September 2013 - July 2018
True stories of the lives of famous people quickly move to the top of the best sellers' charts. Listen to this series about the engrossing story of the life of Christ as told by a once-hated tax collector, Matthew. See how his emphasis is on Christ as the promised Messianic King. Find out about the not-to-be-missed practical ways this Gospel can impact your life.
Video DVDs of these lessons can be ordered here and here.
To view all video Bible studies in the Matthew series, click here (Vimeo) or here (YouTube).
Sun, Feb 02, 2014
Passage: Matthew 5:7
Duration: 46 mins 47 secs
Does it almost break your heart to see TV ads about abused and suffering pets? Listen to this lesson to learn the difference between true compassion and the false variety. Find out whose responsibility it is to help those suffering. Discover that when government promises to limit the consequences of people's bad decisions it also limits the outcomes of people making good decisions. Find out what first century Pharisees thought about tax collectors and how Jesus pointed out that a mental attitude of compassion was superior to the performance of religious rituals with no internal reality.
Sun, Feb 09, 2014
Passage: Matthew 5:8
Duration: 39 mins 3 secs
Have you ever known anyone who seemed to be doing good things but was seething with anger, hatred, and revenge on the inside? Listen to this lesson to see how Jesus Christ in the Sermon on the Mount emphasizes the importance of your internal attitudes as you perform deeds of mercy and show kindness to others. Learn the meaning of the word "heart" in the Scripture and how we can be pure in heart. Allow Jesus' message to His disciples to encourage you to live consistently in God's Word, staying in fellowship through confession, and having your character transformed as you are being prepared to rule and reign in the Kingdom of God in the future.
Sun, Feb 16, 2014
Passage: Matthew 5:9
Duration: 48 mins 59 secs
"All we're saying is give peace a chance." Sound familiar? Listen to this lesson to learn the many meanings of peace. See how the peace Jesus was referring to in the Sermon on the Mount was peace between God and man. Learn that we cannot have this peace with God by our own efforts but only when we trust Christ's payment for our sins on the cross. Discover three important questions that must be answered to gain peace and that peace at any price is not what is meant. Note that our mission now as believers is to tell others how to have peace with God so we will be peacemakers and called the sons of God.
Sun, Feb 23, 2014
Passage: Matthew 5:10-12
Duration: 44 mins 47 secs
How's this for a promise from the Word of God? If you are a disciple of Christ, growing and maturing spiritually, you can be absolutely certain that you will suffer unjustly for what you believe. Listen to this lesson to see how you should rejoice and be glad when you are mistreated for your Christian beliefs because it means you will be richly rewarded in Heaven. Learn the importance of hanging in there during suffering and being willing to accept the loss of everything today because of your future role in the kingdom of God.
Sun, Mar 02, 2014
Passage: Matthew 5:13
Duration: 1 hr 5 mins 4 secs
A jar of salt doesn't sound like much of a paycheck but in the ancient world salt was sometimes more valuable than gold. Listen to this lesson to learn seven different uses of salt and which one Jesus meant when He told His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount that they were the salt of the earth. See the meaning of earth and how salt was a means of fertilizing agricultural crops. Understand that just as salt can become useless, Christians become useless if they bear no fruit. Examine how we become useful when we produce fruit through a consistent daily walk by means of the Holy Spirit.
Sun, Mar 16, 2014
Passage: Matthew 5:13-16
Duration: 45 mins 5 secs
"This little light of mine. I'm going to let it shine." This catchy song that kids love holds a vital truth for all believers. Listen to this lesson to learn that Jesus taught His disciples that He was the Light of the world and the disciples derived their light from Him. Discover the ancient meaning of "a city set on a hill". Become versed in the many ways light is used throughout the Bible and how it is contrasted with the darkness of evil. See how our good works produced when we are walking by means of the Holy Spirit and growing spiritually impact those around us and glorify God.
Sun, Mar 23, 2014
Passage: Matthew 5:17-20
Duration: 47 mins 36 secs
When Jesus was here on this earth, why did many people accuse Him of trying to destroy the Mosaic Law? Listen to this lesson to learn that Jesus told His disciples that every part of the Scriptures, down to the smallest letter and line, was inspired by God and that He came to fulfill the Law and explain what it really meant. Understand that we are righteous by faith in Christ rather than by obeying the hundreds and hundreds of rules and regulations that the rabbis added over the years. Come to the conclusion that what we think and do must be subject to the will of God if we are to rule and reign with Christ in the coming Kingdom of heaven.
Sun, Mar 30, 2014
Passage: Matthew 5:19-20
Duration: 41 mins 27 secs
Must I be good to be a Christian? Listen to this lesson to learn that Jesus told His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount that the kind of righteousness the religious Pharisees demanded was not what He was talking about. Neither was Jesus referring to how you had to be good to be saved but instead, He was talking about spiritual growth after we have been justified. See how He taught that the character qualities we need to rule in the coming Kingdom of heaven are a result of walking according to the light of God's Word, and not by trying to be good.
Sun, Apr 06, 2014
Passage: Matthew 5:22
Duration: 46 mins 10 secs
What did Jesus mean when He talked about hell fire in the Sermon on the Mount? Listen to this lesson to learn that Jesus was talking to His disciples and referring to a place in Jerusalem, the Valley of Hinnom, which is Gehenna in Greek. Learn the vile and degrading history of the valley. See how it is not a symbol for fiery destruction but of a nation's spiritual failure. Allow this lesson to infiltrate your thinking so you can see the seriousness of the Christian life and avoid loss of rewards and shame at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
Sun, Apr 13, 2014
Passage: Matthew 5:21-26
Duration: 42 mins 50 secs
Like being zapped by a bolt of lightning, the religious leaders of Jesus' day were shocked by what He was teaching His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount. Not only did these Pharisees try to obey all the Law but they had invented rules about the rules. See how Jesus ignored their human righteousness and taught that it's possible to commit murder in our hearts by having unjust anger at people and calling them insulting names. Understand that he was pointing out to them that only He could fulfill the Law and live a perfect life. Accept the importance of believers' settling grievances with others quickly instead of letting them fester so our prayers will be answered.