To us, the Golden Rule is a simple way to filter out bad decisions and be a good person. But Jesus is getting at something much deeper. Jesus is not giving his followers a filter to simplify morality. Jesus is not giving his followers a rule that will allow them to manipulate people. Jesus is not giving his followers an excuse to do what they want. Jesus is calling his followers to not be so focused on avoiding evil or making a mistake that we fail to do good. Jesus is calling his followers to selflessly serve anyone.
Money
May 22, 2022 • Gary Johnson • Matthew 6:19–21, Mark 12:41–44, Malachi 3
Jesus talked a lot about money. 16 of Jesus’s 38 parables address money and possessions. Jesus knows that we cannot serve two masters. So if we want to serve Jesus, we must think of money as a tool given to us by God to help us accomplish the mission Jesus gave to us. A tithe is returning to God the first 10% of what He gives to us. An offering is giving any amount above 10% to serve someone else. By encouraging Christians to be generous and give offerings in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was not replacing the tithe. He was deepening the meaning of what it means to be generous.
Prayer
May 15, 2022 • Andrew Cullen • Matthew 6:9–13
Why did a disciple ask Jesus to teach them to pray? The disciples had been taught how to pray. They had held hands with their families as they prayed before their meal. They had prayed after they woke in the morning and before they slept in the evening. They had heard the prayers of the religious leaders who stood on the street corner praying aloud. What did they see in Jesus's prayers that made them ask him how to pray? The disciples saw the relationship he had with God the Father. In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus is not giving the disciples a template for prayer as much as he is getting at the heart of what prayer is. Prayer is more than communication with God. Prayer is communion with God.
Deeper Morality
May 8, 2022 • Andrew Cullen • Matthew 5:20
Motives are the heart of morality because appearances can be deceiving. Yet, having the right motives is far more difficult than appearing righteous. When Jesus deepens the meaning of the Old Testament law, he also raises the bar of righteousness. Why? Because he is wanting people to understand that it is on account of Jesus that we are righteous, not our ability to achieve moral perfection.
Blessedness
May 1, 2022 • Andrew Cullen • Matthew 5:11–12
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks about happiness by listing eight Beatitudes. A beatitude is a conditional promise of happiness. And yet, he calls those who are intentionally hurt by someone else "blessed." Persecution is not a blessing. The only people who are happy when they are persecuted are those who are persecuted on account of Jesus. If we are willing to be persecuted because we follow, trust, and obey him, then we will receive a reward in heaven that is greater than the suffering we face on earth.
