Murder. Sex. Adultery. Divorce. Jesus wasn’t afraid to talk about the heavy stuff.
But where the religious leaders thought they had these things all figured out, Jesus seemingly takes it a step further and makes it even harder to be right with the Law. When it came to obeying the Law, Jesus seemed to agree with what they all should’ve already seen through the Old Testament Scriptures, God looks at the heart.
Each week over the next two months we’ll journey through one of the beatitudes in Matthew 5. Take time to move slowly through the rhythms of reflection.
Read. Listen. Reflect.
This week we focus on Matthew 5:4, “Blessed are those who mourn…”
Find the full guide here: missiodeicommunities.com/beatitudes
Jesus began his sermon on the mount with the words, “Blessed are…”
He went on to make several outrageous claims as to who is blessed. What does it mean to be blessed and how can we make the list of people who are? Is this a checklist to attain? We explore the beginning of the famous Sermon on the Mount by examining the good life Jesus came to offer those in need.
Each Wednesday over the next two months we’ll journey through one of the beatitudes in Matthew 5. Take time to move slowly through the rhythms of reflection.
Read. Listen. Reflect.
This first week we focus on Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit…”
Find the full guide here: missiodeicommunities.com/beatitudes
Jesus, the fullness of the God of the universe, fully immersed himself into the identity and life of humanity — so that humans could have the possibility of being fully immersed into the identity of being children of God. It is his immersion into our world and his invitation for us to be immersed into his identity that we find true life, fulfillment, fullness, and restoration of who we were meant to be.
When Jesus arrives, the God of the universe become human, he is met with poverty, wandering, oppression, violence, rejection, and suffering. This Christmas season we recognize that not all is as it should be, yet we have much to celebrate because we have a God who has come to be in it with us. And this baby Jesus, grew into a man who loved, served, and healed — and ultimately gave his life over to death so that he could conquer it with resurrection. This is the greatest gift we have been given.
What made a group of magi travel far from the east to come and pay respect to a newborn king of the Jews? How were they able to find him? And once they got there and found the current king wanted him dead, what led them to believe this baby born to a poor family in a little town was actually who they thought he was?
The story of the wise men is full of mystery... and may make you rethink how you set up your nativity figures on the fireplace mantle.
We started our series in Matthew during the season of Advent. The first week we looked at the genealogy of Jesus. Family trees and ancestral lineage doesn't always sound like the most interesting of topics, however, Matthew was revealing many very significant truths about who this Jesus was. Join us as we see the promised Rescuer God's people had been waiting for centuries to come.
Wrapping up our series in Hebrews, we come to chapter 13. This seems like possibly the author getting out his final thoughts and recommendations for living righteous before he seals his letter, but it’s so much more connected to the rest of the book than that. He has spent 12 chapters making the case how Jesus is better than all else and is the fulfillment of all they had been hoping for. In chapter 12 he referenced Mount Sinai, where God gave the Law AFTER rescuing them from slavery. Now that they’ve come to a new kind of mountain, Mount Zion figuratively, he is reminding them of how they can live now that Jesus has set them free.
Mountaintops were seen in the ancient near eastern world as places where humans could climb to meet the divine; heaven and earth could touch. In the Old Testament we have a story of Israelites trembling with fear before Mount Sinai because the glory of God came down with fire, clouds, thunder, and lightning. Hebrews 12 tells us we have not come to that kind of mountain, but Mount Zion where we celebrate with an army of spiritual beings as we delight in God. So — what changed? Why can we now approach this mountaintop?
A loving father disciplines his children. For some, we may have this experience to relate to. For others, we hear that word and flinch. We think of cruel punishment. No matter your experience with a human father, we have one who is far better and His discipline is perfect. It is not angry punishment, but corrective guiding leading us to the path of life and goodness.
Chapter 11 of Hebrews is perhaps one of the more well known chapters in the whole bible. Often referred to as the ‘Hall of Faith’, it lists off a number of people from Israel’s history who “by faith” lived a certain way. If we take a deeper look at each of their lives we will also find a lot of failures and acts of disobedience. Yet, there is one who showed an even better faith — the pioneer and perfecter of our faith — who has given us the gift of a better faith to live by now.
This world offers many ways to live, but really there are two: find what seems right or feels good to you, or live by faith in Jesus. One way leads to life, the other to destruction. One way is fulfilling and brings ultimate joy and satisfaction, the other brings chaos and sorrow.
When we say Jesus is better, we don’t mean he is subjectively a slightly better option, though any option is fine. We mean he is the only option if you want to experience life and life to the full.
What's the difference between delight and desire? Both are often talked about in the biblical narrative and seem to be key to the story. When delight and desire are misdirected and misplaced, destruction and even death can result. But when we desire what is good and delight in what we already have access to, this leads to flourishing. How can we rightly align our desires and delight? Only through first seeing God desires to be with us and delights over his people!
