Dear St Andrews Family,

“I swear on the grave of my father Domingo Montoya thatyou will make the top alive.”

We swear, we promise, we vow…because people areuntrustworthy, because dishonesty is rampant.

· Sixty-five percent of students say that theywould be willing to cheat on an important exam.

· One noted physician says that Lying is animportant part of social life, and children who are unable to do it are children who may have developmental problems.

· Fletcher Reed says, “You won’t survive in anadult world without lying.”

Jesus calls us to do away with all oaths. That seemspretty crazy in the world in which we live. What about in the courtroom, on the wedding day, or pinky swears in the clubhouse? What then?

Let’s talk about this from Matthew 5:33-37. Andlet me paint a picture of a new world that Jesus is inaugurating. A new, more robust, more beautiful, more abundant world than you could have imagined.

Pastor Jace

Dear St. Andrews Family,

Marriages are dying. Covenants mean little and commitments are things of the past. Divorce is rampant and we treat as casual that which God calls sacred. We look for ways tojustify our affairs and our divorces and we suffer because of it. Our children suffer. Our world suffers. We are kind of a mess.

This week in Matthew 5:31-32, Jesus gives us a way out of our marriage. Kind of. But it also seems he says we shouldn’t get remarried. That is kind of concerning to me since I have been dating a divorced woman for many months. In fact, it lookslike he says that if I do marry her then she becomes an adulteress. That’s pretty heavy. But what does he mean and what does this mean for us today? Let’s visit this text together.

Pastor Jace

Dear St Andrews Family,

My guess is that everyone who is reading this is brokensexually. Some of you have cheated on your spouse and others have only dreamed of doing so. Some of you have an active lusty imagination and some of you act it out. Jesus actually has some things to say about this and they aren’t pleasant—He says, “cut it off or you go to hell!”

I don’t want to write about or even think about what “cutit off” means, but we probably should. Because I think in the background of this text is something we sometimes miss: an invitation to something beautiful. Even as Jesus steers us away from seduction, lust, and fracture, he calls us tofulfil our longings and find our wholeness in him. This is kinda cool. Take a look at Matthew 5:27-30 when you get a chance and let’s worship and think about this more.

Pastor Jace

Dear St. Andrews Family,

How many people have you killed this year? When was the last time you killed someone? Are you killing someone right now?

Jesus is going to say something crazy. He is basically going to equate anger with killing. That really is what it looks like. So, who makes you angry? And what needs to be done? Take a look at Matthew 5:21-26 and join us to think about it more. Truly can’t wait to be with you.

Pastor Jace

Dear St Andrews Family,

What does the world think of thechurch?

Judgmental?

Hateful?

Hypocritical?

It’s sad, but sometimes we are.Sometimes we don’t present the world of Jesus as one of beauty and love and acceptance. What does it mean for us to be salt and light? Can we focus our attention on these ideas this week? Perhaps you can start thinking about how wemight be transformed even now, before the sermon. I think God wants us to be attractive and I think his Spirit can help us to do just that if we ask him to.Pastor Jace

This week we celebrate freedom. A freedom that was won through violence and death.

I am not talking about the American Revolution, a civil war, or democracy that won out over authoritarianism. I am talking about a war waged against evil. A war that was won through sacrifice and death. A victor who laid down his life to bring ultimate peace.

And now Jesus says that we too are called to be peacemakers, willing to be persecuted, for this upside down kingdom. Can we wrestle with what that means about our military, our neighbors, our family, and our hearts? Trust me when I say that I don’t have all the answers. But maybe together we can ask the right questions and seethe cross at the middle of it all. Please read Matthew 5:1-12.It's short and worthy of memorizing—maybe you will try that too?

Pastor Jace

Dear St. Andrews Family,

Racism, sexual slavery, poverty, violence, apathy—there are some significant problems in our world. God knows this and invites you to play a role of reversal. The Beatitudes present an invitation to us to join God in humility, peace, and justice. It invites us to see and participate in another kind of life, an abundant life. A life that seems quite contrary to everything we know about what it means to be blessed.

I hope to encourage you this week from Matthew 5:6-8 to hunger and thirst for righteousness, to be merciful and to be pure in heart. Together they are a call to justice. I hope you catch a glimpse of what the world can be and we find yourself newly motivated, newly encouraged, and newly committed to this upside-down life that Jesus calls us to.

​

Pastor Jace

Dear SABC Family,

I am not poor. Between my wife and I, we have three fullypaid off vehicles and a brand new house.

I don’t cry. Unless I am watching Bruce Willis saygoodbye to his daughter in “Armageddon.”

And I am not meek. That’s the last things that mymasculine ego ever wants to hear.

So, when Jesus says good things about the poor, themourners, and the meek (Matt 5:3-5), I am a little uncomfortable. In fact, if these are the kinds of people that are blessed in the kingdom, I am not sure Iwant to be a part of it. It seems to go against the whole kingdom that I have grown up in. And it does. The kingdom Jesus speaks of is an upside-down kingdomof lowliness, humility and giving up our rights. I hope, over the next few weeks to give you a glimpse of the beauty of this kingdom.