What is fasting? Does Jesus expect Christians too fast today? Many Christians do not know what to do with fasting. Perhaps they have never known someone who has fasted or they do not understand the purpose of it. Others question whether it is something that people today are supposed to practice or if it was simply something the Jewish people were expected to do. In this passage, Jesus speaks to the wrongs and rights of fasting as we consider this lost Christian discipline.

Does the Lord expect Christians to always forgive? Do the Christian have to worry about temptation and testing or is the Christian life easier than the life before? Jesus answers these questions in the second part of His model prayer that He gave the disciples. What Jesus teaches here is not what many expect.

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, what truths and principles did He consider most important? In the me-centred and individualistic culture of the Western World, many readers might be surprised to understand what Jesus teachers in His model sermon for Christian disciples who follow Him.

How does Jesus teach Christians to pray? His teaching on what is commonly referred to as the “Lord’s Prayer” is much more than many people realise. Jesus makes a distinction between those who pray to God as a landlord and those who pray to God as Father. His words suggest that the types of prayers by many people around the world are not what God is looking for. What do you think about Jesus’ radical teaching on prayer?

Many people claim to worship God, but how does Jesus teach that God wants to be worshipped? Is He primarily concerned with external religious actions? Jesus says God is interested in the heart attitude and the reasons for which a person worships. No one was more rightly critical of religious people in Jesus day than Jesus Himself. But why? Listen and find out what Jesus has to say about religion and the heart.

We hear a great deal about personal rights in our Western society. Oftentimes, people become rather vocal when they believe their personal rights are not being respected. But what does Jesus say the Christian’s view of personal rights should be? How should a Christian respond when his “personal rights” are violated? This is one of several important questions Jesus addresses at the end of Matthew 5.

What does the Gospel of Jesus have to do with our everyday problems and realities as human beings? The answer is actually much more than most people think. At the end of Matthew 5, Jesus gives six teachings that He contrasts with what the religious leaders and the religious tradition taught about God and His law. Here is Jesus’ authoritative teaching on sexual desires, marriage and keeping one’s word.

When Jesus the Messiah stands up to give the proper interpretation and understanding of the law everyone should listen closely. What does Jesus demand of His followers and how should they properly understand and properly follow God’s law? Jesus gives the answer by showing illustrations of how to understand and live God’s commands from the heart in Matthew 5.

What did Jesus come to do? Was what He taught consistent with the Jewish Bible or was He doing something completely new? Jesus answers this question and speaks to the misunderstandings that some had about the Jewish Law and what Jesus had come to do. His answer has many implications for Christians today and how they live in a way that honours God.

Many people may be familiar with what Jesus said about being the salt of the earth and the light of the world. However, few have stopped to consider what Jesus meant by these phrases and few have connected their meaning with the important words Jesus said just before. Who does Jesus call to be salt and light? How can they be salt and light? Where do they get the strength or power to be those things and what difference does it make? Listen to the explanation of this important passage from the most famous sermon of all time – The Sermon on the Mount.