Crossroads Christian Church

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Hello friend! Thank you so much for picking up this resource! Our hope is that over the coming weeks, this will be a tool to help you move closer to God and people.

We will begin each week with the passage from The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5 through 7) that goes along with our weekend message at Crossroads. But each weekday, we will read a short passage from the rest of the book of Matthew. And then on the weekend, we’ll jump back into The Sermon on the Mount.

We know opening a Bible can feel overwhelming, so we’d like to give you a few tips to get the most out of your study time. Inside this resource, you will find several components to each day:
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>>Read– Each day you will be reading from the Gospel of Matthew. Find a quiet place where there aren’t many distractions. Focus on listening to God through what you read.
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>>Reflect– After you read through the passage, take a few minutes and think about what you just read. Ask God to help you hear his voice clearly. Write down your reflections.
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>>Respond – This is the time to obey God and follow Jesus’ example. Ask God to give you the courage to immediately put into practice that which you have learned.
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>>Relationship – God is our Heavenly Father who wants to hear from you. We can do this through prayer, as we talk and listen to God. But he also wants us to share what we have learned with others. This part of your experience is about talking with God and with others.
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>>Real Life– Several times a week, you’ll hear from a real-life friend from the Crossroads family. They are people just like you, learning to listen to and obey Jesus. We are on this journey together!

>>Real Life
By Becca Patton

In the Sermon on the Mount, it’s not until I read Jesus’ words
in Matthew 5:38-48 that I experience a major punch in the gut.
“Don’t resist an evil person!” “I say love your enemies, pray for
those who persecute you!” “If you are kind to only your friends,
how are you different that anyone else?” Does your stomach
twist when you read this passage like mine does? I fully believe
that these words are true and are meant to be obeyed. But when
I evaluate my life and think of the people I surround myself with
regularly, they tend to think like me, act like me, look like me,
and generally they like me. Loving my enemies isn’t something I
go out of my way to do in day to day life. It’s uncomfortable, and
it’s risky.

I could keep playing it safe and not risk rejection, attack, or
embarrassment, but the status quo isn’t enough anymore.
I want ALL people, especially my enemies, to know the
transformational love of Jesus, and that means I have to step
outside my comfort zone to love someone who might not return
it. After all, isn’t that what Jesus did for us?

If we don’t live out Jesus’ instructions to love our enemies and
pray for those who persecute us, we risk robbing God of His
glory and His gospel. It’s costly to love our enemies, but it’s
even more costly if we don’t. How will people know the radical,
transformational, and generous love that Jesus offers if his
image bearers refuse or are too scared to demonstrate it?

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reinforces God’s desire for
his people to be a new community that is completely different than the world, because that’s how others will know who God himself is. Let’s be a community who is quick to love people who we wouldn’t normally choose as friends. Let’s be like Jesus. Who
is your enemy? What can you do in this next week to show him,
her, or them the radical love of Jesus?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

>> REFLECT –
Read Matthew 5:38-48 again, this time pausing between every 4-5 words. This takes longer but we can also see or hear God highlight this passage differently. What is your gut reaction to this passage?

>> RESPOND –
What is one specific way you can step outside your comfort zone and love someone who might not return it. Make a plan and follow through in the next 48 hours.

>> RELATIONSHIP –
Lack of obedience in these areas hinders my relationship with Jesus. Listen to 1 John 4:20 “ If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen”. Write out a prayer asking God to give you his heart for others.

ABOUT PAUL LINGE
Becca is a Campus Minister with Student Christian Fellowship at the University of Evansville. She loves coming alongside college students as they seek to know Jesus for themselves, hear His voice, and share Him with others. She also is an artist who enjoys exploring new places, and can often be found with a cup of hot tea in her hand.

>> REFLECT –
In order to understand “What Jesus heard...”
in vs. 13, read Matthew 14:6-12 from last week’s reading. And
you think you’ve gotten strange birthday gifts! Jesus is grieving
the passing of a very passionate man, his cousin, and the one
who also baptized him – John the Baptist. As Jesus is recalling
the impact John the Baptist had, the disciples approach Jesus
to send the crowds away. But Jesus had a different plan.

Think of a time when you told Jesus what you want or what He
should do, instead of coming to Him as your Miracle Worker.

>>RESPOND –
“For we live by faith, not by sight.”
2 Corinthians 5:7 When those who walked with Jesus still many
times walked by sight. It is somewhat encouraging to know we
are not alone. In order to live by faith, what area of my life needs
to be surrendered to the miracle working Savior? Father, teach
me how to be content and to live by faith not by sight.

>>RELATIONSHIP –
As Jesus demonstrated compassion for others (those He knew and the crowds), He still found time to withdraw to solitary places. Thank God for demonstrating compassion for individuals and the crowds. Thank God for illustrating the importance of withdrawing from needs and crowds just to be with you. If Jesus shows compassion for the one.... so will I. As Jesus showed concern for the crowds …. so will I. If even Jesus needed to remove himself from needs, crowds and to just be with You in total solitude... so will I

>> REFLECT –

Reread Matthew 14:22-36 this time pausing every 4-5 words. Allow His Word to marinate in your heart and in your mind. What part of this passage jumped out to you this time?

In these 15 verses the word fear or afraid was mentioned 3
different times: “cried out in fear”, “Do not be afraid.” “...he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out...” As quickly as you can, write down any fear, great or small, that comes to mind.

>>RESPOND –
Now, go back through the list you
wrote and choose one fear. Each time you sit down to eat
and then this evening before you go to bed, pray: “Jesus,
I will not fear _______ because I know you are with me.”

>> RELATIONSHIP –
Write down the name of one person you will share this passage with today.

>> REFLECT –

Why is it easier to get the outward actions
right than it is to deal with the more important matters of the
heart?

Have you ever been surprised by your words or by an action –
that they revealed something in your heart that you didn’t even
know was there? What did those words or your actions reveal?

>> RESPOND –
Take a few moments and reflect on this
passage. What is one thing you can do in the next day or two to
obey this passage?

>> RELATIONSHIP –
Pray the bold prayer from Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

>> REFLECT –

What do you find challenging in this
passage? (hint: it’s very challenging!)

It seems that Jesus is waiting to see how his followers respond to
this woman. When they fail to show compassion, he goes along
with them and shows them how messed up their views were.
Regardless of how we interpret his words, he ultimately makes
this woman the hero of the story. What do you think Jesus’
followers learned from this? What did the woman learn?

>>RESPOND –
Can you relate to this woman? Is there something you are praying for, but until now, the answer hasn’t come. Complete this thought: Jesus, I don’t understand why I am experiencing ___________________________, but here is what
I believe about you:

>>RELATIONSHIP –

Is there someone, or perhaps a grouping of people, who you privately wish would just go away? That you would rather not deal with? Write out a prayer, asking God to help you see them through his eyes.

>>REFLECT

What influences in your life have the ability to
pull your heart from thinking and acting like Jesus?

Jesus was actually talking about the negative influence (what he
metaphorically calls “yeast”) of the spiritual elite. The Pharisees
emphasized legalism and the Sadducees emphasized social
standing and politics. Are there aspects of “American Christian
Culture” that you find troubling when compared to the life that
Jesus lived?

>> RESPOND –
It’s been said many times that “leadership
is influence”. Jesus knew the danger of negative influence. But
he also modeled the power of the kind of influence that moves
people closer to God. Who are you influencing? Write down the
name of two or three people that you are, or desire to,
influence to follow Jesus? How are you multiplying yourself in
the lives of others?

>> RELATIONSHIP –

Write out a prayer based on your reflections and thoughts on today’s passage:

To continue this walk through the Book of Matthew, go to the next event in this series. There will be a new event each weekend throughout our current sermon series, "The Sermon On The Mount."