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Matthew 5:10-12, the good life belongs to those who are persecuted. Because we’re going to do what’s right, which will result in us getting caught in the crossfire of a lot of angry people. Jesus’ ethic of doing what is right by God and others and if we’re going to get involved in conflict, get...

Matthew 5:9, the good life belongs to those who are peacemakers, because they will be called the children of God. The good life belongs to those who are being persecuted for the sake of doing what is right, when people insult us or spread evil lies about us, all on account of Jesus, because...

Matthew 5:8, the good life belongs to the pure of heart, because they will see God. They are the ones, who will look upon the face of God, but looking upon the face of God, isn’t that a very dangerous thing to do? It is, but it’s only dangerous if we live on the outside of Eden, because if we’re...

Matthew 5:7, the good life belongs to those who show mercy, because they will be shown mercy. The famous parable of the guy who’s debt was forgiven, but he doesn’t forgive a debt owed him. The conclusion of that is the guy who holds the debt said, shouldn’t you have shown mercy to your fellow...

Matthew 5:6, the good life belongs to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they will be satisfied. Righteousness refers to the character of someone who is in right relationship with others around them. The good life belongs to those who hunger and thirst for, Jesus is using a...

Matthew 5:5, the good life belongs to the afflicted, because they will inherit the land. The afflicted or the unimportant one, whoever the afflicted are, they are a group of people that need to be rescued when God brings ultimate justice. The unimportant one are people who are being abused and...

Matthew 5:4, the good life belongs to those who grieve, for they will be comforted. Grief, people who experience life in a constant state of grieving, because they’re experiencing death and loss. Comfort, the New Jerusalem is on its way, that will be the comfort for those who grieve and mourn...

Matthew 5:3, the good life belongs to the impoverished in spirit, the Hebrew word for spirit is “ruach,“ poor in relation to their ruach. Ruach, refers in it’s essence to invisible energy. It can be impersonal energy like wind or it can be the presence of someone’s personal life energy. It’s...

This whole setup is about how Adam and Eve in Eden are like priests in the cosmic Temple and there’s abundance, they walk with God, they are meant to rule, that is organize their lives in such a say that there’s flourishing. This whole package, this is the blessing. Jesus starts touring around...

The Sermon on the Mount is the first of five blocks of Jesus’ teaching in the gospel according to Matthew. So for most of the history of the Jesus movement, it’s the first main block of teachings that people encounter if they pick up and start reading the New Testament. Just the sheer...

Something new has happened, we have in effect fitted Jesus and even his resurrection into the story that our Western churches have had all along of the present world as the preparation for the various options of life after death in the traditional scheme, heaven or hell. But in the New...

What if history isn’t random and we’re actually living in the final chapter? Luke chapter 16, moral line, but when Jesus spoke about condemnation, he didn’t start with a list of outward behaviors, he went much deeper, he went straight to the heart. Jesus pointed to something beneath every sin...

We all want certainty, meaning and something solid to stand on, in a world that feels unstable, but what if the confusion comes from how we think about beginnings? Everything we know has an origin, if God made the universe, then surely something must have made God, but there’s a deeper issue...

Jesus having been crucified and then raised from the dead, Jesus ascended, he has gone up to be in the heaven with God. Heaven is God’s dimension of our present reality, but then Jesus has come down with the gift of the Spirit, making Jesus’ presence a reality to all his followers everywhere...

Adam and Eve forfeited their calling as the Royal Priesthood, but God promised that one of their descendants would be an even better priest, who will defeat evil and intervene on their behalf to restore the blessings of Eden. This descendant would be a Royal Priest like Melchizedek, that Abraham...

Now, through Israel’s story, God raises up many people, who could have been this Royal Priest, like Abraham, Moses and David, but they all fail. Their stories point forward, anticipating the ultimate Royal Priest and this brings us to Jesus. In the time of Jesus, the people of Israel were ruled...

God’s inviting everyone to be priests, like Adam and Eve were priests in Eden. But, it turns out the people are afraid of God, and they don’t want to come close to God’s presence and so, Moses goes alone up to the top of Mount Sinai. Moses famously gets the Ten Commandments, the first two being...

This coming descendant will be both a royal priest and a sacrifice. But as it stands, humanity is outside of Eden and things have spiraled into chaotic violence, but God chooses from the wreckage a couple, Abraham and Sarah. God calls them to journey to the land of Canaan and he promises to give...

The tabernacle was a sacred tent, that the Israelites carried as they journeyed to the promised land. The tabernacle was sacred, because it’s where the heavenly presence of Israel’s God lived on earth. The tabernacle had an important design to show just how special it was. There’s the outer...

Exodus 34:6, “Gracious,” the Hebrew word is “khanun,” which is related to the Hebrew noun “khen.” This word “khen” is often translated as “grace” or “favor.” One meaning of khen is delightful or favorable, Psalms 45:1-2, a skilled poet is said to have lips of khen, that is, he can craft...