This week, we looked at Matthew 5:38–42 and discovered Jesus’ countercultural vision for responding to insult and evil. Instead of repaying evil with evil, Jesus calls His people to respond with creative courage — confronting injustice in ways marked by dignity, generosity, service, and love.

This Sunday we looked at Luke 2:41–52 and the subtle reality of spiritual drift — the gradual, often unintentional process of moving away from the presence of God. Mary and Joseph were faithful, devout, and obedient, yet they traveled an entire day unaware that Jesus was no longer with them. In the same way, it’s possible to stay busy with life, responsibility, and even religious activity while slowly becoming distant from Jesus.

This week, we continued in the Sermon on the Mount series, where we looked at Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:33–37 and the call to live with honesty and integrity. In a world full of spin, exaggeration, and carefully managed appearances, Jesus invites his followers into something simpler: let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no.

This week in the Sermon on the Mount, we looked at Jesus’ words on lust found in Matthew 5:27–32. Through this passage, we learned that Jesus is more interested in His followers pursuing the way of love and healing what lies beneath distorted sexual desire than merely addressing outward behavior. He has a beautiful invitation for us—one of honesty, healing, community, and restoration through His unconditional grace and the power of the Holy Spirit.

This week, we continued in our Build My Life series, looking at what Jesus has to say about the dangers of anger in Matthew 5:21–26. While anger is a God-given emotion and a way that we reflect being made in His image, it can also be a destructive issue in our hearts, leading us to devalue and dehumanize others.

This Sunday, we looked at Matthew 5:17–20 and how Jesus reframes our understanding of the Law. While we may naturally resist rules, Jesus makes it clear He didn’t come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it, showing its true purpose and how it ultimately points to Him. At the same time, He calls us to take His commands seriously—not by striving for perfection on our own, but by growing in steady, intentional obedience.

Following Jesus is not just about belief or behavior modification, but about a transformed heart that leads to a transformed life. In this sermon, Jesus invites us to move from simply hearing his words to living them as his disciples.

Jesus redefines the path to a blessed life. In contrast to a culture that tells us to chase happiness, Jesus points to a counter-cultural foundation: mourning, meekness, and hunger for righteousness.