Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 5-7
Firm Foundation
July 23, 2023 • Sean Gasperetti • Matthew 7:24–27
At every stage of life, we are provided with opportunities to either build on the shifting sands, or to build our life on a firm foundation. God is after our head and our heart; our understanding and our passion. It’s not enough just to comprehend the love of God. It’s not enough to hear the words, we must also do something with them.
Genuine Faith
July 16, 2023 • Sean Gasperetti • Matthew 7:13–14
While there are areas of our life in which we may be able to masquerade as something or someone we're not, we cannot fool God. You cannot fake your way into the kingdom. You can't flash your "Good person" badge to enter God's presence, or eternity. There is only one way we obtain salvation and that is through the person and work of Jesus Christ - crucified on our behalf.
Prayer + Fasting
July 2, 2023 • Robert Montgomery • Matthew 6:5–18
In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus compares the external righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees to the expression of true and authentic worship that favors the heart of God. Jesus is retraining his disciples on what it means to truly pray and fast. He cautions us against the hypocrisy of praying so that we will be admired, or looking sad so others will notice that we are fasting. Instead, he advises praying in solitude and not not making our fasting obvious. He also gives us guidelines on how to structure our prayers with the Lord’s Prayer found in Mathew 6:9-14.
You Have Heard
June 11, 2023 • Sean Gasperetti • Matthew 5:21–45
While it's not effort that saves us, the effort we put into our faith is one of the indicators that we have a genuine faith at all. God is values-driven, which means that his commands are meant to reinforce something of his character and priorities, not just his preferences. What we need to realize is that, for the follower of Jesus, we're being instructed not only to fulfill certain moral obligations, rather to recognize that God is calling us to a high standard of living.
Salt and Light
June 4, 2023 • Sean Gasperetti • Matthew 5:13–20
Jesus doesn't have a backup plan when it comes to the salvation of people on earth. He came one time for all time, and then sent his disciples out into the world to make more disciples. Jesus commissioned us to be the "salt of the earth," and "the light of the world." If we're not abiding in Christ and doing what he commands us to do, then we're of no use to his mission or his church.
The Beatitudes
May 28, 2023 • Sean Gasperetti • Matthew 5
The Beatitudes are a series of eight statements that speak to a posture of living that Christ says results in the blessing of God. They summarize Jesus’ kingdom ethic and the character of Christian believers. They are a call for an inward posture that results in an outward blessing.