Sermons on Matthew (Page 4)

Matt 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. In this beatitude, Jesus is describing those who, because of their attachment to him, yearn for righteousness ‘as a deer pants for streams of water’ (Ps 42). As we walk down the road of life, Jesus intercepts us on the road. He moves into our lives and begins transforming our appetites. He begins to repair all of our broken cravings. He begins to heal all of our longings, which have been distorted as a result of sin. Instead of ultimately longing for other things, he causes us to long for righteousness instead. What is this righteousness he is talking about? I defined it a few weeks ago simply as ‘right-relatedness’. Righteousness is fundamentally a relational term and begins with our relationship with God, but includes our relationships with others, with ourselves, and with creation. In this beatitude, Jesus takes us right into what it means to be human, made in the image of God. To prepare for this Sunday, you can meditate on Psalm 63 and begin to think about what you really crave. What are your appetites? Are they right-side up or not?

Matt 5:5 We tackle another Beatitude this week – the meek. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Jesus switches the price tags once again with this one. Jesus is saying that it is not the ‘survival of the fittest,’ but the ‘survival of the meekest.’ This is completely upside-down to how the world operates. Take a look at the executives at your company – would you describe them as being meek? Those who are at the top in the sports world – are they meek? Those at the top of politics – are they meek? Maybe they are, maybe they are not. It all depends on how you define meek. And, here, Webster’s dictionary does not help, but Psalm 37 does. So, in preparation for this Beatitude, it would be helpful to meditate over Psalm 37 because it gives us the best definition for meekness. Hope you can join us this Sunday as we aim to discover the blessedness in being meek.

Matt 5:3 This week we will begin taking a Sunday for each Beatitude found at the beginning of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. In this famous passage, Jesus is describing what happens to people when they attach themselves to him. He goes up on a mountain and begins to teach them by describing the character traits found in people attached to him. Jesus starts with ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’ This verse is the foundation of and sets the tone for the entire sermon. In fact, it is not a bad idea to read it before every other verse in the sermon. So, what did Jesus mean by ‘poor in spirit’ and what relationship does this verse have to Luke’s version of this Beatitude, which reads ‘Blessed are the poor,’ rather than ‘poor in spirit’ (Luke 6:20)? Hope you will join us as we dig into God’s Word together this Freedom Sunday.

Matt 5:1-10 Now that we have finished our Judges study, what were the judges lacking? In general, they were lacking character. The judges had charisma, but no character. This Sunday we will kick off a new series we’re calling ‘Living Right-Side Up in an Upside-Down World’ in which we will study The Sermon on the Mount. In this famous sermon, Jesus describes for us what his kingdom life is all about, and it all begins with character. What kind of character do the people of God have? Jesus tells us in the Beatitudes, some of the most famous sayings ever uttered. Some might think Hallmark came up with them, but no, Jesus said them. And, he said them to bring us life! Meditate over them this week and decide which one is your favorite, and which one is the most challenging for you.