Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
– Matthew 7:24 NIV
We’re working our way through one of the most pivotal passages of scripture. The Sermon on the Mount, as we call it, is the longest collection of Jesus’ teachings, found in Matthew 5-7, and it’s powerful. Even unbelievers regard this as the greatest moral teaching in history, but Jesus is doing far more than setting forth some guidelines. Come find out what exactly He is inviting us to, and how He calls us to live each day. Below you will find resources you can use to go deeper each day, and a week-by-week guide with the latest message from our church community, questions for discussion, other scripture readings and more.
Resources
As we journey in this Manifesto of the Kingdom, we don’t just want Sunday to be our once-a-week dip into the powerful teaching of Jesus. We want to allow His Word to wash over us and shape us daily in our personal walk with Him, as well as in LifeGroups or U+2 Groups. If that’s your heart as well, join us on the journey and go deeper! Here are some great resources to let the Manifesto of Jesus shape you every day:
The team at Bible Project has been unpacking the Sermon on the Mount over the course of the year, and have created amazing videos, podcasts, and more to help us grow in understanding this fundamental teaching of Jesus.
This short book is broken up into bite sized thoughts for us to chew on, all from the Sermon on the Mount. It will challenge us to think through what Jesus really said, and what He really desires from us.
In one of the most amazing moments in history, Jesus teaches His followers to pray as He prayed. The prayer of Jesus has marked the church for 2,000 years, and continues to shape how we pray and live today. Join the renowned scholar N.T. Wright as he unpacks Jesus’ prayer in an impactful way for us.
If you want to study deeper, there are few guides better than the one prepared by John Stott, one of the last century’s best Bible teachers. This little guide is interactive, and will help you apply the message of Jesus in daily life.
Going Deeper Week-By-Week
After pouring out so much wisdom for us, the letters finally turn from Red to Black. Matthew gives us this little outro – People were stunned at the authority with which Jesus spoke. He wasn’t interpreting someone else’s words… He is the Word made Flesh. Since all authority in Heaven and Earth belongs to Him, He calls us to make the choice about what we’ve heard. Will we listen to Him, follow His leading, and put His words into practice in our lives?
Lets reflect:
- Jesus gives three thoughts in rapid succession, each calling us to recognize our need to choose.
- First He talks about wide and narrow roads… and He finishes by saying you can either build your life on Him, or on a foundation of sand.
- As we covered on Sunday, Jesus is not scared of making the exclusive claim that He is the only way. This isn’t even the strongest example we have from His own teachings! In our age that scares a lot of people? What about you?
- C.S. Lewis said Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic or Lord. Which is He to you?
Go Deeper:
- When Jesus calls us to choose the narrow road that leads to life
- Again, when Jesus talks about life – Zoe – He doesn’t mean someday, somewhere in eternity – He is talking about life connected to the Father here and now!
- But, He immediately warns us; when traveling this narrow road, there will be a lot of off-ramps. He talks about wolves dressed up as sheep, who offer us what seems like godly advice, but with shady motives. How are we supposed to know who to listen to?
- This is a really important thing for us to grasp in 2024, with our culture of blending a little bit of Jesus with a bunch of other ideas and allegiances.
- What is the Holy Spirit speaking to your heart about the way He has called you to walk and not mixing it with other things?
- Ultimately, we have a choice… because Jesus made a choice for us.
- This closing from Jesus is serious business, and it rightly calls us to examine our own hearts, but it is also full of promise.
- It means HE WANTS YOU!
- He is calling you to follow, to walk the narrow road, to forsake all other things to be with Him, to build your life upon Him…
- … And He has made a way. At Christmas we celebrate that our God is not aloof, apathetic or antagonistic. He is invested, involved and implicates Himself on our behalf. He reached to us before we could ever reach for Him, and then He made a way for us to be reconciled to the Father on the Cross.
Next week we’re wrapping up this 18-week look into the Sermon on the Mount. In reality, we could spend a lot longer in these teachings of Jesus. Many of the things He instructs us in take a lifetime to apply to our lives. In this week’s message, we looked at part two of Jesus’ teaching on Relationships, and the deep need we have to operate by His Wisdom.
Lets reflect:
- “Pearls before Pigs”… “Ask, Seek, Knock”… “The Golden Rule”: These are some of the greatest hits from Jesus, but we can’t remove them from the way they are arranged in Matthew’s Gospel.
- Jesus talks about throwing what is valuable before animals who are unable to value those things, stepping into the wisdom tradition of Israel with a warning for us. It begs the question, are we supposed to engage or not? How do we know? That is kind of the point.
- Proverbs 26 has a similar teaching in pairs that once again leaves us needing wisdom: “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.” Proverbs 26:4-5 NIV… which one is it?
- When we see a situation, particularly with someone we love, and we see how God’s wisdom could be helpful, we need to lean on God to show us whether it is right for us to speak into that situation, and if that person has ears to hear.
- That’s exactly what Jesus invites us to do; humbly accept that we don’t always know it all, and that even when we do, we’re not the be-all and end-all of knowledge. Instead, we come to God for Wisdom, as James said, “If you’re lacking wisdom, ask your Father!”
- God gives us wisdom for precisely this purpose – so we can navigate the complexities of relationships with others, because others are the most important thing, and also the most complicated. The Wisdom God imparts to us equips us to create flourishing relationships – See James 3:17
- Yes, a step-by-step guide for life would make things easier, and we wouldn’t need to lean on God, but instead, Jesus calls us to come to Him, and lean on Him for everything.
- And in the meantime, He imparts to us what we call the Golden Rule… be proactive… don’t just react to situations, but do to others what you want them to do to you. So, how do you hope people will treat you? With kindness and fairness, with generosity and love? We’re called to inject God’s goodness that we’ve received from the Father into the relationships He has given to us.
- The Wisdom of God flows from relationship
Go Deeper:
- On Sunday, Pastor Ryan joked a few times about stories in the Word that dramatically illustrate the wisdom of what Jesus is saying, particularly in how we approach one another and weigh in on issues.
- Nathan and David – When we feel God calling us to speak up and maybe even confront a brother or sister, we have to do so with so much patience! Nathan was called by God to rebuke King David, but look at the way he does it. He tells a story about a sheep to the King who was once a lonely shepherd.
- Joseph – Sometimes when God gives us revelation, we need to just treasure those things in our hearts before sharing them with everyone. Joseph had a dream he knew was from God, but couldn’t keep it to himself. His brothers, oddly enough, were less enthusiastic about his visions where he would be their leader.
- Solomon – One of the great moments in scripture is when Solomon asks the Lord for wisdom. He tells God, “I’m only a child, I can’t lead these people.” What he is doing is refusing to rule according to his own knowledge and understanding. He’s refusing to take the fruit of the tree that lets us define the world by our imagination and desires, where we get to play God and say what’s what. The Lord hears his request, and gives Solomon wisdom, as well as all the other things he didn’t ask for. Sounds a lot like Matthew 6:33 – “… seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
- Wisdom and the Firehose
- We continue to circle back to this idea of Wisdom and Knowledge, and I wanted to pass along one other thought:
- In our world we say “Knowledge is power” and so we chase endless knowledge and information, which can be helpful, but isn’t ultimate.
- Sometimes with all the information available to us when we consult the internet, it’s like trying to drink from a firehose… and I find that to be a really accurate analogy
- Knowledge may not be “power” but it is certainly powerful, like a Firehose on full blast: It can be amazingly helpful, and put out fires where applied well, or if you point it at the wrong thing, like a person, it can be devastatingly destructive.
- Knowledge is like a firehose, but what’s most important is knowing where to point the thing and when to turn it on, and that is called Wisdom.
- We continue to circle back to this idea of Wisdom and Knowledge, and I wanted to pass along one other thought:
- Have you had situations where you don’t know how or when or if to engage with a person? Maybe you’ve seen them make choices that you know are not going to end well, or you simply know they’re struggling to get through a tough season, and you wonder if you’re meant to do something or say something. Remember the lessons Jesus gives to us in Matthew 7:
- First, treasure the revelations God gives, beginning with the Gospel and the story of God’s Word. These are the pearls of wisdom, the things we are meant to value most.
- Then, pray…
- … for the individuals involved… prayer is where God works on our hearts and softens us, helps us to see the other person, even if they’re in the wrong and frustrating us.
- … and ask the Lord for Wisdom. Specifically, ask the Lord if there is openness of heart, or if your wisdom will fall on deaf ears.
- If you feel God leading you to engage, take it one step at a time…
- You may find out quickly there are not “ears to hear.” The other person may only be interested in you validating their decisions and having their back and not be open to any other idea. In that case, ask the Lord to show you how to love them right where they are and pray that He would continue to open their heart to His truth.
- You may also find that they sit up, and lean in. Maybe they grow quiet and you can tell they want to know what you have to say. Take the next step… but one step at a time. Don’t unload on them. Give a simple truth or, better yet, ask some questions to make sure you’re seeing the situation clearly. As the conversation unfolds, keep listening to the Holy Spirit’s promptings to know if you should keep going. Sometimes important and transformational conversations take multiple times sitting down together, so each person has some time to digest and pray.
- A quick side note: Be careful trying to have these conversations over electronic means, especially email and text messages, where tone is misunderstood and it’s very difficult to ask for clarity if you weren’t quite sure you got what they were meaning.
- Finally, remember Luke’s Version of what Jesus says here, about our Father wanting to give us the wisdom we need: “… how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13 NIV)
- Holy Spirit is our counselor. The Word refers to Him as the Spirit of Wisdom, imparted to us by God at salvation and we are supposed to experience His presence regularly, and foster a relationship with God as we obey His leading.
- Romans 8 tells us that following our own way, of “me” and “mine,” leads to destruction, but following the leading of the Spirit leads to life and peace.
We are entering the home-stretch of the Sermon on the Mount, and Jesus continues to speak directly to our hearts and situations. We’re taking Matthew 7:1-12 in two parts. There are five interrelated thoughts from Jesus in Matthew 7:1-12, and we’re taking it in two parts. Next week we will look at the last three and Jesus’ Wisdom for us in relationships, but before He gets there, He asks us to look inward, at what’s happening in our hearts. The first two thoughts are: “Don’t judge one another” and “take the log out of your eye before trying to help your brother or sister remove a speck from theirs.”
Lets reflect:
- As we pointed out in our Sunday message, judging or judgmentalism is considered a cardinal sin in our society, typically because no one likes to be told they’re doing something wrong, and we live in an age of “do whatever feels right to you.”
- As I was thinking about this mentality our world embraces, and the reality of judging, I remembered there’s a whole book of the Bible that bears this title… a book that is really hard to read.
- The Book of Judges is some tough sledding as we read the tales of 12 “Judges” who rose to prominence in Israel’s story. Their stories start out uncomfortable and just get worse and worse until it’s shocking and grotesque, prompting many to say “Why is this in the Bible!?” or even “God is ok with this mess?”
- Short answer… no. The Holy Spirit didn’t want us to absorb these stories as examples of God’s best… but a cautionary tale of what happens when God’s people depart from Him as the source of Wisdom for relationships and all of life.
- The thought came to me: What if that difficult book is not just called judges because of the 12 individuals? We like to put all the blame on someone, especially flawed leaders, when things devolve into chaos. But the Book of Judges includes a repeated phrase throughout the narrative that we shouldn’t miss: “ In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.” It comes up again and again in the collection of stories and is actually the final word in the book (Judges 21:25)
- The main issue in that book is not the actions of the select few leaders, as wrong as they were. The issue was the heart of the whole people elevating themselves to a place of judgment. The book is a warning to God’s people about what happens when we try to sit in His seat and put ourselves in the place of judge.
- But don’t we need to make evaluations of actions and situations? Yes, absolutely. The Word of God is full of instruction and command to live by God’s Wisdom and discern right and wrong, but it is always calling us to do this under His authority and guidance.
- Before you make it through this day, you will make many decisions, some of greater magnitude, that require you to make a “judgment call.”
- Especially when it comes to relationships, we need wisdom on how to do this well, and the Bible is full of help for us in this crucial area of following Jesus together.
Go Deeper:
- Central to Jesus’ teaching is our understanding of the Greek Word Krino, which can mean to evaluate or discern, but also can mean to execute final judgment or condemn. Dallas Willard thinks Jesus’ meaning is better served by using condemn, rather than judge.
- As we read on in the New Testament, we repeatedly see this teaching of Jesus being unpacked by Paul, James, Peter and more… why?
- Because it turns out living together in unity is hard work. Relationships with real people who have their own thoughts, will, and value systems, and coming together to be shaped by Christ as one, requires a ton of patience and daily reliance on the Holy Spirit for wisdom.
- Let’s uncover some of these moments and let them take us deeper.
- In Romans 14, Paul talks with the church in Rome about specific issues where some find a moral lapse and others do not. Seems like we could definitely learn something here. He makes it clear that some matters are “disputable” and we can have conversation around them and even agree to disagree wihtout breaking company. Obviously, some matters are not disputable, and we’re going to have a hard time building life together in true community with those who disagree about the fundamental beliefs we hold, such as the divinity and humanity of Jesus, or the authority of the Bible. Paul instructs the church, in issues where there can be disagreement, to do so with grace and humility. Like Jesus, he puts the focus on our action and the attitudes of our hearts. But, where He brings in Jesus’ teaching on not judging, He adds a layer to it, saying in verse 3 that we must not treat others with “contempt.” Remember, Jesus taught earlier in the Sermon on the Mount that this cold, calculated dismissal of “writing people off” is totally out of line for His followers.
- In Matthew 18, Jesus gives a remarkable teaching on forgiveness in response to Peter’s vulnerable question: “How many times do I have to forgive?” Jesus knows that we’re going to offend and hurt one another, and calls us to go above and beyond in forgiving, but He gives wisdom on how to do so that both protects us from abusive situations, and helps us exercise discernment on actions without condemnation.
- In 1 Corinthians, Paul has to judge on an issue where someone was sleeping with his mother-in-law in the church, and actually teaching that it’s ok. Paul points out that it’s not good if we don’t deal with issues like this and we must exercise discernment and judgment within the church family for the sake of the gospel and the health of the family. That being said, in that example, and all the times Paul calls believers to stay away from people who are walking in darkness, he never passes final judgment on anyone.
- Can you think of more examples where this comes up in scripture?
- What about your life? Are there struggles in relationships that you’re having? As we reflect on Jesus’ teaching, what is the Holy Spirit instructing you to do, or not do, in the relationship?
- In the family of God, we all hit those moments where things are broken in relationship, and we need God’s Wisdom. One of the best things to do is to begin in prayer. James says to ask God for wisdom, and He gives it to us. Another step might be to not carry that burden alone, but confide in a faithful and faith-filled friend or counselor who can help you work through the feelings involved and give practical advice rooted in the wisdom of God.
Before Jesus instructs us on living in Right Relationship with God and others, He takes takes one last detour to discuss something that hold us back… worry. He forever connects worry and wealth as two things people “chase after” and calls us, as disciples, to a different way.
Lets reflect:
- Continue to Meditate on is found in Matthew 13, and the famous parable of the Sower.
- This week, Jesus addressed worry. Where else in scripture do we see instruction from Jesus and the apostles?
- Take a look at Luke 10 and the encounter of Jesus with two sisters.
- Remember Paul’s instructions in Philippians 4, particularly how he talks with us about what we focus on.
- In 2 Corinthians 10, Paul teaches us that we are in a spiritual battle and our minds are crucial.
- On Sunday, we talked about a little-discussed reality apparent int his passage. Just like with money, our minds and our thought-lives are gifts from God that we are to steward.
- Have you ever thought about your thought life in this way?
- What are some ways you can steward your mind or your thoughts? What tools has God-given you in His Word and among His people?
Go Deeper:
- The word used for “worry” in this passage is merimnao. At its root, it means to be pulled apart or divided into parts. This can be a good thing, like dividing our concern among good things in our lives like those we love. It can also be a bad thing, where we feel divided and stretched thin. Thats where we get the term we hear sometimes when someone is overwhelmed: They went to pieces. Have you ever felt this negative affect of being too concerned about something?
- Last week we talked about how the economy is a big concern of people in this moment.
- What other things concern you or worry you in our world?
- Since Jesus links wealth and worry a lot, John Stott poses this question to us: “How will the crucial choices we make in verses 19-24 affect our ability to live free from worry (v. 25)?
- There is an emphasis in Jesus’ words on chasing the wrong things. Have you ever felt like you’re running after things that you can’t seem to capture?
- On Sunday, Pastor Ryan said this is why running on a treadmill bothers him – it’s a lot of work but you’re not actually getting anywhere.
- Like a hamster on a wheel, worrying about the wrong things, or even worrying too much about the right things can be the same – spinning and spinning but not producing anything good.
- Jesus invites us to be ambitious about the right things… taking us back to how He began this teaching – store up the things of heaven… His Presence and the flourishing of others in our lives.
- How has this whole passage forced you to examine your own heart? Are there things that the Holy Spirit is nudging you to re-align in this moment?
Jesus moves into His final set of thoughts, discussing with us how to live in Right Relationship with God and others, but first He takes a moment to talk about what trips us up so often. What holds us back from living the ways He calls us to?
Lets reflect:
- Maybe a good section of Scripture to Meditate on is found in Matthew 13, in another set of Jesus’ teachings.
- It begins with the famous Parable of the Sower/Parable of the Soils (You can revisit our teaching on this Parable here), teaching us to reflect on the condition of our hearts, and our readiness to receive what God wants to say to us.
- In particular, the third soil… the kind with thorns and thistles… speaks to our moment.
- This is where Jesus goes next in the Sermon on the Mount as well – discussing the pull that wealth and worry have on our hearts.
- This week, Jesus addressed money, and there are a bunch of resources from the Bible Project worth using to uncover Jesus’ teaching on money, as well as the whole picture of scripture. Check them out with the buttons here.
- Read back through Matthew 6:19-24, our teaching text from this week. Jesus talks about:
- 2 Treasures – He calls us to treasure the stuff of heaven, not store up the stuff of earth. Things that we tend to run after don’t last. They rust, they decay, they get used up. But the things of heaven last forever, and we can experience them right now, according to Jesus. The things that matter for eternity are found in His Presence. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13, even miracles and the gifts of the Spirit will not last forever, but His love does!
- 2 Eyes – Remember, in Jesus’ day, they believed that the eye was a lamp, shining out from within us what is inside. Jesus tells us that our eyes can be haplous or poneros, which are terms used throughout the New Testament with an economic flair. They can mean healthy and unhealthy, but lean toward generosity and stinginess. His call to us is to live healthy lives because we’re not attached to our stuff, but open-handed with others.
- 2 Masters – … because this is ultimate not about money, but about our hearts. Jesus talks about Mammon, which represents far more than just money. He says it is a vision of the good life dependent on possessions, where our trust is in our stuff, and He tells us it can be an idol in our lives if we’re not careful.
Go Deeper:
- So let’s apply this a bit to our lives, and then study a little more:
- Right now the economy is at the center of our cultural attention. Not only because of the election cycle we’ve been in, but the inflation conversation has been rolling on for a while. Have you felt the weight of these conversations?
- Maybe you’ve been in a tough spot recently, or gripped with worry over finances. What does the Word teach us about money and God’s ability to supply?
- Our world functions on a principal of scarcity – if someone else gets something, that’s less available for me and mine. The Kingdom does not function on the principal of scarcity, but rather on the principal of abundance, because God is infinite and indiscriminately generous to His children.
- In Matthew 19 we read about an encounter Jesus had with an eager and earnest young man who wanted to follow Him. Jesus knew that this particular young person had something holding him back: his many possessions. So Jesus calls him to take a radical step – “sell everything and give it to the poor, then follow me!”
- How does this strike you when you read it? Is Jesus being extreme here?
- Mark 10:21 captures a really important part of this exchange that Luke and Matthew breeze over. Before Jesus calls him to radical generosity, we read this: “Jesus looked at him and loved him.”
- The reason Jesus calls us to look into our own hearts, with regard to how we see money, wealth, possessions and more, is because He wants to see us living in freedom. He knows that often times our stuff ends up owning us, and wants us to follow Him into a way of living that full of joy and light.
- In His final point, Jesus talks about Mammon as a Master. He gives us the choice… to truly let God be the leader of our lives, or to be enslaved to this cultural vision of the good life.
- This kind of language isn’t new with Jesus. In the Old Testament, we read about “the Ba’als” all over the place. Every five seconds, God’s people are choosing to worship Ba’al of one kind of another… and Ba’al is translated simply as “Master.” For God’s people, there has always been a choice. It’s part of what it means to be made in His Image – He gives us the free will to choose Him, or not.
- What other things in your life draw your eye, your heart, your attention?
- What do you work hard to achieve or gain?
- In our Culture, much of this vision of the good life is about money and possessions, and much of it is about experiences. Whether pleasures or adventures, we are lured by the shiny, carefree versions of Social Media land that aren’t real… they’re just highlights.
- God isn’t against us having desires or hopes or dreams, but He is against those things becoming gods in our lives.
- Paul put it like this to the Corinthians (who were compromising all over the place to fulfill sexual desires): “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything.
- Make a plan, for each day this week, to check in with the Holy Spirit and ask Him to reveal any area of your life where you have not allowed God to be Master. Obey what He tells you to do.
The second half of the Lord’s Prayer brings a significant shift: from prayers toward God to prayers for us. Jesus teaches us to bring our requests and petitions to our Good Father, because He cares for every need we have, from the greatest to the least. He invites us to bring three specific requests to God: For provision, for pardon, and for protection.
Lets reflect:
- Exodus 16 tells the story of God providing “daily bread” for people in the wilderness. After rescuing them from slavery and oppression, and delivering them through the waters, they were staring at a desert and uncertainty. Some even began to grumble and wanted to go back into slavery – at least they knew what they were dealing with there!
- Jesus tells us we can also come to the Lord for Pardon. Forgiveness is something Jesus assumes we will need to keep asking for, and keep extending to others.
- Everything we need, including forgiveness, flows from the heart of our Good Father. Remind yourself of the Father’s heart for forgiveness by reading in Luke 15.
- When it comes to forgiving others, Jesus knows we will need to constantly work on this. Later in Matthew He gives a more complete teaching on forgiveness in Matthew 18.
- Finally, Jesus invites us to come to the Father for Protection. Whether coming from our enemy, or life in general, or even if the Father leads us into testing, we are invited to pray for God to deliver us.
- Check out the Bible Project video on the Test with the button above.
Go Deeper:
- What are the needs you have daily and what do you depend on to meet those needs? Every day we need to remember how much God has done for us. The one who has delivered us is faithful to walk with us and provide for us in every season, if we will look to Him above all else.
- Forgiveness is one of the most difficult parts of life, both in recognizing how much and how often we need it, and also in extending it to others. The reality of life this side of eternity is that we will continue to offend and frustrate one another. We will continue to need forgiveness and Jesus teaches us that extending forgiveness is the way to freedom.
- What situations in your life do you feel you need forgiveness, from God or from others?
- What relationships in your life do you have where you need to forgive someone else?
- Jesus invites us to pray, just as He did in Gethsemane before going to the cross, “Father, remove this cup from me… don’t let today be the day of that test!” Then He follows it with the prayer, “If today I face this test, or that temptation, let your will be done, and be with me to deliver me through it all.”
- What temptations have you been facing lately, and how can you bring those things to God?
- The Lord allows testing moments in our lives to let us grow and put His ways into practice. Often it is easier to see these things clearly in hindsight, rather than in the moment. Have you been through times of testing from the Lord, or maybe you feel like you are in one now? How has God provided the resources already for you to walk through these moments leaning on Him?
- No matter what moments of trial we face, it’s important to know we’re not alone. Isolation is a tool the enemy uses to pile on when we’re going through temptations or testing moments. This is why Jesus invites us to pray for deliverance in the midst of these challenges. When they come our way, the enemy tries to distract, deceive, distort, discourage and divide us, but if we lean on God and one another, the testing moments lead to development of perseverance and ultimately to Joy. See James 1:2-4!
Though the sermon on the mount is full of famous passages, maybe none is as famous as the Lord’s Prayer. We are taking it in two parts, and this week, we look at Jesus’ teaching on prayer, and the first half of the prayer He gives to us, focusing on how we approach God.
Lets reflect:
- Yet again, Jesus calls us to examine our WHY – don’t do these things to be seen by others or noticed by others.
- This time, Jesus gives a second warning – “Do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.”
- The Pagans went on and on to gain the attention of their aloof, temperamental gods.
- Jesus tells us we don’t need to do that, and gives us a prayer example that takes about 20 seconds to say.
- Why? Because He tells us our God is a Good Father: “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
- The first word of His prayer is “Father”
- This can create some divide in us, because we all have vastly different experience with fathers and father figures.
- In what ways are you comfortable relating to God as Father? In what ways does that make it harder for you to connect with God?
- What aspects of God’s character do you think Jesus is trying to emphasize by calling Him Father?
- The second word is “Our”
- We have dramatically overemphasized the idea of a personal relationship with God in our individualistic western mindset. In reality, God is not “My Father” – He is “Our Father.”
- This means we are part of a family. We’ve been adopted in, and get to approach God in the same way that our Great Older Brother, Jesus, does.
- Then Jesus tells us that Our Father, is in the heavens
- God is Holy, and we want to approach Him as a tender Father who is also unfathomably powerful
Go Deeper:
- Take a look at Luke’s version of this teaching on prayer. What do you notice that is the same, and what is different?
- Go back and re-read the story of Jesus’ passion in Matthew 26-27. Pay special attention to the way Jesus communicates with the Father and you will see that this prayer pattern was indeed His own way of speaking to God.
- What does it mean to “hallow” God’s Name? How can we live in such a way that brings glory to God?
- When we pray, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done,” it is a prayer of submission and surrender. What are ways that you can not only say these words, but live them, today?
As Jesus keeps talking to us about the habits and practices of our devotion, we jump ahead to look at Fasting. Once again, the habits of our hearts are what shape us over time, and Jesus intends to keep the spotlight on our motives.
Lets reflect:
- Once again, Jesus calls us to examine our WHY – don’t do these things to be seen by others or noticed by others.
- What do you know about fasting?
- Read Isaiah 58:6-12.
Go Deeper:
- Fasting is the practice of forgoing food, and sometimes drinks as well, for a set amount of time. The purpose of this is not to “get God’s attention,” but to respond to a sacred moment. It could be a moment where you sense God is doing something, or a somber, solemn moment in our world or your personal life.
- In these moments, we want to step back from usual. We cease our normal rhythm to meet our needs and we focus our heart on God alone. He is the true source of everything we need.
- What is a way you can incorporate the ancient practice of fasting into your rhythms of devotion? After all, Jesus said of us “WHEN you fast…” not if.
Jumping into Matthew 6, Jesus changes gears. He moves from talking about a Greater Righteousness, to looking at the practices of our worship and devotion. As always, He doesn’t just talk about what we will do as we follow Him, but what’s going on in our hearts.
Lets reflect:
- Overarching this whole next section is the warning from Jesus – Watch out… don’t do these things to be seen by others or noticed by others. How does Jesus apply this in our prayer life, our giving, and fasting?
- What are typical devotional habits for followers of Jesus today? What are things that we do to grow in love with God our Father?
- The Bible teaches us that we were created for relationship with God Himself, but often substitute Him for other loves in out lives. When we do this, we tend to re-focus our devotional habits and practices toward other things. What are some ways that we see this play out in our world, and in us? What other things do people give their time and energy, their money and resources, their hearts?
- Jesus uses a word that catches our attention: Hypocrite. It means a stage actor. It’s not exactly what we think of when we hear hypocrite – someone who says one thing and does another. It’s someone who does the right thing, but for the wrong reasons. Think of some examples of people or types of people that get called a hypocrite today.
Go Deeper:
- What are the things that you give your time and energy to?
- What devotional habits do you practice to grow in relationship with God? What devotional habits do you want to grow in?
- Ultimately “Practice makes permanent.” Jesus wants us to consider these things because they shape our lives. He wants us to not only do good things, but for the right reasons and for the attention of God Alone.
- In our Social Media shaped world, we must be so careful not to fall into the trap Jesus is describing: doing the right thing for the attention of others. Think about what you may be putting online, and what it is showing about your life? Ask the Holy Spirit to help you consider why you share the things you share.
- Now turn your eyes to Jesus. Jesus never did anything for the approval of anyone, even the Father. Before Jesus ever stepped out publicly to serve and heal and do miracles, and before He went to the cross for us, He already had the approval of the Father. You can read this in Matthew 3:17, and John 13:3-5
- Jesus also uses the language of rewards, which can make us uncomfortable. He isn’t suggesting we earn our salvation or earn the grace of God in our lives, but that there is a real and tangible benefit that we get when we choose to make Him our focus. When God is our primary goal, Jesus says you will get Him! He Himself is our reward.
- Two quotes from C.S. Lewis to ponder:
- “Aim at Heaven and you will get Earth ‘thrown in’: aim at Earth and you will get neither.”
- “We must not be troubled by unbelievers when they say that this promise of reward makes the Christian life a mercenary affair. There are different kinds of reward. There is the reward which has no natural connection with the things you do to earn it, and is quite foreign to the desires that ought to accompany those things. Money is not the natural reward of love; that is why we call a man mercenary if he marries a woman for the sake of her money. But marriage is the proper reward for a real lover, and he is not mercenary for desiring it. A general who fights well in order to get a peerage is mercenary; a general who fights for victory is not, victory being the proper reward of battle as marriage is the proper reward of love. The proper rewards are not simply tacked on to the activity for which they are given, but are the activity itself in consummation.”
As we wrap up Matthew 5, and Jesus’ teaching on A Greater Righteousness, He calls us to the counter-cultural act of loving our neighbors AND even our enemies. This challenging command affects every one of us on multiple levels, and deserves careful study and an open heart.
Lets reflect:
- Jesus combines a command from Leviticus 19 with a cultural assumption: “If we are to love our neighbors, we can hate our enemies, right?” When Jesus combines these two in a single statement, He calls us to treat our enemies as we would a neighbor.
- This command in Leviticus 19:18 is very dear to the heart of Jesus. Look at Matthew 22 and the Greatest Commandment. How does Jesus response in that moment interact with “fulfilling the law” here in the Sermon on the Mount?
- Famously, in Luke 10, Jesus is quizzed by a Teacher of the Law – “Well, just who is my neighbor then.” In response, He tells a story, and makes someone they considered to be an enemy into the hero, because they acted in mercy and compassion, they way God acts with us.
- Throughout this whole section, Jesus has been examining our hearts, and calling us to line up with the Character of God.
- Remember, it’s natural for us to form battle lines and see others as enemies. It’s part of our human nature, and so much of the media and social media climate around us reinforces this. Jesus wants us to keep our eyes on the real enemy.
- Ephesians 6 calls us to put on the armor of God, and reminds us that we are in a battle, with an enemy that is not flesh and blood.
- How does this reframe the interpersonal struggle you might be facing today?
- While it’s natural to us to be defensive, and engage other broken people with either fight or flight, withdrawing or attacking, Jesus calls us to live differently. He calls us to live as He did, choosing to love, even when it doesn’t feel right, so we can see the freedom of God’s Kingdom advancing.
- Remember… Jesus has overcome, and He is ultimately on the throne. He sees every struggle, and every time we are wronged.
- He doesn’t just tell us to love our enemies, He lived it. In doing so, He set us free.
- So as Paul put it in 2 Corinthians 10, “We might live in this world, but we don’t wage war like the world. We have different weapons with spiritual power.”
- Since Jesus overcame for us, and set us free, we can live differently. We can be salt and light, and set others free by living in countercultural ways.
- 2 Corinthians 5 reminds us that we used to look at everyone from a worldly perspective, but now we see possibilities everywhere for renewal.
Go Deeper:
- How does this particular point from Jesus strike you? Maybe you’ve been through a lot of hard times with people in your life. Is Jesus being insensitive, or even absurd? Others around us often cheer us on in getting even or holding a grudge, but what does Jesus ask us to do?
- On Sunday we looked at some important practical steps toward loving our enemies:
- Name our Enemies – those people who might have hurt us, or people we can’t stand or think and believe totally different things.
- Who do you feel like is an enemy today?
- It could be a person, or a whole group of people
- Submit to Jesus as Lord, and try to live out what He commands
- Remember, trying to act on this command with people we do not feel good about is ultimately an act of worship.
- How can you choose to honor Jesus first in your life in the way you interact with that person or group?
- Engage with Wonder
- This comes from Pete Scazzero, whose work on Emotionally Healthy Discipleship is so valuable.
- This is a countercultural step, because we’re used to engaging people we disagree with by shutting down or forming counterarguments even while they’re talking.
- Scazzero asks us, what would it look like to engage them with wonder: to “wonder why they believe that” or even “wonder why I feel so defensive.”
- One Tangible Step
- We start on this path with one foot in front of the other.
- Jesus names the first step for us: prayer.
- Prayer changes things. It powerfully impacts the relationships where there are struggles. Often times, it changes things by changing our hearts toward others.
- How can you begin to pray for (not just against!) that person or group you feel is an enemy? How can you ask God to bless them and draw them close to Himself?
- Name our Enemies – those people who might have hurt us, or people we can’t stand or think and believe totally different things.
- It’s always helpful, if you want to move toward the ways of Jesus, to have a trusted brother or sister in Christ that you can be open with. Maybe share who you feel like an enemy is at this moment, and ask them to ask you some questions. In this way, we create accountability, and they can help hold us to the Word of God.
- What is the Holy Spirit saying to us as His people in our moment? What would it look like if the church latched onto this way of living? How would it change neighborhoods and relationships?
Chugging along in Jesus’ examples of Greater Righteousness that fulfills the Law, we tackled two big ones in our eighth week of the Manifesto. First, He transitions from the vows of marriage to vows, oaths and promises we make to others in daily life, and the way we tend to manipulate things for our personal gain. Then He moves into a more contentious area… what we do in conflict situations; when we’ve been wronged or offended.
Lets reflect:
- Jesus teaches us to let our yes be yes, and our no be no. He wants His followers to be people of the truth – people who say what they mean and mean what they say.
- What areas of our lives as believers does this apply to today? Where are we tempted to twist things for our advantage? What areas has the church in general compromised in this way in our time and place?
- Why might we feel tempted to embellish facts with others? How does it affect our relationships with others if we follow the ways of the world and use our words to manipulate? How does it affect our relationships when we live as Jesus calls us to?
- Next Jesus talks to us about how we act and react in moments of conflict. Pause and reflect for a moment on where this is relevant in our culture, and also in your life.
- Can you think of a time where you felt personally insulted or belittled by someone? What did you want to do in that moment?
- Have you ever felt cheated by someone? How do Jesus’ words about giving your coat as well strike you?
- Maybe you’ve had moments before where you were forced into doing something for someone else you didn’t want to do. How does Jesus call us to transform those kinds of situations?
Go Deeper:
- Let’s continue to meditate on the way we use our words, especially in relationships.
- Jesus calls us not to respond in kind when we face injustices and hardships at the hands of others. Meditate on some more teachings that correspond to this in scripture.
- Remember how Jesus ends His introduction to this message in Matthew 5:11-12
- Paul piggybacks on the teachings of Jesus to help the struggling church in Rome with persecution and the response of our hearts Romans 12:17-21
- Peter also uses the words of Jesus to instruct the churches scattered throughout Asia Minor – 1 Peter 3:9
- What would Jesus say to us today, as His church in our city?
As we said on Sunday, Jesus is getting very real with us in this section of the Sermon on the Mount. The six case studies He presents hit at some truly personal things with us, and go so much deeper than the law. Jesus is after our hearts, and continually brings us face-t0-face with our need for His righteousness. In week 7 of our study, we looked at two more things Jesus challenges in us as He talks about lust and divorce.
Lets reflect:
- Jesus speaks directly to the men in this section. Why is that? Does that mean women can skip to the next section or are these things really embedded in every human heart?
- In our world, lust isn’t seen as a big deal. What does Jesus think? Why might He challenge us on these heart-level habits and tendencies? In what ways do our lustful habits shape us?
- When Jesus talks about our “looking,” He isn’t referring to simply noticing an attractive person. He is talking about a sustained gaze that incites something in our hearts and minds. Do you know the difference in your life? How can you develop a habit of cutting any gaze short and, as Job says, “make a covenant with your eyes?”
- As we read through Matthew 19, the wider debate around divorce in Jesus’ day and the law in question from Deuteronomy 24, what are the two ways of interpreting Moses’ “wilderness proviso?”
- How do you think Jesus’ words would be received in our culture when it comes to marriage?
- Paul gives further instruction to the church in 1 Corinthians 7, helping lay a framework for situations that are not specifically adulterous, but where covenant faithfulness has also been broken. Remember, these are not merely academic issues, and that our primary job is to cheer on marriages while remaining sensitive to people, not to pass judgment.
- Jesus enters the debate by reminding us of God’s ideal, and how marriage is meant to point to the kind of covenantal, self-sacrificial love that God shows to each of us. We want to be salt and light, and our marriages can become a signpost of heaven when we live according to God’s way.
Go Deeper:
- How do these discussions apply to us, in our view of faithfulness and fidelity to one another, both in marriage and in friendships within the body of Christ?
- Our enemy is called the accuser, and if you are struggling with shame from either situation, with the fallout of divorce or in battling with lust… remember, Jesus is for you! His forgiveness is ready and waiting, and so is His healing power. Invite Him to come wash you clean and give Him authority in your heart, and then take some action, pouring yourself into His Word and His Ways and letting Him reshape you into a new creation.
- Remember, three ways to stage a militant campaign against lust…
- Cut It Off: Whether it is a place you go, people you hang around with, a device or any access created by it, a show or movie or habit you have, if it’s inciting lustful desires or tendencies, Jesus says don’t flirt with it… cut it off.
- Get People Around You: The enemy wants you isolated where he can hit you with his one-two punch. First striking with temptation, and then nailing you with the left hook of condemnation every time you fall. God has given us people for exactly this reason. We don’t need to suffer in silence, we need to bring things into the light with one another, and find accountability and support with people who love Jesus and love us. James 5:16 even says “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
- Be Filled: Whenever we empty ourselves of sinful habits, that’s not the end of it. We need to not only be empty but be filled with the Holy Spirit and with the Word of God. We need to lay aside patterns and those things we cut off, but equally commit ourselves to taking up God’s ways and the patterns He calls us to live by.
- If you’re looking for a great book to study the Biblical vision for healthy masculinity, check out Brant Hansen’s The Men We Need.
- If you are looking for help overcoming lust, try out Covenant Eyes: a software that builds accountability and limits access to the tidal wave of hyper-sexualized content around us.
- If you’re struggling in your marriage, we want to be praying for you, and surround you. Marriage is seriously hard work and even the best marriages hit rocky times. Once again you don’t have to suffer in silence or hide. There is no shame or condemnation for those who belong to Jesus. Find some Jesus-loving friends who can pour life into you and your marriage.
- As believers, we resolve to take God’s view of Marriage and see how He intends things to go. We are not flippant or casual, but thankful for God’s faithfulness and the way He delights in us and brings good things into our lives. We cheer on our married friends in God’s family, and we commit to honoring marriage as God’s design.
Hey we made it out of the introduction! What an introduction it was, and now Jesus continues to teach in a way that far exceeds expectation – with true Authority. He isn’t just commenting on the wisdom of God, He is the Wisdom of God. He launches into the main body of His Teaching by affirming His commitment to the whole story of the Bible, and all the instruction of God found in the Torah and Prophets. Then He begins to take us deeper than just the commands… to the heart behind the law… God’s desire for His People. Sunday we unpacked the first “Case Study” – Murder.
Lets reflect:
- First, Jesus said He cares more about the Word of God than we can imagine, down to the tiniest stroke of the pen.
- In our day, do we see this kind of care for and devotion to God’s Wisdom and Instruction and the bigger story of the Bible?
- How do you read scripture? As John Stott asks, “What portions of the Bible have you tended to skip over or neglect?”
- How can you cultivate a love for the Word of God, and read it in community with others who want to go deep with Jesus?
- Second, How are anger and murder related?
- What is Jesus forcing us to wrestle with in this first case study?
- What makes you angry today?
- How on earth can our righteousness in these matters surpass the moral superiority of the Scribes and Pharisees?
Go Deeper:
- Part of the reality in approaching the Bible from our Postmodern Western worldview is figuring out where we fit in! As non-jewish believers in Jesus, we must cultivate a heart for the whole of God’s Word, and understand what part of God’s law is directly applicable to our lives today, while never for a moment disregarding the heart behind laws that maybe aren’t binding on us, like some of the food laws or sacrificial laws for Israel. What helps us a ton is to read through passages in the New Testament where the early church is figuring this out.
- First, the Book of Acts shows us multiple times where the Holy Spirit helps the blossoming church navigate the question of how to integrate gentiles into the family. Do they have to become Jewish to follow Jesus? Check out Acts 10 and 11 as the Holy Spirit guides Peter, and then Acts 15, where the council at Jerusalem formalizes an understanding.
- Don’t think that is the end of it though! – Read Galatians and you will see Paul and Peter still figuring things out about the law and how to bring groups with vastly different traditions together under the Lordship of Jesus.
- There is also the famous passage in Romans 13:1-10 where Paul instructs believers in Rome on how to live under unjust human government and still choose to love. He builds on what Jesus says in Matthew 22 about the greatest commandment – All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two things… Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… and… Love your neighbor as yourself.”
- You can go on to read that this continued to be a hot issue in the church throughout the New Testament, with Paul encouraging young Pastors Timothy and Titus to avoid foolish controversies and arguments around it.
- At the end of it all, we as 21st century believers cannot understand Jesus fully while removing Him from the context He inhabited. We can’t get to the heart of all He said without tracking from Genesis 1, and understanding God’s choosing of a people to be His blessing to the World, and getting to the heart of the Torah and the Prophets, so Jesus can show us how He fills them to the completion.
- Jesus talks with us first about anger, and it comes at a really great time in our nation, where tempers have been flaring up, even in the church. Though there are things going on that will continue to anger us and we will feel are purely evil, Jesus wants us to watch what’s going on in our heart.
- How can we surround ourselves with people who won’t just nod in agreement with all that’s wrong and frustrating in our world, but will also steer us toward our peace, grounded in the reality that Jesus is on the throne, and has overcome the world for us.
Finishing up His introduction, Jesus continues to talk directly to “you” – His audience then and now. He calls us to be salt and light right where we are. On Sunday we unpacked what these two metaphors mean, and how they build on one another. Jesus calls us to be citizens of His Kingdom, an expansive spiritual reality, but He calls us to live it out here and now in tangible ways as we love our neighbors.
Lets reflect:
- When you think about Salt, what comes to mind? How does it stick out?
- The even-more-universal idea of light in the darkness has been a symbol of truth and goodness for thousands of years. Where have you seen this in our culture, the idea of enlightenment? What gospel is it tied to in our world?
Go Deeper:
- Take a look at Mark’s version of the salt statement from Jesus in Mark 9:50. Knowing that the people of God were called to add Salt to their sacrificial offerings (Leviticus 2:13), what is Jesus calling us to? How does this connect with the previous section and our identity as Peacemakers?
- Let’s get practical. Salt and Light are both intended to stick out in their surroundings. What are some ways you can stick out and “let your light shine” today? Begin by asking God, “Who have you put in my life?” and then let Him show you how to love on them in His way.
As Jesus wraps up the Statements of Blessing, He shifts gears in a few significant ways. He begins to talk about who we will become as God changes our hearts – Peacemakers. We take on this identity as His followers because He is the Great Peacemaker for us. He made Peace with God for us, and living in His ways leads to right relationships in our lives as well. Not that it’s easy! He promises there will be challenges along the way, but that He will be with us, and we will be blessed as we choose His ways.
Lets reflect:
- Sunday we looked at differing ideas in Jesus’ day of what would bring peace to the people. How would they arrive at peace? By what methods is peace initiated? Just as in His day, we have differing ideas in ours. What are some of the ways we define peace in our culture and how do we propose to get there?
- How about for you? What does peace mean to you?
- Since Peacemaking is a big part of our calling in Christ, we have to be real about how we are wired, and how we operate in times of conflict. What is your natural style when facing conflict with someone?
- What do you feel the Holy Spirit whispering to your heart about your role in relationships in your life?
Go Deeper:
- Romans 5:1-2 says, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.” First and foremost, we have the ultimate peace we need. Jesus has made peace with God available for us.
- Let’s go a little further with what the cross means for us. Read through Ephesians 2 and meditate on what it says. Not only are we personally saved and reconciled by His Grace alone and His sacrifice for us, but there is restoration that God wants to bring into our relationships. Paul says groups that are divided are brought together when they come under the lordship and direction of Jesus. The greatest division in their mind was the Jews and Gentiles. Today we have so many divisions and classifications we can relate. Imagine you are one of Jesus’ followers… do you align more with Simon the Zealot? Peter the Passionate? Matthew the Tax Collector? Nathanael the outspoken? Philip and Thomas the questioner? James and John the ambitious? So very different from the beginning, these men of humble beginnings were united by Jesus as Lord, and became the greatest force for change in the history of the world. “For He Himself is our peace, who made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility… His purpose was to create in Himself one new humanity out of the two.”
- As we continue in the Manifesto of Jesus, He will get really specific on ways we are to act in peace, especially with those we would naturally think of as enemies. In reality this isn’t the first time in scripture where God calls His people to be countercultural in relating to enemies. Take a look at Jeremiah 29. We love to quote verse 11, but this is actually a letter to God’s people in exile, with some surprising commands about how they are to live among the captors in the worst of times.
In the second triad of the Beatitudes, we looked more closely at the change God wants to affect in our hearts and the people we become when we belong to His kingdom. We become people of Mercy, people who hunger and thirst for Righteousness and people with a Pure Heart. Check out CJ’s message here if you missed it.
Lets reflect:
- As Jesus changes gears, He calls us to live in particular ways. How do these ways (Mercy, Righteousness and Purity of Heart) look in light of the world we live in?
- What does it mean to be merciful?
- What is the right way to stand for righteousness and justice? What do I hunger for?
- What does it mean to be pure in heart?
Go Deeper: Jesus’ words stand at the crossroads of the Old Testament laws and the New Covenant He is initiating. Dive a little deeper with us in both!
- Meditate on Micah 6:8, the ancient instruction for God’s people. Pay attention in particular to the way these commands interact with one another, and the necessity of humility for us to grow.
- Watch the Bible Project videos on this portion of Jesus’ Manifesto
- This part of Jesus’ teaching interacts a lot with Jesus’ words later in Matthew, in Chapter 18. Read this section and chew on what Jesus asks of us.
- As we prepare to keep moving into the third set of Beatitudes, take a look at Paul’s comments in Romans 12, particularly verses 14-21.
As we continue in the Sermon on the Mount, we’re taking the Beatitudes by threes. These countercultural statements from Jesus about who is truly blessed are a direct challenge to the value systems of our world. Scot McKnight says this list from Jesus, “… is the way both to get your audience’s attention and to force introspection… The Beatitudes are a radical manifesto of a kingdom way of life because Jesus reveals who is in and who is not… Beginning with this list shapes the entire sermon, because it jolts us into listening more attentively. We ask, ‘If these are the people who are in, what does that mean for me?'” In the first three statements, surprising people are the focus. Not the wise and the strong and the good, but the poor in spirit, the mourners, and the meek. Jesus calls them blessed and makes incredible promises to all who find themselves in these states.
So, lets reflect:
- What do you think of Jesus’ opening? Is it familiar, or shocking?
- What does it mean to be Poor in Spirit?
- How comfortable are you with grieving and loss?
- What is your understanding of “meekness?”
- As you consider these opening words and meditate on their meaning, what is the Holy Spirit speaking to your heart?
Go Deeper: As Jesus begins to teach, new wisdom from God comes into focus, and it’s amazing to see some of the things Jesus is connecting with in the Old Testament. Use the buttons here to interact with the following…
- Meditate on Psalms 1, and 37 (particularly verses 9-11, 21-22)
- Watch the Bible Project videos on this portion of Jesus’ Manifesto
- Think about someone you know who represents each of these three things Jesus points to… those who are poor in spirit (lacking in agency and aware of their dependence on God), those who mourn for things that are wrong in our world or in their own life, and those who are gentle toward others and restrain themselves from forcing their own way.
On Sunday we kicked-off our study in the Sermon on the Mount, and made it all of two verses. Before jumping into the meat of the message, we want to make sure we are bringing our whole hearts to Jesus with ears to hear! We looked at the people to whom Jesus was speaking, and the reality that this isn’t just another “sermon,” because He isn’t just another teacher. He is the King, the one we all need and long for, and this is the Manifesto of His Kingdom.
You can find the video intro to our series here, along with the intro video from Bible Project. As you prepare your heart, read through Matthew 5-7 this week and ask yourself: How familiar are these teachings to me? And how much do I try to live by them?