]> http://gracebibleny.org/taxonomy/term/16/0 Sermon On The Mount en http://gracebibleny.org/the_amazing_teaching_of_jesus This morning we come to the end of our journey through the Sermon on the Mount. It has been a journey of highs and lows, of comfort and of challenge. I hope that this section of Scripture has a friend to you. Not one of those friends that always tells you what you want to hear, but a friend that cares enough to tell you the truth and encourage you to live according to it. A friend that walks along with you and points out the proper path. A friend that will not abandon you. The things we have learned and been challenged with will stay with us the rest of out lives - if we are careful to heed its message. Sermon On The Mount Sermons 1999 Sun, 16 May 1999 13:00:00 -0400 http://gracebibleny.org/what_is_your_foundation_built_upon I am sure that all of us have seen pictures of what a storm can do to a costal community. It is one thing to see pictures of such destruction. It is another to see it in person. While in Seminary, I earned my living working for the Los Angeles County Agriculture Department. Among my duties was the responsibility of inspecting certain sites along the California coast from Santa Monica to the Ventura County Border. It was a wonderful area to work especially in the summer when cool breezes blew off the ocean. One of the other areas I inspected was the hot desert area in the north east section of the county. I remember one particular winter there was a series of severe storms that battered the coast. Damage was high and included quite a few homes totally destroyed. It is quite a shock to drive up to a site you check every week, get out of the truck, and then notice there is nothing but surging ocean left. The house and property have all been washed away. You notice other homes, some only slightly damaged, others with the front part of them fractured and collapsing upon their broken support pilings. Sermon On The Mount Sermons 1999 Sun, 18 Apr 1999 13:00:00 -0400 http://gracebibleny.org/the_deception_of_self_righteousness I mentioned two weeks ago that the greatest danger we face is not the changing world around which can only effect us outwardly. Personal finances can change, but that only raises or lowers our standard of living. The decline of social morality may make it more difficult to live a holy life, but it can not change who we really are. The political climate can change, but that will only increase or decrease governments' intrusion the daily business of life. Even if direct persecution came upon us in the future that can not change our eternal destiny. What is most dangerous to us are those things that can affect us internally. Sermon On The Mount Sermons 1999 Sun, 11 Apr 1999 13:00:00 -0400 http://gracebibleny.org/which_way_to_heaven This morning we begin our study of the last section of the Sermon on the Mount. In this section Jesus draws all He has said throughout the sermon to a conclusion and calls on each and every one of us to respond. How will we respond to what He has said? Sermon On The Mount Sermons 1999 Sun, 21 Mar 1999 12:00:00 -0500 http://gracebibleny.org/our_good_father Have you ever watched a little boy with his father? They like to try to be just like dad. That is of course where the phrase, "Like father, like son" comes from. I have noticed that about my sons. For the most part that is good, but sometimes it is to my embarrassment one of them imitates some bad habit of manners or speech I have. Diane works overtime to correct us. Each one has particular area of interest. Jonathan wants to go hunting with me. Jimmy likes to help me fix things, and David likes to talk. Sermon On The Mount Sermons 1999 Sun, 14 Mar 1999 12:00:00 -0500 http://gracebibleny.org/our_holy_treasure Many people are confused by what the Bible says. One of the reasons for this is that there are often so many differing opinions about what it says. The main reason for so many different interpretations is that too often people are not careful to understand what they are reading in its context. They do not pay attention to what is said before and after any particular passage or what is taught on that same subject in other places of Scripture. We have seen several examples of this already in our study of the Sermon on the Mount. Sermon On The Mount Sermons 1999 Sun, 07 Mar 1999 12:00:00 -0500 http://gracebibleny.org/judging_others This morning we will continue in our study of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has made it very clear throughout this sermon that there is a big difference between true righteousness from the heart and self righteousness as demonstrated by the Scribes and Pharisees. True righteousness is demonstrated in the character qualities described in the Beatitudes. Poor in Spirit, Mournful, Meek, Hungering and Thirsting after righteousness, Merciful, Pure in Heart & True Peacemakers. Those who demonstrate these qualities are hated by the unrighteous world and suffer persecution for their righteousness. The self righteous may try to give outward display of virtue, but it ends up being perverted in some way. Sermon On The Mount Sermons 1999 Sun, 28 Feb 1999 12:00:00 -0500 http://gracebibleny.org/the_cure_for_anxiety Anxiety, worry, fret, distress, agitation, tension, irritability. Words that describe a feeling of an inner turmoil that result in a feeling of outward uneasiness. The words describe a common feeling among humans as we consider what the future may bring to us personally and to the ones we love. Sermon On The Mount Sermons 1999 Sun, 21 Feb 1999 12:00:00 -0500 http://gracebibleny.org/where_is_your_treasure What is success? That depends upon what you value in life. If you value fortune, success depends on the standard of living and number of dollars in the bank. If you value fame, success depends on how many people know who you are. If you value power, success is determined by the number of people you have under your control. Most people consider a success a combination of fortune, fame or power. The amount of each varies, but success is still described in terms of those things. Even introverts who do not care how many people know about them will often still define success in terms of being the best, or at least extremely good, in their personal interest, hobby or sport. The individual determines what is success by what he or she personally values. Sermon On The Mount Sermons 1999 Sun, 31 Jan 1999 12:00:00 -0500 http://gracebibleny.org/fasting_then_and_now This morning we come to a topic that most of us are probably unfamiliar with - fasting. We may recognize the word and may know its meaning. Some of you may even think you have fasted before because you were forced to do so for some medical test or as part of a diet to lose weight. Some of you may come from religious traditions in which some sort of fast was practiced on particular occasions -, i.e., the Lenten season, etc. However, I doubt that there are more than a handful of people in the room that have ever fasted in the Biblical sense. Why? Two reasons. First, the proper Biblical practice of fasting, as expressed by our Lord in the passage we will be examining this morning, was quickly perverted and those parts of the church that have practiced fasting have not done it correctly. Second, the evangelical church has largely ignored the subject as a reaction to the excesses that have occurred within Catholicism and other Christian traditions. Sermon On The Mount Sermons 1999 Sun, 24 Jan 1999 12:00:00 -0500 http://gracebibleny.org/teach_us_to_pray_part_3 Over the past several weeks we have been examining the section of the Sermon of the Mount that is often referred to as "The Lord's Prayer." As we have seen, it is not really the "Lord's Prayer" in that He never prayed it - Jesus had no need to as for forgiveness. It is in reality Jesus' instruction for prayer. It is a model for prayer set in the context of explaining the nature of true righteousness as compared to the religious righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees. Sermon On The Mount Sermons 1999 Sun, 17 Jan 1999 12:00:00 -0500 http://gracebibleny.org/the_proper_pattern_of_prayer_part_2 Too often our lives are like the first part of this poem. We are so caught up in the rush of trying to live that we forget what life is all about. And in the rush, we try to prevail in our own power and fail to communicate with the one that empowers us to live. Sermon On The Mount Sermons 1999 Sun, 10 Jan 1999 12:00:00 -0500 http://gracebibleny.org/the_proper_pattern_of_prayer_part_1 It has been well said that the church cannot go forward unless it is on its knees. When we properly understand that we can accomplish nothing for the kingdom of God unless it is the Holy Spirit working through us we also then understand the absolute necessity of prayer. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said that prayer is "beyond any question the highest activity of the human soul." Sermon On The Mount Sermons 1998 Sun, 27 Dec 1998 12:00:00 -0500 http://gracebibleny.org/christmas_sermon_the_glory_christ_left The Sunday prior to Christmas is often called "Christmas Sunday" and in light of that I would like to call our attention this morning to the meaning of Christmas. Today there will be many sermons in churches around the world about Joseph & Mary looking for a place to stay, Jesus in the manger, the shepherds in the fields, the Angels declaring God's glory, and a few even about the Wise men coming to worship and Herod seeking to destroy. I would like to speak this morning on what Jesus left in order to become a man. Sermon On The Mount Sermons 1998 Sun, 20 Dec 1998 12:00:00 -0500 http://gracebibleny.org/the_proper_purpose_practice_of_prayer Prayer - It is very simple is essence. It can be simply defined as talking to God. Yet prayer is one of the most complex subjects that can be discussed. Sermon On The Mount Sermons 1998 Sun, 13 Dec 1998 12:00:00 -0500