The Best Message You'll Ever Hear

So, uh, like he said, my name's Madison.

Yes, it's a girl's name.

We've discussed this before.

It's okay to laugh.

I'm I'm comfortable with it.

Um they didn't name me a girl's name on accident.

It was my great-grandfather's name.

But uh I've been the youth pastor here for a bit, but I've grown up here, uh, like he said, since the sixth grade.

And I just want to take like two seconds.

I know we did a lot of announcements and then a second round of announcements, and this is round three of announcements.

But if you are a middle schooler or a high schooler or a parent of a middle schooler or high schooler, we have our event one weekend coming up this Friday, and it is not too late to register.

Yeah, but one weekend's gonna be awesome.

Um, we have 11 churches involved.

They're gonna all be here.

We're gonna worship together with their youth groups, and I'm so excited about all the fun stuff that we have planned.

Uh, but more than that, I think it says something very, very cool about our community that we have 11 churches nearby that are willing to come together to do something like this.

So if you have a student or if you are a student, this is like a can't miss event.

Um, sign up today if possible so that we know you're coming.

Great.

Last thing, and you know who you are.

If you are a middle schooler or high schooler who comes to church here, but you end up being in here instead of in there on Sunday morning, here's what I'll say.

I was the same as you.

When I first came here, I was like, I don't want to do the youth stuff.

I it's kind of like annoying, there's kids that are annoying, whatever it is.

Here's what I'll say.

I did not realize how much I needed it, and I vastly underestimated how much I could contribute to it.

And so if you are one of those students and I bother you every single week and I come by and I'm like, hey, I'm Madison, come on, check it out.

Um, know that we'd love to have you at one weekend, but um, know that you could be part of something that is much bigger than yourself and might be exactly what you need.

Cool?

Cool.

All right, announcements done.

Finally done.

I do realize, and I I just gotta be honest, I do realize the disappointment that you might feel in your heart to know like Madison's walking out on stage instead of Justin.

Like, I no, I get it.

I get it.

Like the youth pastor coming out to speak is more of like a I don't know, like in case of emergency sort of situation.

It is.

I mean, guys, last time I was here is because Justin had scratched his eyeball with a with a with a tree branch, literally the day before, and he's like, hey Madison, I can't open my eyes.

Can you can you speak for me?

So I understand that there might be some disappointment and even further disappointment to know that I'm not just here for another announcement, but I'm actually here to stay and I'm I'm here to share today.

But I want to set expectations appropriately.

Justin sent an email and he said that today you would hear the best message that you had ever heard at his hands.

Did you guys get the email?

I got the email, okay.

It's a lot of pressure.

But I want to set expectations appropriately.

I don't think that this will just be the best message you've ever heard at his hands.

I think that this will be the best message in the history of the world.

Like, I think you will No, seriously.

I'm not you you're laughing, I'm not kidding.

The like life-changing with me standing on this stage, you will hear the most life-changing message that you have that you have ever heard.

It will blow your minds, it will surprise you, it might uh offend you, it might comfort you.

I don't know what it's gonna do, but know that with me standing on this stage, you will hear the best message that you've ever heard in your entire life.

Sound good?

We ready?

Okay, we ready?

Okay, here we go.

So we've been, we just started a year-long series through the book of Matthew called Following Jesus.

And we are basically following Jesus by following Jesus.

We're looking at his life, we're looking at where he walked around the ancient world and seeing what he did as he journeyed around.

And uh, I thought that the maps, we've been like up to our ears in maps, but I thought that the maps that Justin showed last week were actually really, really helpful in kind of orienting us to where we are in this world.

And so if you'd get that map that zoomed out a little bit, this is the Mediterranean Sea on the west side of the map.

And uh that little like lake at the top is the Sea of Galilee.

We've got the Dead Sea down there.

Um but then as we zoom in a little bit closer, we're kind of focusing in on this section as Jesus is walking around, and we can actually add some of the uh borders and boundaries.

These borders didn't actually exist in this way, but these are the general areas.

We've got Judea in the south, Samaria, Galilee, Phoenicia, the Decapolis, Perea.

Um, this is where Jesus kind of travels throughout his ministry, goes all throughout there, and he actually sets up shop at Capernaum, and Capernaum is at the north end of the Sea of Galilee.

And Justin, again, really great job explaining why Jesus set up there.

It's because there is a major, major like road traveling straight through Capernaum.

We actually have those maps as well.

Can we show those maps of Capernaum?

Nope.

Maps of roads.

Capernaum's there, yes, that's Capernaum.

And then we have the the major throughways uh traveling through Capernaum.

Nope, wrong one.

Okay, we'll come back.

That's fine.

That's my fault.

That's my that's my notes.

Again, best message you've ever heard.

Here we go.

We'll come back to the maps.

We just finished our series called First Steps, looking at Jesus' first steps as a little kid, running around, running for his life as people are trying to worship him, but also trying to kill him.

We saw him take the first steps into his ministry as he was baptized and then experienced that intense temptation from Satan.

And then we saw as Jesus called his disciples from where they were into a life that they couldn't possibly imagine.

That's us finishing that first step series.

And today we are starting a series called Learning to Walk.

Learning to Walk.

First steps in many ways are they're exciting, they might be surprising, but it's really that that learning to walk phase where you start to experience some of the stretching and some of the challenges.

Is anybody like really into the AI stuff that's going on right now?

Okay, some of you are yeah, okay, teenagers, you've heard this a million times.

I'm so sorry because I'm obsessed with it.

Um they just released this AI technology where you can type in something and it just like makes a video that's like image photo realistic.

You can type in a prompt.

It gives you like an entire novel if you wanted it to write a novel for you, if you wanted it to make a picture.

It's really, really impressive.

And some of the stuff that comes out of it is like, okay, this is scary.

What's gonna happen?

Um, but that's like it seems like magic now, but the first steps that it took to get to where we are now are really uh kind of hilarious.

And so I found a study uh from 2013, and this is uh technology people training AI to walk.

And so I've got a video of training AI models to walk.

This is um very hilarious.

The first attempt, and then slowly by you know, attempt 17, it can make it pretty far, but then by 900 it's able to do it.

They try different shapes to give it some and then my favorite one is on this next this next one.

So, you know, first try falls immediately.

Try number 20, it's still going.

I identify as try number 80.

I can do it, I technically can walk, but eventually everything falls apart.

That's that's me.

And AI is awesome.

Um, but for those of you who are parents, you probably just like implicitly understand this.

The first steps that your kids take, they're the they're the most exciting thing.

Uh you get your camera out, you get your phone out, or if you're old school, you get your video camera out, and you're you're recording that.

Uh mom and dad are like right there waiting for that that baby to fall just to catch them.

It's a really exciting moment, but it's also it's protected.

It's you know contained.

There's the baby jail thing, or the parents right there waiting, waiting to catch it.

You lay out blankets as you like help it stand help the baby stand up.

I've got two kids, and watching them do that was amazing.

It's that season afterwards that I absolutely cannot stand.

Because when they're learning to walk, it's like first steps is great.

I've got it on video, it's awesome.

When they're learning to walk, everything in your house immediately becomes like sharper than you thought it was, and you're like, should I put a pool noodle?

Can I live with a pool noodle on my table?

Like, how long am I gonna live with a pool noodle on my table?

Even the floor becomes this like blunt force object that's just waiting, waiting to bruise the head, the foreheads of your children.

So that learning to walk phase is is really challenging, and I do think that the same is true for our faith.

That our first steps, they're exciting.

They're it's like you you give your life to Jesus, you encounter God maybe in a way that you've never encountered him before, you you commit to following, you get baptized, people clap.

It's awesome, and it is worth celebrating.

Two sixth graders just got baptized today.

That that is worth celebrating.

It is.

And part of those first steps might be like you join community, you meet new people, it's really great, but then it's those that next season.

That next season as you're learning to walk, where things get a little bit awkward.

Where your old life is bumping into your new life, and your um ability to trust God might be bumping into the uh trust issues that you have from when you were younger.

It's that new life confronting, it's like the blunt force object of the new life coming at you.

You're like, I don't know, I don't know what to do.

You get stretched, you get bruised, but ultimately it's worth it.

Ultimately, it's worth it.

And I will say this as challenging as it may seem to follow Jesus sometimes, he is a God that does not lay too tough of a burden on us.

He never does.

And so, um, whether you've been a Christian for three days or your entire lifetime, we're all still learning, we're all still growing.

But if we're committed to following him, he will carry the weight.

He will carry the weight.

And so, we're gonna learn to walk today.

Jesus, as we left left him last, was uh calling his first disciples, and then in Matthew 4 we see that things really start to ramp up.

Matthew 4, as he went uh and he went through all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.

So his fame spread throughout all of Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures and paralytics, and he healed them.

And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

Okay, guys, in the back, now we can show that map of Jesus touring around all of Galilee.

So this is Jesus.

This isn't exact, but that's Galilee, that's Capernaum.

He starts and ends at Capernaum, healing people, proclaiming the got the gospel of the kingdom, proclaiming the good news, uh, setting people free from darkness, and his ministry, the crowds start to grow.

Things start to spread, things start to get real.

And now we can show the map of the roads, and that is because on those roads, nope, not that, okay, it's okay.

We lost the map on the roads.

Okay.

There's a major road that runs basically from Egypt all the way through Capernaum and into Syria.

And that that road splits off and goes to Jerusalem.

And so everything, as Jesus is touring around Capernaum, around Galilee, news is spreading.

News is spreading, and crowds are starting to gather.

And here's why they're gathering.

The people are in need.

They're sick, they're oppressed by darkness.

They need something to change in their life.

They have huge, huge needs.

And so when they show up to hear and see and experience Jesus, what they're hoping for is for it to happen in their life as they've heard in others.

To experience healing, to walk again, to see again, to be free from what's been oppressing me.

All of these people in the crowd, they're in need, but what God gives them, what Jesus gives them, is unlike it's not a miracle.

It's not what they were expecting.

Instead, he gives them something potentially more powerful.

It's his words.

Jesus gives him his words.

And those of us that know God, like we know that when God speaks, things change.

God was able to create everything just using his word.

Dead things come to life, chaotic things are controlled.

The word of the Lord is powerful.

And so while they might may not be expecting to hear these things, it is absolutely what they need.

And so here's what we're gonna do.

Before we hear what Jesus has to say, I think it's really important that we understand who's in the crowd.

Because I actually don't think that the crowd that is gathered there in this moment is very different from the crowd that's gathered here in this moment.

That each of us came here today, loving Jesus, trusting Jesus, being curious about Jesus.

We have our own personal needs.

And Jesus is the one that knows how to fill them.

And so if we can understand who's in the crowd and maybe where we fit in this crowd, we're gonna be able to approach what Jesus says with so much clarity.

So, like I said earlier, uh people in need.

These are people who needed things to happen, and the depth of the need is great.

Jesus in Mark chapter 5 goes to Ghidarah, and this is a town that's on the southeast portion of the Sea of Galilee.

Mark 5 · chapter mention

There's Ghedara, just right there.

And what he experiences in Ghedara is probably a story that you've heard.

It is a man who has been oppressed by many demons.

He's been oppressed by many demons.

And when this man, who people are afraid of, who people have tried to chain him down and he cannot stay chained down, like it is it is complete and total darkness.

When this man encounters Jesus, he's set free.

And you might know the story, it's a very cool story.

Go read Mark chapter 5 if you want to.

Mark 5 · chapter mention

Oh, we'll get to stories like this pretty soon.

But what happens is he frees them, he sends the demons into some pigs, sends those pigs off the cliff, and everyone's like, Jesus, please leave.

Like this is crazy.

But what happens at the end of this story, I think, gives some color to what's going on with these crowds.

Mark chapter 5, verse 20.

Mark 5:20

And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus has done for him.

And everyone marveled.

If this is typical of the things that Jesus was doing as he went around Galilee, freeing people and healing people, it's no wonder that word spread.

And like I said, the depth of the need is great.

And the depth of the need in this room, I won't kid myself.

Like I know that it's great.

That each of us have some breakthrough that we want to see happen, some healing that needs to be experienced, some freedom that needs to be experienced.

And what I'll ask you to do today is to just to bring that need and hold it out in front of you.

Hold it out in front of you and say, Jesus, take this.

Offer it to him, because he is the one that can fill your need, even in unexpected ways.

And that Ghedara, that town, Ghidara is part of the Decapolis.

And it says that this man went all throughout the Decapolis proclaiming what Jesus had done for him.

The Decapolis is ten cities, it's Deccan meaning ten, Polis meaning city, ten cities that were kind of Greekified, Hellenistic cities.

These were under the influence of the Greeks.

And so if someone was coming from the Decapolis to be hearing Jesus, they would have been on the outside, but they would have been open.

On the outside, but open.

These would be people who were influenced by Greek thinking, thought like Greeks, so they were very scientifically minded, very philosophically minded, but these are also people who would like worship at pagan shrines, who would give offerings in ways that are just um bizarre to hear about.

And so while on one hand they're very scientifically minded, on the other hand, they're actually open to the spiritual and to the supernatural.

These people were not church people that you'd find in the temple worshiping Yahweh like all the other Jews.

These are people who are on the outside, but yet you find them in the crowd.

It's because they're curious and they're open.

I know many people, I know many people here in this church who would not consider themselves a church person.

Anybody's like, I'm not a church person, this is definitely not me.

And someone's like, I don't want to raise my hand.

Um, I get it, I'm not trying to call you out.

It might be your background, it might be uh the your past, it might be that you've never really felt at home on Sunday mornings in a place like this.

But know this: if you're open, God can do that.

God can work with that.

I remember sitting in this general area on Sunday mornings, and the the crowd in when I was in sixth and seventh grade, the crowd that sat right here, y'all are sitting in the bikers' seats.

There was like three rows of bikers, they all sat together.

Those of you who've been here a long time, you remember.

And I was just like always blown away by how cool this is.

I was like, I would never expect a group of bikers riding in on their motorcycles to come and worship Jesus together.

And they might seem like they're on the outside, but they were open to seeing what God is doing.

So if you don't feel like a church person, that's okay.

You don't need to have a resume, you don't need to have um know how to worship or have a bunch of Bible verses memorized.

As long as you're open, God can work with that.

So who else is in the crowd?

Okay.

Let me think of how to say this.

This is like the opposite of the open people.

Um, for lack of a better phrase, I'm calling them the holier than thou crowd is gathered to hear Jesus speak.

Yeah, I know.

Um, this would be teachers of the religious law, this is Pharisees, the Sadducees, the lawyers, people who were supposed to represent God, but somehow along the way got off track.

These are people who have now used their faith to manipulate others, to hold a burden over others.

These are people who are not um, I'm not gonna sit here and like defend the Pharisees and Sadducees because they do a lot of things in God's name that totally, totally dishonor God.

But I will say I kind of identify with them.

And here's what I mean: I love God.

I love the Lord.

I want my life to honor God, I want to everything I do to be like giving him fame, giving him credit.

But if I'm honest with myself, I oftentimes will take that too far.

Where I will use my faith as a way to discount others, or I'll be like, well, I struggle, but not as bad as that guy.

Or I get to sit in the seat of judgment and kind of live self-righteously rather than seeking to pursue the relationship that I have with God.

And so these people in the crowd that gather to hear Jesus speak that are holier than thou, they're there with mixed intentions.

They're there to catch him in his words, they're there to trap him and uh be offended by him.

But I wonder, I wonder if those people really had, if they had soft hearts, if they had been open to hearing what Jesus had to say, I wonder how things would have changed.

If they would have taken the the challenges like as a warning and it woke them up rather than just offending them and having them leave, I wonder how things would have been different.

Jesus says about these guys, he says in Luke 11, yes, Jesus said, What sorrow awaits you experts in religious law, for you crush people with unbearable religious demands, and you never lift a finger to ease the burden.

You never lift a finger.

Some of us in the crowd, we might need to hear this, where it's like, I've used my faith to, and I've done this, I've used my faith to make my brother measure up to me, and I'm just I'm holier than him.

You know how it is with family.

It is.

I'm I won't go into it.

Benji, Nick, I love you guys, but you know.

But that's not it.

It's not about weighing them down with a burden, it's about serving others.

And so I wonder what would happen if they heard that, and I wonder what would happen if you heard it if you need that challenge too.

And lastly, the people in the crowd were ready for a change.

Those that were from Galilee specifically, they would have been perfectly primed to like be ready for Jesus, but also to completely misunderstand what Jesus is doing.

And here's what I mean: the political situation during this time is not great.

There's Roman rule, there's corruption in the Jewish leadership.

So every now and then someone starts to rise up in the ranks of just the common people, and the people gather around that person and say, You are who we can put our hope in, let's follow you.

And even just years before this, there's a man named uh Judas of Galilee, Judas the Galilean.

And people started following him.

They're like, he's the Messiah.

But that movement got crushed as quickly as it started.

And so ringing in the ears of the people who are gathering in this crowd to see Jesus is this revolt, it's this restlessness, it's this.

Maybe Jesus can be the one to do what Judas of Galilee didn't.

Years later, as the church, early church is growing, the Pharisees are still trying to figure out what to do with all these Christians.

And so they've arrested some Christians and then brought them before the council.

And in Acts chapter 5, a Pharisee in the council named Gameleel, a teacher of the law, held in honor by all people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little bit with them.

Acts 5 · chapter mention

And he said to them, Men of Israel, take care what you're about to do with these men.

For before these days, Thaedus rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him.

He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing.

After him, Judas of the Galilean, Judas of Galilee, rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him.

He too perished.

And all who followed were scattered.

So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone.

For if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail.

But if it's of God, you will not be able to overthrow it.

You might even be found opposing God.

So they took his advice, they freed the Christians, and that's what everybody's wondering.

Is Jesus who he says he is?

Is Jesus the Messiah that we've been waiting for?

Is Jesus going to bring about the change that deals with the governmental rule and the corruption and the brokenness of human institutions?

Is Jesus going to be the one that does that?

And my answer for you guys today is yes.

Jesus is the change that you're waiting for.

If you want to see the division and the despair and the hopelessness of the world changed, it is in Jesus that that is changed.

And so if you're ready for a change, you have something to hear from Jesus as well.

And so, with that, we can see the map again.

And this map is like showing us that people are coming from all over.

We've got from Judea, from Galilee, from the north, from beyond the Jordan, in the east, from the Decapolis.

Everyone is gathered to hear Jesus speak.

To see something happen.

And this is about the time where I have to tell you like, I know I promised the best message ever.

And I know so far it's been like fine.

It's been okay.

As the kids would say, it's been mid.

It's been mid.

But the best message you ever hear you'll ever hear is not something that I could prepare for for you.

It is something that Jesus has already spoken.

And so today, what we're gonna do is you will hear the entirety of the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus, yes, it's awesome.

Jesus is about to sit on a hillside on the north edge of the Sea of Galilee, right by Capernaum.

We have a picture of where tradition holds that this uh conversation happened, this message happened.

If we could show that picture.

So a nice rolling hillside, beautiful blue sky.

Hundreds, hundreds, maybe even thousands, were gathered to see who this Jesus guy was, and they get the best message ever.

And I will say this about the Sermon on the Mount.

It is as surprising as it is comforting, it's as offensive and kind of troubling and curious as it is exciting.

And so each of us, whether you're someone who's like, I'm on the outside, but I'm open to hearing, or whether you have a huge need, or whether you're like, yeah, I've been doing the church thing my whole life, I'm kind of sick of hearing the Sermon on the Mount, um, whatever it is, God has something to share with you.

Because at the end of the day, crowds are not made up of like buckets where you can kind of put everybody in a convenient little bucket and just be like, yeah, they fit there, they fit there.

Crowds are made up of individuals who have their own families, your own hopes and dreams and struggles and addictions, your own needs.

You're all individuals listening to this, just like all of those individuals back then were listening to it.

And Jesus wasn't just talking to a crowd, he was talking to individuals.

Because God, being all-powerful, has the ability to pinpoint what you're going through, even though there seem to be hundreds of other people.

And like, how would how they how could he possibly talk about what I need with all of these other people here as you can?

And so as we read together, as we listen, if something jumps out to you, hold on to it.

If something challenges you, frustrates you, keep that frustration going.

Process it.

See where that leads you.

If something becomes as odd or confusing, keep those questions in your mind.

Because after we read, we'll have a chance to kind of reflect on this and respond to it a little bit.

But without further ado, are you guys ready?

Okay.

For the best message ever.

As told by Jesus, not by Madison.

Alright.

So here is the best message ever.

Let's learn to walk with Jesus as he shows us what it's like to follow him and be part of his kingdom.

Matthew chapter 5.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

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.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall saltiness be restored?

It's no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

You're the light of the world.

A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand where it gives light to the whole house.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.

I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfil them.

For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot will pass from the law, until all is accomplished.

Therefore, whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.

But whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

You have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.

But I say to you that everyone who's angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council, and whoever says, You fool will be liable to the hell of fire.

So if you're offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there at the altar and go.

First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.

Truly I say to you, you will never get out until you've paid the last penny.

You have heard that it was said you shall not commit adultery.

But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.

For it's better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.

For it's better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.

But I say to you that every one who divorces his wife, except on the grounds of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Again you have heard it said that it was said to those of old, You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.

But I say to you, do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it's the throne of God, or by earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king.

And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.

Let what you say simply be yes or no.

Anything more than this comes from evil.

You have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.

But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil.

But if any one slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

And if any one would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.

And if any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be the sons of your Father who is in heaven.

For he makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

For if you love only those who love you, what reward do you have?

Don't even the tax collectors do the same.

And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others?

Don't even the Gentiles do the same?

You therefore must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Beware of practising your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others.

Truly I say to you, they've received their reward.

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that you may be giving in secret, and your father who sees in secret will reward you.

And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners that they may be seen by others.

Truly I say to you, they have received their reward.

And when you pray, go into your room and shut the door, and pray to your father who is in secret, and your father who sees in secret will reward you.

And when you pray, don't heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.

Don't be like them, for your father knows what you need before you ask him.

Pray 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 have forgiven those who have debt against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For if you forgive their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses.

And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces, that their fasting may be seen by others.

Truly I say to you, they have received their reward.

But when you fast, anoint your head with oil and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others, but by your father who is in secret, and your father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The eye is the lamp of the body.

So if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of light, or if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light.

But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.

If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness.

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.

You cannot serve God and money.

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body what you will put on.

Isn't life more than food and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air.

They neither sow nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

Aren't you more valuable than they?

And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life?

And why are you anxious about clothing?

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow.

They neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith.

Therefore don't be anxious, saying, What shall we eat, what shall we drink, or what shall we wear?

For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all of these things will be added to you.

Therefore, don't be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.

Sufficient is the day, sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Judge not that you not be judged.

For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.

Why do you see the speck that's in your brother's eye, but don't notice the log that's in your own eye?

Or how can you say to your brother, Let me take that speck out of your eye when there's a log in your own eye, you hypocrite.

First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

Don't give to dogs what is holy, and don't throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

Ask and it will be given to you.

Seek and you will find.

Knock and it will be opened to you.

For every one who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and the one who knocks it will be opened.

Or which of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone, or if he asks for fish, will give him a serpent.

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him?

So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the law and the prophets.

Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter it are many.

For the gate is narrow, and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

You will recognize them by their fruits.

Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?

So every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.

A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.

Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

Not every one who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name?

And I will declare to them, I never knew you.

Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.

Every one who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

When the rain fell and the floods came, and the wind blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.

And every one who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.

And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, authority, and not as their scribes.

Invention, our devotion, pour it out on the feet of Jesus our invention, our devotion, pour it out on the feet of Jesus our pension, our de ocean, pour it out on the feet of Jesus in our ship on deep Jesus.

Our hearts at Weesus, we love you.

Oh, how we love you.

You are the one I too.

Thank you, Lord.

Jesus, we love you.

You are the word.

Well, Madison didn't lie.

While standing on the stage with Madison on the stage, you did hear the greatest message that has ever been given in the history of the world.

Jesus Christ giving the Sermon on the Mount.

And if you're new to the whole Jesus thing, that is Matthew 5, 6, and 7.

You can read it at any time, every day.

It doesn't take that long.

It's amazing as we were listening to that, how many situations in life that I'm dealing with right now popped into my mind.

And like Madison said, I was comforted and challenged and encouraged and confused.

And that's what happens when Jesus speaks.

So we're going to pray and dismiss.

I want to thank you all for being here today, but I want to encourage you to let those words of Jesus keep ringing in your head all week long.

And maybe read it.

Maybe when you get home today or tomorrow morning, whatever it is, open up and read it in its entirety once again and just let those words penetrate.

It is the most powerful, famous, life-changing message that has ever been given in the history of the world, and it's meant for all of us.

So, Father God, we thank you so much for this morning.

Lord, we thank you for the two sixth-grade students that got baptized.

Lord, we thank you for all that you're doing and all the lives that you're changing.

And Jesus, no matter who we are this morning, whether we're someone that's grown up in church, never been in church, we have some major issue in our lives, or maybe things feel pretty good, but we're ready for change, we're ready for something to happen, we're seeking you, Lord.

I pray that your word to Jesus would ring through our minds over and over again this week.

That whatever part of that stood out to us, whatever part of that hit us, that we would be open to allowing it to do what it's meant to do, to change us from the inside out.

Help us wrestle with you, Lord.

Teach us and help us submit to your teaching.

And we pray this in your name of Jesus.

Amen.