Dove Creek Bible Church's Podcast

In this Father's Day Sermon Pastor Jeff explains the indelible marks left on his own father's heart caused by his father abandoning him at the age of 10. From there he explores the biblical qualities of a good father.

Some say that it is not true that "God loves the sinner, but hates the sin". They argue Psalm 5 and Psalm 11 make it clear God hates sinners. Is that true? And if it is, does that mean we can hate sinners as well? How would we reconcile such a position with this exhortation in the Sermon on the Mount to love our enemies?

Are we people of our word? Do we really feel we must fulfill the vows and oaths that we make? It’s easy to swear oaths that you don’t really expect you will have to fulfill or truly intend to keep in the first place. And this is what Jesus addresses, this tendency to make vows that when push comes to shove we really don’t think of as binding.

If you divorce your spouse are you forcing them to commit adultery? If you marry someone who is divorced have you committed adultery? Jesus seems to say so in this text. Divorce has always been a controversial subject in the Christian community. How do we navigate through what Jesus says here and what He says elsewhere about divorce? Is adultery the only biblical reason for divorce? These questions and others are addressed in this sermon.

We like the temptation of lust…there is a sense in which we say to this temptation, “Go ahead, torture me all you like.” Because we like this particular kind of torture. Most of us like to think we keep and have kept at the very least two of the Ten Commandments. We may reluctantly admit that we have lied, stolen in some form or fashion, or coveted someone else’s possessions, but we have never murdered or committed adultery…at least we have been able to keep those two. And now here comes Jesus saying. “Au contraire…turns out you haven’t even kept these two really.”

Have you ever wondered if you are capable of murder? Have you ever really thought about that? Under what circumstances you might possibly take a life? We would all probably be surprised at what we are actually capable of if we get angry enough if we get frustrated enough, or if we get overwhelmed and confused enough…we are all very capable of murder whether we admit it or not. Today Jesus points out…not only are we all capable of murder…we have in truth…as far as God is concerned already committed it.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the law thought Jesus should just keep His mouth shut on the law as He was, in their view, untrained in the law and He had no rabbinical pedigree they recognized. Nevertheless, Jesus introduces the next section of the Sermon on the Mount where He beings to instruct them as to where they misunderstood and misapplied the law.

We glory in the cross, but should the cross get all the glory? Why does the empty tomb appear to play second fiddle to the cross?

Daniel predicted when Jesus, the Anointed ruler who would come, would arrive and he predicted it to the exact day it happened.

How are Christians to operate as salt and light in a culture such as ours? In our culture holding to traditional Christian values translates into being a “bigot” and a “hater”. How do we operate as salt and light in a culture that is in the process of deconstructing and many people are deconverting?

This is the last beatitude and it has several unique features. It is the longest beatitude given. It is the only beatitude with commentary. It’s the only beatitude Jesus repeats. It is the only beatitude with an expected response. It is the only beatitude directed personally to the hearer. Note how the beatitude begins with “Blessed are those” and then changes to “Blessed are you”. This beatitude seems an abrupt change in direction from the last one, “Blessed are the peacemakers”. How do we go from peacemaking to persecution? It seems counterintuitive. If we are peacemakers, why are we persecuted? Why would the world want to persecute peacemakers?

Now this beatitude is unlike all the others for all the others are fairly straightforward and self-explanatory…this one seems vague and subject to interpretation. I, generally speaking, know when I have behaved meekly or have shown mercy, but what does Jesus mean by a “pure heart”? Note, Jesus did not say “Blessed are those who purify their hearts”, but “Blessed are the pure in heart”. The “pure in heart” is something a person is…how does one get to be one of those folks? What does it mean to be pure in heart and if my heart is pure in what sense will I “see God”?

Our topic today is mercy…what is it exactly…and how do we decide when to render it. Most of us live by the motto “Justice for you; mercy for me.” Interestingly this beatitude dealing with mercy immediately follows the beatitude dealing with righteousness (and the word for righteousness is also the word for justice). So why should I be interested in any mercy for you?

We have a saying, “You are what you eat.” What you choose to eat actually becomes a part of your physical makeup. Nutritionists tell us our appetite determines our diet, our diet determines what we ingest, and what we ingest determines our health. This relationship between what we eat and our physical health is why we often find this analogy of eating and drinking used to describe spiritual realities.

So what makes a person truly meek? What does Jesus mean here by “meek”? Now, “meek” is one of those words that needs a better press agent. People more typically associate negative connotations with the word. If you use a thesaurus to figure out another way to refer to someone as meek suggestions include “docile”, “timid” and “spineless”. As examples of meekness, the thesaurus suggests the following phrases as illustrative: “to eat dirt,” “to lick the dust,” “to cringe like a dog,” “to take it on the chin.” Now seriously, who wants to be that guy? Since Jesus referred to Himself as meek it quite obviously cannot mean any such thing.

Every superhero has an origin story. Judges 13 is Samson's and he was born with a purpose and a destiny.

In The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is creating Cognitive Dissonance. Cognitive Dissonance occurs when current beliefs are challenged with new information. He tells His listeners the kingdom they were anticipating and how to enter that kingdom is different from what they have been told and always believed. One of the benefits of cognitive dissonance or thinking disharmony is it makes us more receptive to learning. To put it another way…sometimes before you can teach someone something new you have to first challenge what it is they think they already know or believe to be true. If they are satisfied with what they already believe and know then they will not be motivated to reevaluate, but if their current belief or knowledge is shaken then they are more likely to rethink what they believe.

The word “beatitude” is derived from the Latin term “beatus” which means “blessed”. The Sermon on the Mount context is to be blessed is to experience what follows. As children of God, we are meant to experience and express all that is said here. Each beatitude is meant to characterize every follower of Jesus. Jesus is not dividing us up into eight different kinds of disciples as though some of us are poor while others are meek and so on and so forth. The follower of Jesus is all eight of these things (i.e. the follower of Jesus is meek and poor and pure of heart, etc.). The first set of four Beatitudes focuses on our vertical relationship to God; the second set of four on our horizontal relationship to people. Each of the eight builds upon the other so that there is this wonderful natural progression. Today we focus on the one that is the most foundational to all the others…blessed are the poor in spirit.