En Casa Como En El Cielo, Mayo 3, 2026

Good morning, church. I hope you've had an encouraging week in the Lord, and what a joy to hear stories like that of Sidney, when simply she has shown us how we can be a little more intentional with those who are around us. And so before we open God's Word, why don't we pray this morning? Heavenly Father, thank you for your love towards us. Thank you for the love that you have shown us through your Son, Christ Jesus. Thank you for the work of transformation that the Holy Spirit does in each of us, and how all of that brings us to speak the good news to others. May your name be glorified this morning, and in Jesus' name we pray. I was reading an article published by an editorial called Morning Brew, and it discussed the impact that social media has on young people and on adults, and how being hooked on social media and technology is impacting our daily lives. And don't worry, today's not a tutorial on how to take phones from teenagers. That I'll let you handle. But it caught my attention what the Pew Research Center revealed. They investigated and came to the conclusion that 48% of teenagers are willing to admit that social media has a negative impact on their social lives. And this investigation was done in the year 2024, revealing that it caused insomnia, depression, and anxiety. And that's 32% higher than the research study showed just two years prior in 2022. In two years, that's how much the negative impact of social media went up, according to young people. To the point that many of those who were involved in the creation of these social networks refused to let their children use the very thing that they created for public use. They're selling something to you for your children to use, but they refuse to allow their children to use it because they recognize the negative impact that it has on their lives. And why does this matter? Because in the era when, theoretically, we should be the most connected, there's a crisis of deep and significant relationships in our lives.

And relationships through church history have been the heart of the gospel. Why is it that the blessing of being able to watch a service online can't be a substitute for living life together? Because church is much more than just consuming content. It's more than just seeing certain events. It's experiencing deep relationships. They're not optional. They're not just something that's good. They're the necessary vehicle for the Christian to experience life in Christ. But those deep relationships should have a purpose in common. And I hope that these three principles encourage us to have the relationships that God calls us to. And so the first principle of how these relationships come about is that we are called to be light. In other words, my relationships will bear fruit if what other people see in me is Christ. Let's read Matthew 5, 13 through 16. You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5 we recognize, we know as the Sermon on the Mount, which begins with the Beatitudes, where the Lord teaches his disciples what a truly blessed life looks like, what it means to be filled with joy in the Christian life. And he says that these blessings are for those who recognize that they are spiritually bankrupt, that they are poor in spirit.

Those are the ones who know that they need God. Those that cry because of their sin will be consoled when they hear the news that there is forgiveness in Christ. And that will give them a desire to live their lives conformed to the justice and righteousness that God demonstrates, to have hunger and thirst for righteousness, and to see that righteousness in their life and how they're living day to day, and to see others living a righteous life. But that also is going to take them to be merciful people, because they're going to realize that our righteousness is insufficient, and no matter how well we behave, we'll always need God's mercy. And because we need God's mercy, then we'll show it to others in accordance with that. And as a result, they'll begin to live with a clean heart within. And they'll have a clearer and clearer perception of who God is in their Christian walk. And as God continues to remove that sin from their lives, they'll be able to see God's glory more and more clearly. And that's going to give them a desire for other people to experience that same thing. Those who are peacemakers. And I'm not just talking about people who win the Nobel Peace Prize. I'm not talking about that. It's those who understand that what mankind most needs is peace with God. And that that happens through the preaching and teaching of the gospel. And in that way, we become peacemakers because we take the gospel to people and they experience that peace with God and with others in their lives. But for those who take action in this service to the Lord, it tells us that those who live this way at the end of the Beatitudes, they will experience persecution. And that's where it says, blessed are those who are persecuted for my namesake. And after giving that beautiful description of the Christian life, it's as if God turns from what he's doing in the life inside of the person. He begins to tell them what the reason is that God does that transformation. You are the salt of the earth.

It's not just so that you would enjoy that blessing to yourself and you can say, oh, thank you, God, for what you've done just in my life for me. Oh, poor outsiders out there that don't know you. Salt, historically speaking, has been such an important mineral in all of society. It's not just so that we can enjoy scrambled eggs a little bit better like you may have eaten this morning. My son, when he eats eggs in the morning, he just starts putting everything on top. And I don't understand how he can eat that. But everybody has a different taste in how much salt they like on their food. But salt would give flavor to food just like it does today. But also in times when they didn't have refrigeration, it was a preservative of food. Also it was something that could be used to clean wounds and cure wounds. And so in summary, salt has had a positive impact in all the areas in which it was used. And so when we as Christians live according to the character that's described in the Beatitudes, we represent that salt to the earth. And so when you arrive to a place, people think, wow, how beautiful it is, how well he treats everyone else. Wow, what humility I can see in this person's life, and that brings an impact to everyone around. The world needs for the disciples of Christ to reflect Christ to them. Because if the salt loses its saltiness, if it loses the purpose for which it was designed, if the salt isn't in a place where it can be used, what good is it for? Except to be thrown out and to be trampled upon by men. And so in the same way, it uses a second illustration here. And it says that we are the light of the world. And when you think about the light, what comes to mind? Direction. Wisdom. Knowing where to step. Bringing light in the midst of darkness.

It doesn't take you long seeing the news to realize the dark world in which we live. The darkness in which the youth live today. And so what do we need when it's dark? We need light to shine in the midst of the darkness. And our temptation is to step out of the places where there's darkness and go to where there's more light and then just be together there with only those who are light. But Jesus is commissioning us in this moment. He is telling us, no, go to those places where it is dark because that's where they need light. Why? It says, so that they may glorify our Father who is in heaven. This passage is interesting when contrasted with those things that Jesus is going to say later. Because it's as if he says, let everyone see all of the actions that you do to glorify God. But later on he's going to say, hey, do these things but don't let other people see it. When you pray, don't let them see you. When you give generously, don't let them see. What I mean is that there's two different situations happening here. It's necessary for people to see how Christians live, but not with the attitude of the Pharisee. Seeking out recognition for themselves. But rather saying, all of this that I do, it has nothing to do with me. It's just the pure grace of God. All of these resources that God has given me, they have nothing to do with me. It's just the pure grace of God. And so on the one hand, don't do things the way that the Pharisees did them to bring attention to themselves. But on the other hand, when you do things the right way, you're going to bring attention to he who deserves all of the glory and honor. We are called to be light.

And how does this happen? It's when we do something that is called hospitality. We are called to be hospitable. My relationships will bear fruit if people feel loved through the way we invite them into our lives. 1 Peter 4, 8 through 10 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace. I want to assign a homework assignment to you for you to do. You're going to realize that as you read the book of Acts, you'll realize that the majority of the commands in the book of Acts are towards how we should behave to one another in fraternity within the church, what we call the one another's. And you might ask, why does this matter, Pastor? Because many have used these texts to generate what's called the social gospel. And so they look at these texts as a way to transform the social settings, or social systems. And you might be asking, what's he talking about? Let me go a little deeper. When you see the book of 1 Peter talking about being hospitable, he's writing to the diaspora, the Christians who had been persecuted for cause of the gospel. And so because of this, at the root of this, you had Christians hiding in the homes of other Christians, people who you didn't know. And so Christians were called to receive these Christians in hiding with hospitality. The famous verse of Matthew 25, where it says, whatever you do for one of these little ones, I don't know if you've read the whole text, if you read the whole text, it says, these my brothers. It's talking about how the church relates to one another. And so the assignment is to study.

But they have turned these passages and taken them out of context to mean that they apply to any person outside of the church. There are other passages that talk about being good and kind to those who don't know Christ. But these are talking about in the context of how Christians treat one another. When it talks in Acts chapter 2 about how everyone had everything in common, it's not talking about having everything in common with those who are outside of the church. It's talking about within the church. And so now I'd like to land the plane. Why does this matter? Because the way in which those outside of the church see the children of God treat each other within it, it caused them to ask themselves, why do they love each other so much? The fact that we in Fellowship en Español are a multicultural, bilingual campus. It's to show the world that it doesn't matter your tribe, language, or nation, that we can be one together in Christ. When the world preaches segregation, the church preaches unity in the Gospel of Christ. To the point that those who are outside the church can't understand how people from so many different backgrounds can be together. And so maybe socially they would say that we have good reason not to be together or we have reason to hate each other. They see that on the contrary we love one another. And so what does this challenge us to do? That this fervent love that shows mercy to one another, that it would be impactful for those on the outside. That when they see Christian community, they'll think, man there must be something there for them to love each other that way. And so understanding that context, do you see the importance of having fellowship together? And in the midst of that inviting those who are on the outside into that community. So that they can see the love that God has given us for each other. Romans 15.7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God. Church, let's be honest. That thing about loving one another doesn't come naturally to us. Do you like Mexican beans or Costa Rican beans? Do you like better what Cubans do in their free time or what people from Venezuela do on their day off? Do you prefer hot dogs or tacos?

And you know you discuss these things and now you have a world war. But Paul says accept one another. He doesn't say change all of your differences so that you can be together. That's why you don't have to say, oh you guys have to be exactly how I want you to be. That's the crazy thing about the gospel. That in the midst of being so different, we can accept one another the same way that Christ accepted us. It's difficult church. Only the supernatural love of Christ in our hearts allows us to love people. The unity of the world is based on the specific things they have in common. But we're united despite the many differences that we have. By the blood of our Savior. And it says it at the end of Acts chapter 2. When they looked at that community. It says that the believers found favor and grace among men. And that God added to their numbers to those who would be saved. If you don't have a d-group, today is an important day to encourage you to be a part of one. But if we attempt to live with a character that reflects the light of Christ. If we don't have a d-group, today is an important day to encourage you to be a part of one. To have friendships and brothers in Christ in which we serve one another. But if we don't preach with our mouths Christ and Christ crucified, well then we're not living in accordance with the purpose to which we were created. It won't be enough, church. The final principle is this, that we are called to share the best news, the best news. My relationships will bear fruit if they hear the only message that can change their destiny. Our purpose is not for others to look and see, oh, how beautiful their friendships are. It's so that others would experience new life. Look at what 2 Corinthians 5.17 says. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come.

What we need is for people to hear the gospel so that their relationships can be restored. And so we receive an assignment in the next verses. All this is from God who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. In these few verses, the word reconciliation appears five times. And it says that given to us is the ministry of reconciliation. It's a beautiful way of talking about the ministry of sharing the good news. It's as if we go to two people who are enemies, and we're the mediators with a message so that they can recover their relationship. It's as if we need someone to come to us and say, hey, you have a problem with God. The Bible says that you're an enemy of God. But let me tell you how you can have peace with him. To have this ministry of reconciliation, we need to tell people their position before God. This week I was studying in Revelation the part where Christ comes on riding a white horse in order to judge. And so you can ask the question, do you want to have an encounter with Jesus who came riding on a donkey, or do you want to come and have an encounter with Jesus who came riding on a white horse? When a king would arrive riding on a donkey, he was coming in peace. But when he came on a horse, he was coming in war. We need to tell people, you're on the one of two ends. In peace with God awaiting your reward, or an enemy of God awaiting judgment. I want to finish with this illustration as the worship team comes forward.

There were two friends and they would go fishing every week. And there was one of them who was a believer and one of them who was not. And the one who wasn't a believer showed up on one of their fishing trips and he said, friend, you won't believe it. Someone came to me and told me about this person named Jesus who died on the cross for my sins and that through him I can have forgiveness of sin. And now I have a new life. And his friend said, oh, that's so good, I'm a believer like you. And the other one stopped for a minute and he said, wait a second, you knew about this all these years that we've been fishing? And you never said a word about it to me? I hope that we would not be like that person. Let's reflect and ask ourselves, are we inviting people into our lives so that they can hear the gospel and the good news of Christ? Are we using our hobbies and our jobs and our families to cultivate relationships with a purpose? You can grab one of these cards that Alfredo has and you can use that to invite people so that they can come and share with us Sunday morning. They're in English and Spanish. You could invite some friends to come see, we're going to get together and watch some World Cup games. Eat together and have fun. Because Christians have fun too, we don't just sit and read the Bible every second of the day. And they can see that we live a normal life for those that wouldn't believe that. Church, develop relationships with a purpose. Let's stand and let's finish with a song.