In Matthew 6:7-15 Jesus further develops his exhortation on genuine prayer. Known as "the Lord's prayer" and as "the Our Father", this is not a prayer given us to pray word for word. This is a model of prayer guiding us in the way we should pray. Jesus teaches us how to think about our interaction with God and the reward that God promises when we meet with him alone in genuine, humble faith.
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57:30
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57:30
Matthew 6:1-6 and 16-18 Kingdom Piety 1
In Matthew 6:1-6 and 16-18, Jesus shifts from loving our neighbor to loving our God, a shift from public spiritual life that ought to be seen, to private spiritual life that ought not be seen. Jesus now exhorts us to acts of devotion that bring about lasting reward from God.
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52:39
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52:39
Matthew 5:33-48 Kingdom Commandments 2
In Matthew 5:33-48, we continue with the second half of Jesus' kingdom commandments. He calls us deeper in and further out, establishing an incredibly high moral standard for entrance into the kingdom of heaven. At this point, we are finally ready to go back and understand the blessings Jesus announced at the beginning of his sermon.
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51:54
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51:54
Matthew 5:17-32 Kingdom Commandments 1
In Matthew 5:17-32, we address the first half of kingdom commandments indicated by Jesus formula, "You have heard it said...but I say to you..." What does it look like to be salt and light for the kingdom of heaven? Jesus is going to tell us. And the standard he sets is going to be very high indeed.
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46:56
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46:56
Matthew 5:1-16 Kingdom Values
In Matthew 5:1-16, Jesus begins the sermon on the mount with a two part introduction. First, he communicates a series of virtues God affirms by rewarding. And second, he exhorts his disciples to be salt and light in society, presumably by living out the virtues that God values. But what does it look like, really, to live out the virtues? In the end, Jesus raises more questions than answers, and that is intentional.
Bible teacher Michael Brent helps listeners observe and interpret the Word of God. His present series addresses the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) with an emphasis on the sermon’s thought and structure. Search for previous series on the Pentateuch, Isaiah, John, Acts and Romans here at podbean or by accessing these series individually at the observetheword.com website or on various podcasting platforms such as itunes, spotify and youtube.