"Anger, Retaliation, Enemies, Forgiveness"
W. Gregory Pope, preaching

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Series: The Sermon on the Mount
The Good and Beautiful Life:  Jesus’ Vision for a New World 

Matthew 5:21-26, 38-48; 6:14-15

Of all the things we wish Jesus had never said, today’s lesson sits at the top of list for most of us.  Deep down we know these words to be the saving of the world.  And yet still they sound impossible to our ears trained in competition and the survival of the fittest:  Do not retaliate.  Turn the other cheek.  Go the second mile, Give to those who ask of you.  Love your enemies.  Pray for those who make your life miserable.  Paul told us the way of the gospel was foolishness in the face of the wisdom of this world.  He also said that for the saving and healing of the world, it is the power of God.

"Jesus, Adultery, Divorce, Grace"
W. Gregory Pope, preaching

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Matthew 5:27-32

On the occasion of the 30^th Anniversary of the CHBC Divorce Support Recovery Ministry

On this day when we celebrate the hope and help our divorce recovery support ministry has brought to thousands, why would we listen to a biblical text that seems to be so hard on divorced persons?

David Fleer says of this text:  it “doesn’t travel well alone, doesn’t dress up nicely as refrigerator art, is not a top ten favorite in any church poll, and no one’s composed a contemporary Christian song about it.”¹  So why are hearing it today?

Just Say "Yes"

Jason Crosby, preaching

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Words are powerful tools.  The right words arranged in the right way by someone else may move us to understand ourselves and our world more clearly.  Wendell Berry’s ability to use an economy of words to capture a thought astound me.   In one of his lesser know poems he writes:

"The Good and Beautiful Life"
W. Gregory Pope, preaching

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Series: The Sermon on the Mount
The Good and Beautiful Life:  Jesus’ Vision for a New World

 Matthew 5:13-20  

God is creating an all-inclusive community of persons whose hearts and character are shaped by the teachings of Jesus.  It’s called the kingdom of God.  And all of us are invited.  Those who pledge their allegiance and give their lives to the kingdom of God are living beatitudes - walking, talking blessings to the world.

"Where God Meets Us"
W. Gregory Pope, preaching

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Series: The Sermon on the Mount
The Good and Beautiful Life:  Jesus’ Vision for a New World 

Matthew 5:3-12

I wish we had all day to talk about these brilliant, upside-down pronouncements of Jesus we call the Beatitudes.  I have been living intimately with them since last summer when I began preparing for this series on the Sermon on the Mount.  I will likely return to them sometime in the future and deal with them individually.  But today you get a Beatitude collage.  And since we don’t have all day - we don’t have all day do we? - then let’s get started.