Day 1: The Illusion of the Front Yard 1 Samuel 16:7 (ESV) "But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.'" Luke 18:11 (ESV) "The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.'" Rundown I

Day 1: The Perfection Standard Matthew 5:20, 48 (ESV) "For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven... You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Rundown If anyone thought they had the market cornered on righteousness, it was the scribes and the Pharisees. The scribes were the ultimate photocopiers of the faith. They didn’t just transcribe the text; they were so terrifi

Day 1: The Danger of "Relaxing" the Standard Matthew 5:19 (ESV) - "Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Rundown: Whenever you see the word "therefore" in Scripture, you have to stop and ask what it's there for. Jesus isn't speaking this warning in a vacuum. For eighteen verses prior,

Day 1: An Unshakable Foundation Matthew 5:17-18 (ESV) "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished." Rundown: When Jesus stood on the mount and delivered these words, He was making a radical, line-in-the-sand claim about both His own identity and the absolute authority of

Day 1: Tearing Down vs. Fulfilling Matthew 5:17: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." Rundown: When we read our Bibles today, we have a tendency to chop up the text into disconnected ideas. We look for a quick verse to give us comfort or direction, forgetting that chapter and verse numbers weren't even added to the Bible until the 1300s. Because of this, we often miss the broader flow of Jesus

Day 1: No Such Thing as a Private Faith Scripture Reference: Matthew 5:14-16 (ESV) "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." The Rundown: We’ve been sold a lie by our culture that faith is supposed to