Feb 22, 2017
Matthew 6:19-24. Martin Luther wrote; "Whenever the gospel is taught and people seek to live according to it, then there are two terrible plagues that always arise: false teachers who corrupt the teaching and then, Sir Greed, who obstructs right living." Here, Jesus warns us that we cannot serve two masters. We...
Feb 22, 2017
Matthew 6:16-18. One commentator noted that it would seem Christians have ripped these pages from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount from their Bibles! Because we generally do not think about fasting, much less do it. There is a time and place for highly focused and heartfelt earnestness in our praying--perhaps accompanied...
Feb 22, 2017
Matthew 6:5-15. Some people love to pray in public, so as to be seen by others. Such hypocritical self-righteousness does not honor God nor does it accomplish anything fruitful. In his teaching from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus instructs us how to pray with simplicity and humility, in private, powerful communion...
Feb 22, 2017
Matthew 6:1-4. While you may not be technically guilty of breaking God's commandments, you can still break them in the your heart. And while you may be externally doing good and righteous things, even those actions can be done for all the wrong reasons. Here, Jesus instructs us to be careful not to do righteous...
Feb 22, 2017
Matthew 5:38-48. No one likes relational mess. The Pharisees used the law relating to fairness in sentencing as an excuse for gaining revenge against one's enemies. Yet here, Jesus sets forth an incredible challenge for those who have been deeply hurt by others: let it go, love it through, and then live free as the...