We are in a new series called, “The Night that Changed Everything.”  We’re looking at the significance of Christmas, a night that changed much more than most of us imagine.  We’ll see its impact on five segments of society:

  1. The Night That Changed the Religious
  2. The Night That Changed the Powerful
  3. The Night That Changed the Poor
  4. The Night That Changed You
  5. The Night That Changed the Wise

Four of the five happened long ago, with categories of people who look different today – our wise aren’t Magi, our poor aren’t always shepherds, and our powerful are seldom kings.

Today, we’re looking at how it changes us today, not just those long ago.  We’re looking at how it changes me, and you.

How can the birth of a baby 2000 years ago impact people today?

Whatever the reason or mechanism, we can simply note that it has.  We still date years with AD/BC – a dating system intended to be based on Christ’s life.  In popular culture, we see much discussion of Jesus, with new books, blogs and films created regularly.  People still quote Jesus to prove their points.

And of course, many people like myself will tell you Jesus is alive and well in their lives today.

Question: What impact do you see Jesus having in the world today?

Reminder: We are reading the Bible in sync as one community – so check out today’s reading here.

Reminder: The best way to grow spiritually this year is to join our Christianity 101 in the Cafe Course in Pickering starting January 22nd. Register for you and a friend today!

Read the Bible in Sync Today

Ryan Sim - July 18, 2013

Thursday - Act On It - Originality

Sermon on the Mount

There is some teaching, especially when it's unoriginal and shallow, that you can take under advisement. You can simply say, "That’s interesting" and then move on with your life. We read stuff like this all the time. Magazine articles. Newspaper. Blogs. Facebook posts. Some people are very skilled at rehashing other people’s research in entertaining and interesting ways. I often read things that are of little value to me. They're just interesting, and not going to change my life. I hope the Sermon on the Mount we've been studying is not that way for you. We saw last week – hearing and living these words is like building upon a stone foundation for life. Hearing and ignoring these words is like building on a sand foundation that washes away. How you hear the Sermon on the Mount is like the difference between a wedding announcement and invitation. With a wedding announcement in the newspaper or on Facebook, you say, "Oh, look, they’re getting married, how nice". An invitation is quite different, since it has your name on it. It’s for you. We want you to come. The Kingdom of heaven is often described as a party, and it would be a party with the most original, profound teacher ever at its centre. The very source of truth, wisdom is the attraction. His way of life would now be the only reality. The kingdom he’s been describing, would be there in living colour. He’s issued that invitation to you. Come to my kingdom, my celebration, my party. And this is not just a future reality, somewhere else. It’s something we are called to start practicing now, really living it out, to be ready for the full production . Life on earth is meant to be a practice party, and you’re invited. We're establishing a new church, or Christian community, in Ajax – and it will be built on the model of a party with Jesus at the center. It will be like nothing you've ever experienced before. We're planning our first party for this fall. Challenge: We're running a poll right now, that you can find in our app or here on our web site: http://bit.ly/15B2yry Tell us what kind of party you could RSVP to!

From Series: "Sermon on the Mount"

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