Jesus teaches His disciples to pray, not so that other people notice them, but knowing the Father already knows their needs because He cares for His children. In condemning vain glory and vain repetition, Jesus moves to teach us how to pray and to inform us what we should pray.
Jesus begins to teach His disciples how they are to pray, and he begins by dealing with hypocritical prayer. Prayer, by definition, is talking to God. The goal of prayer, then, should not be to be seen by others but to be seen by God.
In the second major section of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, He discusses His disciples' religious practices. He focuses on giving, prayer, and fasting in this major section. In the first topic of giving, He explains that His followers must live for the reward of the Father versus the temporary reward that comes from man's applause.
This 30,000 ft. flyover of the Book of Song of Solomon will help to demonstrate romantic wisdom. Solomon's greatest weakness was women, and he reflects on the love he ought to have enjoyed - the wife of his youth.
This 30,000-ft. flyover of the Book of Song of Solomon will help to demonstrate romantic wisdom. Solomon's greatest weakness was women, and he reflects on the love he ought to have enjoyed—the wife of his youth.
It is vital for us today to learn from Solomon's life and writings in biblical sexuality and romance. For someone who experienced everything under the sun, his discoveries of wisdom are crucial for modern-day Christians who seek to navigate a sexually confused world.
Christians have a radically different view of our suffering than the world does - a view we have learned from the very lips and example of our Savior.
John takes this opportunity in the text to picture and explain the ultimate provision and what the substance of our salvation actually is. John takes this from a legal stance and shows who our defender is, what defense the defender puts forward, and finally what our response aught to be in verses 3-6. "My soul, thou hast a friend well fitted to be thine advocate, he cannot but succeed; leave thyself entirely in his hands." - Charles Spurgeon
Jesus closes His six teachings on His authority over the Law by commanding His followers to love and pray for their enemies. The final command in Chapter Five calls us to a complete state of others-centeredness, which will ultimately get us to aim at holiness and God's perfection.
Jesus calls His followers to not resist the one who is evil. Such a command requires an investigation is to what Jesus is saying, and the four famous examples that He provides makes it clear as to what He expects from His followers.
Jesus calls His disciples to be a people of integrity. Rather than seeking to take advantage of people by our words, our words ought to reflect a genuine heart that desire to be trustworthy. In this sermon, we will look at oaths and commitments.
As Jesus did with the issues of murder and adultery, Jesus know takes His hearers to the heart of the issue on divorce. God's design for marriage is for one man and one woman to remain in a committed relationship throughout their lives, and he deals with how divorce often leads to further adultery.
Jesus, in His second antithesis of six, further demonstrates the depths of our sin by equating adultery to the lust of the heart. We must guard our hearts with all vigilance, because from our hearts flow the springs of life.
Jesus is not only the fulfillment of the Law, but He also broadens the Law by concluding that God's commands ought to sink all the way into the heart. Then, Heart obedience is what Jesus calls His disciples to, not outward obedience.
Jesus is the only Son of God who has made the Father known. The clarity to which John is writing concerning the divinity of Jesus is entirely on display in John 1:14-18. The Word became flesh is the most explicit statement of the incarnation in Scripture, and John wants you to know His name, Jesus.
John 1:1-5 may be one of the most important sections in all of Scripture, as the Apostle John outlines Jesus' pre-incarnate divinity as the Word. The Second Member of the Trinity, the Son, is the agent of all creation. He is life and light, and without Him there is no life.
What is the proper relationship between the Christian and the Law? Jesus, as the fulfillment of the Law, provides a New Covenant lens through which the Christian must now view the Law. He raises the standard of the Law to perfection, which only He can provide, and calls His kingdom citizens to heart obedience to the Law, which is only possible through the new birth and the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Jesus was accused of abolishing the Law by the religious elite of His day. However, Jesus makes the bold claim that He did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill all the Law. In this study, we will consider how Jesus fulfills the Law and how its fulfillment impacts the New Covenant.
In this passage, we learn about Yahweh's promise to Israel, His petition to Israel, and His warning to Israel. He promises to wash their sins away and to cover them in perfect holiness, which is a clear pointer to the New Covenant and the sacrifice of Christ.
Realize the victory and forgiveness that comes from saying, "I'm a sinner."
Jesus uses the metaphors of salt and light to show who HIs followers are and what they must be in this world. We are in a world of darkness, but we have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. As the light, we proclaim the truth and rescue others out of the darkness through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who is The Light.
Jesus states that we are the salt of the earth, a purifying and preserving component in a putrid and fallen world. Christians, who are are to be characterized by the beatitudes, are an essential part of God's plan of salvation.
Look through what lies ahead to the ultimate victory, eyes out and up and fixed on Jesus.
A 30,000 foot fly over of God's plan for ethnic Israel in the latter days, and how He will bring all of Israel to salvation.
The eighth beatitude is shocking, which is why Jesus spend two more verses explaining His statement. The reason believers are blessed by persecution is that they are able to glorify God and gain rewards in heaven. Furthermore, they are in the company of not only the prophets, but also the martyrs throughout the Church's history.
Jesus says that those who are characterized by the first seven beatitudes will experience the eighth, persecution The reason believers can be promised persecution is because their righteous work will expose the sin and darkness in this world. However, whenever the believer experiences persecution, they can rejoin for their reward is great in heaven.
We must seek the wisdom that comes from Christ alone, in humility and peace.
In the 7th Beatitude, Jesus is calling His followers to be those who bring peace wherever they go. As peacemakers, Christians demonstrate their belonging to the Prince of Peace.
What ought to be the greatest desire in the Christian life? It is to see God as He truly is, for when we see Him face to face, we will be as He is. Those who mourn over their sins will pursue purity every day under the sun in the Son.