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!

As Jesus begins the most famous sermon ever preached he begins by meeting objections his teaching will raise, asserting blessing for his disciples, and offering us three windows: into the character of his disciples, into the content of the kingdom, and into the persecution of believers. Join us as we consider these Beatitudes and the comfort that precedes command.

As Matthew turns to the first major block of Jesus’ teaching we encounter a two-verse preface. Easy to overlook, this preface nevertheless orients us to what follows with important reminders and observations. As we consider it this morning we are reminded that Jesus teaches for the world, Jesus teaches his disciples, and Jesus teaches with authority. Join us as we consider both the encouragement and the challenge that these observations bring!

How does the beginning of Jesus’ ministry provide us with a foretaste of the new creation? Join us as we see Jesus call his first disciples, preach and teach, and heal every disease and affliction among the people in Galilee and reflect on what it means for us in the midst of our suffering as we anticipate the new heavens and the new earth.

After three and a half chapters of preparation Matthew brings us to the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, only for us to find Jesus withdrawing back into Galilee. Yet this move is in fulfillment of prophecy, and shines the light of the gospel into a dark and forgotten corner of the world. As Jesus the king begins to preach, the first word of the gospel is “Repent!” And yet this announcement is gracious. Join us as we consider the beginning of Jesus’ preaching.

The voice from heaven at Jesus’s baptism joined together the David Messiah and the Suffering Servant. Now as the Spirit leads Jesus out into the wilderness to be tested the Devil sees it as an opportunity to tempt the Son of God. But more is at stake than a model for us! As Jesus succeeds where Israel failed we begin to see the depth of the stakes: will the Son of God turn aside from the Father’s plan?