On Sunday, April 19, guest speaker Art Hartwick shared a book about Jesus’s most famous sermon and its call to us today.
Many of Jesus’s best known sayings come from the sermon recorded in Matthew 5-7. Starting with the Beatitudes (“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”) to the metaphors of spiritual salt and light, to some of Jesus’s most famous parables, and to his prayer for us, it’s been an inspiration to millions of followers over the centuries.
Hartwick grew up Methodist and married a Friend in a Quaker ceremony. He became a member of Poughkeepsie (N.Y.) Meeting, which at the time had both a pastor and open worship. He shared how his life had been changed by reading Martyn Lloyd-Jones’s 1962 Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, a collection of transcribed sermons.
In his talk, Hartwick focused on the “eight elements” from the Sermon on the Mount, mostly from the Beatitudes. He realized that he had violated each of them to some degree or another and changed his life. Attenders then shared some of their own stories of coming to Quakers and becoming convinced.
Afterwards, everyone moved to the social room to enjoy a particularly bountiful potluck luncheon.
Cropwell Quaker Meeting is a small-but-growing Friends community in Marlton/Cherry Hill NJ. Come join us for public worship every Sunday at 10am. At Cropwell we treasure our friendliness, our desire for a community grounded in the Holy Spirit, our in-person worship, and our genuine desire for new members. We try to have special events every month, such as introductions to Quakers, speakers demonstrating Quaker faith in action, or all-ages crafts. Learn what to expect if you visit.