Faith in the King

Matthew 8:1-17

If you interviewed people to see what they thought of Jesus I’m sure you would get a wide variety of responses.  Some would say that he was just a man, nothing more.  Some would say that he was a myth or legend.  Some would say that he was a great religious teacher and that we would all be doing good by applying the golden rule of loving our neighbor.  Others would say that he was a prophet speaking on God’s behalf, but he wasn’t God.  Some people would tell you that he was homophobic or sexist.  There are people that think of him as harsh and judgmental.  And there are some who would say that he only loves people and doesn’t judge anyone.  And still others would just say that they have no idea about him. I’ve heard people tell me all of those things, and then some.

Laws of the Kingdom: Not This

Matthew 6:1-7:6

Welcome! Today we continue our series into the book of Matthew, continuing with what is known as the Sermon on the Mount. Our Title is a follow-up to last week’s title, which was “Laws of the Kingdom: Do This.” What we will see as we go through today’s passage is Jesus telling people what not to do in multiple areas of life.

One of the amazing things about Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount to me is how it speaks simultaneously to people in very different situations, and the message is quite different to different people even though they are the same words. This was true for those in Jesus’ audience on that day the message was given (and on other days Jesus gave similar words), and it is also true today to listeners like you and me.