Baptists Preaching is a column from the Baptist Standard. It is not an effort to advance any one theology or style but to present what a collection of Baptists considers a word from God. Likewise, Baptists Preaching offers a repository of Baptist preaching for future study and research. To recommend a sermon to be featured in Baptists Preaching, please contact [email protected].
Jared Alcántara: Persecuted for the Cause of Justice (Matthew 5:10-12)
Jared Alcántara, associate professor of preaching at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary, examined three lessons from Jesus’ teaching on persecution contained in his Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew 5-7.
Persecution will come to those who follow Jesus. Followers of Jesus should expect to be persecuted but should not go out looking for it. Alcántara cited the number of Christians who were persecuted in the last year.
Those who are persecuted can respond by letting insults slide off “like water off a duck’s back.” The persecuted are strengthened by knowing God is with them and that they don’t suffer anything worse than Jesus.
Also, those persecuted for following Jesus can find strength in knowing they are blessed and that “God’s rewards will outlast your trials,” Alcántara said.
An English translation of his sermon manuscript is available here. El manuscrito en español de su sermón está disponible aquí.
This sermon was delivered Feb. 27, 2022, for the morning worship service of First Baptist Church Waco en Español.
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