Podcasts about his sermon

Introduction: Leviticus 19:18 – You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:34 – You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. I Love My Enemies... (Matthew 5:43–48) ...because of WHO I AM. (Matt 5:45a) ...by WHAT I DO. (Matt 5:45b) ...because I Am CALLED TO BE DIFFERENT. (Matt 5:46–47) Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Small Group DiscussionRead Matthew 5:43-48What was your big take-away from this passage / message?What does it mean to be persecuted? When Jesus said we must pray for those who persecute us, what / how exactly should we pray?Can you genuinely love your enemy if you don't really feel like it? Why or why not?Explain Romans 12:20. How exactly does loving your enemy lead him to repentance? See also Romans 2:4.What did Jesus mean in verse 48 when He said we “must be perfect”?BreakoutPray for one another. AUDIO TRANSCRIPT Open up those Bibles to Matthew chapter 5.As we go through our series, the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter 5 verse 43, Jesussaid, "You have heard that it was said."Stop there for a second.This whole section that we're in right now, if you've been following this series at all,I'm sure you've noticed that that has come up.What is it like?Six total times pastor?Like, "You have heard that it was said, but I say to you."What Jesus is dealing with here is correcting some garbage beliefs.And I've shared with you before, that's my biggest concern for this church is the areaof discernment.We live in a day that there is so much bad teaching out there.And thanks to the Internet, we have access, right?And look, I'm not saying it's all bad, but I'm saying probably for every good teachingyou can find online, you can probably find ten other garbage teaching online.And my concern for the church is people not knowing the difference.And it gets back to what did Jesus actually say?It's the issue that He was dealing with in His day, lack of discernment.Last week we saw Jesus said, "You've heard that it was said, and I for an eye."And Jesus said, "No, no, no, no, no, no."Jesus, as I say to you, I'm paraphrasing, He says, "Do not retaliate."You can walk away from last week's message and say, "Got it.Don't retaliate."So I'm just going to ignore the people that I can't stand.Well, let's keep reading.Verse 43, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate yourenemy.'But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."Oh, no, no, don't ignore your enemies.You have to look for ways to be good to them.You're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.You're saying that I not only don't get to get even with them, but I have to proactivelylove them?Yeah, that's what He said.All right?It's a hard word.So I think we should just stop and pray right now, shouldn't we?I'm going to ask that you would pray for me to be faithful to communicate God's word,accurately and clearly, and I will pray for you to have a heart open to receive what ourLord is teaching us in this part of His Sermon.All right?So let's pray.Father in heaven, as we go through this sermon from our Lord, it's just wave after wave ofthings that really confront our selfish, sinful, fleshly tendencies.And I don't know of one that's bigger than this one.I'm asking, please God, please, by the power of Your Word, Father, by the power of YourSpirit that You would change our minds today, Father, change our hearts and that we wouldn'tjust leave here knowing some things, but we leave here deeply convicted and moved to dosome things.For Your glory and honor, Father.We pray in Jesus' name.And all of God's people said, Amen.All right, let's break this down here.Jesus says in verse 43, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighborand hate your enemy.'"You have heard.You have heard.That's what we've seen in this series.The scribes and the Pharisees in Jesus' day did what's still happening today.They twist verses in the Word of God to justify whatever it is they want to justify.For them, Jesus called them out.They were justifying their lust.They were justifying their hatred.They were justifying their getting even with people.He calls them out again.You've heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy."That's what the scribes and the Pharisees said.And you're like, "Well, was that in the Old Testament?"Well, the first part was, kind of.Here's what I mean.Here's what's actually in the Scripture.Leviticus 19-18.Look at this."You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but youshall love your neighbor as yourself.I am the Lord."So you see, with the way that they sort of restated that, they ran into four problems.Four problems.The first problem is the scribes and the Pharisees left out the "as yourself" part.Did you notice that?Well, I love my neighbor, but as myself, that's a bit too much.Let's keep it vague.Because if we keep love vague, then whatever we do, we can just say it was love, right?So keep it vague.God never kept it vague.That was their first problem.Second problem is the scribes and the Pharisees redefined neighbor.And their definition of neighbor was, "Those I choose to love."That was their definition.So do you realize...the reason I'm laughing is, do you realize what that made the command?God's command is, "Love those you choose to love."That's convenient.Third problem, the scribes and the Pharisees totally added the "hate your enemy" part,right?Totally added that.You're not going to find that anywhere in the Old Testament.My vague love is for my Jewish neighbors.What about the foreigners?Hate them.And that leads us actually to the fourth problem.Because that whole love your neighbor as yourself, that was in Leviticus 19, 18.But if you go down a few verses to verse 34, it says, "You shall treat the stranger whosojourns with you as the native among you.And you shall love him as yourself."For you are strangers in the land of Egypt.I am the Lord your God.See the scribes and the Pharisees, they thought that they were honoring God by hating foreigners.And we get asked this question a lot."Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait."In the Old Testament, didn't God tell the Israelites to exterminate the nations thatwere living in the Promised Land?And don't we have all these imprecatory psalms?Like what's up with that, huh?Well, it's like the eye for an eye thing that we talked about last week.The scribes and the Pharisees took a thing that was designed for Israel as a nation andthey turned it into a personal thing.So the whole exterminate the enemies in the Promised Land.Yeah, absolutely.Israel's wars weren't personal vendettas.They were commanded by God to wipe out those nations because those nations did horriblethings.And God says, "You are not going to pollute my nation Israel."So Israel, you're going to wipe them out.And if you have a hard time with that, I would just like to lovingly remind you that Godis allowed to make those calls because vengeance belongs to Him.Okay?And God's whole purpose in that was to protect Israel as a nation in that land.That's why when you turn to your New Testament, you don't see any imprecatory language inthe New Testament.It's for Israel.And individually, we're talking about personally now, what about the people that hate me?What about the people that are my enemies?Love them.Love them.Look at verse 44, Jesus says, "But I say to you," pretty clear, isn't it?Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.You see the whole loving your neighbor command includes everyone around you, including yourenemy.Now breaking this down, when He talks about enemy, He's talking about your personal enemy.Okay?It's not this collective group idea.It's somebody who personally hates me.And Jesus says our response is to love them.That's the word agape.That is the highest form of love.That's self-sacrificing love.That's the kind of love that we should have for our enemy.And the verb tense here is constant.It's continually.You need to continually love your enemies.And you're like, well, who is my enemy?Who is it that hates you?Who is it that you know that if you tried to call them, they wouldn't answer the phone?If you sent them a text, they wouldn't reply.Or vice versa?Who is it that has been slandering you, making accusations against you?Jesus says we not only love our enemies, but you notice He ratchets it up even more whenHe says pray for those who persecute you.Those who persecute you.Those are your worst enemies.Where Jesus is speaking about your enemies who they don't just hate you.They actively hate you.These are the people that make an effort to show you how much they hate you.And as we've been going through the Sermon on the Mount, we see that a true believerin Jesus Christ is someone who is defined by the Beatitudes.And if you were here for the Beatitudes here, do you remember what the last one was?The highest rung on the ladder of following Jesus Christ is when we're persecuted.And here's the part where we stop and ask, are we persecuted?Are we really persecuted?Because here's the thing.I think for a lot of us our knee-jerk reaction to that would be I'm not persecuted, but thereality is you probably are.But you just haven't realized it.Here's what I mean by that.Here's what I mean.Persecute doesn't just mean somebody physically attacks you.Somebody murders you.Somebody gets you arrested, thrown in jail.Yes, that is persecution, but those are the most graphic manifestations of persecution.The word "persecute" literally means to pursue.That's what it means.And listen, listen to this.Persecute means somebody is chasing after you to constantly criticize and condemn you.So I imagine most of you are being persecuted right now according to the true definitionof persecution.Think about it this way.Was Jesus persecuted?If you're like, "Oh yeah, when He was crucified."Of course!But He was persecuted His entire ministry because what were they constantly doing?The proper definition.They were constantly - read the Gospels.They were constantly pursuing Jesus.They were - how would we say it?They were out to get Him.That's what persecution means.I mean, read your Gospels.They were constantly looking to criticize Jesus and assaulting Jesus, accusing Jesus."You did this in the Sabbath and you shouldn't be doing healing this way and your disciplesdidn't wash your hands and what's up with the fasting?"They were constantly, constantly, constantly after Him.That's what persecution means.And if you really follow Jesus, you have people pursuing you in that way too.Don't shout out any names.But do you have somebody at your workplace, for example, that's always watching you,always looking to get their little remarks in, get their little digs in,always looking to criticize anything you say or anything you do.That's persecution according to the proper definition.They're pursuing you.Maybe you have that family member.Never approves of a thing you do.The bum just can't do anything right and they're always vocal about it.Getting their little shots in, their little passive aggressive comments, they're alwaysout to get you.That's persecution.Maybe it's on social media.You know anything you post.You know that person is going to show up with their snarky little comment.That's pursuing.That's persecution.Jesus says we need to pray for the people to do that to us.The people that are out to get you.Jesus said pray for them.So when was the last time you did that?I don't know about you but I have a list of people that I regularly pray for.When was the last time that you loved your enemy?And you're like, why in the world would I do that?Well let's keep reading.Jesus says in verse 45, "So that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven."Why would you love your enemy?Why would you pray for people that are constantly out to get you?It's not because of who they are.It's because of who you are.That's the sermon that our Lord gives.That you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.It's not because of who they are.It's because of who you are.We just confess that so much of our lives, our attitudes, our moods are determined byother people, good or bad.People have a way of just like governing our lives.Here's what I mean.Your service, you go over to a giant eagle and you run into an old friend that you haven'tseen in years."Oh, that puts you in a good mood.Oh, it was so great catching up."That's going to put you in a good mood for the rest of the day, right?Or somebody makes a really jerky comment to you at work intentionally wanting to getunder your skin.Then that's just like wreck your day and you're in a bad mood for days over one jerky comment.And I would bet if you had a bad day last week, if you could point to a day last weekor like, "Oh, that was a bad day," I would be willing to bet that it had something todo with people.You're laughing because it's true.And Jesus here is saying, "My people don't react to people.My people act according to the Word of God."So let's unpack this for a few moments, shall we?When you're outlining, I want you to jot some things down.I love my enemies.Can you say that?You're like, "Not now."You will in a few minutes.I love my enemies.Number one, we already touched on this.We're going to drill a little deeper here.Number one, I love my enemies because of who I am.Look at this again.This is Jesus' whole rationale.Why would I love my enemies, Jesus?Lord, why would I pray for the people that are constantly out to get me?So that You may be sons of Your Father who is in heaven.This is where Jesus starts Your identity.You love Your enemies not because of who they are, but because of who You are.Jesus is in essence saying, "You love Your enemies because..."It's a family tradition in our family.You have family traditions.You have family traditions.You know what I mean?Every family has on brand things that they do, right?Like some families, they're like, "We're campers.We go camping."Yes, we have a house, but for a while we like to pretend that we don't.That's just what we do in our family.We live in a canvas enclosure in the wildlife.Okay, but that's your family thing.For some families, it's like, "We're beach people.We love the beach."Our family loves the beach.We love the beach.That's our family thing, right?Some families are sports families like, "Oh, we're baseball.We're a baseball family.We love the box and we're on the church softball team."And we're like, "We love baseball."Every family's got their thing, right?I mean, I remember growing up, our family.Our family had our thing.I remember when we were teenagers, Aaron actually came over to our house for Thanksgiving.And they had the stuffing out and the turkey and all the dressing and all that stuff.And I just remember our family was passing around the table a bag of funyons.And I just remember Aaron sitting there going, she looked like she saw a ghost.I'm like, "What's the matter?"She goes, "Why are you passing around a bag of funyons?It's Thanksgiving."And I'm just like, "What's Thanksgiving without funyons?"Like, "We're not the weird ones here."And then I got older and realized that we were.Every family's got their thing.That's what Jesus is saying here.Like, "Hey, hey, hey, we're in God's family."He said, "You know what we do in God's family?Do you know what we do?We love like God."And God loves His enemies.You're like, "Who are God's enemies?"Everyone.Do you realize that?Literally every single person on the planet is an enemy of God until they are reconciledto God in Jesus Christ.That's what Paul said in Romans 5, right?"If while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son."See that's the glorious reality of the gospel of Jesus Christ.When you receive Jesus Christ by faith, when you believe that He died to take away yoursin, when you believe that He rose from the dead to give you eternal life, when you turnfrom your sin and receive Him, God changes you from an enemy of God to a child of God.And now we are a child still living among enemies of God, child of God.Ephesians 4, spilling over to Ephesians 5, says, "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted,forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you.Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children."This is what we do in our family.We love like God.And as His children, we imitate our dad.Do you ever notice that kids love to imitate?Do you ever notice that?Kids loved to imitate adults.It was made painfully aware to me, oh, many, many years ago, a couple decades ago at thispoint we had foster kids.Before we had any of our own kids, we had foster kids.And I remember, one little boy, he was five years old, his name was Walter, and we'd beplaying the PlayStation.We were sitting there, playing the PlayStation, and look, I was a perfect gamer back in theday.But sometimes the stupid game would glitch or something, and my guy would get killed.And when that happened, I remember I'd put the controller down, and I'd be like, "Oh,for Pete's sake!"Well Walter would be playing video games with me, and I remember he'd be playing a videogame, and he'd just randomly throw his controller down and go, "Your pee stinks!"Like no, no, no, no, no, no.No, it's for Pete's sake.But he was...It never clicked with him.He was constantly commenting on the smell of urine.Your pee stinks.Why did he do that?He was just imitating me.Right?Kids love to do that.And as a child of God, we naturally, we supernaturally want to imitate him.So when that guy at work is constantly out to get you, and you love him, and you repayhis nastiness with kindness, and then somebody else comes in and says, "Well, what are youdoing?You love that guy?That guy's a real jerk to you!"And your response says, "Yeah, I get that from my dad."You see, I see people as dad-season.Lost.Blind.Slave to sin.Heading to hell.You know what my heavenly dad taught me?He taught me that I don't need to retaliate.And my heavenly father taught me I don't need to ignore them.My heavenly father taught me that people like that need compassion.And I know right now somebody's thinking, "Yeah, I love your enemies.I see it.I hear it.Pastor Jeff, you don't know what this person said to me.You don't know the horrible things that they said to my face.You don't know the horrible things they said behind my back.Pastor Jeff, you don't know this person for years has been just out to get me."Look.You're right.They don't deserve it.You're right.They've been miserable.But you, you love them not because of who they are, but because of who you are.You're a child of God.And your heavenly father, he loves his enemies.Right?So I love my enemies because of who I am.Secondly, number two, write this one down.I love my enemies by what I do.I love my enemies by what I do.And you might be sitting here going, "Ah, yeah, this love your enemy thing.I ain't feeling it.I ain't feeling it."And I would say, "That's okay.You don't have to feel it."But you do have to do it.Because look, when the Bible talks about love, agape love, it's not an emotion.Listen, you don't have to like them.But you do have to love them.And biblically, love is an action.Here's what I mean.Love is an action.First, John 5.3 says, "For this is the love of God that we keep His commandments."Jesus said the same thing.What is it?John 14, 15.Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."John 15, Jesus said, "Abiding in Him is keeping His commandments."Notice the Bible never calls us to stir up some kind of emotion.Loving God is a choice.And yes, we worship God with our emotions in song and worship, yes, but that is thefruit of a choice to love God.The proof that you love God isn't based on your feelings.The proof that you love God according to our Lord is based on your actions.And listen, church, love works the same way with your enemies.You are not called to love your enemies by conjuring up gushy feelings.You're called to love them by your actions.You're called to love them by actively blessing them.Why?Because that's what God does.Look at verse 45, the rest of it.He says, "For He makes His Son rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on thejust and on the unjust."God is so kind to sinners.Did you ever stop and think about that?Have you ever stopped to just marvel at the glorious truth that somebody can live theirentire life and completely ignore God?And they can still have a pretty good life on the earth.Isn't that astounding?Isn't it amazing that somebody can live their entire life hating God, speaking against God,speaking against God's people, speaking against God's truth.They can live their whole life and do that, and they can still have a good life on theearth.In God's kindness, He still lets them have sun and rain and a million other good things.You can hate God, still have food and friends and laughter and family and health.And yeah, the heart hearted may refuse to be thankful or acknowledge this, but regardless,God does it anyways.God's kindness says little about them, but it says much about Him.And Jesus says, "Take note, children of God, you show love for your enemies by what youdo for them.You show love for enemies by actively seeking their good."Like, well, what does that look like, Pastor Jeff?What does that look like?Okay, so you've got a nasty, older family member who's always hated you.Go do your yard work.You got a jerk co-worker always looking to get their little shots in on you?Look for ways to sincerely and genuinely compliment their work.You got a nasty neighbor?Find out what they like and treat them.Hey, I saw your garden, and the other day I was at the store and I saw that there wasthis magazine about gardening, and I picked it up for you.I thought you might be interested.I don't know.Just get on your face and ask God to show you how you can show kindness to your enemy.Romans 12.20, Paul quotes from Proverbs 25.He says if your enemy is hungry, feed them.If he is thirsty, give him something to drink.For by so doing, you will heat burning coals on his head.When I was a young Christian, when I read this, I had this idea that if you do goodto people that aren't good to you, like if you meet their needs, they're going to havethis like mini Sodom and Gomorrah experience on their head.Like I'm going to be nice to you, and it's going to rain lava on your head.I'm burning!Like that will show them.And then I learned that that's not what that means at all.It was actually an Egyptian symbol that they would put hot coals in an insulated pot andcarried around on their head.It was a sign of repentance.See, Israel had the sackcloth and ashes.Israel had the pot of coals on their head.And that's what God's Word is driving us to.Because no one's ever been one to Jesus because a Christian matched their pettiness.No one's ever been one to Jesus because a Christian just flat-out ignored them.It's kindness that leads to repentance according to Romans 2-4.Show love to them.Actively show love to them.Why would I do that?Because it's not about who they are.It's about who you are.And one more.I love my enemies because of who I am by what I do.In Romans 2-3 we get to another because I love my enemies because I'm called to be different.Look at verses 46 and 47.Jesus says, "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?Do not even the tax collectors do the same?And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doingthan others?Do not even the Gentiles do the same?Stop there.If you're like, "You know what?I love the people that I like.I love the people that I like."Well, then you do what people who don't even know Jesus do.And our Lord here is saying, "What's so special about that?"Oh, so you think you're great because you do what's normal.Well hang on a second.Let me shine up your participation trophy.Why is it that we want applause for doing what's expected?Here's an example.Well Aaron and I, we always look at each other and kind of laugh.When we hear a dad say, "Yeah, I had a baby sit my kids last Monday."Do you hear somebody say that?You're not going to say it anymore.I had a baby sit my kids last Monday.I believe that's called being a father.You didn't baby sit your kids.What did your wife pay you $10 an hour?Like look, I'm not giving you a cookie because you did what was expected.That's what our Lord is saying here.You're expected to be different because Christians have something that no one else in the worldhas.Do you know what that is?Like the Bible?Not everybody has that.Like compassion?No, a lot of people have that.Christians have something that nobody else in the world has.You know what that is?God living in them.In other words, you should be different.I mean, anybody can go one mile.That was the law.That's expected.Anyone can give up a shirt that they lost legally in a lawsuit.That's expected.And here our Lord is saying, "Anybody can say hi to their friends."That's expected.But God expects and empowers us to do more, to be like Him.So do you do what the world expects?Or do you do what God expects because God's called you to be different than the world?Do you have a heart like God?We'll find out.We'll find out because it's revealed not in how you treat your friends, it's revealedin how you treat your enemies.You love them.Not because of who they are, but because of who you are.Oh yeah, there's one more verse.One of the most deeply convicting and challenging verses in the whole Bible.Jesus says, "You therefore must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect."In the context of this teaching, obviously, he's talking about the way we love, right?You must love perfectly the way your heavenly Father loves perfectly.That's what Jesus is saying here.And look, you and I, we look at that verse and we say, "I failed.I failed."We all have.And actually, remembering the beatitudes, step one and two of the beatitudes was recognizingthat you failed.And you're like, "Man, I'll never be perfect."But God says you must be perfect.You know what that means?It means I always have room to grow.And today we're talking about loving your enemies.And maybe right now you're saying, "You know, I knew that.I knew that, but today I'm encountered by this calling in a fresh way and I realizenow I need to grow.I want to grow in this area."It's grace.It's grace.God has made us perfectly righteous in Jesus Christ.God has adopted us as His children, and He is constantly changing us.We don't deserve anything, but God has given us everything, even though we were His enemies.It's grace.You get that?Then like your Father, give it.In just a moment, we're going to be gathering around the Lord's table as a church.And it is the Lord's table that reminds us that we are grace people.Because in essence, what we are remembering, what we are celebrating, what we are declaringwhen we take the Lord's supper together is the Lord is saying, "I saved you."Not because of who you are, but because of who I am.

What is your perspective on God's moral law? As Christ began to teach the crowd in His Sermon on the Mt, He addressed the misconception He came to abolish the law. God's moral law is a reflection of His unchanging character; it is eternal. What matters is how we respond to it. Can we truly say, "O how I love thy law"?

When He came, Jesus brought something new to the world - the gospel of God's grace. As Jesus closes out His Sermon, He charges His disciples to look at what He brings and how it is better than everything He is replacing (2 Timothy 4:3-4). What we need is a Shepherd (John 10:1015) and Jesus challenges us to compare the results of His work (John 13:3435) to the results of the religious leaders of His day (Matthew 7:15). We must believe it. How do we identify a message that leads to life?

It would be an understatement to say that Jesus was the greatest preacher who ever lived. His Sermon on the Mount, His Sermon on the Plain, His Upper Room Discourse are just a few examples of the matchless ability He had to communicate spiritual truth. Some people believe that His greatest sermon was one that is called the Olivet Discourse and that's the one we begin considering this morning.

It would be an understatement to say that Jesus was the greatest preacher who ever lived. His Sermon on the Mount, His Sermon on the Plain, His Upper Room Discourse are just a few examples of the matchless ability He had to communicate spiritual truth. Some people believe that His greatest sermon was one that is called the Olivet Discourse and that's the one we begin considering this morning.

For part 1 of Pastor Cana's Teachings of Jesus series, we go to Luke 6:27-36. In the text, Jesus gives His Sermon on the Plain and instructs listeners to live a life of love. Showing love to our friends and family is easy, but it's when we love our enemies that we model Christ.

Today’s sermon was given by special guest, Jeff Walther. He has spent many years in radio and teaching at Georgian College, until recently retiring. He is a long time member of our church and spends some Sundays giving Sermons at churches in our area as well as at our very own when Pastor Ruttan is away (like today). His Sermon is titled ‘Always winter, never Christmas', a take on C.S. Lewis quote from The lion, the witch and the wardrobe. The essence of the piece is imagining the world as if Jesus had never been born and highlighting the positive influence he has had through history.

This week we take our first big step into the Greatest Sermon ever preached.  (And no, I'm not talking about the one I'm going to preach this week!) I'm talking about a single message that JESUS taught, often called THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT! We'll look at the part of His Sermon that many consider to be “the introduction”.  This part is often called “THE BEATITUDES”. Looking back over the course of my life and study of the BEATITUDES, I see how the LORD has brought me to a richer place of understanding of these teachings from JESUS, and in so doing, has made His entire Sermon more accessible and life-giving! Consider this your personal invitation from me to watch or listen to this message as we explore these truly LIFE-GIVING WORDS OF JESUS! Pastor Joe Still

Jesus warned that not only will some reject the Gospel message, but some will reject the Gospel messengers. Indeed, Kingdom servants will face rejection from at least three sources — the religious, rulers, and even relatives. Not wanting to leave His servants on a negative note, Jesus sets forth the expectations for Kingdom servants in Matthew 10:24-42. In this final section of His Sermon for Kingdom servants, Jesus explains why the rejection comes, how not to respond to the rejection, but also that Kingdom servants will be rewarded for their service.

This morning, Saint Christopher's was pleased to welcome the The Rev'd Eric Tarver. Pastor Tarver is the preacher and pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Beeville, Texas. His Sermon today was about the role and the cost of worship our Blessed Lord. We were also happy to welcome the members of the Bethlehem Baptist Church Choir to sing in our Liturgy. Pastor Tarver's text was the beginning of the 12th Chapter of the Gospel according to Saint John.

Gospel of Luke, Chapter 6, verses 36-38Jesus is preaching His Sermon on the Plain and culminates it with the message - Be Merciful as God is Merciful. Today, we take time on the podcast to look deeper at what that invites us to. What do mercy and holiness look like? And how does it differ from perfection and purity? In a word? It invites us into the Flow of God.

Rev. Nate Hill, pastor at St. Michael's Lutheran Church in Winchester, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Luke 7:1-17. After Jesus concludes His Sermon on the Plain, Jesus goes to Capernaum, a place where He has been received favorably in the past. A centurion there sends the elders of the Jews to Jesus in order to request healing for one of the centurion's servants. Before Jesus arrives, the centurion sends more friends to Jesus. The centurion recognizes his own unworthiness to have Jesus come to him, yet also knows that just the Word of Jesus will bring healing. Jesus marvels at the centurion's faith, which stands as an example to Christians still. Later, in a town called Nain, Jesus meets death head on. A particularly tragic case confronts Him, as the only son of a widow has died. Jesus touches the bier and raises the man to life, a precursor of His own resurrection on the third day and the resurrection of all the righteous on the Last Day. This is the true Christian comfort in the face of death. “The Beloved Physician's Orderly Account” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the Gospel according to St. Luke. The Evangelist wrote his well-researched account of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection so that Theophilus would have certainty concerning the things he had been taught. As we still read the Word of God recorded by St. Luke, our gracious Lord gives us that same certainty that Jesus is our Savior.

Pastor Glen Thomas leads an in-depth study of Luke 6 which includes Jesus choosing of the 12 disciples, performing many miracles, and teaching in His “Sermon on the Plain.”

Text: Luke 6:20-26 Pastor Shawn Merithew What Jesus gives us in these opening seven verses of His “Sermon on the Plain” is four blessings followed by four woes, thereby contrasting for us two ways of life. Jesus takes the things that no one wants – poverty, hunger, sorrow, and persecution – and tells us that these are the very things that God blesses. Then He says that everything the world wants – money, food, entertainment, and popularity – are exactly the things that bring woe and regret. In this sermon, we explore the first three.

In the early part of His Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Then to stress His point Jesus repeated His claim with more emphasis and in a dramatic way. Jesus' statement introduced some tension, tension that has remained controversial within Christianity. Jesus has not abolished the law, yet he has fulfilled it completely. So which is it, does the law continue or has it ended? Today’s Life App addresses this question and presents how we as Christians can daily live these important words of Christ.

We have big worries because we have little faith. Christians have a chance to shine in our anxious world because - unlike everyone around us - we don't have to worry. And, since we've been taking Jesus seriously in His Sermon on the Mount, we could say that it's wrong for us to worry. Wrong because we have clear promises from a faithful Shepherd. Today Jim will wrap up his sermon, Managing Your Stress. Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am and WRZN 720AM (Gainesville & Ocala, FL) at 7:30am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand. You can purchase a copy of this message, unsegmented for broadcasting and in its entirety, for just $7 on a single CD or $2 as an MP3 download. RS02182021_0.mp3Scripture References: Matthew 6:24-34

Today we will be looking at quite a few Bible verses, but one key passage is what Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew, chapter 5. In this Sermon, Jesus tells us what we should do when we find it hard to live the Christian life, when we face opposition all around us. Our prayer is that these words of scripture will give us all the strength that we need to face the future.

Christopher and Riley have guest Morgan Aldous back on the podcast this week to explore correspondences between the alchemist’s ascent of the Mountain of the Adepts through seven stages of alchemical transformation and our own ascension of the eight rungs of the ladder of the Beatitudes to personal transformation as taught by Christ in His Sermon on the Mount. The correspondences they find between the widespread idea of the eight beatitudes as rungs on a ladder, ultimately leading us upward to the presence of God and the peace found therein, point the way to personal transformation and peace, and peaceful community with our fellow man in a Zion society.

Who are those who mourn and why did Jesus spare a thought for them in His Sermon on the Mount? Pastor Ben reflects on our brokenness and source of comfort.

The dangers of anger as taught and confirmed by Christ in His Sermon on the Mount.

"In the book of Romans 12:17 the apostle Paul is declaring the spiritual principles that our LORD JESUS taught from HIS SERMON on the Beatitudes. That we are not to live our lives as those unbelievers of our LORD JESUS. By resulting to the sometimes evil tactics of behaviors like revenge. When we allow GOD to protect and keep us in those tense situations the outcome will be in HIS MIGHTY hands where we can be assured all will be well! My special guests are author, speaker Michelle Cole and bringing 'WORD UP' inspirations is gospel rapper MOG EHA The Spiritual. Join us on Sept. 17, 2020; Sun. @ 2pm PST/ 4pm CST/ 5pm EST and call (646) 564-9839 to listen LIVE! *Hosted and produced by Ron E. Jefferson (FB) ronaldjefferson1@aol.com *TWITTER - ronejefferson60 *Instagram - ronaldjefferson1

Jesus had many uncomfortable things to say in His Sermon on the Mount.  Among the issues He covered was the topic of divorce.  And as uncomfortable as the subject is, as followers of Jesus Christ we must have a Biblical understanding of marriage and divorce. In today’s teaching, Pastor Gary shares the two Biblical grounds for divorce and sensitively discusses the topic with grace and truth.

Jesus had many uncomfortable things to say in His Sermon on the Mount.  Among the issues He covered was the topic of divorce.  And as uncomfortable as the subject is, as followers of Jesus Christ we must have a Biblical understanding of marriage and divorce. In today’s teaching, Pastor Gary shares the two Biblical grounds for divorce and sensitively discusses the topic with grace and truth.

8.23.20 - In Matthew, Chapter 7, Jesus continues His Sermon on the Mount with a special passage on Asking, Seeking, and Knocking. What does this mean for us? Listen in!

I felt nervous about a five-week prayer class I agreed to teach at a local church. Would the students like it? Would they like me? My anxiety was ill-focused, leading me to over-prepare lesson plans, video slides, and class handouts. Yet with a week to go, I still hadn’t encouraged many people to attend.In prayer, however, I was reminded that the class was a service that shined light on God. Because the Holy Spirit would use the class to point people to our heavenly Father, I could set aside my nervousness about public speaking. When Jesus taught His disciples in His Sermon on the Mount, He told them, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house” (Matthew 5:14–15). Reading those words, I finally sent out a class announcement on social media. Almost immediately, people started registering—expressing gratitude and excitement. Seeing their reactions, I reflected more on Jesus’s teaching: “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (v. 16).With that perspective, I taught the class with joy. I pray that my simple deed becomes a beacon and encourages others to shine their light for God too.

By Gary Petty in Nashville, TN - June 13, 2020 - One of the most misused and misunderstood teachings of Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount—Judge not lest you be judged. This sermon expands on what Jesus meant, using the immediate context of that statement as well as other scriptures in the Bible. Be warned: its full meaning is a two-edged sword that cuts both ways.

On this episode, Jay and Isaac chat with Skye Jethani. Skye is a speaker, consultant, minister, and the author of several books, including Immeasurable and What's Wrong With Religion?. He also serves as the co-host of the popular Holy Post Podcast. In Skye's most recent book, What If Jesus Was Serious?, Skye guides us through The Sermon on the Mount, to reveal how this collection of well-known teachings from Jesus is also one of the most ignored when it comes to the way so many Christians actually live their lives. What if the reason Christianity has lost its influence in culture at large isn't because we take Jesus too seriously but rather, because we don't take him seriously enough? What if, as Skye suggest, "society is hungry for precisely the kind of integrity, gentleness, kindness, and love Jesus reveals in His Sermon on the Mount?"

Jesus wrapped up His Sermon on the Mount by saying "everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock." No one should live their lives in fear or insecurity. We need to begin with the Author of life and truth - and that's God! In this episode, Rick and Sean discuss a bit more deeply the contents of Rick's message on May 24th, proving that it's essential to start with a Biblical view of God before if we're going to have a Biblical Worldview. You can listen to Rick's message here: https://www.roswellgrace.com/2020-05-rock-solid-sermon Build your Biblical Worldview Library: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/23P91MV9NJ6GF?ref_=wl_share Build your Prayer Library: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3EGW902H1KHMU?ref_=wl_share For more information about Grace Community Church: https://www.roswellgrace.com/

Are you ready for more? Are you ready for breakthrough? Are you ready to step into all God has for you? Well, Jesus spends some of His Sermon on the Mount making sure that we understand that PERSEVERANCE PAYS OFF!

You Are the Light of ChristAt the Feet of JesusMatthew 5:14-16Pastor/Teacher: Ken DelageMercy Hill Community Church2020.04.19 Well, good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us this morning. Open your Bible, if you've got it, to Matthew 5. And if you don't normally attend Mercy Hill, let me just say thank you for being with us this morning. We really see it as one of the silver linings of this time that some folks who aren't, for whatever reason, able to join us in person, have been able to join us online and we're really glad you're here. Perhaps, Lord willing, a few of you would be able to join with us when we do get back together, Lord willing, as soon as He enables that time to come. Total Darkness So, we're in a series going through Jesus’ greatest sermon, His Sermon on the Mount. We're in Matthew 5. We’ll be looking at verse 14, but before I get into it, I just want to welcome another special group of guests who are with us this morning, and that's the kids. Kids, thanks for doing church with us again. You guys are, like, setting records for how many sermons you've listened to in a row. Right? I'm really glad you can be sitting there and listening with Mom and Dad and considering these things together. Hey, I want to start by asking you a question: have you ever been in a cave? Have you ever been, like, in a real cave, like, a deep cave; you go in and go underground? Now, I got to go in a cave a while back with my family; it’s called Grand Caverns. It's in Virginia, but it’s not real close to here. And, you know, you go in and they take you on a tour of this cave, and it is deep. And you walk and walk and walk, and the walls are all rocky and, kind of slimy, kind of wet. Right? And it kind of smells, I don't know, like the underground; whatever that smells like. You know what they did to us? After, like, 20 minutes of walking way deep into this cave, they turned the lights out. Let me tell you what, it was dark. I mean dark. Like, you think it's dark in your room at night, but listen, there was no night light. There was no light down the hall. There was no little glow from the alarm clock or a little moonlight, starlight through the window. We're talking no light. Total darkness. Inky, pitch blackness. You know, that can be kind of scary. All of a sudden you feel, sort of, turned around, isolated, alone. You don't know where to go, what to do. You know, the passage before us, Jesus is talking about darkness, but it's a scarier darkness. it's a deeper darkness. It's a darker darkness, because He's talking about spiritual darkness. But the good news is He's also talking about spiritual light; a better light, a more important light, a more brilliant light than the light that our eyes can see. So, this is good stuff that we get to look at this morning. So, let's begin by just looking at His words together, giving attention to what He said, and then we'll seek to explain it and understand it. So, Matthew 5. We’ll be in verse 14 down through verse 16. Follow along as I read this. “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.” So, I want us to consider what Jesus said. I'm going to give us an outline that we can, kind of, follow along to help us as we go. The Absence of LightSo, point number one, the absence of light. Jesus uses a couple of word pictures in here to describe what this light is like, and one of them is a word picture of somebody lighting a lamp in a house. Now, you know, we don't light lamps in the house very often anymore, but it's roughly equivalent to turning the light switch on, Right? I mean, you know, they would have a little oil lamp with a little wick. They’d have to actually, physically light it, and having done that, they would not cover it up because that wasn't the point. Right? In the same way, we don't turn a light on and cover it up. In fact, we put lights in the ceiling or up on a stand and it gives light to all in the house. So, why did people a long time ago do this? Because it was dark in the house! Right? I mean some things have changed but some things haven’t. Right? And so, what this is pointing to is the reality that it is dark in the world. If we are called to be lights in the world, the implication of this and the word pictures that Jesus used, is that without the light of Christ in the world, it is dark in the world. Friends, that is a long, solid, and terrible reality. Jesus said He is the light of the world over in John 8: “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” He is the only light of the world. And if there's a corner of the world, so to speak, where the light is not on, there's not an alternative light. There's no “spiritual match” that can be lit to see dimly. There's no flashlight or, you know, cell phone; where you can turn that little bright light on, on your cell phone. There's no alarm clock by the bed. There's no other source of light in the world, and apart from the light of Christ, it is inky black. It's cave darkness. And this matters. This matters because spiritual darkness obscures the most significant and important realities in life. It obscures things like: why do I exist? What's the meaning of life? What's the purpose of existence? Who am I? Who is God? What is truth? What is eternity? What should I be about in preparing for the end of my days? All of that is lost in darkness when there is no light. All of that is obscured. The Light Inside You So friends, before we get into the main part of the passage, which is the call of Christians to be light, I want to first ask: do you have that light inside of you? Do you have the light of Christ shining in you? Most people, who I'm talking to, can talk well about light. Maybe you've grown up in a Christian home, maybe you’ve been around Christians and you know how to talk the talk, you know how to talk all about light, you’ve heard all about light. Friends, there is a difference between hearing about light and seeing. You know, I watch these YouTube videos—I think they call it a “V-blog”, a video blog—this kind gentleman does, he just kind of tells us about his life, right? And I watch him because he's blind and he's helping sighted people understand what it's like to be blind. And I just find it fascinating to hear about the world as he experiences it. One of the things he talks about is the idea of color and, you know, people told him all about color, so he can tell other people all about color. He can say things like, “The sky is blue,” and, “The Sea can be blue,” and “Ice can be blue,” and, “Eyes can be blue,” you know. He knows all of those true things, but blue he doesn't know. Blue is just a word, just a concept floating out there. He's never seen. He doesn't know. Friends, is the light of Christ a word to you, or is it illuminating you? There is all the difference in the world. Seeing is different than hearing about sight. Looking at the sun is different than having it described to you. Friends, you cannot hope to be a light to others until Christ is the light within you. So friend, if you don't have that light within you, let me encourage you to cry out to God today and ask him to give you the light that you need, that you could see God clearly. Maybe you've experienced it where other people seem so sure, but inside you’re like, “I just don't know. I can't get there.” Call out to Him. We are not the light of the world. We can't make light in our hearts. Jesus is the light of world and He came so that you could see, so that you could have light. So, call out to Him. Ask Him for this. This is a request pleasing to God. He loves to answer these kinds of prayers, so keep asking until he does. And you'll know when He does because you'll see. The Essence of Light Alright. So. good. So, we talked about—the reality of this passage is that it's really calling Christians to be light in the world. Jesus knew that his days on earth were numbered, that He had less than—at least less than—three years at this point of living and ministering, and that He was equipping His disciples to carry His light in them to the world. So what does that even mean? What is light? What is Jesus talking about? Well, that brings us to our second point. So number one, the absence of light. Number two, the essence of light. The essence of light. What is the essence of light? What does Jesus mean? Well, you can see the answer in verse 16 if we read it together. “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.” There's a parallel in the passage. It says, “let your light shine so that they may see your good works.” Light is good works. What is the light of the believer? It's the life of the believer. It's the life, which is living out good works in the presence of others; good work seen by others. That's light, but okay, but then what are good works? What does Jesus mean there. Well, good works, this is a broad category. This is everything a believer says and does because they're following Jesus. So, everything we would say because we follow Jesus, you know, words of praise and adoration unto God; words of worship unto Him; words of encouragement to those around us; words of love and compassion; words of correction; words in defense of truth; words in defense of the weak; all of these things fall under the broad category of good works, but good works certainly tends towards the action side, doesn't it? It’s works, after all. So, these are works of worship unto God, right? Of time spent in His presence, of sacrificing unto Him. These are actions and works towards our fellow men, of loving those around us; giving generously to those who are in need; defending those who are weak; giving meaningful care to those around us; all of these things are good works that the believer is called to walk. And so, it's, kind of, just living out righteousness, publicly. If you've been with us, you know, we went through the Beatitudes, all of these Beatitudes—being hungry and thirsty for righteousness, being merciful, being pure in heart—all these things lived out in front of others. That's good works. And what the Passion says, is that those works are transformed into light. So, you do something that is a work—you're caring for somebody in need—and that care has a luminescent quality to it. That work tends to turn the light on and people can see differently. Friend, you are called to live a life that is illuminating in a dark world, that's casting light and casting out shadows around you. So, this is what the essence of light is: it is living out good works in a way that's not hiding them, but rather, that’s public, so that others may, in fact, see and give glory to God. The Presence of LightSo that brings us to point number three, the presence of light. So, we've had the absence of light, the essence of light, and now the presence of light. What is the presence of light bring? What is the impact of it? “…let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Let your light shine so they may see. What’s the effect of light? In a word, sight; that's the effect of light so that they may see. Now, what are they going to see? They're going to see your good works, but that's not all they're going to see. Because they see something in your good works—which I find profound and wonderful—they're going to see your good works and give glory to you. No! That's not what they're doing. They're seeing your good works and they're giving glory to your Father in heaven. This is remarkable, because most of those around us have decided that there is no Father in heaven; that God isn't real; that God doesn't exist; that if He does exist, He hasn't made Himself known; you know, all those arguments that are out there in a world which pushes away the knowledge of God. And someone who has spent their life pushing away the knowledge of God and convinced themselves that God isn't real, they see your good works and it is as though a light has turned on, and all of a sudden, “zapped”, is what God is like right there. That's what He's like. He's like that. Oh Glory. Oh, give glory to Him! This is a wonderful reality. See, here's why this functions: because your good works are only partly yours. They're yours in that you do them, but they're His because He empowers them. He empowers all the good works that we do; God's power lies beneath every good work. His goodness flows through every good work. His righteousness is being expressed in your righteousness. When you love, His love is seen. When you care, His care is seen. When you show concern for justice, for the poor, for the weak, then the concern of God is seen for justice and for the poor and for the weak. See, your good works are ultimately His good works. I'll tell you what's true about me. If you see good works in me, you can be sure they didn't start here. You can be sure that those are coming from Him, that all the good that we have comes from Christ. Friends, this goes back to the idea, right? He is the light of the world. So any light worth shining is that light which, ultimately, we’re reflecting from Him. He's the source of light. Friends, Christian, what grace is ours? I mean. come on. Just consider what God has done for us. I mean, it's not like we were the likely candidates for this. It's not like we had a bunch of good works lying around when God came. No! We had a bunch of wicked works. A bunch of sin and shame. Evil. God saved us despite our wicked works and He saved us out of our sin. He saved us by Grace. He rescued us. He redeemed us by his blood. He made us righteous as a gift, for we’re justified. And now, He's kneading that righteousness into the dough of our lives. He's working it out into our lives, such that it's even seen by others. Of course, it's not perfect yet. Of course, we're not always perfect in our good works, in our righteousness, and yet, the Scripture is clear. They exist now and others may see by them (Mt. 5:16). This is a tremendous work of grace! Consider what God has done in you, dear saint, and consider this, that He's not done. Right? As much as He has brought us up out of darkness and into light, oh, so much more awaits. The best is yet to come; for you, for me, for every believer, because we're going to see Him as He is, and we’re going to be like Him, and the light that was just begun in us will be filling us. Holiness will reign in resurrected bodies, in eternity. Glory to God. How good is God to us? What cause of praise and gratitude is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He didn't leave us in darkness. He brought us to light, and He's taking His from one degree of light to another until we are with Him in glory with unveiled faces. Praise be to God. Responding to the CallSo, how would God have us respond to this passage? So, what's the call of this passage? I think the call is relatively easy for us to discern. You pick it up on your first reading, right? We're to be that city on a hill that's not hidden. We're to be that lamp that has been lit and placed, strategically, to give light to all in the house. And then it says, “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.” So, we're called to let the light of Christ—which He's given to us—shine through us. And I think that's probably the best way to, kind of, summarize it; allow the light of Christ within you to shine through you. Allow the light of Christ within you to shine through you. So, if you're going to allow the light of Christ within you to shine through you, what can we be about? How are you going to do that? Stay Near to ChristTwo thoughts as we close. The first thought: If you're going to allow the light of Christ within you to shine through you, stay near to Christ. Stay near to Him. He is the light of the world. If you want to be giving light to others, you got to be receiving light from Him. Stay near to Him. Draw near to Him each day. We are but dead branches apart from the vine that is Christ. Oh, be connected to that vine on a daily basis, be drawing your life from the vine that is Christ, be drawing the light from the vine that is Christ, that His light would dwell within you. Friends, this is Christianity. This is being dependent on the Holy Spirit every day. We’re not just filled with the Spirit on day one and then we move on; no, we need the Holy Spirit of God every day. If you want to be a light in this world, then the first thing you're going to confront is the darkness that still hides in the corners. Oh, call out to the Spirit of God. Ask Him to be at work within you, illuminating Christ afresh to you day after day after day.Let Your Light ShineAll right, so allow the light of Christ within you to shine through you by, first, saying you’re in Christ and then, second, by not hiding your light. There's the picture in here of putting the light under the basket. I am convinced that this is very tempting for most, or probably all, of us at different times to, in our concern for our own reputations, not want to draw, kind of, uncomfortable attention. And friend, make no mistake; this is not about exalting ourselves and showing off. That's not what this is. There is a “living out loud” that were called to, a working out our salvation in public and in private, wherever we are, simply, consistently, humbly, in a way that does not bring glory to us, but brings glory to your Father who is in heaven. Oh, saints, that is the heartbeat of the believer; to give glory to God who is in heaven. So, don't hide your light. Allow your works of praise to God and love for others to be seen, in season and out of season, wherever you are. You know, we talked a minute ago about all that God has done for us through the gospel. Listen, if you want to be one whose light shines, this comes from the place of gratitude. This comes from the place of amazement at what God has done. All right, so allow the light of Christ within you to shine through you by, first, saying you’re in Christ and then, second, by not hiding your light. Friends, He has done great things for us. Allow that to fuel your heart, your desire to be a light to those around us. That will fuel your desire because you will see others in darkness and you will remember what that's like, and you'll want life for their sake. But friend, it's also going to fuel when you recognize, “Oh, here's an opportunity to give glory to my Father who is in heaven. I could bring glory to Him right now by doing this.” O’ Lord, would you use us? O’ Lord, would you use us to bring glory to your name? Friends, Christian, allow the light of Christ within you to shine through you, because there is this tremendous effect at the end of it. It gives glory to your Father who is in heaven. That's worth it. That's wonderful. That's amazing that sinners like us could be used in that way. Oh, allow the light of Christ within you to shine through, that others may see, that others may have light, that God may receive glory, because our Father who is in heaven, He is worthy of all praise. He is worthy of all honor. He is worthy of all glory. May God be pleased to use us to glorify His great name. Closing PrayerLet's pray. Father, that is our prayer this morning; that you would use us to bring Glory To your great name. Lord, if there's anyone here that doesn't know you, I pray that they would come to see you for the first time. Would you do that? Have them call out to you, humble themselves, call out to you and meet them with the light of the world. And Lord, use us, your people, to bring glory to your name. We are a Spirit-dependent people; we can't do this on our own. We rely upon the light of the world to be life in this world. So, we invite you, Holy Spirit, fill us afresh today Lord, I pray for Mercy Hill. Fill us afresh today and each day, that we would live as lights in the darkness unto your name and your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Amen.Friend, great to be with you this morning. Looking forward to the day when we can be in the same place together, but God is good to give us this opportunity; give Him praise for it. May he meet you this week with the light of Christ. Amen.

Right now, most of us are worried about the virus and our health and loved ones. We’re concerned about our jobs and 401K and retirement. We’re anxious about the US economy and the future. Jesus knows that and He speaks wisdom in these famous sayings in His Sermon on the Mount.

This Daily Message's Sermon Series is from our CLC Congregation St. Paul Lutheran in Vernon, British Columbia. Pastor David Reim's Sermon is from the book of Matthew 26:59-68. His Sermon theme is Fix Your Eyes on the Master May We See The Master's Sincerity. May the Holy Spirit help prepare your heart and mind for the Lenten Season. May the Lord bless your Week ahead.

Right after teaching His followers what prayer should look like, Christ deals with three important kingdom principles. He shows us that how we deal with forgiveness, fasting, and finances is very important. All of these things must be dealt with in light of our Heavenly Father. The Father’s heart is to be *replicated in us*! That has really been the central teaching of Christ throughout His ‘Sermon on the Mount.’ These three topics are especially relevant in this time of worldwide pandemic and panic. We can look to the Father! We can be at rest! We can walk in Kingdom of God principles! Join us!

This Daily Message's Sermon Series is from our CLC Congregation St. Paul Lutheran in Vernon, British Columbia.  Pastor David Reim's Sermon is from the book of John Chapter 4:31-35.  His Sermon theme is See the Master's Faithfullness to His Father.  May the Holy Spirit help prepare your heart and mind for the Lenten Season.  May the Lord bless your Week ahead.

In Matthew 5:21-26 of His "Sermon on the Mount," Christ drew a strong contrast between His teaching on certain key matters of life and the teaching that had been presented to the Jewish people by their leaders for centuries - teaching from the Old Testament that they had both altered and expanded upon so that it was not anything similar to God's original meaning.  In each of the six subjects of this section, "Reinterpretations of the Law" (murder, adultery, divorce, oath-making, retaliation, and love), He stressed HEART-righteousness.     Learn what the Lord had to say about the sin of murder!  It goes a whole lot further than the actual killing of another person.  In fact, every one of us is guilty of "murder" the way the Lord defines it!     The Lord also laid down some very specific steps for reconciliation with a Christian brother or sister in this section of His Sermon.  

Psalm 41:1 (NKJV)41 Blessed is he who considers the poor;The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.You may have heard of the blessings Jesus spoke of in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-10). Here’s a “blessing” from the Old Testament that is less well-known: “Blessed is he who considers the poor” (Psalm 41:1).The Hebrew word translated “considers” means “to take thought for others.” The word translated “poor” means “those in need.”There are many people around us who are poor—in love, in hope, and in the knowledge of God. Even though we cannot solve all their problems, we can show them that we care.We may not have lots of money, but we can give of ourselves. We can let needy people know that we’re thinking of them. We can listen as they tell their stories. We can treat them with courtesy and respect. We can pray for them. We can write letters of encouragement. We can tell them about Jesus. If we can do nothing else, we can love them.Think about those who live only for themselves, always trying to get ahead, looking for the next thing to make them happy. Compare them with people who give themselves to others. Which ones possess inner calm, strength, and joy?The place of God’s blessing is easily entered: Consider the poor.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/yourdailybible)

Jesus spoke these words in His Sermon on the Mount in Galilee to people who regularly traveled south to Jerusalem to present their offerings on the Temple Mount. This was the great altar located just outside the doors of the temple. Thousands of worshipers brought sacrificial animals to be offered on this high altar.

"You are the salt of the earth." "You are the light of the world." Jesus proclaims to us these God-given identities of "salt" and "light" in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:13-16). We are who we are by God's grace, and our identity has a purpose that impacts the world around us. We see the importance of salt and light in their relationship to other things. Likewise, we do not live for ourselves. Having been satisfied by Jesus, we are free to love and serve others.

Original Broadcast: May 2010 Monthly Theme: Fifth Commandment [Jesus said:] "I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment." (Matthew 5:22) Keep Not Angry Jesus had just begun His Sermon on the Mount. Having gone through the Beattitudes, He started to clarify the Law for His hearers. "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.' But I say to you whoever is angry with his brother WITHOUT A CAUSE shall be in danger of the judgment" (vv21-22). Jesus comes and lifts the Law off the page. He says don't look just at the letter of the Law. Look to the Spirit behind the Law. It's not just the outward act of murder that is bad. It's the internal anger that leads a person to want to murder his neighbor. The outward act is the visible manifestation of the piling up of the inner anger towards another. The first angry thought is just as sinful as the murderous act. With this in mind, we see how this is probably the commandment that we break the most. How often we get angry with people for little things. Shoot! How often we get angry with the computer sitting in front of us because it didn't do what we wanted it to do! We're angry people. It's our nature. But we pray that God forgives us our anger as it does just as much damage to the person we're angry against as if we had killed them. Let us always continue to pray that the Lord will strengthen us so that we will not succumb to our natural inclinations toward anger. Keep not anger in your heart. Let God's love flow through you to everyone around you. Amen.

Pastor Stephen Thee continues His Sermon on the Mount series entitled "Upside Down, Inside Out."

Pastor Stephen Thee continues His Sermon on the Mount series entitled "Upside Down, Inside Out."

Pastor Stephen Thee continues His Sermon on the Mount series entitled "Upside Down, Inside Out."

Pastor Stephen Thee continues His Sermon on the Mount series entitled "Upside Down, Inside Out."

Pastor Stephen Thee continues His Sermon on the Mount series entitled "Upside Down, Inside Out."

Pastor Stephen Thee continues His Sermon on the Mount series entitled "Upside Down, Inside Out."

Pastor Stephen Thee continues His Sermon on the Mount series entitled "Upside Down, Inside Out."

Pastor Stephen Thee continues His Sermon on the Mount series entitled "Upside Down, Inside Out."

Understanding the Sermon On The Mount, begins with understanding the ‘Kingdom of God.’ The Kingdom of God exists wherever we find the Rule and Reign of God. One of the reasons Jesus came into the world was to demonstrate perfect submission to the authority of the Father. His Sermon on the Mount gives us a portrait of what Kingdom life looks like- a life lived under the Rule and Reign of our Father in Heaven. As Jesus submitted to the authority of the Father, we are now called to submit to the authority of Jesus, our King. The Sermon on the Mount teaches us what life looks like in the Kingdom over which Jesus Rules and Reigns.

“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” (Matthew 5:9) In this seventh (out of nine) of the Beatitudes with which Christ began His Sermon on the Mount occurs... More...

Pastor Stephen Thee continues His Sermon on the Mount series entitled "Upside Down, Inside Out."