Amanda Pettit talks about Hope and all that God is doing at Rescue Hill

Welcome to the Summer of the Sermon! Each Sunday through the summer we are going to go through and dig in to the Sermon on the Mount and discover what exactly Jesus wants from us.

Today we wrap up this summer long series of the Sermon on the Mount. I think it can be summed up nicely by saying that if we aren’t producing fruit, we aren’t following Jesus and his plan for us. Church is a place that we come to help each other grow in Christ and learn how to be a Christ follower. A place where we hold each other accountable. And a place where we invite people to come and experience the same life change that we have.

Welcome to the Summer of the Sermon! Each Sunday through the summer we are going to go through and dig in to the Sermon on the Mount and discover what exactly Jesus wants from us.

We must be careful not to let this idea that we will somehow drift into the kingdom of God invade our thinking. The decision to follow Christ must be followed by a decision everyday...every moment of every day...to continue to pursue him and righteousness. It’s not that the right way is so narrow because it’s that much harder than every other way, or that there is virtue found in the narrow way itself, it’s simply that there is only one way.

Welcome to the Summer of the Sermon! Each Sunday through the summer we are going to go through and dig in to the Sermon on the Mount and discover what exactly Jesus wants from us.

We must be careful not to let this idea that we will somehow drift into the kingdom of God invade our thinking. The decision to follow Christ must be followed by a decision everyday...every moment of every day...to continue to pursue him and righteousness. It’s not that the right way is so narrow because it’s that much harder than every other way, or that there is virtue found in the narrow way itself, it’s simply that there is only one way.

Welcome to the Summer of the Sermon! Each Sunday through the summer we are going to go through and dig in to the Sermon on the Mount and discover what exactly Jesus wants from us.

Earlier in the sermon Jesus taught us how to pray, today we will go through part of the sermon that Jesus speaks of God’s response to our prayer. No prayer is ever wasted! We must be vigilant in continually petitioning our God for the things we want and need. We must also, however, be vigilant in pursuing righteousness because we know it is the prayer of a righteous person that will move our God.

Welcome to the Summer of the Sermon! Each Sunday through the summer we are going to go through and dig in to the Sermon on the Mount and discover what exactly Jesus wants from us.

Today we look at Jesus' warning for us to avoid the extremes of judgment. We need to be careful not to become harshly judgmental, looking for faults, taking the opportunity to look down on others from our position of self-righteousness, but neither are we to overlook sin. We need to be able to recognize sin for what it is. Any attempt to overlook or justify sin on any grounds is itself sinful.

Welcome to the Summer of the Sermon! Each Sunday through the summer we are going to go through and dig in to the Sermon on the Mount and discover what exactly Jesus wants from us.

We can break it down like this...unless we serve him whole-heartedly, we cannot claim to serve him at all. If we are seeking first the righteousness of the Kingdom, we will be in obedience to all of Jesus’ commands. Jesus and his Kingdom will be our number one priority.

Welcome to the Summer of the Sermon! Each Sunday through the summer we are going to go through and dig in to the Sermon on the Mount and discover what exactly Jesus wants from us.

How should we pray? Is there an instruction book? Prayer is one of the ways we touch Jesus – let Jesus touch us – and let Jesus change our lives. Prayer is one of the spiritual disciplines we need to incorporate into our lives if we are going to grow in our faith – grow in our relationship with God – and put ourselves in a position where God can change us. Today we look at the importance of prayer and how it should be done.

Welcome to the Summer of the Sermon! Each Sunday through the summer we are going to go through and dig in to the Sermon on the Mount and discover what exactly Jesus wants from us.

Jesus is calling us to a higher standard. He is challenging us to grow in obedience to him. The last few paragraphs of Jesus’ sermon are on the theme of a greater righteousness. A righteousness that cannot be achieved by following the law. The godliness that Jesus is talking about cannot be comprehensively formulated in a set of rules. The ethics of this Sermon are not exhaustive, they are suggestive. In other words, as we pursue Jesus, and fall in love with him, and become more like him, we begin to reflect his character and likeness.

Welcome to the Summer of the Sermon! Each Sunday through the summer we are going to go through and dig in to the Sermon on the Mount and discover what exactly Jesus wants from us.

Anger can destroy us. We cannot let anger wriggle its way into our lives or else we will be eat up with it. And, with that anger in our lives, we cannot be reconciled to God.

Many of us have always felt that if we don’t murder someone, we are OK. If we don’t “say” anything bad about someone that is OK. Jesus came in and said, “It’s not about what you say or what you do as much as it is about what’s in your heart.” He takes the law and he tells us we have to raise the bar. So, it’s not about murder or hate as much as it is about loving God and pursuing Jesus. It is in this state of mind that we will find peace with God.