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"My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness...On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand! All other ground is sinking sand." These words - written in England in 1834 and set to the melody we know today as our young nation was tearing itself apart in civil war - are full of comfort...and caution. Christ and the promise he embodied for us will be a strong foundation. And nothing else will do.
This hymn is based in part on the final words of Jesus' so-called "Sermon on the Plain" from Luke 6. I tend to take most of Jesus' words of comfort as Gospel - meaning they are promises about what God has done and will do for me. But his concluding remarks in the sermon on the plain are much more about what we should do in response to Christ's teaching. This sermon (like the more famous "Sermon on the Plain" from Matthew's Gospel) is the magna carta for the kingdom of God on this side of paradise, describing not just the privileges but also the obligations and expectations for Christians who hope to live in that kingdom.
And what does Jesus tell us we are to do as disciples/citizens? Simply, take his teachings seriously! The kingdom won't be built by flowery words - "O Lord, you are our Lord, Lord, Lord!" - but by faith put into practice. That is the house built on a foundation of stone. That is the hope built on Christ the solid rock. The house we read of, and the hope we sing of, are not in this case referring to the private reality of our soul's fate. This is our hope for a just and righteous world! For something like heaven on earth, not just for us but for all our friends, and neighbors, and even (as the "Sermon on the Plain" emphasizes) our enemies!
Join us on Sunday and be a part of the kingdom-building work rooted in our hope in Christ!
-Pastor Dixon
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