Matthew 5:13,15 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men... Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

1. Because you are a blessed disciple in relation to God, you also have a new identity in relation to the world as "____________ and ____________."

2. How not to live in the world:

-We lose saltiness by ____________ ______.

-We cover the light by ___________ _______.

3. God works through us in our ____________ to accomplish His ____________ in the world!

Scripture Readings
Isaiah 58:3-9a
1 Corinthians 2:1-12
Matthew 5:13-20

Take It With You!

Here we will offer thoughts and meditations on the message to help us as we contemplate and discuss and wrestle with what we are hearing.

Sin and human evil have not prevented God's ongoing work within creation. So effective is God's activity as Creator that the nonhuman creation continues to bring forth its bounty in spite of ecological destruction perpetuated by humans beings. Moreover, in spite of their rejection of God with the fall into sin, people continue to function as God's instruments for the good of creation, even if they do so unwittingly and unwillingly: farmers, carpenters, all "who handle creation's wares, carry God's gifts to their neighbors, even if their purpose is not always to serve." Luther was even willing to grant that at times the godless "fulfill the second table of the Decalogue so brilliantly that they 'indeed at times appear holier than Christians.'" Although all people have God-given roles within life, only those called by God will understand that these roles are places where God has called them to serve in specific ways; only believers will see themselves as coworkers with God on earth.

Robert Kolb and Charles Arand, The Genius of Luther's Theology.