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The Jesus Way

The Lord’s Manifesto in the Sermon on the Mount

Early in his public ministry Jesus described what a citizen of his kingdom looks like in the eight beatitudes. He closed the sermon with a call to wisely apply his teachings and not foolishly ignore them. In between these eloquent and memorable bookends, the Master Teacher summarized how he would fulfill the Law and call his followers to do the same. 
Nothing less than a complete transformation of identity and purpose would be sufficient to make his early followers (and us today) capable of being salt and light in this dark, broken world; of replacing worry with a commitment to God’s kingdom above all; of loving our enemies and learning to genuinely pray “your kingdom come.” Come to hear these familiar teachings in a fresh way and with a heart ready to be challenged and changed as we walk “the Jesus way” together!

20. Pray and Forgive

As we pray “give us this day our daily bread,” we can often mis-apply it as “give me right now my every desire.” God does not promise to give us everything we want. Instead He promises to change our desires to match His (see how the Lord’s Prayer begins!). And it is...

19. When You Pray

As Jesus begins to teach His disciples about prayer He first corrects some common misunderstandings about prayer and then directs us to the right way to think about prayer and to grow in the practice of it. Prayer is not a show for people, a religion to score points...

He is Risen!

Jesus started His ministry preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17). In His birth, life and ministry the reign of God had truly arrived on earth in fulfillment of God’s work and many promises in the Old Testament. Not just the kingdom of...

Invest in the Kingdom

This is a special Sunday service as we will hear from a number of people who have recently been on a short-term missions trip and are excited to share how God is working in their lives as a result. We have scheduled a summer trip with Filter of Hope for late July and...

The Structure of Matthew

https://youtu.be/3Dv4-n6OYGI?si=Yl7-UsQU464C-e0x The Bible Project does a beautiful job of illustrating how the gospel of Matthew is constructed to highlight that Jesus is the Messiah (king like David), the new Moses (the great teacher, revealing the truth about God)...

18. The Grace of Giving

As we enter the middle of the sermon on the mount we build on the command to be perfect (5:48) and shift into the “practice” of righteousness (6:1). Jesus outlines several disciplines (clearly not an exhaustive list) that his followers are expected to practice and...

17. Love Your Enemies

This week we complete the sixth and final “But I say to you,” as Jesus completes His section on righteousness and calls His followers to “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (v. 48). Though God’s people are to be different from the non-believers around us,...

16. Radical Generosity

“Turn the other cheek,” is one of the most famous sayings of Jesus. “Give to everyone who asks of you,” may not be as famous but is certainly as radical a command. How can we achieve such radical generosity? Only with wisdom, guidance and power from the Lord Himself!...

It’s All Yours

This Sunday, we will have a special time of worship as we sing praises to God for all He's done, have a time of reflection and surrender, and hear a short message from Pastor Darin from 1 Chronicles 29:10 - 16 (from which we get the doxology at the end of the Lord's...

15. Keep Your Word

As with most stories in Judges, Jephthah is a cautionary tale (Judges 11-12), and his story features a foolish and disastrous vow. Another featured oath in the Bible appears in Mark 6 when “an opportunity came,” and King Herod’s mistress took advantage of her...