The Cross and the Crown

In this next passage of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explains true and proper fasting. Immediately after calling us to pray for daily bread, we are called to fast. How does prayer and fasting help align our hearts to our heavenly Father's aims and hunger and thirst for His righteousness?

What does Jesus mean when he calls us to pray "lead us not into temptation?" How does this prayer teach us to rely upon God to deliver us from evil and the evil one? How does the example of Jesus and other passages of Scripture equip us to practically wage war against our sin?

As we explore this next phrase in the Lord's Prayer, how does the forgiveness we recieve relate to the forgiveness we offer others who sin against us? How does the grace of God glorify God? Why is it imperative for forgiven people to forgive people and how can we practically do it? How does our forgiving others lay the groundwork for sharing the gospel?

How does our reliance upon God's provision glorify the Father's name? How is this theme of reliance upon God for our daily bread threaded throughout the whole of the Scriptures? How can we learn to trust God to provide for our needs?

Psalm 51 offers the believer a crash course on true repentence. Is there grace for our deepest moral failures? Will God forgive the most grievous of sin? How can a holy God remain just in doing so? In this episode, we will explore some of the major theological themes that emerge from this beautiful gem in the psalter.

Psalm 42 and 43 teach us how to fight through difficult seasons of life, and how (and what) to preach to ourselves amidst trials and depression.

Life is short. Our opinions are not. How does a right understanding of God temper our tongues, draw us into honest prayer, and help us learn to count our days and smile again as sojourners in search of a forever home?

Psalm 31 paints a picture of urgency, honesty, and trust in distress. The Lord quotes this Psalm upon the cross. As David proclaimed the love of the Lord while extending a call to be strong and take courage as we wait upon the Lord.

How is the will of God done in Heaven? How does Jesus exemplify the Father's will done on earth as it is in Heaven? How does the Lord's prayer align our will to the will of the Father?

How does Jesus' teaching about the Kingdom of God shape how we pray "your kingdom come and will be done on earth as it is in Heaven?"