Sermons

Today's passage deals with the last blessing of the Beatitudes, the concluding part of the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus proclaimed to his disciples: the blessing of those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. This passage makes us face the reality of the mockery and persecution believers inevitably meet when they fulfill their role as salt and light and proclaim the truth in the world. It proclaims that even when, as the light of the world, they are attacked by evil forces that hate having their filthy sin exposed, they can rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is their reward in heaven.

The sermon emphasizes that such suffering is not simply bad luck but a process of training, like God's furnace that refines believers into pure gold. Through the severe persecution and suffering that the apostle Paul and the prophets endured, it shows that if believers are to enjoy rest in the kingdom of heaven like the martyrs, they must endure the trials of this earth by faith. It also warns, through Isaiah's experience, that when we stand before God all our put-on devotion is laid bare, so we must truly repent and live honest and clean lives. Only by being filled with the fruit of the Spirit and becoming gentle and merciful can we fend off Satan's attacks and receive God's protection.

How will we receive and put into practice this amazing truth, that when believers lay down human righteousness and greed and live for God's righteousness, they will at last find true peace and the reward of heaven?

In this passage Jesus proclaims that the peacemakers will be called children of God, and he sets out a concrete way of life: loving one's enemies and praying for those who mistreat you. The passage emphasizes that such love and forgiveness, which seem impossible by human reason and feeling, become possible through the leading of the Holy Spirit, and it teaches that true peace begins with the humility that lays down pride and human righteousness and goes down to a low place.

The sermon points out that believers must first remove the beam from their own eye before they can see the speck in their brother's eye, and it shows that the way of the peacemaker is to repent of one's own shortcomings rather than criticize the faults of others. It also warns that formal, artificially polished worship or devotion is not accepted by God, and it stresses that offering a truly born-again heart as a living sacrifice is what matters. It explains that just as Jesus became the atoning sacrifice, believers too will be praised as children of God only when they embrace one another and take up the mission of restoring relationships.

The sermon asks what kind of people believers are, and whether they can be peacemakers who bring joy and hope rather than people who break the peace.

This passage deals with a spiritual state similar to the fear we feel when our hearts are dark and confused, and it emphasizes the spiritual battle believers must fight every day. Just as a beautiful view cannot be seen through a dirty window, if a believer's heart is not clean, it is hard to grasp God's glory and love clearly. So we need the training of brushing off the cobwebs of worldly worry and greed and of overcoming ourselves, and this means that faith has matured beyond mere goodness.

The sermon warns that words and actions shape character, and that a single mistake can bring down trust built up over time. Believers must gain gentleness and sound judgment through the training of putting God's word at the center and laying down their own thinking, and this is conduct that matters enough to expand or tear down the kingdom of God. A process of purifying a sinful heart through hardship and refining is also needed, and this is an essential condition for being faithful according to God's law rather than the world's standards, and for receiving the reward of eternal life.

In light of the words, blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God, the sermon asks how believers should purify their hearts and live pure lives.

Through the parable of the Good Samaritan, which Jesus told to his disciples and to an expert in the Law, this passage sheds light on the meaning of true love for one's neighbor. Unlike the priest and the Levite, who turned away from a dying man, the Samaritan appears as one who had compassion on him, treated his wounds, and cared for him. The sermon emphasizes that this parable is more than a model of good deeds; it calls us to abandon formal faith and to have a heart that truly knows God.

The priest and the Levite were so focused on their own safety and on formal worship that they left a life to perish, while the Samaritan embraced a suffering man without discrimination. This connects with the love of Jesus, who carried the cross to atone for the sins of humanity, and it shows that believers must not stay only in the Jerusalem of the church but go out into the Jericho of the world and have compassion on souls. The passage points out that what brings God joy is not formal worship and a self-centered religious life, but sincere worship and devotion offered in spirit and truth.

The sermon says that when believers humble themselves and live generous lives like the Samaritan, they can reveal God's love to the world. It promises that when we have a heart of compassion for souls who have not been saved, God will fill us with overflowing love. Now believers must put that love into practice with devotion and resolve, and become holy believers who head out toward Jericho.

In this passage Jesus proclaims the blessings that lie at the heart of the gospel, and in particular emphasizes the state of those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. The sermon points out the dark reality of a world that has fallen into wealth and materialism and is losing its morals and faith. It also criticizes churches and believers for leaning toward splendid buildings or formal worship and neglecting genuine truth and the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

Through the example of King Saul, who lost his throne when he tried to offer a sacrifice as a formality, it explains that God wants knowledge of him and obedience more than sacrifice itself. It emphasizes that just as believers fight for justice in the world, they must long earnestly for God's righteousness, even going through spiritual famine for it. The water of life that Jesus gives is an eternal spring after which one never thirsts again, and it comes from a spiritual thirst that is distinct from the world's temporary satisfactions.

The sermon asks believers to live as those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, drinking the water of life that Jesus gives rather than depending on the world's water. It also asks whether this spiritual thirst can become a channel through which the water of life is shared with other souls.

This sermon finds a picture of the gentle in the way a river flows steadily toward the sea without wavering. Spiritual gentleness comes from a wide heart that embraces everything and from an unshakable faith, and it means quietly carrying out the work one has been given without being swayed by emotion. True maturity is not showing one's true colors at once like a small puddle, but enduring until hardship passes and becoming God's instrument.

Through the martyrdom of Stephen, the sermon shows how this gentleness is lived out. Even as he proclaimed the gospel to the people throwing stones at him, he did not lose the peace on his face, and to the very moment of his death he prayed for those who were killing him. This attitude goes beyond simple endurance; it includes the courage to face one's own sin squarely and to proclaim the truth as it is, without hiding it. Through the case of the apostle Paul, who was saved through Stephen's prayer and went on to walk the same road and enlarge its borders, the sermon also emphasizes that gentleness leads in the end to the growth of the kingdom of God.

When believers obey God's word rather than their feelings and endure hardship, God uses them as holy instruments to save many souls. The sermon asks believers to proclaim the gospel with a gentle heart like Stephen and Paul, unshaken by the world's temptations, and to enlarge the borders of the kingdom of God.

This passage proclaims that among those called blessed in the Sermon on the Mount are ‘those who mourn,’ and it sheds light on the meaning of spiritual mourning, which is different from worldly sorrow. The sermon points out that it is hard to accomplish God's will by human willpower, and that the grace of the Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary. When the Holy Spirit comes, a hardened heart is turned into a stream of life, and one comes to see the ugliness of sin and gains the wisdom to pursue God's righteousness.

Through the deep anguish the prophet Jeremiah went through as his people faced destruction, and the tears Jesus shed at the death of Lazarus, the sermon shows what true mourning is. Through Martha and Mary, whose confessions of faith stayed at the level of knowledge and did not show a faith for real life, it warns how powerless a faith known only in the head is. The sermon emphasizes that rather than complaining in the face of others' unbelief or one's own pain, we need to look at our own spiritual state and have a heart that truly mourns.

The sermon says that when believers mourn and pray for the salvation of souls, the Holy Spirit becomes their Comforter and pours out great grace. Finally, it asks whether believers are receiving true comfort from God, and whether they have become people who pray and mourn earnestly for their nation, their people, and the church.

This passage deals with the blessing of ‘the poor in spirit,’ the heart of the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus proclaimed. It emphasizes that, unlike the Jews who tried to fill themselves with works of the Law, true Christians must throw away useless greed and lust and fill their spirits with steadfast faith. It teaches that we need the attitude of a steward, who acknowledges that the world's power and possessions were created for God's glory and regards everything as belonging to God.

Being poor in spirit does not mean laziness or indifference; it means letting go of the attachment of calling things mine, and living a life of obedience and devotion to God. It is not so much that pursuing worldly success or wealth is wrong for believers; rather, they must guard against the attitude of regarding it as their own and being greedy for it. A heart that manages what God has given, does good, and loves one's neighbor is the very way to store up treasure in heaven, and it becomes a testimony that exalts God's name even amid the world's persecution.

We already live hoping for the unseen glory of the kingdom of heaven. Yet what choices must we still make so that our hearts are not captured by the things of the world?