The Perfect Life (Matthew 5:33-48)

Sunday 01/11/2020

If you asked 100 people what a perfect life looked like, what answers would you expect? And if you asked the same people how they could get a perfect life, what would they say? Will a perfect life just come to us? Will working hard get us there? Or do we have to take it?

Some might think that fate or karma will bring them good. And more might believe that determination will get you where you want to be, that “if you have a go, you will get a go.” But if we look carefully at how our world works, we’ll see that good ideas are overlooked and hard work isn’t rewarded. So, it seems that we won’t get ahead unless we push ourselves forward.

Instead of thinking of others, we find ourselves asking, ‘What’s in it for me?’

Instead of choosing what’s best for everyone, we say, ‘What do I deserve?’

And instead of asking, ‘What’s the right thing to do?’, we think, ‘What can I get away with?’

When we think and act like that, we’re saying that the only way to get ahead is to trample over others. And what do we find when we get there? It’s lonely at the top. That idea of the perfect life is all around us. But it doesn’t add up.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us what a perfect life is like: It’s living as citizens of His Kingdom (v1-12). It starts when we realise that we’re spiritually poor (v3), that we can never provide the right relationship with God that we desperately need (v6). And Jesus promises that, if that’s us, then the Kingdom of Heaven is ours and His righteousness will satisfy every spiritual need we have.

So, how does Jesus challenge those attitudes we see around us and find within us? Asking ‘What’s in it for me?’, ‘What do I deserve?’ and ‘What can I get away with?’ Jesus answers those attitudes by showing us the perfection of God’s Law, then by embodying that perfection Himself, and giving His perfection to His followers.

  1. Echo Jesus’ Perfect Honesty (v33-37)
  2. Practice Jesus’ Perfect Submission (v38-42)
  3. Cultivate Jesus’ Perfect Love (v43-48)

Video Playlist (with songs)

Video (Sermon only)

Audio

*Sermons can be downloaded by clicking on the three dots at top right.

Download the Kids’ Activity Sheets

Click to access 8.-merged-pdf_-discussion-questions-activity-sheets-craft-_-game-ideas-matthew-6_-19-21-storing-up-treasures.pdf

Please let us know that you’re joining us for church online today

Other Resources

 

 

Lust: Adultery in the Heart (Matthew 5:27-32)

Sunday 25/10/2020

You’ve probably heard someone claim, “Jesus hardly said anything about…” and then name something about human sexuality. Usually, that means people distrust what God has said about sexuality and intimate relationships. So, people reject it, ‘God can’t tell me what to do or who to love!’ And we can have questions about where relationships and sexuality fits in God’s world. It’s all around us and hard-wired into us. But have we got the idea that God is only interested in our spiritual life, but not our relationships? We might think, “It’s just not that important to God.” If we think Jesus doesn’t say much about sexuality, we need to listen again to Matthew 5:27-32! Jesus says so much in just these few words! We need to accept it. So, what does Jesus say and how should that shape our thinking about intimacy and relationships?
  1. Jesus Exposes Lust as Adultery (v27-28)
  2. Heeds Jesus’ Drastic Warning (v29-30)
  3. Honour Marriage Like Jesus (v31-32)

Video Playlist (with songs)

Video (Sermon only)

Audio

*Sermons can be downloaded by clicking on the three dots at top right.

Download the Kids’ Activity Sheets

Click to access 7.-merged-pdf_-discussion-questions-activity-sheets-craft-_-game-ideas-john-14_6-i-am-the-way-the-truth-and-the-life.pdf
Please let us know that you’re joining us for church online today

Other Resources    

Anger: Murder in the Heart (Matthew 5:21-26)

Sunday 18/10/2020

Jesus said that He didn’t come to do away with the Law but to fulfil it (v16-20). And here, Jesus exposes the depth of God’s Law. We might think of the Law as a list of things to do or not do, but Jesus shows us that it is about what we love and hate: He says, “21 ‘You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, “You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.” 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, “Raca,” is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, “You fool!” will be in danger of the fire of hell.”

  1. Jesus Exposes Murder in the Heart (v21-22)
  2. So Jesus Urges Resolving Anger (v23-26)

Video Playlist (with songs)

Video (Sermon only)

Audio

*Sermons can be downloaded by clicking on the three dots at top right.

Download the Kids’ Sheets

Click to access 8.-merged-pdf-discussion-questions-activity-sheets-craft-_-game-ideas-luke-23_32-43-jesus-and-the-bad-guy.pdf

Please let us know that you’re joining us for church online today

Other Resources

 

 

The Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17-20)

Sunday 11/10/2020

What do you think about the Old Testament? Do you think of yourself as more of a New Testament believer? Do you think the NT is more about grace, and the OT is more about rules? And isn’t Christianity all about love, not law?

Well, Jesus did speak a lot about love. In fact, later in this chapter, He summarises the Law by quoting two statements from the Old Testament about love:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all you soul, and all your mind, and your strength,” and “You shall love your neighbour as you love yourself,” (22:37, 39). That’s a description of total obedience, stated in terms of love.

Jesus tells us that our failure to obey the Law is a failure to love. We must love to keep the Law. But His demand that we love does not replace the requirement to keep the Law. Obedience to the Law is how we love God and love our neighbours. So, it’s wrong to set the Law against love and say that love wins. Love is keeping the Law.

In Jesus’ day, it was expected not that the Messiah would abolish the Law but that He would add to it. But here, Jesus tells us He didn’t come to do that either. Matthew shows us:

  1. Jesus Fulfils the Old Testament (v17)
  2. Jesus Upholds the Old Testament (v18-19)
  3. Jesus Requires and Gives a Greater Righteousness (v20)

Video Playlist (with songs)

Video (Sermon only)

Audio

*Sermons can be downloaded by clicking on the three dots at top right.

Download the Kids’ Sheets

Click to access 8.-merged-pdf_-discussion-questions-activity-sheets-craft-_-game-ideas-luke-19_1-10-jesus-and-the-lost-man.pdf

Please let us know that you’re joining us for church online today

Other Resources

 

 

Salt and Light (Matthew 5:13-16)

Sunday 04/10/2020

There is a word which strikes fear in many an Aussie, especially when there’s a recession: It’s ‘redundancy’.

I’ve been unemployed, but never made redundant. But it happens. Companies restructure, processes are automated, and jobs go overseas. And the job that used to be there is gone.

Do you feel like a redundant Christian? You know the Great Commission Jesus gave to His Church, to go and make disciples, baptising them and teaching everything that He commanded us (Matthew 28:19-20). But there are people who do that for a job. And we don’t feel like we have the skills for it anyway. So, aren’t we redundant?

Jesus answers this question in the Sermon on the Mount. He began by describing Christians, as mourning, dependent, self-sacrificing, and persecuted (5:1-12). Now He turns our attention to what Christians must do. Jesus is adamant: There are no redundant Christians. Although we are saved by grace through faith, not by works, there are good works for us to do.

If you are one of Jesus’ followers, you must do good works to oppose and expose sin so that others glorify God.

Video Playlist (with songs)

Video (Sermon only)

Audio

*Sermons can be downloaded by clicking on the three dots at top right.

Please let us know that you’re joining us for church online today

Download the Kids’ Sheet

For Family Devotions

Click to access 4.-discussion-questions-and-digging-deeper-devotionals-john-3-jesus-and-the-good-guy-.pdf

For Kids 2-4 years

Click to access 5.a.-activity-sheets-for-ages-2-4-john-3-jesus-and-the-good-guy.pdf

For Kids 5-8 years

Click to access 5.b.-activity-sheets-for-ages-4-8-john-3-jesus-and-the-good-guy.pdf

For Kids 9-12 years

Click to access 5.c.-activity-sheets-for-ages-9-12-john-3-jesus-and-the-good-guy.pdf

Craft & Game Ideas

Click to access 6.-craft-_-game-ideas-john-3-jesus-and-the-good-guy-.pdf

Other Resources