Traders Point Christian Church (Audio)

Jesus concludes His Sermon on the Mount with a parable about foundations. Storms are inevitable, and the best time to prepare for them is before they come. We are all building a life. Our daily decisions, choices, and routines are the hammer and nails, assembling the shape of what our lives will ultimately be. A wise builder understands the cumulative effect of choices, big and small, and applies wisdom frequently to each one. Jesus calls us to build our foundations with wisdom.Aaron Brockett • MasterClass • Matthew 7:24-29

As the Sermon on the Mount nears the end, Jesus warns us about people who pretend to be something they’re not. We not only have to watch out for external threats from false prophets; we have to watch out for the false prophets within ourselves. How do we change our hearts to be real? We face our reality boldly, tell ourselves the brutal truth, and choose to be broken before God and someone else. God wants to know us and be known by us.
Aaron Brockett • MasterClass • Matthew 7:15-23

Jesus has preached a message to His disciples on some very heavy topics. As we allow His words to equip and empower us, we come to realize that spiritual growth is often harder than we expected. We have an enemy who wants to tempt and distract us from growing closer to Jesus, and Jesus tells us the answer is prayer. He teaches us to pray for our spiritual lives by continuing to ask, seek, and knock. The Kingdom of God begins in our hearts.
Kyle Riley • MasterClass • Matthew 7:7-14

As Jesus teaches His disciples what it looks like to live in the kingdom of God in His famous Sermon on the Mount, He dives straight to our hearts, and His teaching on judging others is no different. Jesus isn’t saying there’s never a time to make a judgment call or to be discerning, but He does challenge us to judge rightly. To do that, we must see ourselves and others clearly, and seeing clearly begins in our hearts.
Ryan Bramlett • MasterClass • Matthew 7:1-6

The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus exclaiming to His followers that God has so much more for us than the brokenness so prevalent in our world today. From His teaching on treasure and material possessions, Jesus now digs a little deeper into that topic by showing us how disordered priorities and misguided affections are often the cause of much of the worry we face in this life. Instead of just a command to “stop worrying,” Jesus invites us into a life of freedom and abundance.
Aaron Brockett • MasterClass • Matthew 6:25-34

Prayer may be the most universal spiritual discipline practiced across all religions. Even if we don’t believe in God, we probably still pray because something inside of us instinctively recognizes our need for help and cries out for it! In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives His followers the why and how to pray. As we practice this discipline, we learn that prayer is all about deepening our connection with our heavenly Father, something very different from any other religion. We pray not to get something, but to know Someone.
Ryan Bramlett • MasterClass • Matthew 6:5-15

Jesus isn’t afraid to address challenging topics because He knows our lives are greatly impacted by them. As He turns His attention to good deeds, money, and material possessions in His Sermon on the Mount, He continues to focus on the motivations of our heart and transformation from the inside out. He teaches the important truth that our hearts will always follow what we treasure, and He challenges us to have spiritual vision and an eternal perspective.  
Aaron Brockett • MasterClass • Matthew 6:1-4, 19-24

The Sermon on the Mount is a grand exposition on how to live out the greatest commandment: love God and love people. In it, Jesus walks through case studies to explain what He means, four of which are divorce, dishonesty, revenge, and loving our enemies. Jesus calls us to not just focus on external behavior and image management. He calls us to examine the motives of our hearts. When we follow His example, we reflect the Kingdom of God to the world around us.
Aaron Brockett • MasterClass • Matthew 5:31-48

Jesus knew that knowledge wasn’t enough to give meaning and purpose to life. He didn’t come to earth just to heal a few people or to teach a few lessons on morality or good manners. He didn’t even come just to die on a cross so that sinners could go to heaven someday. Jesus came to teach men and women what it means to be fully human. He came to win our hearts and change us from the inside out.
Aaron Brockett • MasterClass • Matthew 5:20-30

We live in an age where we have more access to information than any other generation in history. While knowledge isn’t a bad thing, it isn’t enough to fix the massive brokenness of our world and the bankruptcy found within each of our hearts. We need something deeper and more profound. In His most famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus described His upside-down kingdom, His way of putting our broken world right-side up.
Aaron Brockett • MasterClass • Matthew 5