Matthew 6:19-24

Jesus teaches us to focus on the right thing; if you focus on the wrong thing your whole life will be dark. It's not possible to focus on both the right and wrong thing at the same time, you must choose one or the other.

Matthew 6:5-15

We are to go to God in prayer, but when we do, it is meant to be an intimate experience between us and God where the attention is solely on Him. In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us an amazing blueprint for what to pray for, and how to pray. Jesus sets the foundation for his prayer by acknowledging God’s holiness and asking that everything be done within his will. He then goes on to pray for provision, forgiveness, and strength and deliverance. What does our prayer life and rhythms look like? What is the heart behind our prayers? Are we praying to glorify ourselves or God? Are we praying from a place of humility?

Matthew 6:1-4, 16-18

One of the greatest threats to the faith is pretense - pretending to be something you’re not (like a wolf in sheep’s clothing). Jesus warns against doing acts of righteousness to be seen by others. By doing these things in secret, you know you are doing them for the right reasons. It also helps protect against self-righteousness.

Matthew 5:38-48

In Old Testament Israel, you could only retaliate to the extent that someone wronged you; hence the phrase “eye for an eye”. The point was to keep the conflict from escalating. Jesus takes the idea a step further by de-escalating conflict with His teachings on non-retaliation. He takes this concept to another level when He says “love your enemies”. What would it look like to be a peacemaker like Jesus in our lives?

Matthew 5:17-20

Jesus proclaims that he has not come to get rid of the law, but instead fulfill it. The law had been corrupted and many had gone away from the heart of the commandments. Jesus was saying that to live the law correctly, we need to get back to the heart behind it and avoid finding loopholes to living out our faith. He would illustrate this by highlighting murder, adultery, divorce, and oaths. Jesus was the fulfilment of the law because he followed the letter of the law, but also embodied the spirit of it. We can easily be guilty of living into the loopholes of the Christian faith, but it is important that we follow Jesus' example and make sure we get back to the heart behind it.

Matthew 5:13-16

How we live is the light we shine. As the old saying goes, “Preach the Gospel at all times, when necessary use words”. Even the most mundane activities in life can be opportunities to be salt and light.

Matthew 5:1-12

Believing in Jesus means we will do what He says. If we are going to heed the teachings of Jesus, we need to see the world as Jesus sees it. In the Beatitudes, Jesus sets the parameters for who is “blessed” - how does this match up with who we see as “blessed”.

Acts 20:22-24

In his farewell address to Ephesus as he prepares to leave for Rome, Paul displays passion to do whatever God has before him. He approaches the future with a perspective of humility. He demonstrates a willingness to persevere through difficulty. And he knows, understands, and is committed to living out God’s purpose for him. As we live out our own calling, we would do well to personify Paul's commitment.

John 15:9-17

Jesus invites us to remain in his love, and in doing so, become a part of His legacy of love. In this passage He invites us to do so by commanding us to love each other the way He loves us. We do this by laying down our lives for one another. In His love for us, Jesus chose us to bear the fruit of His love to continue his legacy.

1 Corinthians 12:20-27

We all make up the body and Christ and each of us has a part. Celebrating how each new person who is being added to our community is a blessing to us; reminding ourselves that we need others and that others need us. God has made us a part of this community of faith for a reason.