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Matthew 6:9 (CSB) — 9 “Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy.

Matthew 5:43–48 (CSB) — 43 “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 5:38–42 (CSB) — 38 “You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. 39 But I tell you, don’t resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your coat as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and don’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Matthew 5:33–37 (CSB) — 33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors, You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord. 34 But I tell you, don’t take an oath at all: either by heaven, because it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, because it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. 36 Do not swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no.’ Anything more than this is from the evil one.

When we consider everything that is happening in the world right now, I can’t think of a more appropriate text for our lesson today than Matthew 5:21-26. Truly God arranges things as he would have them because I did not look at the political calendar to arrange my sermon series. Introduction Our lesson today brings us to the ethical teachings of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Today’s text carries forward the theme of fulfilled-righteousness from last week’s lesson. This theme stretches from Matthew 5:17-48, and centers on Jesus’ fulfillment of the Law. Our Kingdom-expectation should anticipate an exceeding righteousness that surpasses even the meticulous legalism of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. The righteousness of Christ’s heavenly Kingdom is the righteousness of the new creation that is expressed by faith through love. Consequently, Jesus’ five ethics center around God and his nature: 1. Honor God’s image (v. 21-26) 2. Relational purity (v. 27-32) 3. Integrity of truth (v. 33-37) 4. Mercy-based Justice (v. 38-42) 5. Holiness of Love (v. 43-48) These Kingdom ethics are rooted in God himself, each reflecting his nature and conveying his light. Therefore, Jesus is telling us that God’s Kingdom reflects God’s nature. This shapes how we treat these principles. In today’s lesson we are going to examine Jesus’ first kingdom-ethic: stated positively, “honor the image of God in people”; stated positively again, “seek peace with people”. Or stated negatively, “don’t hate people”. Jesus’ first Kingdom-ethic builds on the Law’s prohibition against murder (Ex. 20:13; Deut. 5:17). To understand what Jesus is talking about, then, we need to first understand the basis for the Law’s prohibition against murder. Genesis 1:26–27 (CSB) — 26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female. Genesis 9:6 (CSB) — Whoever sheds human blood, by humans his blood will be shed, for God made humans in his image. Human life has intrinsic and irreducible value because we alone are made in the likeness of God. Unlike God’s other creatures, we have been given personhood; we have our own individual wills, emotions, and bodies. And, as moral persons, we are uniquely capable among God’s creatures of possessing a moral conscience that is sensitive to “good” and “evil”, even feeling pain as if it had been physically pierced. Human life is precious.

Introduction Jesus’ second kingdom ethic addresses relational purity and deals with two aspects of one issue: adultery. Jesus isn’t addressing two separate issues – lust and divorce – but, instead, he is explicating how adultery unfolds from these two actions. As we begin to deal with this text we should recall how Jesus’ first kingdom ethic was based in the first “creation ethic”: God created us in his image, therefore, our whole person has inherent and irreducible value, which we are called to respect in all people. Our text today follows the same pattern as Jesus’ second kingdom ethic is also based on the second “creation ethic”: God created us male and female in his image, therefore, marriage is inherently sacred and should be honored by all. So, to understand Jesus’ teaching about relational purity, we need to first examine its Old Testament foundation: Genesis 1:27 (CSB) So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female. One of God’s creative purposes for humanity is that we reflect his likeness in our marriage unions. Therefore, Jesus’ teaching about adultery is meant to teach us how to guard against the sin that will destroy the divine blessings bestowed upon our marriage union. •Jesus does not hold a low view of sex •Jesus does not treat sex as inherently dirty or sinful •Jesus demonstrates a high view of human sexuality by honoring the experience •Christian doctrine is so particular about sex because --We place particular value on the human body as the temple of the Holy Spirit --We place particular value on the relational union of marriage. I want to acknowledge up front that some parts of this sermon may weigh on some people more than others and we may feel the sting of conviction. I ask you not to fear that conviction because it is the necessary work of the Spirit to renewing your person. I also want to ask that you stay with me until the end because it will be our conclusion where we will apply the gospel (i.e. “the good news”) to Christ’s teachings. My objective in this lesson is to demonstrate the good news and hope of the gospel in light of the Kingdom’s righteousness. Matthew 5:27–32 (CSB) 27 You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery. 28 But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. 31 It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a written notice of divorce. 32 But I tell you, everyone who divorces his wife, except in a case of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

God is taking people who are broken, whose families have fallen apart, who experience the pain of rejection, disappointment, and loss, and he is making them whole, fulfilling the righteousness of the law that was heretofore unattainable to them through Christ in them, and making THEM his testimony of love and redemption to the world.

This lesson explores our identity as the savor of life and the testimony of Jesus Christ. We look at how Christians are intended to respond to a world that will persecute us because of righteousness.

In this lesson we examine Jesus' warning that Christians will suffering persecution and how we should respond when we suffer for the sake of righteousness.

Peacemakers make peace because they have had the peace of Christ established in the deepest recesses of their hearts. I would refer to this as “inner-peace”, but the term carries some baggage that doesn’t have Biblical ground. So, I think it is simpler to refer to it as “inward-peace” or “spiritual peace”. When Christians refer to inward-peace, we are not speaking about simply “investigating a matter with a calm and unbiased mind so that we can come to terms and accept specific outcomes” (the Buddhist view). We are talking about being made whole and set right with God and others. In this lesson, we're going to look at what it means to be peacemakers.

In this lesson we examine Christ's blessing upon the pure in heart, who will see God.

Join us as we study the first beatitude from Matthew 5:1-3.