Jesus had a practical prayer life, and He calls us to pray in the same way. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus doesn’t give a formula for prayer, but a format for prayer that is meant to intersect and interact with our daily lives in a practical way.

Prayer is a rather universal thing. It's remarkable how many people say, "Yes, I pray." In this passage, Jesus shows us that the difference between Christian and non-Christian prayer is not fundamentally in how prayers are made, but in who is being addressed.

We love praise. Attention. Admiration. Applause. The reality is that everything we do carries the risk of being tainted by hypocrisy. In this message Pastor John shares how Jesus instructs us to be careful to avoid crashing on the rocks of hypocrisy.

It's our role - our desire - to be known as God's children. And that happens, Jesus says, by loving like God loves.

As Jesus addresses the disciples of His kingdom, He teaches them the difference between religious and righteous. We need to have a righteousness that is exceptional (greater than that of the Pharisees) in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. We have a perfect, righteous Father and we are to imitate Him, which is accomplished by the practice of love.

The kingdom of God operates different than the kingdoms of the world. Believers are thrust into a culture war that is inevitable. In the opening to the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus shares three outcomes to kingdom living.

During His earthly ministry, Jesus was immensely popular. He is still popular today, but what does it really mean to follow Jesus? In this sermon, Pastor John shares that we aren’t just saved from the condemnation of our sins, but are selected for service in the kingdom.

Temptation to sin is something that we deal with all through life. Is there hope for us to be able to resist temptation? In this passage from Matthew’s gospel, Jesus the Son of God resists temptation and shows us how we find victory over temptation.

Every kingdom needs a king. Kings are not voted on, but are appointed, anointed, and coroneted in public ceremonies. In this passage from Matthew’s gospel that describes Jesus’ baptism, we see Jesus publicly identified as King by His Father.

Some think that repentance is just for “big” sins or big sinners, or something that happens only once in a believer’s life. In this message, Pastor John begins a series of messages from Matthew’s gospel that will help us unlock the blessings of the Kingdom.