Month: June 2026

The Good News About High Standards

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Last week, as we continued our summer teaching series, A Kingdom Vision, we started working through the second half of Matthew 5. We often look at these verses as a series of only loosely connected blocks of teaching from Jesus. What we came to discover, though, is that in this section Jesus is doing something really important. He is helping us see and understand that self-righteousness is not the way into God’s kingdom. That’s not how God’s kingdom works. His kingdom is a kingdom of grace. After establishing this fact, Jesus gives us six examples to prove His point. Let’s work through those today as we finish up the rest of Matthew 5 together.

The Good News About High Standards

We have been watching a series on the Angel Studios streaming service called Guarded lately. It’s a basic romantic-drama. One of the main characters is the billionaire owner of a tech company, and one of the prominent plotlines so far revolves around his relationship with his father. No matter what he does, no matter how successful he becomes, his father is only ever critical. He seems to almost delight in pointing out every flaw he has or mistake he makes. His character hasn’t said it out loud, but you can tell that he feels like no matter how hard he tries, he’s never going to be good enough for his dad. 

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Man dressed as Jesus warmly greeting young children with backpacks outside a school entrance

Opening Gospel Doors

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“Jesus said, ‘Leave the little children alone, and don’t try to keep them from coming to me, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'” (Matthew 19:14 CSB – Read the chapter)

For the last couple of Fridays now we have been talking about various things that have resulted in the church I pastor being in the position that it is. We are growing. There is life and momentum and excitement everywhere you look right now. New families are connecting regularly, and most of them are young and with young kids. It really is a fun season. But it isn’t a season that has arrived overnight. Things have been slowly building in this direction for several years. There have been several decisions the church has made along the way that have contributed in important ways toward what we are experiencing. Exploring some of these with you is why I’ve started this series. We have looked at two so far – eating together and clarifying our identity – today, let’s take a look at a third one: getting into our local school.

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Father and son sitting on blanket under tree reading a book

Growing in Wisdom

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“Listen, sons, to a father’s discipline, and pay attention so that you may gain understanding, for I am giving you good instruction. Don’t abandon my teaching. When I was a son with my father, tender and precious to my mother, he taught me and said, ‘Your heart must hold on to my words. Keep my commands and live. Get wisdom, get understanding; don’t forget or turn away from the words from my mouth. Don’t abandon wisdom, and she will watch over you; love her, and she will guard you. Wisdom is supreme—so get wisdom. And whatever else you get, get understanding. Cherish her, and she will exalt you; if you embrace her, she will honor you. She will place a garland of favor on your head; she will give you a crown of beauty.’”
‭‭(Proverbs‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭9‬ ‭CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

The fourth of God’s ten words to the Israelites that were to serve as the foundation for all their interactions with Him was a call to honor their fathers and mothers. As Paul would later point out, this was the first command with a promise: that they would enjoy a long and fruitful life. The obvious question this command begs is how—how do we honor our moms and dads? Well, one good way is to show them the respect of listening to their counsel. Let’s do a little exercise in that together today as we get into chapter four and the fourth time Solomon has called his children to listen carefully.

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Man in traditional clothing praying on a rug with a cityscape in the background at sunset.

Justice Will Yet Be Served

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“The Lord’s curse is on the household of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous; He mocks those who mock but gives grace to the humble. The wise will inherit honor, but he holds up fools to dishonor.”
‭‭(Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭33‬-‭35‬ ‭CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

Think for a minute about the last time you saw somebody get away with something they shouldn’t have gotten away with. Remember for a second the last time you prayed something along the lines of, “God, when are you going to do something about ______________?” We live in a world in which it seems like the wicked prosper all the time. Evil people thrive while good people get punished for their good deeds. Why does God allow all of that? The truth is that He won’t forever, and wise people understand and live in light of that truth. Let’s talk about it.

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Teenager with crossed arms standing on gravel near a basketball court with graffiti-covered wall

Rejecting the Path of Violence

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“Don’t plan any harm against your neighbor, for he trusts you and lives near you. Don’t accuse anyone without cause, when he has done you no harm. Don’t envy a violent man or choose any of his ways; for the devious are detestable to the Lord, but he is a friend to the upright.”
‭‭(Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭29‬-‭32‬ ‭CSB‬‬ – Read the chapter)

We live in a culture that is increasingly comfortable with violence. We have a growing appetite for violent content in the series and movies we watch. And not just violence, but graphic, gratuitous, even glorified violence. After marinating in this kind of excess for years, it really shouldn’t surprise us that it is working itself out in real life more and more often. We need to learn the wisdom of what Solomon says right here. Let’s take a look.

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