Passage: Matthew 5:1-16
Recent headlines have been startling: Nuclear Reactor Unstable. US Cruise Missiles Hit Libya. World Wide Food Shortage is Real. A natural reaction to those headlines is fear. The people of ancient Jerusalem were also wrapped in fear. The headlines of their day could have read Rome Continues Tyranny While Countless Rebels Executed. Into that broken world stepped an itinerant Jewish rabbi who quickly started the whole realm buzzing. He preached a gospel of love and relationship with authority and passion. He performed miracles that defied explanation. He upset the religious hierarchy and threatened the power of government officials. He caused the greatest stir in human history... and the world is still buzzing about him today. This week we start our Easter series, Headlines, with a look at the radical teachings of the one who prompted the headlines – and changed the world.