Redeemer Presbyterian Church

Jesus shows that the moral law of God must be understood both in the "letter" and "spirit" of the commandments. Focusing only on one or the other leads to errors and legalism.

The fifth commandment includes a promise of long life in the land. This isn't just about individual longevity, but societal prosperity rooted in healthy families. Honoring parents, even as adults, reflects our obedience to God and contributes to a stable and prosperous society.

The book of Obadiah contains a surprising communication of hope amidst judgment. Despite Judah's sin and lack of repentance, God promises her restoration based on His sovereign election and mercy. This is not the case with Edom's, however, who receives a declaration of destruction from the Lord. Romans 9:13 helps us understand the mercy God showed to Judah (Jacob) and the severe judgment He showed to Edom (Esau).

Being salt and light is rooted in keeping and teaching God's moral law.

As the "firstfruits," Jesus' glorious bodily resurrection guarantees believers that we will enjoy a glorious bodily resurrection, as well. This knowledge motivates us to persevere in hope through the everyday affairs of our lives.

In cleansing the temple, Jesus is setting true worship apart from hypocritical worship. True worship is conducted in spirit and truth, where God is graciously gathering outcasts from all nations into His house of worship. Hypocritical worship is founded on the lie that a sinner can escape the wages of his sin simply by going through the external motions of worship.

"Persecution" not only includes severe forms, like torture and martyrdom, but also milder forms, like reviling and slander. Genuine Christians will experience persecution because of our commitment to Jesus Christ and righteousness. The temptation is to deny Christ in order to escape persecution. While this is a serious sin, Peter's denial and restoration shows that God's grace abounds even above such sin.

When we distinguish between natural, preternatural, and supernatural, we understand how demons, like Python in Acts 16:16, can manipulate and deceive through diviners and fortunetellers.

Peace-breakers destroy peace. Peace-fakers say, "Peace, peace!" when there is no peace. Peacemakers are active in restoring and maintaining peace, using the law of God to identify sin and call sinners to repentance, and the gospel of grace to attain peace and reconciliation.

The Christian's war against "the world" is against unbiblical ideologies, not people. We dismantle "strongholds," false worldviews, with spiritual weapons. The goal is to capture people's minds for Christ, liberating them from bondage to sinful ideologies by bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. We fulfill the Great Commission when we faithfully fight against the right enemy with the right weapons.

Being merciful is more than just words or feelings; it's compassion in action. As the parable of the Good Samaritan demonstrates, mercy is the action of loving one's neighbor. Having a pure heart is a life committed to God, even in our imperfection. It's being focused on God's faithfulness and trusting in His daily mercies.

God calls us to minister to messy people in messy situations. While we may prefer clean and comfortable lives, abundant spiritual harvests come from engaging with the messes of others. Jesus modeled this by entering in our mess to bring salvation. We must embrace the uncomfortable work of serving others, offering grace and love in their challenging situations, for the glory of God and the growth of His kingdom.

The Beatitudes describe the heart of genuine disciples of Jesus Christ.

Amos condemns Israel's aristocracy for hypocritical religiosity and oppressing the poor. He warns them of God's impending wrath, urging repentance before God's patience runs out, but the aristocracy ignored this warning because they were trusting in their political system and material wealth.

God's delegated authority extends only as far as the jurisdictional boundaries associated with the various institutions and offices He created. Man's attempt to exercise authority outside those boundaries is tyrannical. Christians have at least five options for responding to tyranny.

Summary: The Sermon on the Mount demonstrates the authority of Jesus' words and the importance of actively seeking to live according to His teachings. It underscores that true discipleship is evidenced by obedience to Jesus' commands, not just intellectual assent.

The power and authority of Jesus Christ is demonstrated in how He advances His kingdom through unbelievers and hypocrites, as seen in Judas' apostolic ministry. The key distinction between Judas and the other apostles is that Jesus "kept" the eleven for salvation. We need to examine whether we are truly being kept by Christ. The evidence is our willingness to suffer with Christ.

Psalm 2 reveals Jesus Christ as the Messiah-King who rules over all nations. His long-suffering kindness allows raging sinners to trust in Him, thereby escaping the judgment they deserve. But the day will come when Jesus will dash to pieces all those who have not submitted to Him.

King Ahaz illustrates how true character is revealed in times of adversity. In adverse circumstances, Christians reveal that our hope, comfort, and help is in the Lord.

Jonah was sinfully angry when God showed mercy to Nineveh. His defiance reflects the perennial struggle of aligning our personal plans with God's sovereign plan. We must examine our hearts for anger or dissatisfaction with God's decisions, trusting His wisdom and grace. By faith, we can sumit our plans to His, finding comfort in His promise to work all things for our good.

Christians are called to be thankful. Our gratitude should be both inward (thanksgetting) and outward (thanksgiving), acknowledging God's blessings in all circumstances. True gratitude grows through dependence on God.

Jesus confronted the Pharisees' legalism, showing that the Sabbath is meant to bless, not burden. By healing on the Sabbath, Jesus demonstrated that doing good is lawful and merciful. The Sabbath rejoices in God's mercy and grace.