Shelbyville Community Church

The Jewish Christians are now spread out into the world, no longer in one location. With that, they are facing trails of many kinds. How will they handle that? How will they choose to live their life while following Jesus? How will they handle the different topics James discusses? Will people see Jesus in and through them?

This weekend we will be concluding our teaching on Jesus’ most famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount. The last nine verses of this famous message summarizes the sermon by asking us to picture our lives as a house being tested by the forces of nature.

The sermon on the mount is one of five different sermons recorded in the book of Matthew. Matthew contains more instructional discipleship material from Jesus than any other book in the Bible. Jesus begins his sermon sharing who the Kingdom of God was for. He then shares what the Kingdom will be like and eventually begins sharing some Kingdom practices. It's only fitting that as Jesus begins...

In Matthew 7 are found some of Jesus’ most famous and most quoted words, even by those who would not call themselves Christians: “Judge not…“ It’s important to note that there is a comma here after “Do not judge”, not a period. In other words, Jesus is just beginning a conversation on judgement, he’s not ending it. Now, let me give you a definition of judgement: "Thou shall not size me up and...

We have been unpacking Jesus' teachings from His famous Sermon on the Mount for several weeks. It will take a lot longer than that to faithfully apply those teachings to our daily lives!! They were spoken in the revelation that Jesus is the ultimate authority in the Kingdom of God and that He desires us to live under His loving authority with other Kingdom Seekers. I'm one of those Seeke...

In Jesus’ most famous sermon, on a day when He could have talked about anything, Jesus chose to talk about worry. This reminds us that even 2,000 years ago, people worried about stuff. As long as there have been people, worry has been a constant companion. The reason is simple. Life is uncertain, and that makes us very uncomfortable. We like a sure thing, and we worry when we bump up against uncer...

Baptism is a picture of a new life! This weekend we have the amazing opportunity to celebrate what God is doing here at SCC through the ancient practice of baptism. We’re used to thinking that baptism day is about us or the other people who made their declaration of faith alongside of us, but nothing could be further from the truth. Baptism is a celebration and picture of Christ’s loving work of s...

In Jesus’ most famous sermon, on a day when He could have talked about anything, Jesus chose to talk to Jewish peasants about worry. When it comes to worry, there are three kinds of people.

As we continue looking at the sermon on the Mount, Jesus makes an absolutely insane statement. "Don't worry about your life." If only Jesus knew what I had going on! Does He know my schedule or what's on my plate? Does He understand what it's like living in 2023?

In John 20, Jesus shows up right in the middle of the terror and confusion of His disciples. And He brings calm, assurance, and peace with Him! I wonder, what does Jesus need to show up in the middle of in your own life? The resurrection means that Jesus shows up, right in the middle.

We’ve talked often about the Kingdom of God being the backdrop and context for the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus talked about the Kingdom more than any other subject, but His next favorite topic might surprise you. He often talked to Jewish peasants about something they had very little of, and that is money!

Did you know that what we traditionally call “The Lord’s Prayer” was taught as part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount? Have you been noticing that a lot of what we have heard people say as we have grown up has its roots in Jesus' historical sermon? I trust that this Sunday’s message will uncover some new nuggets too. I think I can assure you that it won’t be boring!

Matthew, the author of this book wrote to a Jewish audience. Many of Jesus early followers were Jewish. As we look at the opening verses of chapter 6, Jesus speaks directly to three Jewish practices: giving, praying, and fasting. Jesus really challenges the hearts of those listening. Is what you do for righteousness or reputation? Is what you do a show to impress others or is it for you to draw ne...

As we continue through Jesus’ most famous sermon, we come to two of Jesus' most famous, most misunderstood, and least applied commands of the entire sermon. Both commands illustrate how we are to love those who would hurt, shame, or mistreat us. The reason they are so sparingly applied in our world is because the natural bent of our hearts is toward revenge.

In Jesus’ day, there was a type of divorce available only to men called an “any cause” divorce. Predictably, it immediately became the most popular form of divorce in Israel. Rabbis even went so far as to list different faults they believed a husband could divorce his wife for under this “any cause” provision. This type of divorce is the backdrop for Jesus' words about Marriage and Divorce in...

Jesus was always concerned about relationships as priorities. There is nothing that steals trust from our relationships like lying to one another. The Psalmist said that God desires truth in our innermost being. Even when we swear on our mother’s graves or make pinky promises, Jesus still brings it back to, “Just do what you say.”

When we mishandle our sexuality, when we use it selfishly or callously, we damage the two things that are most dear in the Kingdom of God. We damage our heart, and we demean relationships. We take a man or a woman who has been made in the image of God and reduce them to body parts for our own gratification.

In His most famous sermon, Jesus speaks about the danger of anger in the most certain of terms. Jesus is not saying here that all anger is bad, but any anger that would foster a deep resentment of others or dismiss their competency or undermine their value will result in judgement. This kind of anger is a big deal for Jesus. He says this is as serious as the most serious sin there is. Seriously.

One of the most misunderstood and misquoted verses of the Sermon on the Mount is found in Matthew 5:17. Jesus says, “Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17, CSB). Why did Jesus feel the need to remind people that He had not come to abolish the Law? Because He knew that in light of what he was about to say it would sound...

Baptism is a picture of a new life! Baptism is a celebration and picture of Christ’s loving work of salvation on the cross. It points us to His grace and power in our lives.

In the ancient world, salt was a game changer. They discovered it acted as a preservative for food. It kept food fresh from decay, rot, and corruption. And in a world without refrigeration or the ability to preserve and store food, salt meant the difference between food on the table and starvation. You can’t understand what Jesus is saying unless you understand that in the ancient world, salt was...

Transitions are the doorways to change and potential expansion. When we make a change from one place, state, stage, or condition to another, we transition. The space between where you are right now and where you want to go, that’s the transition. It is relevant to us spiritually, financially, relationally, emotionally, physically, mentally, educationally, and geographically.

Matthew includes four foreign women in the story of Jesus to show that Jesus’ mission would include all people, no matter their gender, race, background, heritage, hurts, habits, or hang-ups.

When most of us think of the Christmas story it starts with an angel, a young couple, a baby in a manger, and maybe some wise men. But, Matthew 1 tells us the Christmas story actually began with a man named Abram.

The game of Monopoly is incredibly similar to real life, isn't it? We don't get to keep anything. We spend all our time saving, buying, insuring, and in the end, we don't get to keep any of it. It doesn't really belong to us in the first place. At some point, it will go right back in the box. Right back to God, who is the rightful owner.