Church Of The Lost Sheep

Overcoming Evil with Good “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evildoer. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him also the other. And the one wanting to sue you and to take your shirt, let him also have your coat. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." -Jesus of Nazareth, 1st century Matthew 5:38-42 [This is the 10th message of this series] Changing the Culture When Jesus came into the scene, the Jewish people were living under a religion (a culture) of human made rules and regulations. One of these rules is an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth, an Old Testament law . This seems reasonable enough. But Jesus is not about reasonable, He came to turn the world upside down. And He did.  His teachings, through His sermons and the miracles that He did still c...

“Beware of false prophets. They come to you disguised as sheep, but in their hearts they are vicious wolves. You will know them by what they produce. “People don’t pick grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles, do they? In the same way every good tree produces good fruit, but a rotten tree produces bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a rotten tree cannot produce good fruit. Any tree that fails to produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into a fire. So you will know them by what they produce." -Jesus of Nazareth, 1st century Matthew 7:15-20 [This is the 9th message of this series] Fruit In a previous lesson on another message series, we have discussed how the Apostle Paul wrote to the first church in Thessalonica about believers who weren't really believers -- Feeding the Sheep: Endurance . Now, as we read from the excerpt from the passage above, Jesus already spoke about wolves who were passing themselves up as sheep in His Sermon...

Love Your Enemies "You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even Gentiles do the same?" Matthew 5:43-47 This is now the eighth part of this Sermon on the Mount Series.  The Old Has Gone Jesus' main thing is that he turns old sayings and beliefs upside down. In fact, He turned the whole world upside down and people still hate Him for it today. In this golden nugget He was sharing He was telling those who wanted to hear Him speak that they know the old saying ‘Love your friend,’ and its corollary ‘Hate your enemy.’ To ...

Treasures in Heaven "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. " Matthew 6:19-21 This is now the seventh part of this Sermon on the Mount Series.  Daily Bread Like all the previous morsels of teaching, Jesus is again talking about normal everyday things. Most of Jesus' talking points are practical things, so that people can easily connect with and digest. Storing Up In this portion of the sermon, Jesus is talking about most people's favorite past time -- shopping, online and TV shopping included. Some of us do this like we are training for an Olympic Event. It is not uncommon to find people who has the latest model car each year, or the latest iPhone, the latest Jordans or Yeezys. Wh...

"When you fast, do not be somber like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that your fasting will not be obvious to men, but only to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Matthew 6:16-18 We are back to talking about another small portion of what is now known as the Sermon on the Mount. This is now part six of this series.  Repeat This portion of the sermon is actually the same as the one about praying. We could almost just change the word 'praying' and put in the word 'fasting' and it should still work. You can read Part 5 of this series if you haven't yet, as a backgrounder, as we will not repeat what we have already previously discussed there. Difference Don't get me wrong, praying is not exactly the same as fasting. Praying is...

The Lord’s Prayer "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward. But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Matthew 6:5-6 We are back to talking about another small portion of what is now known as the Sermon on the Mount. This is part five of this series.  Practical and Logical Like the rest of the previous snippets of this sermon, here Jesus is again teaching something practical, something logical and something people should already know about down in their gut. Not For Show The things of God are not things that people do, like in a movie production. It is not theater, or a radio program or a TV show. So like what He also said about giving, Jesus essentially said about praying. It shoul...

The House on the Rock "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because its foundation was on the rock." Matthew 7:24-25 We are back to talking about another small portion of what is now known as the Sermon on the Mount. This will be the fourth in this series.  By this time you would have already known the back story to this sermon, if not then you just have to read the first three parts of this series first. If you are ready to dive into the topic at hand, then let us continue. Fixer Upper This part of the sermon is actually something along the lines of what Jesus would have actually done for a living. From what we have been taught, Jesus would have been a carpenter by trade. But He would probably would have worked as a construction worker as a living. Anyway, He would have been...

Nervous Nellie "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34 We are back to talking about another small portion of what is now known as the Sermon on the Mount. Sermon on the Mount Series: Part 1 - Judging Part 2 - Giving If you need a little background, you can read those first. Willing Audience As you should already know by now, those people who Jesus preached this sermon to, were all there on their own accord. They weren't forced or paid or have an ulterior motive for being there. (Except for the stalkers and paparazzis who were following Jesus around, but that is not the topic of this series). Listening To Things They Normally Wouldn't Want To Listen To And as already mentioned, these people who Jesus preached to, seemed to have an appetite for getting emotionally hurt. I mean why listen to Jesus preach when He would be telling you about the bad things that ...

Giving to the Needy “Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven." Matthew 6:1 We are back to talking about another small portion of what is now known as the Sermon on the Mount. [ The first part of this series is about judging ]. As a backgrounder, Jesus of Nazareth gave this long sermon 2,000 years ago. This was after Jesus had already started teaching out in public for some time. Word got out and so people came from far and wide to hear what He had to say. On one of these days, as He saw people following Him, He went up a mountain. He then proceeded to preach to those people who went up the mount after Him. Willing Audience These people could have turned back and easily could have just given up climbing up the mountain just to hear Him speak. So for sure, these people weren't forced to follow Him, they went up out of their own choice to listen to Him. And ...

Judging Others “Do not judge, or you will be judged. For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Matthew 7:1-2 2,000 years ago, Jesus gave the most complete sermon in what is known as the Sermon on the Mount. I don't think anyone else who have tried their own hand in this sermon preaching business has come close. Although, of course in their own minds preachers throughout the ages have thought otherwise. Willing Audience The good thing about the Sermon on the Mount is that the people who heard it, went out to that place to listen to Jesus speak. They were not really forced to do so, but rather they went there because they wanted to hear what He had to say. Words of Wisdom And what He has to say were mostly things that they weren't aching to hear. Those were not things that most people would want to hear because it will not validate the crooked ways that they do. His words were not...