Today, Jesus takes us into one of the most personal and challenging areas of life—our sexual purity. In a world flooded with temptation, sensuality, and distorted views of love, Jesus speaks with clarity and authority. He doesn’t lower the bar. He raises it to the level of the heart! Let’s be honest, no one escapes this struggle untouched. Lust isn't just a temptation we battle out there in the world. It’s a battle in here, in our hearts. If we’re going to live as faithful citizens of God's Kingdom, if we’re going to live counter to the world’s culture as salt and light, we need more than just a pursuit of outward obedience, trying to keep ourselves pure through self-effort. We need transformation of the heart! In our text today, Jesus exposes the root of our problem and calls us to radical, grace-filled purity. In the gospel of Matthew 5:27-30, Jesus confronted His hearers with the deeper intent of the Law, exposing the seriousness of lust as adultery of the heart, and calling them to a life of sexual purity as true citizens of God’s kingdom.

On this day Easter Sunday we are reminded that Jesus claimed to be the Resurrection and the Life. He claimed that He was not only able to defeat death, but that He is the only way that we can receive this resurrection life. Where do you need this resurrection life today? Where are you experiencing death today? For there are many kinds of death: death of an unfulfilled dream; death of a relationship due to divorce or discord among former friends or family; and of course the finality of death itself. How do you face death? What do you believe about this? Jesus not only claimed to be the resurrection and the life. He proved it! His resurrection is a fact and a matter of historical record. Do you believe this? In the gospel of John 11:25-26, about two weeks before the first Easter Sunday, Jesus called Martha, whose brother Lazarus had died, to believe in Him as the resurrection and the life. We can experience resurrection life by believing in Jesus.

We live in a world filled with division, uncontrolled anger, and broken relationships. Whether in families, communities, or workplaces, unresolved conflict is a barrier to true peace. We’re hearing of fathers and sons being at odds over politics, over how they voted. We’re seeing mothers and daughters fighting over gender issues and appropriate pronouns. Neighbors are ripping up yard signs, pulling down flags, and keying one another’s cars. Even in the church, we struggle with unresolved conflict that disrupts our unity. People leave their community group, their youth group, or even the church over discord, rather than learning to reconcile with one another. Yet Jesus calls us to pursue reconciliation as an essential element of living in His Kingdom. But how can we understand its importance? In the Gospel of Matthew 5:21–26, Jesus confronted His hearers with the deeper intent of the Law by exposing the seriousness of unresolved anger and urging them to pursue reconciliation as true citizens of God’s kingdom.

In our text this week, Jesus transitions from His discussion of the character of Kingdom citizens (the Beatitudes), and the influence Kingdom citizens are to have in this world (salt/light), to those whom He calls great in the Kingdom of Heaven. He says that greatness in the Kingdom is connected to how we view the Bible, its commandments and how we view righteousness. Indeed, if we are to consider Jesus our King, then we must look at the Bible through His eyes! In the gospel of Matthew 5:17-20, Jesus called those who saw the Bible through His eyes great in the Kingdom of Heaven. We can be among those whom Christ calls great in the Kingdom.

Last week, we studied the Beatitudes, the blessings of Kingdom living in Matthew 5:1-12. Today, we’ll be looking at Mathew 5:13-16, which as Dr. Danny Akin says, “flows naturally out of the Beatitudes.” For as he says it is “taking on and exhibiting the character of the Beatitudes that makes it possible for us to be salt and light on the earth” While the Beatitudes describe the inner character and blessed state of those who follow Jesus as King, these next verses describe how we are to live as Kingdom people outwardly in this world. How are we to live as Kingdom people? What does Jesus have to say about this? In the gospel of Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus used the two powerful metaphors of salt and light to call His disciples to faithfully bear witness of His transforming power by living as Kingdom people.

How does King Jesus begin this sermon? He begins with a declaration of the blessings that belong to the citizens of God’s kingdom. Do you know this state of blessing that God offers to those who repent of their sins and follow Jesus as King? Or are you still seeking the temporary happiness that the world offers. In the gospel of Matthew 5:1-12, Jesus began His Sermon on the Mount by declaring the blessings of those who live as citizens of God’s kingdom.  We can experience the blessings of living as citizens of God’s kingdom.

What are your greatest needs? Belonging? Purpose? Like every other human being that has ever existed, you want food, water, shelter, but you truly seek family, community and purpose. You were made that way. Do you pursue these deeper needs? Do you seek out Gospel community? Are you inviting people into this kind of community? Are you opening up your life as a conduit for God’s grace to others? In the book of Acts, Luke recorded how the early church cultivated a culture of Gospel Community, and God added to their number daily. We can invite others into Gospel Community with an eager expectation that the Lord will grow His church.

Do you sometimes feel a disconnect between you personal spiritual life and your public life? Do you feel like there is a version of you that goes to church and community group, and then another version of you that goes to work or school or to the grocery store? What would it look like to be more consistent, being your true self everywhere you go? What if every day you could be more intentional about making your spiritual life and your public life one and the same? Wouldn’t that make every day more of an adventure? In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he told them that their ordinary, day-to-day lives could be radically used for God by living with gospel intentionality.

Do you worry about the future? Do you ever wonder if God is really in control when the world seems chaotic? Maybe you feel uncertain about your job, your health, or your family. Maybe you're looking at the state of our nation or the world and wondering, "Where is this all going?" The people of Israel in Haggai’s day had similar concerns. They were a small, struggling remnant in a land that once flourished under King David and Solomon. Their temple was in ruins, their enemies were strong, and they wondered if God's promises to them were still true. But through Haggai, God gave them assurance that they could trust Him with the future. In Haggai 2:20-23, God spoke through the prophet Haggai to assure Zerubbabel that he could trust God with the future of Israel. We can trust God with the future.

God cautions His people to understand that worshiping God, both giving and serving, must come from a heart that is pure and devoted to Him, not just outward religious activity. God cares more about the attitude of our hearts than the amount of our giving. He cares more about our motive than our money. He desires that we worship with a right heart. In Haggai 2:10-17, God told the prophet Haggai to help the Israelites to understand that what really matters to God is that they worship Him with a right heart.