Matthew 6:9-13 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done,     on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts,     as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation,     but deliver us from evil.   5 Keys to a Disciples Prayer To Recognise and to Know God’s Will > My Will Come Daily for Daily Bread Forgiveness Both Ways God Protects & Delivers The post A Disciples Prayer appeare ..read more

What is prayer to you? What is your earliest memory of prayer? How would you describe your own experiences of prayer?   Questions to reflect on: What is prayer to you? What are the things you tend to pray about when you pray? When do you pray? How often do you pray? Where do you pray? When you pray what do you experience? When you pray what don’t you experience? When you pray, what would you like to experience? Does God answer your prayers? If you don’t pray – why not? Does your prayer life bring you life and joy or has it become stale?   Do you think the average Australian prays ..read more

The evidence for, and implications of the resurrection For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also ..read more

Giving what we cannot keep to gain what we cannot lose Recap: what does it mean to live the good life? Matthew 5:10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 1 We know what we really love by what what we are willing to suffer for —— Matthew 21:6-11 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the cro ..read more

Passage – Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God” εἰρηνοποιός, peace-making, peace-maker 2 immediate observations: a/ Jesus assumes there will be conflict b/ Jesus commands His followers to engage in conflict resolution 4 ways to handle conflict – think about the crowd gathered — who is there? like a Saducee (plan political gain) like a Pharisee (double down on ‘rightness’) like the Essenes (seek utopian separation) like a Zealot (fight, fight, fight) Like Jesus… a/ humble heart – assume your own ignorance b/ curious questions  – find out the ..read more

Do you over-value the seen over the unseen? So our belief of God is based in the ability to see him, know him, understand him, discern what he is doing. Just show me you are moving, just show me miracles, signs and wonders.   8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Mt 5:8 ESV What is a pure heart? PURE (KATHAROS) & HEART (KARDIA) PURE HEART (KATHAROS KARDIA) The good life is for those who have been pruned to the deepest part of their being. Allow God to enter into those deepest parts of your life and prune it back, prepare you, do a deep work in you. Hard Heart ..read more

Matthew 5:1-7 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Who gets to ‘live the good life’? Developing your palate Mercy (ἔλεος) and the two levels of relationship How ..read more

Matthew 5:5 — “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” 5 blocks of teaching Block 1- Matthew 5-7: 8 beatitudes, sermon on the mount Block 2 – Matthew 10: The “sending” sermon (Go into all the towns) Block 3 – Matthew 13: Kingdom parables (The Kingdom of heaven is like…) Block 4 – Matthew 17-18: The values of the Kingdom (Childlike faith, upon this rock) Block 5 – Matthew 24-25: 7 ‘woes’, new temple, judgement to come Meekness – Psalm 37:7-11 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out ..read more

Everybody knows what it feels like to have a guilty conscience. To have done something we know we should’t have done. And as we get older, we get more sophisticated at justifying our questionable behaviour to ourselves. If we’re honest, we all still do things from time to time that we know we probably shouldn’t do but we’re way better at convincing ourselves why it’s really not that bad. We say things ourselves like….. I’m a good person I try to do the right things I’m kind be kind to others I pay my taxes. I don’t steal I try not to lie haven’t murdered anyone…. I’m trying to be a decent cont ..read more

Matthew 5:1-3 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. A tale of two mountains Mount Sinai Mount of beatitudes Old Covenant New Covenant Moses Jesus 10 Commandments 9 beatitudes Written on tablets of stone Written on human hearts Set free from slavery in Egypt Set free from slavery to sin The kind of world that God is making The kind of world that God is making   Wha ..read more