Matthew 5:43-48 - In his 6th and final case study, Jesus takes us to where it all has led: the call to love--as God our Father loves--even our enemies. This was an earth-shattering teaching 2000 years ago and is no less difficult to live out today. But gazing at Jesus who has first loved us even when we were His enemies, we are motivated to love others like this and so bear God's family resemblance. A sermon by Cameron Heger. [Part 10 of our series “Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount: The Good Life in the Kingdom of Grace”]

Questions for reflection: 1) What was so unique about this teaching at the time Jesus gave it? What is still unique about it? 2) "And hate your neighbor" is not a quotation from the Old Testament--what was Jesus doing with this? 3) What does it mean to love with this (agape, in Greek) love? 4) How does God embody and originate this type of love? 5) How does Jesus want to lead us into "perfection" or "completion"? When will this happen? 6) Who are some "enemies" that you struggle to love? How might you grow in this?