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!

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.