Central Community Church | Sermon Audio

Jesus turns his attention to the practice of oath declaring and the evil that lies underneath its pious cover. He reorients us to the intention of the Law of God and reminds us of a God of promise that does not leave us to fend for ourselves under the crushing weight of the law.

Matthew 5:33-37 The first sin recorded in the Bible is a lie.  And since then, lying has wrecked lives, families and careers all around the globe.  Jesus calls his followers to be people of truth and integrity, not just because we have to, but because in the gospel we have no need to hide from the truth. 

Matthew 5:33-37 We live in a deception epidemic; a post-truth world. While we value the truth all too often it is far from our lips. Jesus challenges our propensity to spinning truth to suit our situation. He calls his disciples to live as men and women of truth, rejecting evil, and manifesting the fullness of who they are as new creations in Him.

Matthew 5:33-37 Followers of Jesus are to reflect the nature of God, and part of that means being people of truth. And being people of truth will not only honour God, but point people to Jesus – The Way, The Truth, and The Life – as we are “salt and light” in the world.

Matthew 5:31-32 There is what you think about divorce, what society says about divorce, and then what Jesus says about divorce. The call of the Christian is to believe and follow Jesus. In this sermon we will explore what Jesus says about divorce, remarriage and adultery in the Sermon on the Mount and throughout the Bible and then   circumstances we find ourselves in.

Matthew 5:31-32 The reason that divorce is so damaging is because marriage is so beautiful. Our enemy will do all he can to destroy what God created to reflect His great love for us. So, we need to do all we can to protect and preserve the sacred institution of biblical marriage.

When Jesus explains to his disciples God’s intention for marriage, they are shocked to hear God’s standard and we are still shocked today.  Jesus deals with divorce and marriage by bringing us back to God’s design and calls us to live it out as an illustration of the gospel. 

Matthew 5:31-32 Today you’d be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t been directly impacted by the divorce of an immediate family member or a close friend. Yet, in Matthew 5:31-32 Jesus teaches that divorce should be avoided at almost all costs because it goes against God’s design for loving, committed, life-long unions.

Just as last week we saw that anger is the root of murder in the heart, this week we see that lust is the act of adultery in the heart. Lust and adultery are fleeting pleasures that ultimately lead to guilt, shame, and death. Jesus is not being prudish, He is continuing to cast a vision of the Kingdom of God and where hope, freedom, and human flourishing can be found. https://canopy.us/ https://ww...

Matthew 5:27-30 In the sermon on the mount Jesus is raising the standard in regard to morality and the law. He knows the ramifications of when sin goes unchecked and the devastation that unfolds. In our focus passage this is the sin of lust and adultery. Jesus wants us to know that this is a problem that is rooted in our hearts. But through a repentant and changed heart, we can experience forgiven...

Matthew 5:27-30 Today’s culture has wrongly accepted lust as a normal, acceptable, inconsequential act, failing to properly understand the destructiveness of this heart sin. Jesus rightly raises the bar on the Old Testament commandment to not commit adultery to include even lust of the heart. It is for our good that we avoid such heart sins, since left unchecked and unrepented of, they can l...

The arrival of Jesus inaugurates God’s plan to restore all that is good and beautiful. In this sermon Jesus shows us how those inside His kingdom go beyond not murdering and seek to overcome anger itself. When we see God putting away His anger with us, we are compelled to forgive and pursue reconciliation with others.

Matthew 5:21-26 When Jesus begins to describe how the Old Testament laws apply to Christians, he begins by showing how the prohibition against murder was always about more than just the action.  It extends to our heart before God.  How do we view other people made in God’s image?  Jesus calls his disciples not only to treat others well, but to think of them well and work towar...

Matthew 5:21-26 Jesus elevates the Old Testament law of murder to the judgemental, verbal assassination of a person’s character. Murder is not merely a matter of the hands, but of the heart. Destroying someone in this way destroys the image of God, revealing the depth of our spiritually poverty and the need to be reconciled with both them and God.

Matthew 5:21-26 Are you an angry person? Some of us will immediately recognize “yes, I’m an angry person, I know I have issues in this department… and you’d better not start pocking around if you know what’s best for you!” There are some of us who would not consider ourselves “an angry person”, but surrounded by stupid people, who do stupid things,...

The scribes and pharisees were the super religious, educated, bible nerds of the first century and Jesus said that our righteousness has to exceed theirs or we will never enter the kingdom of heaven. That would have shocked His hearers and has massive implications. In this sermon we will explore how Christians should interpret the Old Testament in light of how Jesus has fulfilled it.

Matthew 5:17-20 To help us realize the depths of our spiritually poverty, and just how desperately we need a Savior, Jesus tells us that we not only need to uphold and keep God’s laws better than the scribes and Pharisees (law keepers), but that we need to be perfect. This, of course, is impossible, so the only possible way that we can be made right with God is by trusting the only one who i...

Matthew 5:17-20 Do we need to read the Old Testament?  Isn’t that “old” and therefore irrelevant?  Jesus doesn’t think so, and not only calls his disciples to read it but genuinely keep it.  The problem is no one can.  We need a saviour!

Matthew 5:17-20 The Old Testament can seem like an antiquated document to Christians, however, Jesus affirms its necessity and confidently asserts that he’s come to fulfill the Law. What does that mean? How does Christ’s fulfillment of the Law impact our morality? Does the Law have a deeper goal than superficial, external actions?

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus didn’t challenge us to try and become salt and light. He declared that we ARE salt and light; that we are His agents of redemption and illumination in this world.  He commanded us to live in such a way that compels the world to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.  So the question that begs to be asked is, “How are you bringing glory to God in...

Matthew 5:13-16 One of God’s purposes for our lives is that we would increase the desirability and attractiveness of Christ to those who need Him … that others would be drawn to Christ because of what they hear from us and see in us. How do you and I give glory to God by the way we live?

Matthew 5:13-16 Imagine a world without salt or light. It would be a bland, dark place! In this short but profoundly practical passage Jesus compels his followers to add life giving flavor and light to the world as we shine brightly for Christ all for the purpose of God’s glory.

Depending on who you ask, you will get drastically different and even conflicting answers on what the good life is and how to live a flourishing life. As we embark on a new year, lets let Jesus tell us what the blessed and flourishing life is and press into living out the Kingdom of Heaven in the midst of the kingdom of man. 

Matthew 5:1-12 As we enter into a new year may we reflect on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and specifically the beatitudes. An invitation to live a life that has been transformed by the grace of God. The beatitudes are a call to live for the Glory of God with Christ as our King, as we experience the promises of God’s Kingdom.

Mysterious wise men from the east follow a star that eventually leads them to baby Jesus. Upon seeing Jesus they do two things: They bow down and worship Him and they present their finest gifts to Him. Christmas reminds us to do the same.