Sermon on the Mount
02. The Good Life
May 1, 2017
Jesus goes up on a mountain to deliver the Sermon on the Mount. The crowd is eager to hear how his kingdom will deliver them the good life: more comfort, more security, more approval. Instead, Jesus gives them the beatitudes, a jarring set of blessings that run counter to everything we think about the good life. When we look closely at Jesus'words, we find that he is here to deliver a blessing that runs deeper than our circumstances, and that depends entirely on him. Application Questions 1. When you imagine yourself living the life you want, what do you picture? Try to write some beatitudes (“Blessed are you when ________” ) based on that picture. 2. How do those“anti-beatitudes” shape your attitudes, decisions, and struggles? 3. What about Jesus'beatitudes scare you? Why? What about Jesus'beatitudes excite you? Why? 4. What do you think it would take to make your view of the good life the same as Jesus'view of the good life? How does the gospel fit in?
03. The Christian Counterculture
May 9, 2017
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus offers a different way of life that stands in sharp contrast to the world. He calls His followers to have a different purpose for their life (to live for God, not for ourselves), different priorities (to radically love God and others rather than radically loving ourselves), and a different posture (to serve others rather than serve ourselves). And yet this“different life” doesn't mean we are disengaged or disconnected from the world, but we purposefully engage and shine our light so that the world can see. Application Questions 1. What are ways that you have lost your“saltiness” with regard to your purpose, priorities, and posture? 2. Do you embrace your weirdness (i.e. distinctness) as a Christian, or do you fight it? 3. Are you actively seeking the good of non-Christians around you? 4. Identify two or three non-Christians in your life that you should intentionally pursue and engage with this week.
04. The Law and Grace
May 15, 2017
How do we handle God's requirement that we be righteous? Typically we try to either build our lives on being good enough, or reject the idea that we should be good in the first place. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addresses God's law. He tells us that we can't ignore it, and that we'll never live up to it. Instead, he has come to fulfill it in our place, giving us a righteousness deeper than we ever hoped. Application Questions 1. Where do you struggle with the idea that you are not good enough? How do you handle it? 2. What is your reaction to Jesus raising the bar on how good we need to be (see especially v. 20)? 3. What is your reaction to Jesus fulfilling the law for you by grace? Does your life look more like someone under the law or someone under grace? 4. What do you think obedience looks like if Jesus has fulfilled the law for you? How should his fulfillment of the law shape the Christian lifestyle?
05. Replacing Anger
May 22, 2017
We've all heard that Jesus said that being angry is like murdering someone in your heart. But, is that really true? Is this just Jesus using hyperbole, or is he genuinely laying down a radical ethic that is seemingly impossible to keep? In our sermon this week we explore how each one of us has a problem with anger that is greater than we knew, how God's grace is greater than we imagined, and how God's call to selflessly love others is greater than we ever thought possible. Application Questions 1. How does your anger usually manifest itself? “Hot” through venting or “Cool” through quiet bitterness? 2. What are the situations in which your anger most often manifests itself? 3. Do you ever feel like God's grace isn't big enough for your struggles or sin? If so, how can you be reminded of the magnitude of his mercy and grace? 4. What are some practical ways you can show love toward those you are tempted to express anger toward? How can you actively replace anger with love?
06. Replacing Lust
May 30, 2017
The concept that looking at a woman with lustful intent is a form of adultery is ridiculous and offensive in the world today. But, it is just another part of the radical ethic Jesus is laying out in the Sermon on the Mount. In fact, he is so serious that he tells his disciples that dramatic steps must be taken to pursue his ethic. However, he gives them hope in the fact that through his sacrifice and resurrection he will fulfill this seemingly impossible ethic for them and empower them to live it out in ways they (and we) never thought possible. Application Questions 1. What forms of discontentment and coveting tend to fuel your lustful heart? 2. What aspects of people do you tend to lust after (physical, emotional, relational, etc.)? 3. What are practical ways you can remember the glories of Christ and his grace to motivate your fight against lust? 4. What are some materialistic or consumeristic tendencies that you could fight to help in your battle against lust? 5. What are some practical ways you can grow in seeing people for the beautifully complex image-bearers that God created them to be?
07. Replacing Deceit
June 6, 2017
The Pharisees were fixated on finding“loopholes” to the rules of God's Word. They weren't concerned about obeying and following God from their hearts, they were focused on doing what they were“supposed to” in an external way, but their hearts were far from Him. God calls us to something radically different in Christ- to be people who are so enraptured with what Jesus has done for us that we live a life of integrity for His glory. Application Questions 1. What are ways that you look for loopholes in your obedience instead of seeking to love and follow God? 2. How do you see in your life ways that you are looking to get away with something rather than looking to love and care for people? 3. How does Christ treat us differently in the gospel than we often treat others? 4. What would a life of integrity look like in your home, neighborhood, and workplace?
08. Replacing Revenge
June 12, 2017
Jesus takes aim at our obsession to get what we think we deserve, and to give others what we think they deserve. Instead of operating our lives on“fairness,” Jesus asks us to operate on love. But how do we do that when our default mode is to live for ourselves and not for others? The gospel opens to door to a grace that leaves us eternally secure and reshaped to love others not based on what they have earned. Christian culture is about love and mercy, not keeping score. Application Questions 1. What are some times you feel like others aren't giving you what you deserve? How do you typically respond in those situations? 2. Try to think of some friends and some enemies (those who make you angry or treat you unfairly). How do you treat them differently? Why? 3. In what ways do you see yourself living“for you” instead of“for others” ? 4. What about Jesus'death for you allows you to live for others? What would that look like in some of the situations above? 5. Be as honest as you can: what holds you back from living this way? What resources do you have in Jesus to make this a reality in your life?
09. Replacing Hypocrisy
June 19, 2017
This Sunday we invited new and growing preachers in our church to each preach at one of our three services. They covered the next section in the Sermon on the Mount: Jesus teaching about the danger of religious hypocrisy. The Christian life is not just a bunch of religious activities, but a changed heart that is motivated differently. When we see how many of our good actions are actually motivated by looking good in front of others, we see again how precious the gospel is. Jesus, who was never a hypocrite, saves us knowing all of our poor motivations. And that produces a new motivation to be honest, sincere, and focused on God's glory instead of our own. Application Questions 1. Where do you see hypocrisy in your own life? 2. How do the opinions of others affect you most deeply? How do you see that play out in your attitudes, emotions, and actions? 3. What would change in your life if you were focused solely on God's opinion and not the opinion of others? 4. What about Jesus and the gospel move you away from hypocrisy towards sincere godliness?
10. Learning to Pray
June 26, 2017
On this youth Sunday, we spoke about prayer on several levels. We learned with our children's church kids about how we always talk to people we love, which is why we pray to God. We learned with our junior church kids how God wants us to engage him about the real things in our life. And we learned through our shorter sermon how the Lord's Prayer teaches us to pray by remembering who God is, relating to Him personally, and making requests in light of His glory. Application Questions 1. If someone overheard your prayers, but didn't know you were praying, who would they think you were talking to? What does that tell you about how you relate to God? 2. How can you remember who God is and what he has done as you pray? 3. What does it look like when you“go through the motions” in prayer? What would it look like to focus more on relating to God in prayer? 4. What kind of things do you ask God for? How can the Lord's Prayer serve as a model for your requests in prayer?
11. The Problem of Treasure
July 5, 2017
We tend to live out lives investing in temporary treasure, but God calls us to something greater, more beautiful, and more lasting. Investing in eternal treasure is one of the hallmarks of a disciple of Christ, and it is a radical call. But as we are empowered by the Spirit and motivated by the gospel, God transforms our generosity in ways we never even knew were possible. Application Questions 1. What motivates you to invest in temporary treasure instead of eternal treasure? 2. Do you choose to serve God with your choice of lifestyle? What changes might be needed to do that? 3. Do you choose to serve God with your budget choices? What changes might be needed to do that? 4. Do you choose to serve God with your daily decisions? What changes might be needed to do that? 5. Who in your life could you ask to speak honestly and boldly into your financial choices that might help you to identify your blind spots?
12. Replacing Anxiety
July 10, 2017
In light of the call to lay up for ourselves“treasures in heaven,” most of us inevitably respond with some form of worry. If we are to give ourselves up for others, who's going to look out for us? We can feel alone, confused, and hopeless when anxiety washes over us and we feel paralyzed by our own fears. But Christ shows us a better way. He shows us the way to be freed from our anxieties and fears. He shows us the way to be truly content and find our peace in him. Application Questions 1. What do you tend to be anxious about? 2. How does your anxiety tend to manifest itself in your life? 3. What truths about God do you tend to forget that fuel your anxiety? 4. What specific reasons has Jesus given you not to worry? 5. What are some helpful ways that you can be reminded of the reasons Jesus has given you not to worry? 6. What practical steps can you take this week to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness?
13. The Problem of Relationships
July 17, 2017
As Jesus begins to sum up the Sermon on the Mount, he addresses the way we engage others. In a fascinating set of images, he demonstrates that disciples are to lovingly evaluate others for their good, not stand over them in condemnation. At the same time, disciples are to be wise in the way they move out into the world, always being discerning in relationships. When we live this out as Christians today, we become both winsome and wise. Application Questions 1. What are some ways you are quick to condemn others? 2. What are some ways you are quick to excuse your own sin? 3. How does Jesus' love for you help you to be quick to love and slow to condemn? 4. What are some specific ways you can be more wise and loving in your relationships with others this week?
14. Our Problem with God
July 24, 2017
Where do we get the resources to live out the Sermon on the Mount? Jesus addresses our need to ask, seek, and knock in prayer to God for this and much more. Our problem is not just that we don't ask, it'swhywe don't ask: because we doubt God's goodness. When we hear Jesus'teaching and see his death and resurrection, we find a God who is a good, generous Father. With this kind of Father, why wouldn't we ask for anything we need, and take our cares and concerns to him? Application Questions 1. Where do you“take” your cares and concerns? What does that tell you about who or what you trust the most to give you what you need? 2. Where in your life do you see evidence that you doubt God's goodness and generosity? How do you handle those doubts? 3. Do you pray (and live) like someone who has a good, generous Father in heaven? Or do you pray (and live) like someone who is orphaned and on your own? 4. What are some concerns or desires that you haven't taken to God? What would it look like to bring those to him as your good, generous Father in heaven?
15. The Golden Rule
July 31, 2017
It is very hard to go against our natural selfish desires and it is easy to love ourselves only. The whole world around us continues to tell us that our lives are more important than the lives of others. And in the mist of this way of living, Jesus commands us to be empathetic to the needs and suffering of others. Jesus knows that the path of empathy will bring life to our souls if we choose to obey Him. But, he also knows that the way of apathy will only bring destruction to souls. Application Questions 1. In what ways do you pursue the comfortable life above the well-being of others? 2. What is a practical step that you can take to cultivate a heart of empathy? 3. Who or what is in the way for you to love others as yourself?
16. Cardiac Arrest
August 7, 2017
There are people who pretend to speak for God and who pretend to act for God. But God is not deceived. One day standing before the judgment seat of Christ, there will be those who will receive the judgment of eternal condemnation. Some will be confused because they have spoken for God as prophets. Others will be confused because they have done mighty works for God. But salvation is not based on us speaking for God or doing mighty works for Him, our salvation is based upon Christ and His finished work alone . This passage is a sober warning for us to be people of substance, not flash, to be diligent to know God and to be known by Him, and to enter through Jesus Christ, the narrow gate who leads to salvation. Application Questions 1. Why is falsely speaking for God such a big deal? 2. Do you carefully examine the sources of truth you hear from in your life? 3. Are you more compelled by what is flashy (external and showy) or what is substantive (authentic and deep in the heart)? How do you know? 4. Have you considered the reality of“false conversion” ? 5. What is your hope built upon? How do you know?