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In Matthew 7:1-12 Jesus gives us wisdom on how to love our neighbor in a sinful, messy world. Love is hard and risky. We need self-awareness, others-awareness and God-awareness to live out the ethic of Jesus.

In Matthew 6:19-34 we are challenged to ask, “What do I really want out of life?” Jesus uses a series of deceptively simple metaphors that urge us to reorient our lives around heavenly treasure. And he tells us why seeking first the kingdom of heaven is so simple and why it is so hard.

In Matthew 6:7-15 Jesus further develops his exhortation on genuine prayer. Known as “the Lord’s prayer” and as “the Our Father”, this is not a prayer given us to pray word for word. This is a model of prayer guiding us in the way we should pray. Jesus teaches us how to think about our interaction with God and the reward that God promises when we meet with him alone in genuine, humble faith.

In Matthew 6:1-6 and 16-18, Jesus shifts from loving our neighbor to loving our God, a shift from public spiritual life that ought to be seen, to private spiritual life that ought not be seen. Jesus now exhorts us to acts of devotion that bring about lasting reward from God.

In Matthew 5:33-48, we continue with the second half of Jesus’ kingdom commandments. He calls us deeper in and further out, establishing an incredibly high moral standard for entrance into the kingdom of heaven. At this point, we are finally ready to go back and understand the blessings Jesus announced at the beginning of his sermon.

In Matthew 5:17-32, we address the first half of kingdom commandments indicated by Jesus formula, “You have heard it said…but I say to you…” What does it look like to be salt and light for the kingdom of heaven? Jesus is going to tell us. And the standard he sets is going to be very high indeed.

In Matthew 5:1-16, Jesus begins the sermon on the mount with a two part introduction. First, he communicates a series of virtues God affirms by rewarding. And second, he exhorts his disciples to be salt and light in society, presumably by living out the virtues that God values. But what does it look like, really, to live out the virtues? In the end, Jesus raises more questions than answers, and that is intentional.

In Matthew 3-4, we continue to follow Matthew as he sets up the context for the sermon on the mount. Who is this Jesus? What has he come to do? What is his connection to the Old Covenant? What does he mean that the kingdom of heaven is near? What is this gospel of the kingdom that Jesus proclaims?

We begin our Sermon on the Mount series with a two-part overview of Matthew 1-4 to set up our context. Who is this Jesus? What has he come to do? What is his connection to the Old Covenant? That’s what Matthew has in mind to tell us, starting with the origin of the king in chapters 1 and 2.

In Isaiah 66:18-24, the end of Isaiah speaks of the end of this age. God sets a sign among his people. And he sends survivors out to the ends of the earth. They raise the sign as a standard. It is time to gather in the nations, time for every knee to bow and every tongue confess that the Holy One of Israel, He is God.

In Isaiah 65:17-66:17, God’s response to the watcher’s lament reaches a climax with the promise of a recreation. God will create the heavens and earth anew as an eternal dwelling place for his chosen ones. Who are the chosen ones? Who are these servants of God that dwell with him forever?

In Isaiah 63:7-65:16, we move from the triumphant vision of glorious Zion to the struggle of holding onto the promise of that glorious future in the painful present. A human watcher cries out to God in a theological rich lament. God challenges the watcher to accept a more accurate perspective of what he is doing.

In Isaiah 61:10-63:6, we encounter two further songs of a mysterious figure committed to the establishment of an ideal society for God’s people. In the first song he comes dressed as a groom for a wedding. In the second song he comes dressed as a champion for battle.

In Isaiah 61:1-9 God pours out his Spirit, anointing a chosen servant to proclaim good news to the afflicted. That good news transforms God’s people. 700 years later Jesus stood up in a synagogue, read the first two verses of this passage, sat down and declared, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

In Isaiah 60, the glory of God shines out from Zion as a glorious city on a hill. Many peoples respond to that light bringing gifts of tribute to the Holy One of Israel, tribute including frankincense and gold. How does this vision of Zion relate to the church? Is this our mission to build a city of light on earth?