Southern Hills Sermons

Remembering and Responding - Hebrews 10:19-25

As Christians we believe that God has entrusted us with something precious. God has given us His Word and the Gospel and we have been called to steward the truth that has been given to us. This means that we should be committed to knowing the truth and protecting it from those who would try to distort it. As Paul gives Timothy some final instructions, this is a theme that comes up over and over: The importance to stewarding and standing for the truth. Paul goes to great lengths to remind Timothy of his responsibility to know the truth and guard it from those who would seek to twist or pervert it.

Extreme labor, frequent imprisonments, countless beatings and often close to death. This is the way Paul begins a description of his experience as a minister of the Gospel. He goes on to speak of being whipped, being beaten with rods, being stoned, being shipwrecked, being threatened, being hungry and without food. And that's to say nothing of the emotional burdens. This description from 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 should add weight to Paul's appeal to Timothy to share in his sufferings. As Paul calls Timothy to greater Gospel faithfulness, he repeatedly reminds him of the necessity of suffering. Why was Paul willing to suffer so much? Why would he call Timothy to this kind of suffering? In 2 Timothy 2:8-13 we get a look at what motivated Paul. Here he calls on Timothy to remember various aspects of Gospel and why it is worth suffering for.

The Apostle Paul was called by God and he gave his life fully for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His aim was to know Christ and to make Him known. And for the sake of Christ and His Gospel Paul endured suffering, imprisonment and eventually death. But through it all he maintained joy and hope and he believed that greater joy awaited him beyond this life. Near the end of his life, from a Roman prison, Paul wrote a letter to his faithful partner in the Gospel, Timothy. In this letter he is calling on Timothy to take up the mantle and continue the work of Gospel ministry. As we read this letter it serves as a good reminder to us that we too are called to this work. In chapter 1 Paul makes his initial appeal, calling Timothy to be unashamed and to commit himself to guarding, stewarding and proclaiming the Gospel. Now, as we come to chapter 2, it seems Paul is moving more into instruction. He's giving Timothy instruction about the specifics of the ministry – what he should do and what he should expect. He is helping Timothy see what faithful Gospel ministry looks like.

God Plans to Pour Out His Wrath But Show His Mercy - Genesis 6

We probably all know what it is like to be in a situation where we are hesitant or slow to stand up for the truth of the Gospel. We are a people who are prone to struggling with fear and pride and timidity. For us, the first chapter of 2 Timothy is an important reminder. In 2 Timothy 1 Paul is exhorting Timothy to be bold and courageous and to stand firm for the sake of the truth. He's calling on Timothy to be unashamed, willing to suffer, and to be a faithful guardian of the truth of the Gospel. As Christians it is a message that we need to hear and take to heart. While the heart of Paul's charge is in 2 Timothy 1:8-14, in verses 15-18 he provides some examples for Timothy to consider. The first is a negative example of many people who were ashamed of the Gospel and who failed to be faithful. The second is a positive example of one man who was unashamed and who remained faithful to the Gospel even when it was inconvenient and dangerous.

In Isaiah 58:3 we hear a complaint from the people of God. Even though they were fasting and doing all of the outwardly religious things that they believed would please God, He seemed distant. They prayed, but it seemed like He wasn't hearing their prayers. As we keep reading, we hear God's response. The reason God felt distant, is because the people weren't worshipping Him with pure hearts. They had an outward religion, but their hearts were wicked. As we come to Isaiah 59, we hear a lot more about the sinfulness of these people. In verses 1-15a Isaiah makes it clear that their sin has kept them separated from God and far from salvation. But then something unexpected happens. God sees their wickedness and responds, not with judgement on them, but by sending someone who will defeat sin and deliver His people. The Big Idea: In Isaiah 59 we are reminded of our sinfulness and of our inability to save ourselves. But we are also reminded that God has sent someone who can set us free from our sin – Christ our Redeemer.

There is something that is true in every generation. In every generation there are threats to the message of the Gospel. In every generation there are those who distort the Gospel and others who hope to discredit or even destroy the Gospel. Of course, as Christians we know that God will always preserve His Word and the Gospel will go forward, but it's also important to remember that the primary way that He chooses to guard, protect and preserve His message of salvation is through us, His people. As Paul writes this letter to Timothy, he is writing in part to call Timothy to be a good and faithful steward of the Gospel. Paul knows that there will be false teachers and there will be enemies of the Gospel. So, Paul is calling on Timothy to be bold and courageous and to stand firm for the sake of the truth. He's calling on Timothy to be a faithful teacher and a steadfast guardian of the truth.

There is nothing of greater value than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is a truth that faithful Christians believe, but it's also a truth that can be hard to live out consistently. We are prone to fear and may at times be timid in the way we live out and express our faith in Christ. As Paul writes to Timothy, his son in the faith and his partner in the ministry, he is writing to encourage him to Gospel faithfulness. Knowing that Timothy may be fearful or lack boldness, Paul exhorts him to not be ashamed and to be willing even to suffer for the sake of the Gospel. In 2 Timothy 1:8-14 the Paul is calling Timothy to be steadfast and faithful with the Gospel. While much of this passage is exhortation, in verses 9 and 10 Paul spends some time simply rehearsing the realities of salvation and the grace of God that has made salvation possible in Christ. As we spend time considering what Paul says about our salvation it should remind us of the beauty and value of the Gospel. It should also encourage and compel us to live faithfully and courageously for the sake of the Gospel. It should serve as a reminder of why the Gospel is worthy of our sacrifice and even our lives.

Near the end of his life Paul was imprisoned in Rome for preaching the Gospel. From that prison, knowing that he would soon be killed for his allegiance to Christ, Paul wrote a letter to his friend and son in the faith, Timothy. As Paul writes this uniquely personal letter he is aware of his impending death, but that's not his focus. His focus is on encouraging Timothy to remain faithful. He writes to call on Timothy to press on and to keep doing the work in spite of the difficulties. He tells his friend and partner in the Gospel not to be ashamed of the testimony about the Lord, to guard the good deposit that has been entrusted to him, and to be a worker who has no need to be ashamed. He calls on him to guard the Gospel, to suffer for the Gospel to continue in the Gospel and to preach the Gospel. While this is a letter from Paul to Timothy, it is also an important letter for us. As God's people we need to remember that we are called to faithfulness. As much as ever the Gospel needs to be guarded, preserved, proclaimed and passed on. We have a call to stand in the Gospel and for the Gospel and to be faithful to share this message of salvation with every person, no matter what difficulties may come. 2 Timothy is a good help for us as we consider our calling both individually and as a church, and what it means to be faithful.

The Call to Care for the Church - Nehemiah 1:1-11

Rejoicing in the Incarnation - Christmas Day 2022

The Christmas Story - Eve of the Eve Christmas Gathering

Malachi: God's Faithfulness to an Unfaithful People - The Unchanging God

A Call to True and Pure Worship - Malachi 1:6-2:9

Malachi: God's Faithfulness to an Unfaithful People - Malachi 1:1-5

Malachi: God's Faithfulness to an Unfaithful People - Malachi 1:1-5

In Matthew 6 Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray by giving them a model prayer. When we pray that prayer that Jesus gave us, we begin by addressing God as our Father who is in Heaven. This is a way of addressing God that is packed full of theological truth and that should help us recognize the incredible privilege we have of coming to God in prayer. When we pray to God as our Father, we are acknowledging that through Christ we have been brought into the family of God. That through the sacrifice of Christ God has become our Father and we have been adopted as His children. But, with that said, He's unlike any Father we have ever known, because He is our Father who is in Heaven. When we pray to our Father in Heaven we are acknowledging that He is the sovereign ruler over all things. When we bring all of this together, we should recognize the privilege of prayer. When we pray, we bring our requests to a Father who loves us and who is also fully capable as the God of the universe to answer our prayers. As we come to Psalm 146, we are being called to praise God. To praise Him because He is trustworthy. And His trustworthiness is proven in that He is both sovereign and compassionate. He is the creator God and He cares for the weak, the lowly, and the defenseless.

In Matthew 6 Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray by giving them a model prayer. In that prayer Jesus helps us see the kinds of things we should be praying for. That model prayer ends with this request: And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. When Jesus taught His disciples (and us) how to pray he included this request in which we ask for God's help in our fight against sin. Psalm 141 is, in many respects, an expanded and more detailed version of that final request of the Lord's Prayer. In this psalm we have David asking God to keep him from sin and to protect him from those who sin against him. What's evident from this psalm is that David recognizes the seriousness of sin and he knows that he needs God's help in order to put sin to death. As David prays for protection, both from sin and from other sinners, we have an example of how we should pray. This psalm should give us words that we can use in our own prayers as we strive to put off sin and honor God.

Psalm 139 is a psalm that's known for what it teaches us about God. In this psalm David provides one of the clearest teachings in the Scriptures on the omniscience and omnipresence of God. Omniscience is the reality that God knows all things and omnipresence speaks to the fact that God is always present, everywhere. In this psalm David describes the full knowledge and presence of God and provides illustrations that add color and depth. But while this psalm is a go-to for understanding the nature of God, we miss the point of the psalm if we use it merely as a statement of theology. At the heart of the psalm is how David responds to these truths about God. As we see God for who He is it should impact the way we think and live. It should change the way we handle temptation and deal with loss. It should guard us from worry, keep us from fear and motivate our obedience.

It's no secret that all of us are joy-seekers. We want to be content, to be satisfied, to feel secure, to feel protected - and under all of this is our desire for joy. As we come to Psalm 16 David is asking God to be his protector as he takes refuge in Him. But while David begins with this request the rest of the Psalm is made up of David expressing why he trusts God as his refuge.

When God gave us the psalms, He gave us a good gift. In the psalms we get to hear the greatest songs of all time. Songs written by real people living real lives and at the same time songs inspired by God. Songs that help us understand the character of God and how who He is connects to who we are and how we face life in this world. The psalms are a good gift, and in Psalm 138 David provides us with a song praise, hope and confidence in God. It's a song about answered prayers and the faithfulness of God. A song of surety that God will finish what He has started in His people and in the world. It's a psalm that should lead us to gratitude, renewed hope and strength for the difficult days of life.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). This is what we believe about Scripture, that it is the Word of God and that it is profitable – every part of it. And yet there are parts of the Bible that we may be tempted to move past quickly. There are some parts that are hard to understand. And there are other parts that make us uncomfortable. There are still other parts that seem unrelated to our daily lives. For many, Psalm 137 may fall into all three of these categories. And yet, Psalm 137 is a passage of Scripture that tells us much about God and about ourselves. It's a psalm that exposes us to the seriousness of sin, calls us to a deeper devotion to God and reminds us of the reality of the judgment and justice of God.

Rejoicing in our Justification - Romans 5:1-11 (Baptism Sunday)

The aim and focus of Psalm 135 is pretty straightforward, it's a call for the people of God to give praise to God. And yet most of us know that this is a call we all need to hear. Apart from Sunday mornings it can be easy to neglect our praise of God; and even on the Lord's Day we can gather with hearts that are complacent or cool toward the greatness of God and the praise that He deserves. Thankfully, God has given us passages of Scripture like Psalm 135 to remind us of who He is, to awaken our hearts to see Him rightly and to encourage us to praise Him. For those who are familiar with the Scriptures, Psalm 135 may sound familiar. That's because much of this psalm is made up of verses and phrases that are also found in other psalms or songs of praise in the Old Testament. It seems that the writer of this psalm compiled some of the great truths about God that had already been written, or that were well known among the people of God, and brought them together to spur the people of God on to the praise of God.

As we come to Matthew 7:24-29 we come to the final section of the Sermon on the Mount – this great sermon from our Lord. And this is a conclusion that we must not ignore. It's a conclusion in which Jesus warns us of judgment and calls each of us to consider whether or not we are truly His. But this final paragraph doesn't stand on its own, it's a continuation of a four-part conclusion – and each part reveals a contrast. First, He speaks of two different paths (7:13-14) and then two different kinds of fruit (7:15-20). Third, He addresses two different professions of faith (7:21-23). Now, we read of two different kinds of builders who build on different foundations (7:24-27). As we consider this final contrast and this vivid illustration, we are being called to examine our lives. Are we among the wise who hear the words of Christ and obey or are we among the foolish who hear the words of Christ and ignore or reject them? Jesus helps us see that we all fall into one of these two categories and the end of each group is very different.

As we come to the end of this sermon from Jesus, He telling us about entrance into the Kingdom of God. And as He brings the sermon to a close, He has some hard things to say – things that may make us uncomfortable. In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus tells us that on the day of judgment there will be some who are surprised to find that they are outside of the Kingdom of God. There will be some, who believed true things about Jesus, and who did good things in the name of Jesus, and yet they never truly became His disciples. The reality that Jesus describes is hard to consider – and yet we should be thankful for this warning. In these verses we learn more clearly what it does and does not mean to be a part of the Kingdom of God. Many have deceived themselves into believing they belong to God when they are actually far from Him. With that in mind, this warning is a kindness from Jesus that could save us from the danger of self-deception.

In Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus tells us about two paths and He calls us to enter the path with the narrow gate. This path is narrow and hard, but it's the path that leads to life. In verse 15 Jesus issues a warning, but it's a warning that is connected to the teaching of the two paths. Jesus wants us to know that there will be many who will come along and teach things that aren't true. While there is only one path that leads to life – there will be those who suggest otherwise. In Matthew 7:15-20 Jesus calls on His people, those who are on the narrow way, to watch out for those who would teach things contrary to the truth. This is a call and a responsibility that must be heard and obeyed for the sake of those who would be led astray.

Most people are good people and good people go to Heaven. This is a common belief of many, if not most, in our society. Even those who have a general understanding of the work of Christ and of the Gospel can be guilty of slipping into this way of thinking. Talk of judgment and exclusivity can be uncomfortable, which leads many people to simply believe that only the worst of the worst will be judged after death. While this way of thinking is popular, it's not consistent with the teaching of Christ. In Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus teaches that there are in fact two paths with two different destinations – one leading to eternal life and the other to eternal judgment. But contrary to popular belief, Jesus says that the path to destruction is wide, easy and well-travelled while the path to life is narrow, hard and less travelled.

In Luke 18 Jesus tells a story of a woman who was seeking justice but the judge who had the power to grant justice was wicked and coldhearted. However, Jesus says this woman was undeterred by the judge's refusal to rule and continued to go and plead her case. She kept going and kept asking. She went and asked so much that the eventually the judge decided to rule in her favor. It's a story that Jesus used to teach about the faithfulness of God to grant justice to His people when they ask; because surely, He is greater and will do more than this wicked judge. This story is recorded in Luke 18:1-8 and Luke introduces it this way: [Jesus] told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. And this is a theme that we have reiterated throughout the New Testament. We have this call over and over: To pray constantly, continually and unceasingly. And this is a call that we have included in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 7:7-12 Jesus encourages us to be persistent in our prayers and to pray expectantly – believing that God hears and answers our prayers.

As Christians God has called us to live our lives alongside one another. We are instructed to serve one another, pray for one another, encourage one another and work together for the sake of the Gospel. But of course, we are sinners and so this life together is not always easy. One of the sins that often creeps in and divides us is the sin of judgmentalism. We are prone to self-righteousness and pride and we are often tempted to be critical, condemning and harsh toward one another. To further complicate matters, often we excuse our behaviors under the guise of helping a brother or sister who is in sin. Thankfully, Jesus has gone to great lengths to help us see our sin and teach us how to rightly serve one another. As we continue our look at Matthew 7:1-6 Jesus warns us against hypocrisy. He shows us the difference between self-righteous judgmentalism and God-honoring accountability. He shows us the difference between sinfully judging and lovingly confronting or correcting a brother or sister. He calls us to love and to avoid the pain that comes when we fail to walk in love (Galatians 5:13-15).

Matthew 7:1 may be the most often quoted verse in the Bible. It may also be the most misunderstood. In a society that calls for tolerance and acceptance and inclusion of all, Matthew 7:1 has become the quick reply to anyone who would suggest moral boundaries. We are told, judge not that you be not judged. Of course, close companions to Matthew 7:1 are John 8:7, let him who is without sin cast the first stone; and the second greatest commandment, you shall love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39). Each of these are wielded to silence anyone who would violate societies standards of tolerance on Biblical grounds. That said, as we come to Matthew 7:1, it's important that we see how it's been misused and abused – but that's not the most important thing. The most important thing is that we hear what Jesus is saying, understand it rightly and commit ourselves to obeying His command.

Worry. It's a temptation that is common to us all. We all have things we fear may happen, or things that we fear may not happen. We don't know the future and there are things that are out of our control, and so we worry. We are tempted to worry about big things and small things – things that matter a lot and things that really don't matter all that much. But in Matthew 6 Jesus calls on the people of God to stop worrying. In fact, He says it three time in ten verses – Do not be anxious. And His repeated command should get our attention. Jesus is showing us that our worry reveals something significant about our hearts and about our trust in God. Thankfully Jesus doesn't simply tell us to stop worrying. He doesn't simply acknowledge anxiety as a problem, but He goes on to help us see the solution or the answer for our anxiety. Jesus turns our attention to God and helps us recognize that as those who are in the care of the Father, we have no need to worry. We can replace our anxiety with a deep and steadfast confidence in God.

Throughout the Scriptures we read of men and women who lived their lives with remarkable faith in God and with the belief that there are things worth living for beyond what we can see. In Hebrews 11 we have a reminder of some of these men and women who did things that from an earthly standpoint don't make sense. But they were living by a different standard, they were living for a greater reward than the things of this life. As we read the Sermon on the Mount, we recognize that Jesus is helping us see what it looks like live this kind of life. He is telling us what it looks like to live as citizens of the Kingdom of God. It's a call to live counter-culturally. To love the things that God loves and value the things that God values. To live for heavenly things rather than earthy things. In Matthew 6:19-24 Jesus uses three different ways to identify who or what we are living for. As we consider our treasures, our vision and our master Jesus is calling us to evaluate our hearts. Are we living for God and things of God or for ourselves and the things of the world?

What Matters to God - Matthew 16:13-20

In Matthew 6:1 we get a warning from Jesus. This verse serves as the heading for the entire section (6:1-18). What's clear is that Jesus knows our weaknesses and that we will be tempted to live for our own praise and to long for the approval of men rather the approval of God. In 6:1-18 Jesus deals with three areas of righteous living that He saw being used for the praise of men rather than for the praise of God. Giving to the poor, praying and fasting are all things that God calls His people to do, but they are also things that can easily be used for selfish gain. Using these three acts of piety as examples, Jesus calls us to avoid hypocrisy. He calls us to live for the praise of our heavenly Father instead of living for the praise of people. He wants us to recognize how subtle sin is and that we can take good things and use them in sinful and selfish ways.

To be seen, or not to be seen? That is the question. Early on in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells the people of God that we should live as lights so that others may see our good works and give glory to our Father who is in heaven. But now, just a little further into the sermon, Jesus warns us against practicing our righteousness of the sake of being seen by others. At first glance it may seem like these verses are at odds with one another, but Jesus is not contradicting Himself. Rather, in both cases Jesus is calling His people to pursue the praise and glory of God. As we live God's way we should want people to see Him through us. And, at the same time, we must be careful that we don't desire to be seen in order to be praised by others.

We live in a time and in a culture where we are encouraged, if not expected to have enemies. And not only to have enemies, but live with a sense of enmity towards other people. It's not enough to have disagreements, we are expected to hate those with whom we disagree – and unfortunately, this attitude comes far more naturally than most of us would care to admit. But as we come to Matthew 5:43-48 we hear Jesus calling the people of God to a different standard. While the world says hate your enemy, Jesus says we are to love our enemies.

Retaliation and Responding as the People of God - Matthew 5:38-42

Here's the truth: By nature, we are not honest people. Sometimes we add something to the story to make ourselves look better and other times we hold back details that would paint us in a poor light. In our flesh we are prone to exaggerations and half-truths and even blatant lies. But as we come to Matthew 5:33-37 we hear Jesus calling the people of God to be people of the truth. While the scribes and Pharisees had developed a system of oaths that allowed them to shade or sidestep the truth, Jesus wants us to know that God calls His people to a greater level of honesty. It's a passage about oaths and the misuse of oaths, but beyond that it's a passage about telling the truth.

What does the Bible say about marriage, divorce and remarriage? In a world where marriage is often avoided or minimized and divorce is often normalized and even praised it is important that we consider how God would have us think about these significant matters. As we come to this passage, we must acknowledge that for many people this topic is very personal. Almost everyone has been impacted in some way, directly or indirectly by divorce. For some the topic elicits reminders of the some of the hardest moments of life. Thankfully, as Christians we know that Jesus came to bring grace and forgiveness for all who have sinned and hope and restoration for all who have been sinned against.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus is teaching what it looks like to live as the people of God. What becomes abundantly clear is that God's standard is much different than the standard of the scribes and Pharisees. In fact, Jesus says that the true people of God will have a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees. In Matthew 5:21-48 Jesus offers six examples contrasting the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees and the true law of God. What's clear is that the righteousness of God is a righteousness of the heart and it goes far beyond the lines and parameters of the religious leaders. Further, we can never live up to God's standard – but instead He gives those who are His new hearts – hearts that hunger and thirst for true righteousness. In 5:27-30 Jesus gives the second of His six examples – this time contrasting the scribes and the Pharisees' understanding and application of the seventh commandment with God's true heart behind the command.

It's natural, we all like know where the lines are. We like to know how far we can go without crossing the line. And this is the way many people think about the law of God and being in right standing before God. They believe that there are certain lines that shouldn't be crossed and as long as we don't cross those lines we will be in good standing with God. This a simplified version of the false teaching of the scribes and Pharisees during the time of Jesus. They had taken the law of God and created lines and parameters. They had a system by which they believed they could determine who was right with God and who wasn't. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus is teaching what it looks like to live as the people of God. What becomes abundantly clear is that God's standard is much different than the standard of the scribes and Pharisees. In fact, Jesus says that the true people of God will have a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees. In Matthew 5:21-48 Jesus offers six examples contrasting the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees and the true law of God. What's clear is that the righteousness of God is a righteousness of the heart and it goes far beyond the lines and parameters of the religious leaders. Further, we can never live up to God's standard – but instead He gives those who are His new hearts – hearts that hunger and thirst for true righteousness.

In Matthew 5:17-20 Jesus makes clear that the people of God's kingdom are to be a people who live in righteousness. But Jesus knew that the people of His day had a very confused understanding of what it means to live in righteousness. The religious leaders of Jesus's day (the scribes and the Pharisees) claimed to be teachers of the law of God, but what they taught wasn't the true law of God. In Matthew 5:21-48 Jesus begins to show the contrast between the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees and the true law of God. Jesus is teaching that the law of the scribes and Pharisees wasn't a pure teaching of the law of God, and in order to make His point Jesus uses six illustrations. The great preacher, Martin Lloyd Jones , said it this way: Our Lord knew the importance of illustrating a principle, so here He gives six illustrations of the one truth . . . Our Lord's chief desire was to show the true meaning and intent of the law, and to correct the erroneous conclusions which had been drawn from it by the Pharisees and scribes and all the false notions which they had founded upon it.

As Jesus began His ministry, He began proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. He was calling people to repentance and to following Him. But as His influence grew so did the questions about His teaching. In the day of Jesus our Old Testament was their Scriptures. As the ministry of Jesus grew and people became familiar with His teaching questions began to arise about His views of the Old Testament Scriptures. Does He believe in the Scriptures? Is He teaching a Gospel apart from the Old Testament Law? Is He trying to abolish the Law or replace it? In the last sermon we considered the relationship between Jesus and the Old Testament (Matthew 5:17-18), but that question lays the foundation for the next: What do we do with commands of God? What's our relationship with the Law, and how do we obtain righteousness?

As Jesus began His ministry, He began proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. He was calling people to repentance and to following Him. But as His influence grew so did the questions about His teaching. In the day of Jesus our Old Testament was their Scriptures. As the ministry of Jesus grew and people became familiar with His teaching questions began to arise about His views of the Old Testament Scriptures. Does He believe in the Scriptures? Is He teaching a Gospel apart from the Old Testament Law? Is He trying to abolish the Law or replace it? It seems these were common questions during the days of Jesus' ministry, and they are questions that are still common today. What is the relationship between Jesus and the Old Testament? If we have the New Testament is there any need for the Old Testament? How much, if any of it is needful for today?

Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount with a list of attributes that are found in those who are part of the kingdom of God along with related blessings. What's clear from that list is that those who live as citizens of God's kingdom live counter-cultural lives – lives that are very different from the world around them. Following ‘the Beatitudes' Jesus continues to drive home the point that the people of God will stand out in the world – but this is part of His plan. We are in the world, and our presence is meant to impact the world. Using two metaphors Jesus teaches us how our lives in the world serve to restrain evil and provide a witness to the goodness and glory of God.

The Gospel of Matthew tells us that early in the ministry of Jesus there was a time when Jesus went up on a mountain with His disciples and He taught them. From that time of teaching, we have one of the longest recorded discourses of Jesus. It's a teaching that the church has come to refer to as The Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday morning. That evening He made His first appearance to His disciples and Luke records what He said to them. These are men who had been with Jesus for years, but they were slow to truly understand the nature of why Jesus came. But now they are face to face with risen Lord and He explains it all again. He came to die and rise from the dead, and it's part of the plan that God has had all along. Through His resurrection Jesus fulfilled the Scriptures, accomplished salvation for all who will believe and now He's commissioning His disciples to go as His witnesses to the world. As we consider this evening that Jesus had with His disciples, we should be reminded of the significance of what Jesus accomplished and of the calling we have to take the news of His salvation to the world.

We can often be tempted to doubt God because our perspectives are too limited. If we only look at our own lives or the lives of those closest to us, we may be tempted to wonder if God will be faithful – if God will keep His promises. But when we turn the Scriptures, we have centuries and centuries of proof – God is always faithful to His word. In 2 Samuel 7 we read some of the most incredible promises that God ever made. God promised David that from His line would come a king who would sit on an eternal throne in an eternal kingdom. However, within a few generations the people of God began to wonder if God would be faithful to David. As kings failed and the nation faltered many wondered if God would keep His promises. Psalm 132 is a psalm that recalls the faithfulness of God. In the first half of the psalm, we hear the people of God asking God to remember His servant David. In the second half of the psalm, we get the assurance that God will in fact fulfill all that He has promised.

We live in a world that in large measure disregards the things of God. So much of what God has given us in the Scriptures is regarded by many as outdated or irrelevant for life in today's world. And so, for those who are committed to trusting God and taking Him at His word, there can be a sense in which we feel like outsiders in this world. On some issues the church is being told we are on the wrong side of history, and if we aren't careful we can start to doubt the things we've believed to be true. Of course, we aren't the first generation of God-followers to find ourselves living in a time and place where the ways of God are disregarded. In fact, this is the story of most of history – and it is for people in this kind of situation that Psalm 125 is written. Psalm 125 is a psalm that is written for a people who are living under wicked rule – but here's the encouragement: God will protect, keep and care for those who trust in Him. Psalm 125 is a psalm of assurance for those who trust in the Lord as well as an encouragement to persevere.