The Branch Church

What would it be like to see your heart in a jar? People who’ve had heart transplants have. This weekend we hear a story about that and what it has to do with the next part of our journey through the Sermon on the Mount.

“Blessed” is the first word in the Sermon on the Mount. This says so much about the heart of Jesus. We’re beginning our series in the SOTM this weekend with Matthew 5:1-16.

Did you know it’s possible for pilots, particularly fighter pilots, to be flying upside down and not know it? We do it in life, too. Some of Jesus’s teachings seems upside down to us, and yet we might be the ones flying upside down. It’s easy to do. Because much of our world is upside down.

How in the world do you follow Easter? Jesus answered that. This weekend we read the end of the Gospel of Matthew. Before we back up and dive into the Sermon on the Mount next weekend, we’re first going to another mount found in Matthew 28:18-20.

Jesus was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead. The seal that was placed over the tomb was broken on that day. What does His resurrection mean for us today?

You can look at cost in terms of how expensive something is or how precious something is. This weekend we’ll be in what is likely the hardest part of the story of Jesus. The story of the cross. It’s expensive. And yet, it also tells you how precious you are to Jesus.

Can you think of being interrupted by something or someone that you didn’t see coming, yet you wound up incredibly blessed? Or challenged? Or both? This weekend, we’ll look at three very different people whose lives were interrupted by Jesus on the way to the cross in Matthew 27.

Some interruptions can be life-changing.

So much of Jesus’ ministry was around a table in the context of a meal. This weekend we’ll be in Matthew 26, and His last meal with His disciples in the midst of the most difficult week of His life. It’s at this table that Jesus, Himself, interprets what His death on the cross will mean for everyone.

It’s rare to see the Lord “fighting mad.” But it’s just as important to understand what He’s fighting for. There are moments in our lives when the Lord “disturbs the peace” in order to make it possible for us or others to experience true, substantial peace. This weekend, in Matthew 21:1-17, we’ll look at a story that exemplifies this. There are layers to this story and multiple points of intersection for our lives.

Have you ever had that awkward silence with someone you love after an intense disagreement? Didn’t know how to move forward? That could be what happened with Jesus and His disciples in Matthew 17 along with two of the strangest stories in all the gospels.

This weekend in Matthew, we see Jesus set the foundation for His church. Josh Brake brings us the word from Matthew 16:13-28.