Matthew 7 (résumé): The Sermon on the Mount (part 3)

Further teaching from Jesus flows in Matthew 7 starting with "Do not judge, or you too will be judged... and why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye when you have a plank in your own... and don't throw your pearls to pigs". Jesus then goes on to teach further on prayer saying "ask and it will be given unto you, seek and you will find... if your son asks for bread you don't give him a stone... so God will give good gifts to those who ask him". Jesus then says "enter through the narrow gate... for narrow is the way that leads to life". Then Jesus says "watch out for false prophets which are wolves in sheep's clothing... and by their fruit you will know them... not everyone that says Lord Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven!" Finally Jesus says that putting my word into practice is like building your house on a rock... but not practicing my word is foolishness building in the sand. The house on the rock stands firm in the storm but the one on the sand falls with a great crash. And people were amazed at Jesus' teaching with authority.

Matthew 6 (résumé): Sermon on the Mount (part 2)

Matthew 6 starts with teaching about giving to the needy which Jesus says should be without exhibitionism. "Don't announce your giving with trumpets!" Let God know and nobody else. Then Jesus teaches on prayer with his famous 'Lord's Prayer'. Jesus condemns 'show off' prayers and teaches that prayer should honour God's name... pray for God's kingdom and will... ask for daily bread... seek forgiveness whilst forgiving others... ask for deliverance from temptation and evil. Then Jesus says that fasting ought to be discreet "so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting". Then Jesus teaches that "you cannot serve both God and money... don't store up treasures on earth but rather do it in heaven". Finally in this chapter the Lord tells his disciples not to worry about food, clothing and the days ahead, because the birds and flowers do fine without worrying. "Seek yea first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you". 

Matthew 5 (résumé): The Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 5 to 7 contains the Sermon on the Mount which is a collection of Jesus' teachings to his disciples. Initially come the famous beatitudes: "The poor in spirit inherit the kingdom of heaven... those who mourn will be comforted... the meek will inherit the earth... those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled... the merciful will be shown mercy... the pure in heart will see God... the peacemakers will be called sons of God... those persecuted because of righteousness will inherit the kingdom of heaven". Jesus then goes on to say that Christian disciples are the salt of the earth influencing society for good... and they are the light of the world shining for God through what they do. Then Jesus says that he has not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it and stresses that true righteousness must exceed superficial external obedience as practiced by the Pharisees. 

Jesus then goes on to specific topics of Christian ethics starting with murder which he of course condemns, but not just physically but he condemns the anger and hatred in the heart which is its root cause. So too Jesus condemns adultery which stems from lust in the heart. Jesus next values marriage but admits divorce in the case of "marital unfaithfulness". Jesus then clearly teaches that Christians should always be truthful and "let your yes be yes, and your no be no", without needing to swear by oaths. Jesus replaces "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" with "if someone strikes you on the right cheek, give him the other one also". Jesus also teaches "love your enemies and pray for persecutors... be perfect, as your Father is perfect".

Matthew 4 (résumé): The temptation of Jesus & the beginning of his ministry

 Straight after Jesus' baptism "Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil" and he fasted for a long period. So the devil suggested that Jesus turn stone in to bread to eat, but Jesus rebuked him saying man doesn't live by bread alone. Then the devil dared Jesus to jump off a high point and trust God, but Jesus told him not to put God to the test. Finally the devil offered a vast panorama of place if Jesus would worship him and Jesus again rebuked him saying only God should be worshipped! Then Jesus went and lived in Capernaum and started preaching publicly saying "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near". Jesus then called the first disciples to follow him: Peter and his brother Andrew, followed by James and his brother John. All 4 were fishermen, but Jesus said he would "make them fishers of men". Then Jesus started healing the sick from a wide variety of diseases, and large crowds started following him. 

Grace

"My grace is sufficient for you" (2 Corinthians 12:9) was a key phrase in last night's Men's Fellowship meeting. Schoolteacher Claudivan led the meeting, Philip led the praise and I led the Bible study on 'When God says no". It was a beautiful meeting really blessed of God. 🙌

Please pray for our 54-year-old deacon Ricardo of the Patos church who has heart problems and nearly had a heart attack yesterday. He has been taken to João Pessoa for treatment and is in hospital there.

Matthew 3 (résumé): John the Baptist prepares the way

Matthew 3 introduces John the Baptist's public ministry preparing "the way of the Lord" (Isaiah 40:3). He wore "clothes made of camel's hair" and he ate "locusts and wild honey". Faced by his preaching people confessed their sins and he baptized them in the River Jordan, but he called the Pharisees and Sadducees a "brood of vipers!"  John however announced that he was preparing the way for someone "whose sandals I am not fit to carry". He also said that the coming one "is more powerful than I and will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire". Then Jesus came to be baptized by John who felt he was unworthy to do it, but Jesus insisted. Then the heaven opened, the Spirit of God descended on Jesus "like a dove" and God the Father confirmed that Jesus was his son whom he loved and was pleased with. 

Matthew 2 (résumé): The early life of Jesus

 Matthew 2 starts telling about the coming of 3 Wise Men from the east who came to worship Jesus having seen "his star in the east". When King Herod heard about this "he was disturbed" and enquired from "the priests and teachers of the law" as to where it was prophesied that the Messiah would be born and they informed him that it was "in Bethlehem in Judea", and they quoted Micah 5:2 in support of this. So Herod told the Magi to report back to him when they had found Jesus. They then located Jesus and worshipped him and gave him gifts, but they avoided further contact with Herod. Then an angel told Joseph and Mary to flee to Egypt with Jesus as Herod was hunting him, and Hosea 11:1 was quoted in support of this. When Herod realized he had been outwitted he carried out an awful slaughter of young babies and todlers in the area. However after Herod's death Jesus returned with his parents and lived in Nazareth in Galilee.