Jesus shares the traditional teaching of "The Law of Retaliation" but then adds his shocking teaching, telling us "Do not resist the one who is evil."

Is Jesus teaching absolute pacifism or is he teaching something else?

Looking at the four illustrations Jesus gives, this message seeks to understand the context of Jesus' day and how the principle Jesus teaches applies today.

Jesus gives another illustration of how his followers' righteousness should exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees.

In this segment he reminds us to be radical truth tellers and truth keepers!

Oaths really are not necessary for Christ followers for our "yes" should be yes and our "no" should be no.

God is serious about His holiness; therefore, God is serious about our holiness.

But regardless of our sin, God does not hate us.  God hates what our sin does to us, but God does not hate us.

Jesus teaches us the great importance of guarding our lives and protecting ourselves from sin.

But no one is righteous, not even one; therefore, no one should be self-righteous.

We are all in need of God's great grace!

Jesus makes it clear that murder is not just an external action.

The sin begins in our hearts as unrighteous anger and harsh words and insults.

Our calling is to be reconciled to our brothers and sisters.  Reconciliation is both necessary and urgent!

This message introduces a series on Jesus teaching in the Sermon on the Mount where he begins each teaching with a variation of:  "You have heard it was said .... but I say ..."

In this introduction we see Jesus' relationship with the Law and the Prophets.  We also see that though we're saved by grace, Jesus calls his followers to a life of "radical righteousness."

We all struggle; we all wonder sometimes if God is listening.

David encourages us in Psalm 28 to be honest with the Lord and keep calling out.

He also gives us encouragement to keep meeting together for corporate worship.

The Story of Jonah reveals God's great mercy to at least three people or groups of people:

Jonah, the sailors, and the Ninevites.

God's mercy is related to his grace and patience and all three flow out of God's goodness and love.

Mercy is not just what God possesses; it is who God is.

God has mercy on all in a general way by providing food to eat and air to breathe.  But God provides special mercy in Jesus!

We see from the story of the revival of Ninevah that several things are present when revival takes place:

The Word of God is preached.

People believe God's Word and believe in God who gave His Word.

Action accompanies that belief - particularly the act of repentance.

Prayer

Could a great fish possibly swallow a human?  Is the story real?

The opening of the message seeks briefly to explain the answer to both questions is: "Yes!"

This message then turns to focus on the characteristics of Jonah's prayer:

1. Honest

2. Repentant

3. Thankful