Sermons & Teaching

Clean All The Way Down

Matthew 15

It is easy to look faithful on the outside while missing what God actually cares about most. In Matthew 15, Jesus confronts religious leaders who had elevated human traditions to the level of God's commands, using their practices to avoid genuine obedience. He makes clear that real defilement does not come from what touches our hands but from what is already inside our hearts. Our words, thoughts, and hidden attitudes reveal what is truly going on within us. No amount of religious performance can clean a heart that has not been honestly brought before God. Like David in Psalm 51, we cannot make ourselves clean. Only God can do that, and He is faithful to do so when we come to Him with honesty and humility.

When Jesus Comes to You

Matthew 14:22–33

Jesus sends His disciples into a storm they cannot control, then comes to them in the middle of it, revealing not only where He is, but who He is—the great “I AM.” Matthew 14:22–33 reminds us that following Jesus does not mean avoiding storms; sometimes it is precisely there that we see Jesus more clearly, learn to trust Him more deeply, and ultimately worship Him for who He truly is.

When Resistance Comes

Matthew 14

When we step out in faith and things fall apart, it is easy to wonder if God is even paying attention. Matthew 14 reminds us that resistance does not mean God has stepped away. It often means He is moving. John the Baptist spoke truth boldly, even knowing the cost, while Herod wore a crown but was controlled by the crowd around him. True courage comes from letting God's Word correct us first and spending time in the presence of Jesus. Even when John was killed and it looked like resistance had won, God's plan was not stopped. Whatever chapter you are in right now, no matter how hard it is, it is not the end of your story.

Lord, Give Us Ears to Hear

Matthew 13

Two people can hear the same message and walk away in completely different directions. In Matthew 13, Jesus uses the Parable of the Sower to explain why people respond so differently to God's Word. A sower scatters seed on four types of soil, each representing a different condition of the human heart. Some hearts are hard and defensive, some are shallow and rootless, some are crowded with worry and distraction, and some are truly receptive and bear lasting fruit. The difference is never about exposure to the Word. Every soil hears it. The difference is what happens after it is heard. The question worth sitting with is not where you were when you first came to faith, but where your heart is right now.

A House Divided

Matthew 12:22–37

In Matthew 12:22–37, Jesus confronts us with two kingdoms, two allegiances, and two eternal verdicts—revealing that because He is Lord, neutrality is not an option. He alone can free us from darkness, make our divided hearts whole, and transform us into good trees that bear good fruit.

Blessed is the one who is not offended be Me

Matthew 11:1–19

In Matthew 11:1–19, John the Baptist wrestles with unmet expectations when Jesus does not act according to the timing or manner he anticipated. Like John, we can become disappointed when God does not follow the script we imagined. Yet Jesus invites us to bring Him our questions, surrender our expectations, and trust His heart—even when we cannot understand His ways. Jesus both subverts and fulfills our expectations, and the cross assures us that He can always be trusted.

The Mission of Jesus

Matthew 9:35–10:15

In Matthew 9:35–10:15, Jesus transitions from personally proclaiming the Kingdom of God to commissioning His disciples to carry His mission forward. Moved by compassion for people who are “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd,” Jesus calls His followers to pray for laborers before sending them into the harvest. He equips ordinary men with His authority, entrusts them with His message, and teaches them to depend on God’s provision as they faithfully represent Him. This passage serves as a prelude to the Great Commission, revealing that the mission of the Church is born out of the compassionate heart of Christ and carried forward by disciples who see what Jesus sees, go where Jesus sends, and trust Jesus to provide.

The Heart Behind Anger

Matthew 5:21–26

Guest teaching at Mosaic Church in Mansfield, Ohio, on Matthew 5:21–26 — the heart behind anger. The recording below is Mosaic Church's full Sunday service, published on the church's own YouTube channel.

The Authority of Jesus pt. 2

Matthew 8

In Matthew 8, Jesus reveals His authority over comfort, creation, and the powers of darkness. As the disciples journey to “the other side,” they discover that following Jesus is often costly, uncomfortable, and beyond their control. Yet through every scene, Matthew points us to the same truth: there is nothing outside the authority of Christ. The question this passage leaves us with is simple but profound: What is Jesus worth to us?

The Authority of Jesus pt. 1

Matthew 8

After finishing the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus did not simply move on to the next teaching. He came down the mountain and began living out everything He had just proclaimed. In three back-to-back encounters recorded in Matthew 8, He moved toward a leper, a Roman centurion, and a woman with a fever. Each of these individuals represented a group that society pushed to the margins: the ostracized, the outsider, and the overlooked. Jesus did not keep His distance from any of them. He touched the untouchable, marveled at the faith of an enemy, and noticed the one that no one else thought to mention. Each encounter carries a distinct and personal message. The leper's story speaks to the difference between guilt and shame. Guilt says we did something wrong, but shame goes deeper and tells us we are something wrong. Jesus responded to the leper not just with a word but with a touch, restoring not only his skin but his standing before God and his community. The centurion's story challenges those who assume their religious background makes them secure, while also offering a powerful picture of intercessory prayer. He did not ask for himself but on behalf of someone else, and Jesus honored that faith immediately. Peter's mother-in-law reminds us that no need is too small to bring before Jesus. He saw her in a busy house when no one else thought to mention her, and He healed her. Matthew connects these healings to Isaiah 53, making clear that Jesus was not simply performing miracles out of kindness. He was taking on what each person carried, bearing it Himself. This is the heart of substitutionary atonement. Every healing in this chapter points forward to the cross, where Jesus bore our sin, our shame, and our brokenness so that we could be made whole. The physical healings were real, but they were also a foretaste of the ultimate restoration that is still to come. If we are followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to reflect what He modeled here: moving toward the people everyone else avoids.

The Narrow and Wide Gates

Matthew 7:13–14

As Jesus wraps the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:13–14, He presents a sobering and hopeful invitation: two gates, two roads, and a decision to make. In this message, we explore the image, importance, and identity of the narrow gate—and discover that following Jesus is not about earning access to God, but entering through Him and learning to walk His way.

Do Not Judge

Matthew 7:1–6

In Matthew 7:1-6, we wee these words, “Do not judge,” - which may be Jesus’ most quoted — and most misunderstood — teaching. In this sermon, we explore the difference between discernment and condemnation, uncovering how self-righteousness, hypocrisy, and contempt distort the witness of Christians, while Jesus calls us into a life marked by humility, wisdom, grace, and truth.

The Perfect Mom Myth

2 Corinthians 12:9

The perfect mom myth says you should have it all together, but comparison only leads to feeling like you never measure up. Scripture tells a different story: in 2 Corinthians 12:9, God’s grace is sufficient, and His power is made perfect in our weakness—not our perfection.

Do Not Worry

Matthew 6:25–34

In Matthew 6:25–34, Jesus teaches that worry loses its power when we trust God as our Father, reorder our priorities around His kingdom, and live one day at a time under His care. Because our Father already knows what we need—today and for eternity—we can replace anxious “what if” thinking with confident trust in who God is and what He promises.

The Undivided Life

Matthew 6:19–24

In Matthew 6:19–24, Jesus invites us to examine what we truly treasure and what is shaping our hearts. While this passage speaks about money and possessions, it ultimately addresses something deeper—our trust, our vision of the world, and our allegiance. Through three connected images—treasure, the eye, and two masters—Jesus shows that what we value shapes how we see and determines who we serve. This passage is not simply a warning about wealth; it is an invitation into freedom. As we release our grip on what we try to control and learn to trust God with what we have, Jesus leads us toward a life centered on Him—our true and lasting treasure.

The Lord's Prayer

“And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” In this final request of the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches His disciples how to pray honestly about temptation, testing, and God’s protection. This message explores what Jesus meant by temptation, how the same pattern appears in the testing of Eve in the garden and Jesus in the wilderness, and how this prayer invites us to trust our Father to guard our hearts and deliver us from the evil that opposes His purposes in our lives.

Because He Lives

John 20

In John 20, Mary came to the tomb expecting death, thinking the story was over—but everything changed when the risen Jesus called her by name, and she turned toward Him and went to tell the others, “I have seen the Lord.” And because He lives, He is still calling people by name today—meeting us personally and inviting each of us to take our next step of faith and obedience with Him—because He lives.

Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

When Jesus teaches us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” He invites us into a life of daily dependence on God for both our physical needs and our spiritual life. This prayer ultimately points us to Jesus, the Bread of Life, who alone can satisfy the deepest hunger of the human heart.

Your kingdom come, Your will be done

Matthew 6:10

In Matthew 6:10, Jesus teaches us to pray beyond our own needs. When we pray, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done,” we are surrendering our lives to God’s rule and His purposes instead of our own. As we submit to His kingdom and His will, our lives begin to reflect Christ—becoming a visible expression on earth of what God desires in heaven.

Our Father

Matthew 6:9

Matthew 6:9 (NASB), “Pray, then, in this way:‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.” When Jesus says, “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven,’” He anchors prayer in relationship. Prayer is not a performance—it is the privilege of children speaking to their Father. Jesus assumes we will pray. Communion with God is the ordinary rhythm of those who belong to Him. And we do not solely pray alone. He teaches us to say “Our” Father. Prayer binds us together as a family, reminding us that we come side by side as the people of God. Most importantly, we pray with confidence. Through Christ, we have been adopted; we are children of God. The Father who loves the Son welcomes us in Him. We approach not as outsiders hoping to be heard, but as sons and daughters who already are. To pray is to come together, as children, to our Heavenly Father.

How Not to Pray

Matthew 6:5–8

In Matthew 6:5–8, Jesus confronts the temptation to turn prayer into a performance for others or a formula to influence God. Instead, He invites His followers to pray simply, sincerely, and privately—trusting that their Father already sees and knows what they need. Prayer is not about being noticed or saying the right words, but about relating honestly to God - an actual relationship, nothing else.

Turn the Other Cheek

Matthew 5:38–42

In Matthew 5:38–42, Jesus reorients our response to offense and wrongdoing. While “an eye for an eye” restrained excessive retaliation, Jesus calls His followers beyond retaliation altogether. He teaches a way of nonviolent resistance that refuses to mirror evil or allow it to shape our hearts. Turning the other cheek, giving more than is demanded, and going the second mile are not signs of weakness, but expressions of trust in God’s justice and commitment to His kingdom. These practices break the cycle of vengeance and embody the call to overcome evil with good (Rom. 12:17–21). Jesus invites His disciples to respond to harm with faith-filled obedience, reflecting the character of the Father and bearing witness to a kingdom not sustained by force, but by love, mercy, and righteousness.

You have heard it said, but I say to you: Divorce

Matthew 5:31–32

In Matthew 5:31–32 and Matthew 19, Jesus confronts a culture that had reduced marriage to a disposable contract. People were using Deuteronomy 24 as permission to divorce for almost any reason, but Jesus clarifies that Moses’ words were a concession to the hardness of hearts, not God’s original design. He points all the way back to Genesis, where marriage is revealed as a covenant—two becoming one under God. Jesus teaches that marriage is not something to enter into lightly or abandon casually. While He acknowledges the reality of human brokenness, even sexual unfaithfulness, His heart is always toward faithfulness, repentance, and reconciliation when possible. His message is clear: marriage is meant to reflect God’s faithful love, and therefore it deserves serious commitment, careful entrance, and deep perseverance.

You have heard it said, but I say to you: Adultery/Lust

Matthew 5:27–30

In Matthew 5:27–30, Jesus exposes the deeper issue beneath adultery—not merely the outward act, but the lustful desire of the heart. Sin does not begin with behavior; it begins internally, where unchecked desires take root. As James later explains, temptation arises from within, as sinful desires entice and give birth to sin, which, if left unconfessed, leads to death (James 1:13–15). Jesus’ severe language underscores the urgency of confronting sin at its source. Faithful obedience requires decisive action—restraining sinful appetites and bringing hidden desires into the light before they destroy us.

You have heard it said, but I say to you: Murder/Anger

Matthew 5:21–26

In Matthew 5:21–26, Jesus goes beyond the commandment against murder and exposes the deeper sin beneath it: anger and contempt in the heart. While the law addresses outward actions, Jesus confronts the inner attitudes that fracture relationships and devalue others. Anger is not harmless, contempt is not trivial, and unresolved conflict disrupts both community and worship. True righteousness seeks reconciliation with urgency, whether with a brother or sister or an adversary. Life in God’s kingdom calls us to reject anger toward anyone and pursue peace wherever reconciliation is possible. Due to technical difficulties, our live stream was interrupted. You can view "Pt 2" of the sermon below.

A Thrill of Hope

Luke 2

Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth reminds us that the coming of Christ did not arrive in comfort, but into a weary world marked by burden and darkness. Yet into that weariness, heaven announces this good news that brings joy to all people! The shepherds’ story shows us that the Good News does not leave people neutral. It exposes our posture and invites a response. Some resist, others remain unmoved—but the shepherds allow hope to awaken curiosity. They listen. They wonder. And they say, “Let us go and see.” Their intrigue does not remain theoretical; it becomes pursuit. They move with haste toward what God has revealed. Luke 2 shows us that the thrill of hope is not a fleeting feeling, but a transformative reality. The Good News brings joy not by removing hardship, but by reorienting hearts, activating curiosity and faith, and by sending people back into the world changed. A weary world rejoices when hope is received, pursued, proclaimed, and lived.

Jesus, The Fulfillment

In this passage, Jesus confronts two common misunderstandings about His mission. He is neither a new “rules guy” like the Pharisees nor a rebellious rule-breaker who dismisses God’s law. Instead, Jesus declares that He has come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets—to bring them to their intended meaning, purpose, and completion. Jesus fulfills the Law by embodying it, obeying it perfectly, and ultimately completing its purpose. In Him, God’s commands are no longer a ladder to climb or a burden to bear, but a life to be lived—one that reflects the heart of God made visible in Christ.

Salt and Light

Matthew 5:13–16

In Matthew 5:13–16, Jesus calls His people “salt” and “light,” two everyday images that carry a powerful challenge for anyone who follows Him. Jesus isn’t just talking about being a little different from the world around us. He’s talking about living in a way that actually changes the world around us. Salt in the ancient world wasn’t mainly a seasoning—it was rubbed into meat to slow down decay. In the same way, believers are meant to engage the world in a way that pushes back moral and spiritual deterioration. Light works the same way: it doesn’t wait for darkness to move; it breaks into darkness and makes what was hidden visible. Jesus says we’re supposed to shine like that—set high where our lives can point people toward Him. This picture of salt and light is far more than just hanging on or surviving in a difficult culture. It’s a call to meaningful influence, the kind of presence that preserves, reveals, and helps others see the goodness of God.

Blessed are the Peacemakers

Matthew 5:9

In Matthew 5:9, Jesus declares that “blessed are the peacemakers.” This does not refer merely to keeping the peace or avoiding conflict. Peacemaking is the active work of bringing reconciliation where relationships have been broken. Biblically, a peacemaker mirrors the mission of Jesus Himself—who came to restore peace between God and humanity. Therefore, to be a peacemaker is to join Jesus in His work—pursuing reconciliation, fostering unity, and taking deliberate steps at being a peace with all men. Such people reflect the character of God, which is why Jesus says they “will be called sons of God.”

Blessed are the Meek

Matthew 5:5

Matthew 5:5 (NLT) “God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.”Jesus continues describing the character of those who belong to His kingdom. To be meek is not to be weak, but to show gentleness and humility—a quiet strength that trusts God rather than striving to control outcomes by force or manipulation. True meekness is strength under God’s control, grounded in faith that He will make things right in His time.In contrast to the world’s belief that power, wealth, or dominance secure success, Jesus declares that it is the meek—those who surrender their strength to God—who will ultimately inherit the earth.

Blessed are Those Who Mourn

Matthew 5:4

At the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus opens with what we call the Beatitudes—statements that describe the character and attitude of those who are truly blessed by God. When Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4), He is not simply speaking of mourning the death of a loved one. This mourning goes much deeper. It begins inwardly—with a grief over our own sin, our failure to live in the holiness God desires. It also extends outwardly—as we mourn the brokenness and sin we see in the world around us. This kind of mourning is not despair, but a heartfelt sorrow that leads us to repentance, compassion, and intercession for others. It’s in this place of honest mourning—both over our sin and the sin of others—that we encounter a supernatural comfort. This comfort is not of our own making, but comes from God Himself, through the presence and ministry of the Holy Spirit. He meets us in our mourning by coming along side of us - bringing help, restoration and comfort.

Blessed are the Poor in Spirit

Matthew 5:3–12

Matthew 5:3–12 is known as the Beatitudes. In each statement, Jesus describes who is “blessed.” A word that does not simply mean “happy,” which is subjective. Instead, its a, congratulations, for those who are rightly aligned with God—walking in His ways and receiving His favor.

Sermon on the Mount Introduction

Matthew 5–7

The Gospel of Matthew presents Jesus’ most famous teaching, The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7) where Jesus began to teach what it means to live in the Kingdom of Heaven. Following His proclamation in Matthew 4:17—“Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near”—Jesus calls His disciples and begins to teach them on a mountainside (Matthew 5:1–2), laying out a radical vision of humility, righteousness, mercy, and grace. These teachings are not abstract ideals but a divine invitation to live as citizens of God's Kingdom, set apart from the values of the world.