How does one pray? In the midst of a passage on hypocrisy Jesus provides us instruction on prayer. First he tells us how (not) to pray, then he provides us a prayer that we may both pray ourselves and use as a model. Join us as we consider the six petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, of how to pray for God’s glory and our good, together with some further reflection on growing in prayer.

As Jesus begins the next section of the Sermon on the Mount we meet instructions that appear to stand in tension with something he said earlier. Are our good works supposed to be observed by others, or not? As we work through Jesus’ words we see him answering three “how” questions: how do we resolve apparent contradictions, how do we understand hypocrisy, and how do we walk in obedience? Join us as we make this first pass through Matthew 6!

What does Christian love look like? What makes it unique? In this challenging paragraph we consider the object of the love the Lord requires, its nature, and its motivation. We also look at the practical help offered, as well as the examples of Jesus and Stephen.

How would Jesus transform our response to adversity? Where can we find the strength to show the meekness he calls blessed? Join us as Jesus confronts our confusion of justice and revenge, as we explore the meekness he requires, and as we look to him as our example and so much more.

What would it look like if we consistently loved the truth in thought, word, and deed? In this passage Jesus puts his finger on the problem of broken word and broken oaths, lays bare the aggravation of mincing words and finding loopholes, and calls upon us to love the truth in thought, word, and deed, even as he who is the way, the truth, and the life helps us by his Spirit.

Will the kingdom of heaven be inhabited by pirates, with eye patches and hooks for hands? Jesus has strong words for us on adultery, lust, the fight against sin, and divorce. Join us as we consider the seriousness of sinful desires, our duty to fight sin, and the role of God’s mercy.

What hope does Jesus offer angry people? And what hope do we have when the problem is in our hearts? Join us as Jesus demolishes our self-righteousness, reveals the depth of the law’s requirement and the extent of our sin, shows the urgency that anger presents, and then in himself satisfies God’s wrath against our sin.

As Jesus turns to the body of the Sermon on the Mount he heads off objections to his teaching and says something that leaves disciples in shock to this day: unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. What are we to make of this difficult saying and the paragraph that accompanies it? How does Jesus’ teaching relate to the Old Testament? How does the gospel relate to obedience? How do we follow Christ? Join us as we ponder these challenging words.

Jesus calls his disciples the salt of the earth and the light of the world, but what do these images mean for us, and how do we make sense of the enigmatic warnings that come with them? This morning we examined the usefulness of disciples, the temptation of persecution, and the outcome of our discipleship. Join us as we continue to make our way through the Sermon on the Mount!