Jesus words carry a weight that is unparalleled. When he finishes the Sermon on the Mount, the crowd leaves "astonished." If we are to call ourselves disciples, we must have the same view of Jesus- a man with authority. That is the rock our lives are built on.

"The week that changed the nation." That was CNN's take on the past week in America. We live in a unique moment in history as we watch our nation shift to a post-Christian culture. How are Christian's to respond? Is it really all doom and gloom? Well it may be hard to watch, but it presents an opportunity that the church has always made the church thrive. Will we be ready for this moment?

Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it. A statement we know to be true- but only in the past. Each day we convince ourselves that today's desires are the right ones and we know best what we need. Jesus shows us in the Sermon on the Mount that we don't truly know what's best- which is exactly why we should ask for it, seek it out, and knock until we get it.

Judge not. Perhaps the most quoted (and misused) verse in all of scripture. Far from conveying a sense of neutrality to sin and morality, Jesus gives us clear instructions on how to address the sin in our lives and others lives. The command to avoid judgement is accompanied by the command to help others. How do we balance these tensions?

Our culture provides no shortage of reasons for us to worry. From world news and local crime to facebook and pinterest, we are bombarded with evidence for our anxieties. Couple that with the legitimate things in our life that powerfully play on our fears, and our lives are a factory for worry. So how do we live worry free in a culture set up to make us worry? What if you feel like your a laid back person and worry is a problem for someone else? Jesus shows us that none of us can escape dealing with this issue.

Jesus is constantly reminding his disciples that there is more to life than what we see in this world. Yet so often we are distracted and captivated by the stuff of earth. What is it that gets our hearts and how do we fight to stay focused on the kingdom? Justin helps us see that central to the Kingdom of God is the reality that we aren't the center of it.

Prayer is a powerful thing that has somehow become an awkward thing for most Christians. Many Christians feel like prayer is something that they should know how to do, but they just don't feel adequate. Jesus gives us the model prayer in Matthew 6 and in doing so shows us just what prayer is for- and it begins with the glory of God.

Jesus continues his assault on the checklist religion. Now he shifts from morality to religion and tells his disciples that pretending won't cut it in the new kingdom. Instead, perfection is the goal and the heart is what matters.

Turn the other cheek. Go the extra mile. Give to those in need. Love your enemies. All things we've heard before, but they were revolutionary when Jesus taught them. Today they are no less difficult. Why would Jesus tell us to love our enemies? What's the point? Doesn't that just make us a doormat? What's really at stake is not our egos, but the gospel. (To see the video used in this sermon go here. )

To say that marriage is under assault in American culture today would be an understatement. How did we get to this point? Why is it such a big deal anyway? Isn't it just a declaration that two people like each other? Jesus's teaching in the Sermon on the Mount highlights the importance and the permanence of the marriage covenant. His teaching challenged the purpose and meaning of marriage then, just as it does now.