Following God's Beloved

S.B. Matthew 17: 1 – 9

Focal Point: (v.5) “While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said ‘This is my son, the Beloved… with him I am well pleased… listen to him…”

The drama unfolds: Jesus takes his closest associates with him… Peter, James and John go up the mountain with him…

In the Old Testament, Mountains are the places where people encounter the presence of God. Sinai, for instance, is one such mountain, and on that mountain God gave Moses the 10 commandments.

Peter, James and John are eyewitnesses to Jesus’ transformation:
· His face shines like the sun…
· His clothes become white…
· They see Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus.

The Transfiguration of Christ is the first step along the road to the Cross of Calvary… Ash Wednesday may be the first milepost in the Lenten Season, but the Transfiguration is very important to the Message of Lent…

The Transfiguration is important because:
God Glorifies His Son: Peter, James and John are seeing things that challenge their senses… They see their teacher and friend undergoing a change… His face shines like the son… His clothes turn white as snow… They can hardly believe their eyes… suddenly they see Moses and Elijah having a conversation with Jesus… Peter can barely contain himself, he blurts out “Master... this is a great moment… Would it be alright if I were to build three tabernacles here… one for you… one for Moses… one for Elijah???” [Peter reacts the way that we would react… we see God’s hand moving, and we want t commemorate it by setting it in stone…] HERE WE SEE AN EXAMPLE OF GOD DECLARING HIS LOVE FOR HIS SON… God is giving his Son the strength and courage to endure the things that are coming up (Capture – Imprisonment – Trial – Betrayal – Scourging – Crucifixion – Death…)

Our Lives are Transfigured by Christ Jesus: Paul the Apostle writes that “If anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation.”
Paul’s point is that our lives are radically changed when Jesus takes over our lives… Old things are just that… a thing of the past… our former life is passed away… and look…. Something brand-new is in its place…)

Life in the Church is Transfigured by Christ Jesus: There can be no more “business-as-usual” in the church… “Behold, I make all things new…” the voice of God tells us today… This is reflected in our very relationship with Christ Jesus… Not static… but growing every day… from Glory unto Glory…
We are being called upon to look outwardly instead of inwardly… The Temple was not the focal point of the Christian Community… Acts 2 reports that “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.” The fellowship started in corporate worship in the church, but it didn’t end there… It was taken to the streets… to the marketplace… to the place of business… it was taken to the home… Perhaps that is just what God is calling us to do today… Yes, start the process of fellowship right here in the church… Corporate worship is vitally important to the Body of Christ… but it doesn’t end there… Continue the fellowship in each other’s homes… gather together in our homes to Study the Bible… Break bread together… Call a few of our brothers and sisters together… even this afternoon to watch the Patriots trounce the Giants… Call a friend you haven’t talked to in a while and invite that person for coffee… or breakfast…
Challenge for Today: Find a way to show your love for God’s beloved, and find a way to show that love to those gathered around us.

I Bid You Peace...
Pastor Ken+