Series: Sermon on the Mount

How does the Christian make appropriate discernments about someone without becoming judgmental? That is clearly a fine line to walk, but Jesus gives us some direction in this matter. However, in this passage He is really speaking against the practice of the legalist Pharisees who disdained everyone who was not a fellow Pharisee. That is still a big problem in the Church of Christ on earth. We almost always wonder about the “spiritual credentials” of those who are not a part of our group especially with the proliferation of denominations and independent churches that dot the landscape of Christendom. Pastor Gary seeks to make biblical sense of all this in today’s message entitled, “Judges, Specks, Dogs & Pigs”/Holy Introspection in a World of Judgementalism.

Almost everyone has experienced anxiety and worry in their lives. For some, it is debilitating. We finite human beings have no idea what the future holds, whether that be tomorrow or twenty years from now. It seems the more news we ingest from a myriad of sources, the worse our anxiety becomes. Many take pills to help them cope. But God’s people can simply turn to passages in Scripture such as Matthew 6:25-34, among many others, for wisdom, comfort, strength, and peace of mind. Pastor Gary delves into exactly what Jesus was saying to his disciples about this issue, and the application today is just as pertinent as it was then.

Did you know that everyone has a “world & life view?” Most have no clue what that is, but it shows up in how we spend the resources God has given to us. That’s especially true in what we spend money on beyond the necessities. We are commanded to be generous, but how much is too much, and how does our attitude reveal whether Jesus has the place of preeminence in our lives, or maybe something else does? And what does Zacchaeus, Galatians 5 (fruit of the Spirit), along with Galatians 2:20, have to do with our text in Matthew 6:22-24? Find out as Pastor Gary continues our series on the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).

Is wealth a blessing or a curse? You likely know people who have money, but money does not have them. How can we be good stewards of the wealth God has blessed us with and not get caught up in the rat race to accumulate more and more while enjoying that pursuit less and less? It seems the more we have, the more fearful we become of losing it. Find out what Jesus has to say about this topic in Gary’s message, “Living with Eternity In View.”

Did you know that Jesus spoke about money more than He did about heaven? He likely did so because nothing reveals our heart’s focus like our bank accounts and how we use the funds God entrusts to us. As we begin studying Matthew 6 in the Sermon on the Mount, discover your “motive behind the money” and how the Christian is to pursue a lifestyle of generosity for God’s glory.

The greatest commandment in the Bible is to love God with all your being. The other side of that coin is the command to love our neighbors like we love ourselves. If we just obeyed those two commands the world would be heaven, prisons would be empty, our homes would be a delight, and conflict would almost be nonexistent. So, why isn’t that happening and how can we, as God’s people, be change-agents in our part of this world? Jesus talks about that in Matthew 5:43-48.

How often have you seen or read about people demanding their rights? Are these the ones codified in our Bill of Rights or something else? How does the follower of Christ react when his “rights” are breached or curtailed? Jesus speaks to this issue in Matthew 5:38-42. Join us as we explore what it means to Surrender Your Rights according to God on Sunday, November 6.

What does it mean for a Christian to be a “truth-teller” as a way of life? Jesus found that Judaism developed clever ways to avoid keeping promises and oaths. Today, we are much further down the road of duplicity as students are taught that “truth” is subjective and “speaking the truth” is not possible. How does Jesus respond to such thinking?

Divorce seems so common now that no one even debates the issue…except Jesus.  In the Sermon on the Mount, He turns the populist thinking of His day on its head and confronts an unbiblical Jewish culture.  This Sunday we’ll unpack this issue from God’s perspective in Matthew 5:31-32 as we study “God’s Will in a No-Fault World.”