How do I love my neighbor as myself? Just as Jesus leaned into our love for God, so now he turns to press us with regard to our love of neighbor. As he begins to draw the Sermon on the Mount to a close he reveals the hypocrisy of a condemning spirit, the necessity of discernment, the help the Father is ready to provide, and a handy rule of thumb to help guide our interactions with one another. Misunderstandings multiply when we consider parts of this passage in isolation; let us give attention to the flow of Jesus’ thought.

How does Jesus help calm our worries? Like a tender shepherd Jesus knows his sheep, and he knows his preceding words about worldly wealth may exacerbate our anxiety. Join us as we see him remind us of the fullness of our life, our value in our Father’s eyes, and the futility of our anxiety to give us anything of value. Drawing on his words in this and earlier paragraphs we also consider the practical means he provides us to combat the worry and anxiety that beset us. May God increase our faith!

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 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.

What might our community look like if we have ourselves over to reading God’s word? In Nehemiah 8 we see a community do just this. The Lord’s people eagerly pursue his word. The Lord’s people take comfort in his word. The Lord’s people seek to obey his word. And the Lord’s people rejoice in his word. May these things be true of us!

What does it look like to take up the whole armor of God in the face of determined opposition? This morning we consider (1) the death throes of a defeated enemy, (2) the strategies of a prepared warrior, and (3) wearing the armor of God today. As we consider Nehemiah in light of Ephesians 6:10–20 we see a living example of what it looks like to put on the whole armor of God.

Nehemiah 3 What have we to learn from a long… read more

In the face of dire circumstances Paul instructs the Philippians to rejoice! Why? How can this be? What does this sort of life look like?