Sermon Series

The Model Prayer

September 13, 2019
Jesus did not leave His disciples without cause to pray or without a way to pray. He wanted to be sure that His followers, then and now, would know how to come humbly before the Father, through Christ, indwelled by the Holy Spirit, with their every prayer and petition.
Our passage reviews the first in a series of life applications based on Jesus' warning not to practice righteousness to be noticed by others (Mat. 6:1). While so many wanted to be known for how much they did for the Lord, Jesus said that His followers were not to be concerned what others think at all, but to be seeking approval from the Father in heaven (Mat. 6:4).
Nowhere in Scripture are God's people told to hate their enemies, but what we learn from Jesus throughout His ministry is that many of the religious leaders and their followers hated enemies and neighbours alike, if they could accuse them of being outside of their sphere of care and concern.
Jesus elevates marriage in the Sermon on the Mount and in Matthew 5:31-32 we see that clearly. Some might look at His statement in this passage and wonder how He could permit divorce for any reason, but as we look more closely we see how Jesus was really speaking in such a way as to limit divorce dramatically.
As with last week's message on the profile of a murderer, Jesus shows how many more are guilty of breaking commandments they never thought they were capable of breaking. We've seen how the heart of a murderer is really a heart filled with anger. Today, we look at how the heart of an adulterer is really a heart filled with lust.