If you were a 1st century Jew living in Capernaum, life under Roman military occupation was difficult. Talk of revolt and uprising were everywhere. Some had even claimed to be the chosen one to lead Israel to freedom from Roman rule, until they and their followers were crucified. Emotions were running high, like a tinder … [Read More…] Loving Enemies

It’s one thing to understand the symptoms; it’s another to get the diagnosis right. Effectiveness of the prescription depends on the accuracy of the diagnosis. So, when it comes to the brokenness of humanity, the symptoms are easily identified, but it’s the diagnosis that’s difficult.   The religious leaders of Jesus’ day (Scribes and Pharisees) … [Read More…] Manipulation on the Lips

Throughout this series, we’ve been working our way through Jesus’ illustrations of what that kind of perfect righteousness flowing from the goodness of a heart like God’s looks like. The kind of heart only Jesus can give us.   In this sermon, we come to the 3rd illustration of a heart made right in the … [Read More…] Divorce on the Mind

Our culture can’t make up its mind about sex. We either strip it down until it has no significance, or we load it up with the weight of the sky. It’s nothing or everything, the culture can’t decide. The problem is the following. The more we try to pretend sex is nothing, the more damaged … [Read More…] Lust in the Eyes

The world is full of anger. Sometimes our anger gets big and explosive, and everyone pays when it detonates. Other times our anger gets small, simmering and smoldering. Low-grade anger carried around in our bodies spills out like acid on those around us. And it’s so easy to be angry these days with pandemic restrictions, … [Read More…] Anger in the Heart

Every speech has a central thesis, a big idea around which everything else is organized. In this passage, we come to the central thesis of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. This is the blazing center, the beating heart of the upside-down Way of Jesus. In these 111 words (in Greek) we find the big idea … [Read More…] The Truly Righteous

“If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.” Some of you will recognize that line from the 2014 commencement address Admiral William McRaven gave at the University of Texas which went viral a few years back and was later made into a book. Admiral McRaven was reminding those graduates of … [Read More…] Salt and Light

Words shape the course of history. Two thousand years ago a young Jewish carpenter-turned-Rabbi turned the world upside down with His Sermon on the Mount and He began in the most unexpected way. He announced the blessings of the Kingdom of Heaven we’re coming upon the least, the last, and the left behind.   As … [Read More…] The Blessed Ones Part 2

The Sermon on the Mount is the central, essential message of Jesus. It contains His most brilliant, incisive, and challenging teachings. If you want to know what Jesus is all about, look no further than the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount is, at its core, about a Kingdom. A Kingdom that … [Read More…] The Blessed Ones