Omc: Family Chapel

Jesus invites his disciples to just ask of God through prayer. Disciples of Christ can pray with confidence because God is generous. God responds open-handedly to our requests. And disciples of Christ can pray with confidence because God is good. God responds for our good to our requests.

As we continue to journey through the Sermon on the Mount, we see in our passage that Jesus clearly lays out the right attitude of the Kingdom citizen: "judge not". While this does not mean that Christians ought to never make any judgments ever (we are commanded to discern false teachers, to discipline sin, etc.), we are never to look at others with a judgmental, critical attitude. Kingdom citizens understand that they too are prone to sin, and are to approach others in humility, having first taken the plank out of their own eye. It is only with this right attitude that we can truly build up those around us.

Disciples of Christ should not be anxious because anxiety is incompatible with Christian faith and anxiety is incompatible with common sense. Rather than being anxious, disciples of Christ should be ambitious for God’s kingdom and righteousness.

Jesus calls upon his disciples to lay up treasures in heaven, rather than on earth. And he gives three key reasons why we ought to do that. Disciples of Christ should lay up treasures in heaven rather than on earth because (1) what you treasure will capture your heart, (2) what you treasure will shape your life, and (3) what you treasure will be your master.

As Christians, we know that prayer is an important part of the Kingdom life, but prayer can be difficult. With the Lord's Prayer, Jesus teaches his disciples three important truths about prayer. (1) Prayer is addressed to our heavenly Father. (2) Prayer is aimed at glorifying God. (3) Prayer is to be accompanied by a matching life.

After unpacking what true righteousness looks like, Jesus addresses the problem of fake righteousness. And in our passage, we see that false piety seeks the praise of others and is rewarded with empty applause, while true piety seeks the presence of God and is rewarded with lasting fulfillment.

Jesus wraps up his section in the Sermon on the Mount on righteousness, by talking about love. At the core of this new Kingdom righteousness is Kingdom love. In our passage, we see that Kingdom love never returns evil for evil and that Kingdom love seeks the good of even our enemies. And that's because Kingdom love looks like the King's love.

Jesus continues to make radical corrections as He unpacks the Kingdom Life, and in this passage, Jesus addresses our sexuality. While the world's conception of sexuality is self-identifying, independent, and consumeristic, in God’s Kingdom, our sexuality is to be marked by inner purity and our sexuality is to be guarded in marital fidelity.

Jesus now begins to unpack the details of the Kingdom Life and he first tackles the issue of murder. While murder is universally condemned as evil, we may all be complicit in that evil. Jesus shows us that hatred in the heart is the seed of murder. And because hatred is so serious and dangerous, Jesus calls upon his disciples to take action to remove it. The seed of hatred is to be uprooted through the work of reconciliation. And when we pursue reconciliation, we are living the Kingdom Life because we are living in the way of the King who has gone to the cross to make reconciliation with us.

As Jesus is everything the Old Testament has pointed to, He alone can bring the righteousness needed to enter into God’s Kingdom. Jesus fulfills the Kingdom promises of the Old Testament. Jesus provides the righteous requirements to enter the Kingdom.

As we continue our series through the Sermon on the Mount, we will see that life in the Kingdom (the blessed life) is not meant to be lived out in isolation or in self-interest, but it is a life that is visibly different than the world's. Living obediently in God’s kingdom means that we live out our identity in a dark and decaying world, seeking to bring life and light to those around us.

As we begin our new series through the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7), we'll see that the blessed life is living the Kingdom Life in the present as we wait for the Kingdom's fulfillment in the future. We often see life in God’s Kingdom as a burden to be endured rather than a blessing to be enjoyed. But with the Beatitudes, Jesus provides the encouragement we need to continue in the way of the Kingdom.

Our theme for 2019 is "Kingdom Life". But if we want to live out the Kingdom Life in our everyday lives, then we need to understand what God's Kingdom is all about. So, we'll be taking a Bible survey to see the Kingdom of God through the story of Scripture. And we'll see that the Kingdom of God is the rule of God over all things established in the restoring of all things unto Himself for His glory through the person and work of Jesus Christ. Or in other words, the Kingdom of God is God’s authority as King over all things as He seeks to redeem all things through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

As we come to the end of our series through the book of Philippians, we are brought again to the major theme of the entire letter: fellowship in the Gospel. As Paul gives his final greetings, we see three core realities of what fellowship in the Gospel looks like: (1) we share salvation in the Gospel, (2) we share a humble unity in the Gospel, and (3) we share a partnership to advance the Gospel. In other words, our fellowship in the Gospel means that we are saints, we are family, and we're on mission - all by grace. 

As Paul wraps up his letter to the Philippians, he thanks his friends for their generous support and takes some time to encourage them to rightly handle money. In this passage, Paul gives two general guidelines of good stewardship: satisfaction in Jesus and sacrifice for Jesus. When we are satisfied in Christ, we will see that Jesus is enough in our need and enough in our abundance. And when we sacrifice for Jesus, we will see that generous giving is for Kingdom work, is for our own growth, is an act of worship, and is a response to God's generosity. May we be good stewards of God's gifts!

When it comes to sharing life together in the church, conflict is not a question of “if” but of “when”. But how are we to resolve conflict? Instead of faking peace or breaking peace, we are called to move towards making peace. And here, Paul gives us five steps of peace making: commence with adoration, check your attitude, combat your anxiety, center your attention, and commit to action. As those who have received peace from Christ, we are called to make peace with other Christians.