Rise Community Church

What does Jesus say about judging others?

In this section of the sermon on the mount Jesus is saying clearly if your treasure is on earth you are in darkness and your master is not Jesus. As a result, you will live a life consumed with anxiety and worry, trying to gather that treasure up.

This is the only place where Jesus names a rival that threatens discipleship and our relationship to him and he calls it money. It is possible for our possessions to own us as much as we own them. Jesus is saying it’s not the having of possession but the constant declaring that your possessions are yours that prevents you from being a disciple!

In this message as we look at what Jesus says about praying and fasting, Pastor Pete explains how any aspect of our life with God can be corrupted when we become more worried about what people think of us than what God thinks of us.

God is indiscriminate in His love. If you want to boil down to what God is like, God is like loving your enemies. Self-sacrifice for the good of your enemies. That's what God is like and his children are most like God when they do that.

Moses limited revenge through laws in the Torah, Jesus taught the abandonment of vengeance for personal insult and instead to react in creative ways that value dignity as an image-bearer. Jesus is deconstructing the way we live and see ourselves and other people.

Let your yes be yes and your no be no! Our need to "put a spin" on something comes from a deep desire for control. Jesus calls us to be honest and transparent by simply saying yes or no. There is no need for manipulation or "spin" in God's kingdom.

Pastor Pete dives deep into the topic of divorce and re-marriage. He explains what the Bible tells us about divorce and the difference between concession and God's ideal. We live in a time when the divorce rate is no different in the church than outside the church. What is God's true ideal and purpose for marriage? Why does God hate divorce? In the sermon on the mount Jesus is reminding us that marriage is not a consumer product that exists for our personal satisfaction. It's much, much more than that.

Pastor Pete delivers a powerful and timely message on the problem with lust and its destructive pattern. He also points out that in this portion of the sermon on the mount Jesus is explaining that the kingdom of God is a safe place for women.

We all have sections of the Bible that we tend to avoid. But it is important to understand that the entire Bible points to Jesus, from beginning to end! We must have a good understanding of the law in order to really know what Jesus is setting us free from. Jesus wasn’t interested in just following a set of rules to create some external conformity because Jesus knows that true righteousness needs to occur in the heart.

Jesus calls us to be salt and light to our world, but what does that really look like? In Matthew 5:13-20 Jesus affirms the world shaping value of ordinary people following the ways of an extraordinary God. He teaches us that the people with true power to heal and transform the world are the ordinary, authentic people of God. Just like salt preserves and light exposes, Christians are called to preserve a dying world and shine light on truth.

The beatitudes are not a list of how to be blessed, but they are a description of who IS blessed. The outsiders, the marginalized, the misfits.

Reflection Questions 1. Do you think of Jesus as fully God and fully human? Which is easier for you to accept? 2. How do you usually measure success in your own life? 3. How is the kingdom of God breaking through in your life? Take note this week at each moment you see the Kingdom of God manifesting itself in your life. Use the beatitudes as a guide.

When we remember that Jesus was fully God AND fully human it may help us take his words more seriously. This week we begin our new study on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount where we are challenged by the question...what if Jesus wan serious?

Pastor Pete reminds us of our vision at Rise to be a community of discipled believers.

Join us for a special Good Friday Communion Service.

Join us for Palm Sunday as Frank Ares teaches a powerful message on God's amazing grace.