After all that Jesus has said to His followers in the Sermon on the Mount, how do you feel about yourself? Living up to Jesus' teachings here in Matthew 5-7 is difficult. It wasn't meant to be easy, nor is the road to heaven. So how do we build our lives? Jesus gives one final exhortation on how we are to order our lives.
It's the darkness and gloom that's a problem in life, isn't it? Which makes sense, since Winter is statistically the saddest yet darkest time of the year. Not so surprisingly, we as Christians celebrate the incarnation of Christ at Christmas, that the Light of the world has come to His creation, and this brings us hope.
In Matthew 7, Jesus gives His followers three commands: ask, seek, and knock. The problem is, sometimes we don't ask, seek, or knock. Maybe we forget that God will provide. Or maybe we don't trust that He will. But Jesus reminds us that God gives the good stuff.
You don't have to like medicine, but you'll need to take it to help with healing. Medicine has good benefits. In Scripture, we usually tend to like the verses that make us feel warm or fuzzy or good about ourselves. But in today's message, we look at what Jesus says about "judging," and you're probably not going to like it.
What do you worry about? Worry, trouble, anxiety -- all similar forms of the same word in the Greek. In Matthew 6, Jesus gives believers encouragement on worry: When you're down, look up.
Fasting defies feel-good religion and helps us focus on the God who provides. In Matthew, Jesus says, "When you give" and "When you pray," assuming we already give and pray. But He also preaches, "When you fast." Do you fast? Part of the reason we don't is because we don't fully understand the activity. In today's message, we look at Matthew 6:16-18 to understand the biblical concept of fasting.
Our relationship with others affects our relationship with God. It's why the only thing we should owe others is love. This is the debt we should have. But sometimes we carry with us a debt to others we can't (or won't) abandon when they've wronged us so deeply. In this message in Matthew 6:14-15, we look at forgiveness and debt. For deeper devotions, visit c112.org
We could all use a better prayer life. Jesus tells His disciples in Matthew 6, "when you pray," as if He knows and expects His followers to pray regularly. So how do we do it? For deeper devotions, visit c112.org
Jesus says, "When you give...", and this is one of three cravings we as followers of Christ should do. So the question is, "How do I give?" Looking at Matthew 6, we look at the motivation and application for giving in our lives. For devotions to go deeper, visit c112.org .
It's easy to look for revenge or hold grudges, to retaliate or to even hate our enemies. But Jesus encourages His followers to bless our enemies, and this is really, really hard, if we're being honest. You may not like this message, but living it is more important than liking it. For daily devotions to help you go deeper, visit c112.org
What does the Jesus Way look like in action? Jesus explains in Matthew 5:38-42 how countercultural following Christ looks, and it starts with going the second mile. For 5 daily devotionals that go along with this message, visit our website at c112.org
What's the 9th commandment? "Do not bear false testimony." In Matthew 5, Jesus talks about that verse, explaining it more fully, and teaches us more about integrity and honoring our word. For daily devotions to help you go deeper, go to our website here: https://c112.subspla.sh/r9rnyr3
Marriage and faithfulness stretch beyond a husband and wife and echo to us all, so how we view faithfulness actually affects us all. Unfaithfulness is a heart issue, so Jesus addresses that and more in Matthew 5 when He talks about adultery and divorce.
The Pharisees had a righteousness like no other, yet they wouldn't make it into heaven. So, what will?
How are we to live in God's Kingdom, and what does that mean for everyone else? Matthew 5:17-20 has been said to be the key to interpreting the rest of the Sermon on the Mount.
Jesus calls His followers "salt" and "light." But what exactly is the significance of being both of those? We'll explore ancient Near Eastern and historical understandings of salt and apply these principles to our lives.
Much like someone becoming a citizen of a new country adopts the attitudes of that land, citizens of the Kingdom of God will adopt the attitude of its sovereign, King Jesus. In the first part of this new series on the Sermon on the Mount, we explore the Beatitudes of Matthew 5.
As we conclude the overview of God's grand story of Scripture, we finish with Restoration, how God will win, will recreate, will make things better than they began. Some of us have trouble trusting Jesus with the middle of our lives because we don't know the End. So in this message, we look at the End.
Everything is broken -- the world, relationships, health, our souls. But in Christ, they can be healed. They can be redeemed. Join us for Part 3 of our look at the Grand Story of Scripture.
Last week we started a series on the grand story of Scripture, specifically the way God created things and how they OUGHT to be. This week, looking at Genesis 3, we see how life IS -- finances are broken, health broken, relationships broken, and even our souls are broken -- all as a result of sin. We need Christ.
For the next few weeks, we’ll look at Scripture from 30,000 feet, seeing the big story of God’s Word. Today, we look at Genesis 1 and the way things ought to be.
In this episode, we finish our series on Job. What happens to a man who looks to God?
Remember this: though God is big and I am not, He loves me and cares a lot. Job 38-41 helps us get a better look at God, but it also helps keep life in a proper perspective.
It’s ok to have a bad day. Often, though, our intrusive thoughts come flooding in and makes matters worse. In Job 3, we are reminded God gives us life and existence for His good purpose.
“Better to be thought a fool and remain silent than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” You’ve heard that, right? Unfortunately, Job’s previously sympathetic friends opened their mouths. One thing we learn from Job 4-5, is where biblical faithfulness starts.
Who will you sit with? When Job’s world came crashing down, we see in Job 2:11-13 that his friends simply sat with him, and this spoke louder than anything they would later say.
In this message, we look at Job 1:13-22. Here’s the thing: the story of Job and the story of you is not primarily about Job or about you, and when we get the subject right, everything else will follow.
What would you do if you were in control? In Job 1&2, Satan has a chat with the most powerful in the Universe for all time — God himself. And what does God say? And in response, what does Job say? The life of Job propels is to point to God’s power.
Life has storms. We are going into one, in one, or getting out of one, but we often want to rush through them, don’t we? They’re painful. This series of teachings come from the book of Job. Instead of speeding through storms, what if we slowed down? Jesus provides the outcome while we produce endurance.
When something captures your attention, your actions follow. Isaiah 6 describes a vision Isaiah had and how that propelled his life.
