Jesus presses on the question of whether we’re serious about Him. In our relationships, someone reveals they’re serious by making the other person a priority and following through on what they say. In other words, being serious and committed is an issue of priority and practice. Jesus explains, similarly, that we show we’re serious about Him by the priority and practice of His Word.

Jesus tells us in the parable of the sower that how we hear God's Word is critically important. Good listening is needed as much as good preaching! The parable encourages us to ask if God's Word has taken root in our hearts and is bearing fruit in our lives.

Great forgiveness ought to lead to great change; to complete surrender and gratitude. If we’ve truly received God’s forgiveness we will be profoundly, truly changed. We see in Jesus’ interaction with a sinful woman and a Pharisee that His forgiveness changes how we see ourselves, we respond to Him and we relate to others.

To be human is to have expectations. We expect certain behaviour from our children, particular treatment from the waiter at a restaurant and definite quality in the purchases we make. What are our expectations of Jesus? What are our expectations of His messengers? In John the Baptist's question to Jesus and Jesus' teaching the people about John, we learn that Jesus may not do what we expect, but we are blessed when we trust Him.

Have you suffered the loss of someone close to you? When the ground has been pulled out from under you and grief is overwhelming, what truths can steady you in your pain? In Luke 7, Jesus comes face to face with the a grieving widow about to bury her only son. Through this account we see the three truths we need for every funeral: the horror of death, the heart of Jesus and the hope of the Gospel.

A Roman centurion's faith causes Jesus to marvel. What is it about his faith that causes Jesus to respond in this way? What can we learn about faith from the centurion? We're taught that faith accepts, receives and rests on Jesus. Faith sees with the ears through placing confidence in Jesus communicating His presence and power through His Word.

Jesus finishes the sermon on the plain with a call to self-examination. What fruit are we bearing? What do our mouths reveal about our hearts? What foundation do we build on? It is one thing to profess Jesus as 'Lord', but do we actually do what He says? Looking at our fruit and our foundation reveals wether we are truly in step with Jesus.

All our lives are lived under the scrutiny of others. We also judge others according to our standards of what is right or wrong. Jesus teaches that His followers also judge, but that their judging is to be measured. We are to look at ourselves first and remember God's own mercy toward us before trying to remove the specks from others.

Whitney Houston sang, "Bring me a higher love...where's that higher love I've been thinkin' of?" Jesus teaches His disciples that they are called to this higher love. Those who belong to Jesus' kingdom love their enemies, do good to those who hate them and give generously to anyone in need. This demanding and distinct love is ultimately divine love - the love that the Father displayed in sending His Son and the Son displayed in dying on the cross for His enemies. It's only as followers Christ who have begun to grasp the love of Christ that we will begin to show this same love to others.

Life lived outside of God's kingdom is a cursed life. Jesus explains that a cursed life is to find your comfort in riches, satisfaction in the here and now, joy in the suffering of others and identity in the praise of others.

Who would you describe as being truly blessed? Someone have a particular career? Millions in the bank? A clean bill of health? At the beginning of the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus explains that to be blessed isn't based on one's circumstance; nor is it a condition to be met. Instead, it is a status that He declares on all those who belong to His kingdom.

David hits rock bottom in his faking insanity before the Philistine king, Abimelech. Yet, God hears and answers David's pleas for help. Psalm 34 is David's outpouring of thanks to God for His dependable deliverance. We're taught that God's deliverance is the boast of the humble, the bounty of the poor and the bedrock of the righteous.

We find it difficult to place our valuables, our children and our families into the hands of others. Why can we confidently place ourselves in God's hands? This psalm explains that God's Word, work and watch provide abundant cause for us to trust Him. This trust leads to joyful praise and confident prayer to Him.

Guilt and shame are both crippling. As John Bunyan illustrated in his Pilgrims Progress, it feels as if you are carrying a heavy burden that you cannot relieve yourself of. David rejoices in Psalm 32 that God is a merciful and forgiving God. He removes our sin as far as the east is from the west in His Son, the Lord Jesus.

We often find ourselves in a rhythm in the Christian life. Trouble comes our way which brings us distress and then we run to God for refuge. This is a rhythm of trust. Psalm 31 explains this is a normal rhythm. It is in this rhythm that we commit our souls to God and courageously wait on Him as our Rock and Fortress.

Have you turned up to worship on Sunday morning internally wondering, "Why exactly am I here?" In Psalm 30, a song David penned for the dedication of the temple, we are reminded why we come to worship God. We gather to praise Him for lifting us up out of the pit of sin, to be brought down from thinking life is all about ourselves and to turn back God's blessings to His praise.

This psalm confronts us with the all-glorious, all-powerful God who is described as a storm that levels everything in its path. How can we stand before this God and not be consumed? It is only through Jesus who opens for us the glory of heaven, faces the storm of God's righteous wrath for our sin at the cross and gives us peace on earth by reconciling us to God.

A pacemaker is a wonderful piece of medical technology that keeps a heart with an irregular rhythm beat at a settled pace. David finds himself in need of a pacemaker in Psalm 28 as he is unsettled by God's silence, the plight of God's people and being caught in the crossfire of God bringing His righteous judgement on the wicked. However, God settles David's heart by reminding David that He is David's strength and shield. We too find a pacemaker for our unsettled hearts in the Lord's anointed, Jesus Christ.

Jesus' resurrection is like the clutch of Christianity. A car without a clutch is useless; the gospel without the resurrection is useless and can't save. We might understand the importance of the resurrection, but how - like a clutch - does it grab us and drive us forward each day? As Jesus appears to His disciples, we see how His resurrection connects to life through providing certainty about salvation, about Scripture and about our mission. 

Peter's denial painfully illustrates how confidence placed in ourselves leads us down a dangerous path. Yet, grace flows to Peters like us. Jesus turns and looks at Peter in redeeming love. He then turned and went to the cross to pay for Peter's sin. It is in looking to Christ that we are freed from a misplaced confidence in ourselves and know the joy of His love which is greater than all our sins.