MissionWay Church Sunday Sermons

The command to love our enemies may be one of the most difficult to follow of all of Jesus' teachings. How can we actually do good to those who hate and persecute us? Don't we have a right to retaliate and enact personal justice when we are wronged? Yet, as difficult as this command is, this is also one of the things that sets Christianity apart and makes it most beautiful to a lost and dying world.

Jesus begins to unpack his statement in Matthew 5:20, that our righteousness must "exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees" in order to enter the Kingdom. He begins to unpack specific examples of how Israel had misunderstood and wrongly taught the Law, and then by His authority as the Living Word of God, shows the correct way to view and apply the Law. He begins with the examples of anger and lust. In this passage, we will see Jesus talk about murder without weapons and adultery without sex.

Why is it important for Christians to walk in obedience to the Law? What's the difference between obeying for salvation and obeying because of our salvation? In these verses, Jesus shows us how Christians should view God's Law and seek to walk in it. He shows us that there are those who are least and those who are great in the Kingdom. He also shows us how we enter the Kingdom in the first place.

What does it mean to be "in Christ?" If we are all born into sin and death because of Adam, how does Jesus give us life? What does it mean for us that Christ has been raised from the dead?

Is the Old Testament still relevant to us today? Are we really supposed to read and follow the Laws we find there? Did Jesus come to show us a better way and get rid of the Old Testament? Let's hear from Jesus on this very important matter as we continue walking through the Sermon on the Mount.

In a world where sin and darkness seem to be increasing all around us, Christians must ask themselves, "what makes me different?" We also need to wrestle with why we are not just called to have a private faith that never gets involved with other people's lives. When Jesus called us salt and light, He was saying that as Christians, we are supposed to make a difference in the world around us simply because of who He has made us to be through the Gospel. What does being salt and light look like? We explore that in this sermon.

The Beatitudes end with what seems to be a contradiction. Jesus says that we are blessed when we are peacemakers and when we are persecuted. But why would striving to be a peacemaker lead to persecution? Why would any of the Beatitudes lead to persecution? How can we find peace (or better yet, make peace) in a world that may hate us?

In the Beatitudes, after Jesus deals with the areas of our lives we need to be willing to give up, He moves on to the things we must pursue as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. In this sermon we define what it means to hunger & thirst for righteousness, to be merciful, and to be pure in heart.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says some really hard things to hear and sets the bar for righteousness very high. It's only fitting then that He begins this sermon by reminding us of the importance of what it means to be poor in spirit, mourn over our sin, and walk in meekness.