism but a visible, costly witness: small acts of kindness, bold self-giving, and steady obedience that testify to the kingdom’s presence. The congregation is called again to remember its identity—redeemed sinners equipped for holy service—and to refuse to shrink back from the ordinary moments where salt and light are most needed.
The service closes with petitions for wisdom and persistence, an affirmation of the Apostles’ Creed, and an exhortation to go forth as the people already declared salt and light. The charge is pastoral and pastorally confident: God’s enabling grace both pronounces the identity and supplies the power to live it out, so the church may shine and season the world until the dawning day when nations stream to the brightness of God’s reign.
Jesus does not even say, well, with a little bit of effort on your part and a little bit of effort on my part, you will be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, as if it's a goal to be attained one day in the future. Jesus looks on the crowd knowing exactly who they are, and I would contend he looks on us knowing exactly who we are, and he says, you are presently the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
[00:50:25]
(34 seconds)
#YouAreSaltAndLight
You know, all you out here that are here to hear me, you think back to what they were hearing from Jesus, all you that you were here to hear me, all that you were needy, all of you who are in want, all of you who are paying the price, all of you who feel like a doormat because you're kind, all of you who are looked down on for doing the right thing, or that you've come out here and learned from me, people are making fun of you, all of you all, well, it's you who are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
[00:48:46]
(31 seconds)
#SaltAndLightForAll
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