“To love those who do not love you is not offered as a piece of pragmatic wisdom, but as a reflection of the character of God himself (v. 45), who gives a fruitful earth, through rain and sun, to all people regardless of the motives or character.”- R. T. France, The Gospel of Matthew “But […]
“Jesus’s [Sermon on the Mount] creates a ‘city on a hill’ — an alternate human society pointing toward the City of God that will fill the earth at the end of time. Christians are an alternate city in every city.”- Timothy Keller “Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult […]
“Extending mercy to the merciless may seem nonsensical because it’s self-sacrificial, not self-protective, but that’s precisely what makes it supernatural. . . . We don’t enter the arena of grace through our own strength, but only by humbling ourselves to the ground.”- Tina Boesch “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to […]
“To lead emotions effectively, you can focus on them, befriend them, and invite Jesus to be near — then unburden them and integrate them with the other parts of your soul. We call this process taking a You-Turn.”- Alison Cook and Kimberly Miller “First, take the plank out of your own eye, and then you […]
“When we as a community of Christ-followers demonstrate our life in Christ together through our feeling of Scripture, our prayer, our fasting, our service, and our relational intimacy, we create a compelling announcement of the kingdom’s presence in the world.”- Jared C. Wilson Jared Wilson concludes Chapter 6 of The Imperfect Disciple as he notes […]
“Every one of us knows the shame of guilty self-awareness and the fear of exposure. But we don’t want to life in the isolation of that darkness. We long for freeing relationships with others, especially God.”- Ray Ortlund “I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise.”- […]
In Chapter 1 of The End of Me, Kyle Idleman initiates his discussion of the Sermon on the Mount. Pastor Idleman states Jesus begins to introduce us to the great paradox of God’s kingdom: “at the end of me, I find real life in him.” The new kingdom, Kyle adds, has new rules. Many of […]