In this Easter sermon, we dive into the connection between Jesus’ teaching on retaliation in the Sermon on the Mount and His own death and resurrection. We face endless choices when it comes to how to respond to those who harm us and the resurrection story is the best example of Jesus’ teaching on how to respond in such circumstances.

This week, we look at Jesus' teaching on oaths in the Sermon on the Mount. It turns out that oaths have quite a complicated history in Scripture and the early Church. We dive into why Jesus teaches that His followers shouldn't use oaths and what this means for our world and our own lives and speech each day.

In this sermon, we dive into the Bible's teaching on divorce. Beginning with Jesus' statement concerning divorce in the Sermon on the Mount, we explore how God hates divorce and marriage is something to be protected, but God also hates injustice and there are situations where divorce may be the only option.

In this sermon, we look at Jesus' teaching on adultery and lust. We explore the good desires behind sex, the problems with destructive engagement with sex, and the life that is possible when we are able to engage our God-given desires in the ways God intends for them. Rather than giving us a new set of laws about things to simply avoid, Jesus is helping us see the road to full life in Him, the life we are created for.

In this sermon, we look at Jesus teaching on anger, hate, and name calling in the Sermon on the Mount. We dive into what's going on under the surface of such actions and how we might better relate to the anger that comes up when we haven't gotten our way or an injustice has occurred. Jesus' answer leans heavily upon relationships and we explore what this might mean for us today.

In this sermon, we explore Jesus' statements concerning the Law, His interpretation and fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, and the need for our righteousness to exceed that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. We tease out the implications of what Jesus is saying in relation to the Jewish tradition, we talk about having large phylacteries (what are those you might ask?), and we explore how our righteousness can increase. Jesus is setting us up for the rest of the Sermon on the Mount and what He is sharing here will help us in our exploration for the rest of the series.

In this sermon, we look at what it means when Jesus says that we are the salt and the light of the world. Just like salt and light have certain properties and functions, God has created us to live in a certain way that brings the most life to both the world and our own lives as individuals. We explore what this looks like and what can get in the way of living out our "saltiness."

In this sermon, we take a look at the final beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus proclaims those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness and for His sake to be blessed. By looking at Jackie Robinson, Mariano Rivera, and Hebrews 11, we explore why Jesus calls the persecuted blessed and what that means for us when we stand up for righteousness and the way of Jesus but the world responds with anger and violence.

In this sermon, we explore what it means to be a peacemaker and why such people are considered blessed. Using Romans 12 and the book of Philemon, we look at making peace by offering ourselves as living sacrifices and by becoming bridges of reconciliation and peace. The work of Jesus was to make peace between God, all people, and all creation. Peace begins inside and then flows out of us into the world. The invitation to follow Christ is and invitation to join in this peace and peacemaking.

In this sermon, we look at what it means to be pure in heart and why such people are blessed to see God. From what Jesus meant by the heart to what it means to be pure, we look at what this meant in the time of Jesus and what it looks like to cultivate purity in the deepest parts of who we are today.