People Matter to God: What kind of person, family, or society does God want? What would the world, or our lives, look like if they truly reflected the Kingdom of Heaven? We'll consider four examples from the Sermon on the Mount. First, we would have a much higher value for human life. Why? Because people matter to God. All people. For followers of Jesus, this has huge implications for our attitude toward and treatment of others. Recorded on July 24, 2022, on Matthew 5:21-26, by Pastor David Parks.

This message is part of our sermon series "The Unexpected Way," from the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7 in the Bible. The way of Jesus is totally unique; it's different from every other way of life, philosophy, or religion. Why? Because the teaching of Jesus — emphasizing holiness, humility, justice, faith, and sacrificial love — leads to a whole new gospel-centered ethic. This ancient ethic, if actually practiced, has the power to bring abundant love and joy and peace to anyone, anywhere today. This is the way.

Sermon Transcript

This month, we started our new annual theme for our preaching ministry, which is Learning the way of Jesus. The whole year, we’ll be answering this big question, “If the gospel is true, how then should we live?” And we’ve said that the answer is rooted in learning a new way of life, which is the way of Jesus. To start, we’ve been working through a very famous teaching of Jesus known as the Sermon on the Mount in a sermon series called, The Unexpected Way. The way of Jesus is just a radically different way from every other philosophy or religion — and it’s not at all what you’d expect. But the teaching of Jesus — emphasizing holiness, humility, justice, faith, and sacrificial love — leads to a whole new gospel-centered ethic. And this ancient ethic, if actually practiced, can bring a life of love/joy/peace to anyone, anywhere today. This is the way. Last week, we considered what it means to be a good person, and we saw that only the goodness/righteousness of Christ leads to our salvation. Not one of us has earned our way into the kingdom of heaven. But then, for the Christian, if the gospel is true, we’re called to live our lives in a way that is good/right/true. So, what do you think this type of life looks like? Today, and for the next few weeks, we’ll consider six examples of this type of life; or six examples of how life should work in God’s kingdom. First up, Jesus teaches on the value of human life, but Jesus goes far beyond anything we’d expect. If you have a Bible/app, please open to Matthew 5:21. We’ll read through this first and then unpack it together.

Matthew 5:21-26 (NIV), “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister, will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. 23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. 25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”

As I mentioned, this is the first of six examples of the righteousness required by God; in other words, this is what it takes to actually be a good person.