Rediscovering the Sermon on the Mount
A Journey through Jesus' Radical Call of Love and Justice
Thousands of years ago, on a mountainside somewhere in the region of Judea, people followed a man named Jesus up to a large patch of grass, where he began to teach them. We don’t know all the details of what happened or even all that was spoken, but so powerful were the words of this man called Jesus that people remembered, and those memories made their way in the text that we call the Sermon on the Mount.
Jesus embodied the reality that God was doing something new in the world, and he called those who were around him to this new way of understanding God, faith, and how one might live out this new reality in our world.
Lent is an ancient Christian practice of preparing for the time of Easter through fasting, spiritual disciplines, and many other practices that help one anticipate the death and resurrection of Jesus. Many see these forty days as connected to the forty days Jesus spent being tempted in the desert before his ministry - a story that happened not long before the Sermon on the Mount. Here Jesus was tempted with things we could relate to: power, relevance, control, comfort. Jesus, however, chose the new path God was forging in the world, a path that led him to preach a sermon and that hillside, and that ultimately led to his execution at the hands of the Roman Empire.
The Sermon on the Mount is a well known and often quoted part of the bible. But as with many well-known things, what might we have missed in our familiarity with this text? Looking at our world today - with the injustice and oppression that come from living under the shadows of empire - one might wonder what these nice but simple words Jesus spoke on that mountainside might say to us today? If we are willing to rediscover the Sermon on the Mount, we might be surprised at what we find.
Join us at Queen Anne Christian Church, beginning the first Sunday of Lent, March 1st at 10 am, as we journey through the Sermon on the Mount. And follow along on social media as we reflect and engage these texts during the week.
Jesus embodied the reality that God was doing something new in the world, and he called those who were around him to this new way of understanding God, faith, and how one might live out this new reality in our world.
Lent is an ancient Christian practice of preparing for the time of Easter through fasting, spiritual disciplines, and many other practices that help one anticipate the death and resurrection of Jesus. Many see these forty days as connected to the forty days Jesus spent being tempted in the desert before his ministry - a story that happened not long before the Sermon on the Mount. Here Jesus was tempted with things we could relate to: power, relevance, control, comfort. Jesus, however, chose the new path God was forging in the world, a path that led him to preach a sermon and that hillside, and that ultimately led to his execution at the hands of the Roman Empire.
The Sermon on the Mount is a well known and often quoted part of the bible. But as with many well-known things, what might we have missed in our familiarity with this text? Looking at our world today - with the injustice and oppression that come from living under the shadows of empire - one might wonder what these nice but simple words Jesus spoke on that mountainside might say to us today? If we are willing to rediscover the Sermon on the Mount, we might be surprised at what we find.
Join us at Queen Anne Christian Church, beginning the first Sunday of Lent, March 1st at 10 am, as we journey through the Sermon on the Mount. And follow along on social media as we reflect and engage these texts during the week.
Click here to download our Lent Journey guide for the Sermon on the Mount. We have broken the Sermon on the Mount down to 40 readings for the 40 days of Lent. You can follow along! We will also have hard copies at our services over Lent.
LENT STUDY GUIDE - SERMON ON THE MOUNT
LENT STUDY GUIDE - SERMON ON THE MOUNT
Lent Schedule
Lent begins Wednesday, February 26,
with Ash Wednesday Services with the Imposition of ashes.
12:15 at QACC
7pm A Shared Service hosted by
Welcome Table Christian Church and QACC. (1322 S Bayview St, Seattle, WA 98144)
Maundy Thursday - Thursday April 9th - Soup Dinner @ 6:30 pm, Service at 7 pm
Service at Queen Anne Baptist Church (2011 1st Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109)
Shared service between Queen Anne Baptist Church and Queen Anne Christian Church
More details to follow soon.
Easter Sunday - April 12th - 10 am at Queen Anne Christian Church
Lent begins Wednesday, February 26,
with Ash Wednesday Services with the Imposition of ashes.
12:15 at QACC
7pm A Shared Service hosted by
Welcome Table Christian Church and QACC. (1322 S Bayview St, Seattle, WA 98144)
Maundy Thursday - Thursday April 9th - Soup Dinner @ 6:30 pm, Service at 7 pm
Service at Queen Anne Baptist Church (2011 1st Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109)
Shared service between Queen Anne Baptist Church and Queen Anne Christian Church
More details to follow soon.
Easter Sunday - April 12th - 10 am at Queen Anne Christian Church
Lenten Sunday Morning Discussions
1 March to 12 April 2020 - Lenten Focus: Sabbath and Jubilee
6 Weeks through April 5, Palm Sunday; No class 19 April (Easter) Led by Ruth Jewell
Ruth will be our guide on our 40-day Lenten journey and asks for us to take a deepened focus on the concepts of Sabbath and Jubilee and how they can provide grounding and focus in our busy lifestyles. Ruth will help us dig into the book Sabbath and Jubilee by Rick Lowery. We invite all to nestle into the meaning of Sabbath as we travel in the reflective season of Lent. Let the church office know if you would like to have a book ordered for you.
Ruth Jewell received her Masters of Divinity from Seattle University, School of Theology and Ministry in 2013. Since Graduation she has been busy studying theology and exploring scripture. When not studying I am reading fun stuff, gardening, and playing with our Chihuahua’s Louis and Esmerelda, our Parrot George and our brand-new member of the family Sweet Pea the canary.
6 Weeks through April 5, Palm Sunday; No class 19 April (Easter) Led by Ruth Jewell
Ruth will be our guide on our 40-day Lenten journey and asks for us to take a deepened focus on the concepts of Sabbath and Jubilee and how they can provide grounding and focus in our busy lifestyles. Ruth will help us dig into the book Sabbath and Jubilee by Rick Lowery. We invite all to nestle into the meaning of Sabbath as we travel in the reflective season of Lent. Let the church office know if you would like to have a book ordered for you.
Ruth Jewell received her Masters of Divinity from Seattle University, School of Theology and Ministry in 2013. Since Graduation she has been busy studying theology and exploring scripture. When not studying I am reading fun stuff, gardening, and playing with our Chihuahua’s Louis and Esmerelda, our Parrot George and our brand-new member of the family Sweet Pea the canary.
Join us for this special season of prayer and reflection,
as the time approaches to remember and engage
in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
as the time approaches to remember and engage
in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
God, we pray that through this season of Lent, by prayers and study and self-giving,
we may pursue more deeply the mystery of Christ’s sufferings;
that following in the way of a cross, we may come to share in Jesus' resurrection
and find a renewed desire for resurrection in our lives and in our world. Amen.
we may pursue more deeply the mystery of Christ’s sufferings;
that following in the way of a cross, we may come to share in Jesus' resurrection
and find a renewed desire for resurrection in our lives and in our world. Amen.