Jesus wasn’t just a self-help guru sharing practical advice on how to get through life. Those who heard Jesus sensed the Holy Spirit stirring up their spirits as the ministry of the word happened. Something significant and important occurs when the Spirit of God works through the Word of God in the hearts of the People of God.
Matthew 7:24-27
November 10, 2024 • Dominic Dinger
Jesus ended His Sermon on the Mount with three warnings and this past Sunday, we considered Jesus’ third warning about faulty foundations. It’s a warning about merely listening to His words without actually doing what He said. Listening to Jesus can’t save you. Hearing sermons (in a building or on a mountain) can’t save you. You have to do what Jesus says. You have to put down your excuses and take the leap of faith. You must get up and go to Him.
Matthew 7:21-23b
November 3, 2024 • Dominic Dinger
You can’t just declare yourself a Christian. You must be born again. If you have been truly born again, there will be a transformation—you will become a new creation. There will be evidence of a genuine conversion that Jesus calls ‘fruit.’ In https://refuge.mn/media/xz89kj3/matthew-7-21-23, we considered Simon in Acts 8. Whether Simon was a genuine believer has been debated for centuries. Some see Simon as a new believer struggling with sin. Others view him as a false prophet who made a false profession of faith. And yet, it’s an opportunity for us to reflect on. Do you really want the genuine of your conversion to be debatable?
Matthew 7:21-23
October 27, 2024 • Dominic Dinger
Near the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives His disciples three dire warnings concerning false prophets, false professions, and faulty foundations. In our last study, we thoughtfully considered those who present themselves as sheep but are inwardly ravenous wolves. We see an example of a false prophet and a false profession in Simon the magician in Acts 8.
Mathew 7:15-20
October 20, 2024 • Dominic Dinger
Jesus warned His disciples about false prophets who would look like them but were not His. They are not sheep but ravenous wolves. Jesus wasn’t using poetic language to make a point. There are some who look like Christians, talk like Christians, and walk like Christians, but are not Christians and intentionally prey upon Christians. So how do we know who these ravenous wolves are? Thankfully Jesus tells us—“by their fruits you will know them.”
Matthew 7:7-14
October 13, 2024 • Dominic Dinger
Being a dedicated disciple of Jesus is impossible in our strength and with our resources. Even with all of the effort and human willpower we can muster, we will find ourselves lacking what’s required to do what God calls us to do. That’s why we need to cry out to God for His help continually. We must continually ask. We must continually seek. And we must continually knock, knowing that He is a good Father who knows how to give good gifts.
Matthew 7:1-6
October 6, 2024 • Allan Benson
Jesus's words about judging are some of the most quoted, but they are also some of the most misunderstood. Jesus then talks about pieces of wood in peoples’ eyes, jewelry, and animals, which may explain the misunderstandings. But as we press into what Jesus says, we hear His heart around this important issue and things start to make sense.
Matthew 6:19-34
September 29, 2024 • Dominic Dinger
Our way of handling worry leads to hoarding, coveting, and even more worrying. When we try to manage worry in our own way, it ultimately leads to life-taking bondage. But God has a better way—one that gives life. God’s way is the antidote to our way. And in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus provides us with the antidote to reestablish the right order of things in our hearts.
Matthew 6:7-15
September 22, 2024 • Dominic Dinger
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addresses the proper motivations for everyday activities. As He teaches about the right motivations for prayer, He provides a primer on prayer—an elementary introduction to the construction of our communication with God. In what’s commonly referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer”, Jesus provides topics of conversation for His disciples as they constantly converse with their Heavenly Father. These conversations aren’t just vain repetitions, but real and honest that further our fellowship with God.
Matthew 6:1-18
September 15, 2024 • Dominic Dinger
Jesus tells us that our motivation for ministry in everyday activities is important. If we’re motivated by what we get from giving, praying, or fasting, then what we get is all we’ll get. There will be no eternal reward if getting is our motivation. But even more important than the motivation for eternal rewards is fellowship with God. There is nothing greater or more valuable than fellowship with our Heavenly Father.
Matthew 5:33-48
September 8, 2024 • Dominic Dinger
As we work through the Sermon on the Mount, we discover the attitudes, actions, and attributes we must have to continue to be Jesus’ disciples. These are not unattainable ideals but the basic expectations for the disciples of Jesus. Jesus expects His followers to be honest, to have grit, and to be more than conquerors.
Matthew 5:27-32
September 1, 2024 • Dominic Dinger
Not only does Jesus want us to steer clear of adultery, but also of where adultery begins—with one lustful look. Just like contemptuous anger and murder, lust and adultery have serious consequences. We must deal decisively with sin, and yet gouging out our eyes and cutting off our hands isn’t enough. What are we to do? Thankfully Jesus gets to the heart of the issue, which is the issue of the heart.
Matthew 5:23-26
August 25, 2024 • Dominic Dinger
Forgiveness and reconciliation are two different things. Forgiveness can happen in a moment. Reconciliation is often a process. Forgiveness releases someone else from your “right” to retaliate. Reconciliation is restoring the relationship to the intimacy that was once present. There is no way to reconcile a relationship without genuine humility and repentance. Jesus clarifies this in the Sermon on the Mount as He addresses contemptuous anger.
Matthew 5:21-22
August 18, 2024 • Dominic Dinger
Sin starts in the heart before it ever becomes an outward act. We are just as culpable, accountable, and guilty when sin starts within us as if we actually went forward with the outward act. If we are to continue to be Jesus’ disciples, we must understand the necessity of the Holy Spirit in transforming us deep within so that sin doesn’t even have a chance to begin.
Matthew 5:21-48
July 28, 2024 • Dominic Dinger
Most people think the way to attain eternal life is by being good. This line of thinking evaluates righteousness as a point system, concluding that someone will get into heaven if their good works outnumber their bad deeds. Jesus confronts this current understanding repeatedly in the Sermon on the Mount with this simple statement: “You have heard that it was said to those of old…but I say to you…”
