It was another Red Sea moment. To retreat would be catastrophic. To advance would be humanly impossible. And Jesus was instructing them to do the impossible. This week as we focus on Christ and the Law in the Sermon on the Mount we find Him burrowing beyond the letter of the law into the motives … Continue reading –>
(Matt. 5:33-37) The first two antitheses (murder and adultery) are based on the Decalogue. The antithesis regarding divorce and the ones that follow are taken from other sections of the Mosaic law, including the one about swearing falsely and performing oaths to the Lord. Read Leviticus 19:11-13. What specific points do we find here? See also … Continue reading –>
There was a time, when heaven was the murder capital of the universe. A lot of people have the idea, that once we get to heaven God is going to wave some magic wand, or flip some switch in the back of our heads and presto! We won’t sin anymore. After all it will be … Continue reading –>
Key Thought : Jesus tells us that He did not come to do away with the law, but to magnify it and show the need of the Holy Spirit in order to keep it. [Lesson plan for Christ and the Law in the Sermon on the Mount April 21, 2014] 1. Have a volunteer read … Continue reading –>
(Matt 5:27-32) Jesus’ next example involves commandments concerning adultery. He first cites the seventh commandment, You shall not commit adultery. In the context of the law of Moses, adultery took place when a married person was sexually involved with someone other than a spouse. The law was very clear that both parties found guilty of … Continue reading –>
(Matt 5:21-26) After He clarified His intention to uphold the law, Jesus started to explain a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees. He begins by citing the sixth commandment (Exod. 20:13) and summarizing, from the law of Moses, the penalty for violation (Exod. 21:12, Lev. 24:17). The sixth commandment does not include … Continue reading –>
“It is finished” John 19:30 When Jesus cried out these last words, He gave up His breath, and rested in the tomb on Sabbath. Four thousand years earlier, He had finished creating the world and rested on the Sabbath. Adam and Eve rested too on that very first Sabbath, though I don’t think they were … Continue reading –>
Read again Matthew 5:17-20. How interesting that Jesus would greatly emphasize the law here, while at the same time making the statement that He did about the scribes and Pharisees, who so greatly emphasized the law, as well. What important lesson does this passage teach about true obedience to the law? Jesus begins this section … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Matt. 5:17-20, Luke 16:16, Matt. 5:21-32, Rom. 7:24, Matt. 5:33-37, 5:38-48. Memory Text: Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot, or … Continue reading –>
Informal discussion regarding this week’s Sabbath School lesson with author Dr. Keith Burton on Vimeo in less than 30 minutes: [weaver_vimeo http://vimeo.com/91666442 autoplay=0 loop=0 portrait=1 start=0:10] You can view the same video on Youtube if you prefer. (9)
Continue reading -->When I was a child, my family lived near the Adventist church in our town in northern Namibia. Mother took us to church, though we weren’t Adventists. I liked church. On Sabbath afternoon, we’d go to Himba villages to sing and talk to them about God. Then when I was 8 years old, we moved … Continue reading –>
Further Study: For more information on this week’s topic, read Ellen G. White, Tradition, pp. 395-398, Woes on the Pharisees, pp. 610-620, in The Desire of Ages. Also read Matthew 23. Let all who accept human authority, the customs of the church, or the traditions of the fathers, take heed to the warning conveyed in … Continue reading –>
