Flipping Tables

Welcome to the table!

In this episode we finish our walk through Matthew 5. We tackle one of the most challenging and central passages in the Sermon on the Mount: Jesus' command to "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you".

We unpack the Old Testament context, explore how first-century teachers narrowed the definition of "neighbor" to justify hating their enemies, and examine how modern believers can fall into the same traps of political, cultural, or religious nationalism.

Key Discussion Highlights

• The Heart of the Sermon: Why Matthew 5:43–47 reveals the character and heart of God.

• The Context of Leviticus 19: Discovering where "love your neighbor" originates and how first-century teachers deliberately omitted key parts of scripture to narrow the standard of love.

• Redefining Neighbor & Enemy: Expanding our understanding of who our neighbor is—and recognizing that an "enemy" is anyone we find hard to love.

• Flipping the Tables on Nationalism: How narrow religious and political viewings can hinder us from embodying the radical, counter-cultural love of Jesus.

• "Be Perfect Therefore": Wrestling with Matthew 5:48 and understanding how works-based righteousness fails where the grace and righteousness of Christ succeed

Scriptures Referenced

• Matthew 5:43–48

• Leviticus 19:18, 33–34

• Romans 3:19–25

You can visit Flourish Ministry for free resources and to learn more about us.

Keep following the Table Flipper, and leave the table flipping to Jesus.

Welcome to the table!

What happens when the Way of the Kingdom of heaven steps all over our rights?

Jesus continues to flip the script with our Bible text for this episode from the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5:38-42 Jesus says some mindshifting things.

Here's what Jesus is saying. If you're going to follow me, here's some things you need to accept. Followers of Jesus have no right to retaliation, no right to things, no right to our own time, no right to our money. Boom! The entitlement tables are flipping. And we're starting to squirm.

This is one of the places where I think he may have lost some of the crowd. The question we need to wrestle with is: Would Jesus have lost us here?

This is what we're discussing at the table. Thanks for joining us!

References

Exodus 21:24

Leviticus 24:20

Deuteronomy 19:21

1 Peter 2:21-23

Visit Flourish Ministry for free resources and to learn more about us.

Keep following the Table Flipper, and leave the table flipping to Jesus.

Welcome to the table!

What does the way we speak reveal about the condition of our hearts?

In this episode Kimberly and I explore Jesus' teaching on oaths and promises in Matthew 5:33–37. Jesus calls His followers to a radically simple way of speaking: "Let your yes be yes and your no be no."

We unpack our tendency to exaggerate, make promises, create loopholes, and use carefully chosen words to avoid telling the whole truth. They look at how the Pharisees developed elaborate ways to make oaths while leaving themselves an escape route—and how easily we can fall into our own version of "loophole theology."

The conversation also takes us back to the garden and the roots of deception, reminding us that our struggle with truthfulness is ultimately a heart issue.

Scripture references

Matthew 5:33–37 Leviticus 5:4–6 Leviticus 19:12 Numbers 30:2 Deuteronomy 23:21 Genesis 28:20–22 Judges 11 Matthew 23:16–22 John 8:44

Keep following the Table Flipper, and leave the table flipping to Jesus.

Welcome to the table! Jesus doesn't shy away from hard conversations. Neither do we! In this episode of Flipping Tables, Kimberly Daniels and I sit at the table to wrestle with Jesus' teaching on adultery and divorce in the Sermon on the Mount.

These passages can bring up pain, shame, confusion, and even disagreement—but Jesus' words are never detached from His compassion. As He confronts the religious leaders' narrow definitions of sin, He points again and again to the heart.

We explore what it means to honor the dignity of every person as an image bearer of God, resist lust and objectification, and approach divorce and single motherhood without shame or condemnation. We also reflect on the ways religious culture can sometimes add burdens to people who are already hurting—and what it looks like to follow Jesus' example of compassion, restoration, and redemption.

Scripture Focus: Matthew 5:27–32

Subscribe to my Table 2 Newsletter for study reflections on the Sermon on the Mount.

You can visit Flourish Ministry for free resources and to learn more about us.

Keep following the Table Flipper, and leave the table flipping to Jesus.

Welcome to the table!

Every week I'm being humbled by the Sermon on The Mount. In episode 17 of our series on Matthew, we're talking about our words. We can be so careless with our words. By Jesus' standard we can be careless enough to commit murder with them. In this episode Twila and I use Matthew 5:21-26 to examine our words. In the Sermon Jesus continues to raise the standard and step on our toes.

Subscribe to Table 2 Newsletter for study reflections on the Sermon on the Mount.

Visit Flourish Ministry for free resources and to learn more about us.

Keep following the Table Flipper, and leave the table flipping to Jesus.

Welcome to the table!

I had the pleasure of hosting my friend and leadership coach, Dr. Conrad Davies, at the table. Spending time with Dr. Davies is always a bright spot for me. He has a humble and gentle way of making one feel so valued and comfortable that you're able to tear down barriers and speak freely. It's the way I believe people who knew Jesus when He was in a human body felt when they talked to Him. What a gift to talk to another believer who makes you feel like you're spending time with Jesus. I hope this conversation brightens your day!

About: Dr. Conrad Davies is an award-winning university educator, executive coach, insightful workshop facilitator, entrepreneur, mentor, father figure, brother, and friend to many.

New book release: Heart Reconciled The Journey to a Whole and Integrated Heart

Contact Dr. Conrad at [email protected]

Website: daviesassociatesllc.com

Subscribe to my Table 2 Newsletter for study reflections on the Sermon on the Mount.

You can visit Flourish Ministry for free resources and to learn more about us.

Keep following the Table Flipper, and leave the table flipping to Jesus.

Welcome to the table!

We're discussing Matthew 5:17-20 in this episode. "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them."

With this verse Jesus begins to get to the heart of the questions on everyone's minds. From the start of His ministry and the first Kingdom of Heaven announcement, Jesus has been creating a stir in Galilee. The disciples have questions. The crowds have questions. The religious leaders have questions. Everyone has some expectations and the people are making some assumptions about Jesus so when He brings up the Law and the prophets, they're leaning in and listening closely.

Is Jesus flipping the script by throwing out the Law and the Prophets?

He is not like the teachers of the law and the Pharisee's so what does He mean when He says, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Kimberly and I brought our questions and unpack what we're learning as we study the greatest sermon ever. We invite you to do the same. Thank you for joining us at our table.

Jot and tittle

Resource on the inherency of scripture

Women of the Word Jen Wilken

Subscribe to my Table 2 Newsletter for study reflections on the Sermon on the Mount.

You can visit Flourish Ministry for free resources and to learn more about us.

Keep following the Table Flipper, and leave the table flipping to Jesus.

Welcome to the table!

I'm joined once again by Dr. Kim Stolzfus for another great conversation. Kim's one of my favorite people to talk to about matters of faith, especially conversation about being a Christian witness. She continues to amaze me with her humble, gentle obedience to live as salt and light wherever God places her.

Kim shares candidly about some of her experiences being salt and light in the world of academia. We both reflect on the times when we got it right and other times when we failed. Both our successes and our failures have contributed to our spiritual formation into ambassadors for Christ.

The conversation flew by and we both left the table encouraged. She's an inspiration to me. I think this episode will both inspire and encourage you. Thanks for joining us at the table!

Passage: Matthew 5:13-16

Kim's previous episode:

Anxiety, Panic, and Faith That Held On

We're excited to be anchoring down in the Sermon on The Mount for the summer.

Subscribe to my Table 2 Newsletter for study reflections on the Sermon on the Mount.

You can visit Flourish Ministry for free resources and to learn more about us.

Keep following the Table Flipper, and leave the table flipping to Jesus.

Welcome to the table!

In this episode of our series on Matthew: The Way of the Kingdom of Heaven. Julie and Kimberly continue their journey through the Sermon on the Mount, settling into the opening words of Jesus in the Beatitudes. Together, they reflect on how these familiar verses reveal the heart of the kingdom of heaven—an upside-down kingdom built on grace, humility, mercy, and transformation.

The conversation explores how the Beatitudes are not separate categories of believers, but a complete portrait of kingdom character that Jesus forms in all His followers. Julie and Kimberly wrestle honestly with past misunderstandings, religious baggage, and the tension of learning to live out the message of Jesus in a world shaped by performance, fear, and self-protection.

In This Episode

• Why the Beatitudes may be the "new Ten Commandments" for kingdom living
• The connection between Jesus on the mountain and Moses on Mount Sinai
• Understanding "poor in spirit" as the starting place of grace
• Why the Beatitudes build upon one another as a unified picture of discipleship
• Wrestling with persecution, suffering, and joy in the kingdom of heaven
• Honest reflections on church culture, vulnerability, and creating safe spaces for broken people
• The importance of confession, authenticity, and spiritual renewal in the church
• Personal reflections on which Beatitude resonates most deeply right now

Scripture Discussed

• Matthew 5:1–12 — The Beatitudes
• Philippians 2 — The attitude of Christ
• Psalms 27 — Seeking the face of God
• Exodus 24 — Covenant at Mount Sinai

Thanks for listening! We'd love for you to share this episode with a friend. Whether you've been following Jesus for years, are just getting started, or are simply considering it, you're invited to join us at the study table. Subscribe to my Table 2 Newsletter for study reflections, and visit Flourish Ministry for free resources. Keep following the Table Flipper, and leave the table flipping to Jesus.

Welcome to the table!

In this episode we're beginning to go through the Sermon on the Mount. This is Jesus' "kingdom manifesto." This is the way of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Kimberly, my co-host, and I read through the entire sermon, Matthew 5–7, honestly wrestling with the tension, we feel over parts of it.

These three chapters contain some of Jesus' most familiar words and arguably some of His most misunderstood words. We pause in between each chapter to talk about some parts that are hard to understand and hard to obey.

The Sermon can be read in as little as 16 minutes. I'm inviting you to join us for the next couple of months reading it and coming back to the table for a series of episodes on the most important sermon of all time. Let's learn to live it out together!

D.A. Carson said, "The more I read these three chapters– Matthew 5, 6, and 7 – the more I am both drawn to them and shamed by them. Their brilliant light draws me like a moth to a spotlight; but the light is so bright it sears and burns."

Whether you've been following Jesus for years, are just getting started, or are simply considering it, you're invited to join us at the study table. Subscribe to my Table 2 Newsletter for study reflections, and visit Flourish Ministry for free resources.

Keep following the Table Flipper, and leave the table flipping to Jesus.