We have become quite accustomed promises easily made and easily broken. Our culture has come to expect and even accept people playing fast and easy with the truth. In politics, business, journalism, marriage or wherever relationships are built on trust, that trust seems short-lived as promises made are often quickly set aside. Jesus' day was no different, and the religious leaders had become great "spin-doctors" of the truth that enabled them to wiggle out of their promises easily. But Jesus comes and calls his followers to very simply be people of integrity, true to their word.

We live in a sexually charged culture where we are repeatedly assaulted with ideas, images, and varying temptations that can make every day a battle in our ongoing struggle to be faithful to God. That’s why it can be very difficult to come face to face with a teaching like we encounter this week in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Like a masterful surgeon, Jesus cuts through our facades and exposes our deepest need in the midst of our deepest struggles. Today we not only learn from Jesus what He demands of us as we live for Him, but also how He sets us free from all our guilt and sorrow to live freely and passionately for Him as well.

In 2013, according to the statutes of United States, there were 4.7 murders per 100,000 people. That is down significantly from what it was 25 years ago, and by those standards, that is good news. However, when you consider the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, by God's standard the murder rate has been and remains at 100%. In other words, we're all guilty according to Jesus as he condemns not just the fruit of murderous actions, but the root of "murderous" attitudes such as anger. Yet, Jesus doesn't just expose the harsh consequences of anger in our lives, he also encourages and equips us with the hope and peace that reconciliation with God and with one another brings. We continue in our series on the Sermon on the Mount and hear Jesus' call to kingdom living.

Perhaps the most famous sermon ever preached, Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount is both daunting and appealing, convicting and encouraging, overwhelming and freeing. Jesus' pressing of God's command down to the heart-level of our lives leads us to rightly wonder who can meet such demands. And yet, his call to such a radical righteousness begins with accepting that indeed we cannot do so apart from receiving and believing the good news of God's kingdom in the person and ministry of Jesus himself. John Stott says the Sermon on the Mount "describes what human life and human community look like when they come under the gracious rule of God." In other words, what Kingdom living looks like in this present age. This summer we will be looking at the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus' call to Kingdom living in Matthew 5-7.

Please note: Unfortunately, part three of the Habbakkuk series is unavailable.In Habakkuk chapter 3, we encounter a man transformed by grace and facing this life with a whole new perspective. Having wrestled with God in an epic conversation about the purpose of evil and God’s sovereignty over it, there is now only one thing that remains for him: a cry of faith. Join us this week as we consider Habakkuk’s song of response and learn how we can live by faith in the face of evil by rejoicing in the truth, greatness, promises, and future goodness of God on behalf of his people.

Pastor A, from West Africa, is our guest speaker today. A came to faith through the work of a Korean Presbyterian missionary serving in his country. Sensing a call to ministry, and having been rejected by his family, he left his country and spent seven years at the Presbyterian Seminary of Manila (The Philippines) earning his bachelor's degree and Master of Divinity. Upon his return, A began doing the work of an evangelist, going from village to village spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. God blessed these efforts abundantly, bringing about a harvest of new believers and establishing more than 30 active churches. Still involved with evangelism - both in his country and in neighboring nations - A is instrumental in raising up and discipling new men to carry on the work.

Last week, Habakkuk the prophet revealed himself to be a man with enough faith to ask God the toughest of questions. Like so many of us he had been wrestling with God over the reality of evil in his day, but unlike us he actually gets a direct answer from God that he would have never expected. Join us as we continue our series in the book of Habakkuk and hear directly from God what his plan is for dealing with the evil among his people, and learn from Habakkuk how we can respond in the face of such absolutely shocking news.

How often do you survey the world around you and grow weary with the prevalence of evil, injustice, and general lack of godliness that you see? And when you do, what is your typical response? Anger? Frustration? Despair? This week we are introduced to the prophet Habakkuk, a man who, like many of us, has grown weary and unhappy with what he sees and experiences in the world. Here we begin our new series and consider what we can learn from Habakkuk and his honest, inspiring, and even shocking cry to the Lord in the midst of his anguish.

We all know the value of delayed gratification, resisting the temptation of a present, immediate reward based on the promise of a future, more enduring reward. For Christians the promise of heaven and hope of glory revealed in us through Christ, gives worth to enduring the trials and sufferings of this present world (Romans 8:18). But is that promise and hope for real and what does it look like? God answers that question in the last chapters of his word. Join us as we conclude our series of messages on Glory Through Suffering and see from the book of Revelation that heaven is for real.

We continue with our Lenten Series, Glory Through Suffering, as we celebrate our Risen Savior in this Easter message.