Tag: A Kingdom Vision

Doing Makes All the Difference

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This week we are finally wrapping up our journey through Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. For the last two and a half months we have been working our way through the incredible vision of God’s kingdom Jesus gave us in these words. Here at the end Jesus doesn’t add any new teaching to the pile. Rather, He offers us a warning and an encouragement. Both are focused on making the same point: If we don’t put all of these things into practice, they won’t do us any good both now and when all things finally come to an end. Let’s dive into these words together as we are reminded that doing really does make all the difference.

Doing Makes All the Difference

I spent three years in seminary. While I was there, I took classes on all sorts of things you might expect a preacher to learn. We studied Greek and Hebrew. We learned various approaches to interpreting the Scriptures. We took classes on theology and church history. We learned how to defend the faith and to make strong, rational arguments in its favor. There were preaching classes, of course. Toward the end, there were even a couple of practical ministry classes and leadership classes. It was a robust program in which I learned a ton. Or at least, I felt like I did. But it’s hard to know how much you have really learned until you have the opportunity to actually put it into practice. 

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Worry About Yourself First

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Last week, I was out of town, and Pastor Dave did a great job walking everyone through the second part of Matthew 6. This week we are getting into the final third of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus opens this next section talking about judgment, and specifically not judging others. Or does He? What Jesus has to say about judgment here is more nuanced than it seems, often misunderstood, and absolutely vital for us to get right. Let’s dive in.

Worry About Yourself First

Have you ever been judged before? I don’t mean in a court of law. I mean you did something somebody else didn’t think you should have done and they made sure you knew it. Now, as for how they communicated this disapproval, the options are manifold. Maybe they just told you to your face that you were wrong. The direct approach usually does get the job done. Perhaps they didn’t use their words, but their face said plenty. I’ve been told I can sometimes use my outside voice without ever opening my mouth. Anybody else struggle with an overly expressive face? They could have been more indirect with their judgment as well, expressing their distaste for your chosen path in how they treated you thereafter. However they made their thoughts plain to you, if you were confident in your chosen course of action, you probably processed a single thought in your mind: I sure wish they would quit judging me. 

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Growth in Secret Places

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This week we are moving forward in our series, A Kingdom Vision, walking through Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. We have finished Matthew 5, and it’s time to move forward into Matthew 6. Jesus opens this next part of the sermon by talking about three different spiritual practices. He gives lot of practical advice in terms of how to pursue them in ways that will be the most lastingly beneficial to us, but it’s the bigger picture that we simply must not ignore. And the big picture is this: the reason we pursue these disciplines matters. A lot. Let’s talk about it.

Growth in Secret Places

I love weeks like we had last week. I love hearing about camp and all that the youth and kids experienced and that God accomplished during those weeks. I have thoroughly enjoyed all the years I have chaperoned as well. I think the reason I love church camp so much is that a church camp was the source of my first real job out of high school, my wife, all three of my boys, and my call into ministry. How could I not be grateful for camp? And, yes, you heard that right: my marriage is a product of a camp romance. 

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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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An Elevated Standard

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This week we are continue our summer teaching series, A Kingdom Vision. The rest of Matthew 5 in the Sermon on the Mount continues a series of seemingly disconnected blocks of teaching from Jesus. Well, they share a stylistic connection, but beyond that, they seem independent of one another. But something Jesus says at the beginning (and which we are going to talk about today) and the end, tie them all together in a way that is as unexpected as it is difficult to hear. Brace yourself for what comes next because it is going to challenge some of your most fundamental operating code. Let’s talk about how we don’t get into God’s kingdom and why that matters so much.

An Elevated Standard

Let me start out of the gate here by saying something you have probably never heard a preacher say in a sermon, and definitely not as his opening statement. Are you ready for this? Here goes: My goal this morning is to make you feel discouraged and depressed. Aren’t you glad you came today? But that’s okay, next week…I’m going to make it even worse! I’ll bet you can’t wait to hear that now. (But you definitely want to be here, because we have a special gift for guys next week about which I am personally very excited.) 

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