The Gospels in English — His Glory In Our Story

Story 51: On Meekness, Mercy, and the Hunger

Crowds upon crowds of people had come from all over the nation of Israel and the surrounding countries to see Jesus, the popular young preacher who performed amazing miracles and taught about God in a radical new way.

Story 52: On Purity and Grace

As Jesus taught about those who would be blessed in the Kingdom of Heaven, the next thing he said was, “‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.’” What does it mean to see God? And for that matter, what does it mean to be pure in heart?

Story 53: Persecuted Ones: His Love for You is Great

As I prepare this blog, my heart trembles. I have never been called upon to truly suffer for my faith. One of the interesting things about blogging is that I can check every day to see how many people have read my posts and what countries they are from.

Story 54: The Terrible Beauty of the Beatitudes

When we read the Beatitudes, we see a picture of the qualities a disciple of Christ is meant to grow in. The descriptions are of a people so full of meekness and mercy that it is hard to imagine anyone would want to persecute them.

Story 55: Salt and Light

In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus started by describing the qualities of those who are blessed in His Kingdom. They are very different from the things that receive respect and honor in the eyes of the world. They look like Him.

Story 56: Fullness of Meaning: When the Word was Taught by the One Who Wrote It

Jesus preached the heart-wrenchingly beautiful qualities of a disciple as the opening poem of the Sermon on the Mount. Then He taught that the humility and dependence of His blessed ones would be like salt and light to the rest of the world.

Story 57: We Are Murderers All: What Are You Doing With Your Failure?

Jesus declared that the Laws and prophecies of the Old Testament would remain unbreakable and true until the end of time. In His own life on earth, the Lord obeyed them with absolute perfection in response to His heavenly Father.

Story 58: The Intoxicating Beauty of Romantic Love and It's Dangers in a Fallen World

Jesus was teaching the Sermon on the Mount. He explained what it means to be a member of God’s Kingdom. The key is found in qualities of the heart such as purity, mercy, and meekness. These rich inner qualities will show outwardly in the way Christ’s followers respond to life.

Beatitudes, Bible Learning, Bible Lesson, Biblical Narratives, blessing, bride, calling, Christianity, corruption, disobedience, Faith, forgiveness, freedom, Galilee, Gospels, healing, humility, Israel, Jesus, Jewish History, Jewish Law, Jews, Kingdom of God, Kingdom of Heaven, Lord, marriage, Matthew, Messiah, Metanarrative, narrative, New Testament, obedience, Old Testament, purity, radical, religious leaders, Scripture study, Sermon on the Mount, Spiritual formation, spirituality, transformation, WeddingJennifer JagersonOctober 17, 2020betrayal, Bible, Blessed, Christ, corruption, faith, God, Gospels, history, hope, Israel, Jesus, marraige, Matthew, Messiah, narrative, New Testament, Old Testament, purity, radical, religious leaders, righteousness, romantic love, Salvation, theology, transformation, Truth, Word

Story 59: The Shattering Pain of Divorce: God's hope is for so much more

The next thing Jesus preached about in His Sermon on the Mount is a hard one. It is an area where the brokenness of the human race has created a painful, destructive disaster in the hearts and lives of many precious souls.

Story 60: The Route to Revolution: Through the Heart of Every Man

The next Kingdom ideal that the Lord explained to for His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount was about taking oaths.

Story 61: Social Justice in the Kingdom of God

The next thing Jesus tackled in His Sermon on the Mount was a law that Moses gave in the book of Deuteronomy. It said: “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” I've know some people to find this repulsive and brutal, but my guess is that they hadn't thought it through very deeply.

Beatitudes, Beautitudes, Bible Learning, Bible Lesson, Biblical Narratives, blessing, bravery, calling, Christianity, corruption, disciples, disobedience, Faith, forgiveness, freedom, Galilee, Gospels, hatred, healing, humility, Israel, Jesus, Jewish History, Jewish Law, Jews, Kingdom of God, Kingdom of Heaven, Lord, Matthew, Messiah, Metanarrative, narrative, New Testament, obedience, Old Testament, persecution, pride, purity, radical, religious leaders, Scripture study, Sermon on the Mount, shine, sin, Spiritual formation, spirituality, stories, transformation, truthJennifer JagersonOctober 17, 2020beloved, Bible, Blessed, Christ, corruption, evil, eye for an eye, faith, Galilee, God, Gospels, history, hope, injustice, Israel, Jesus, Jews, justice, Matthew, Messiah, narrative, New Testament, Old Testament, radical, reform, reformation, righteousness, social justice, tooth for a tooth, transformation, Truth

Story 62: Who Do You Love? Part I

As Jesus taught the Sermon on the Mount, He proclaimed six different ways that the Jewish leaders of His time had distorted and misused the high and holy Law of the Old Testament. In His protection against the rages of evil in this world, God gave commands against murder, adultery, and divorce so that sin would be restrained.

Beatitudes, Beautitudes, Bible Learning, Bible Lesson, Biblical Narratives, blessing, bravery, calling, Christianity, corruption, disciples, disobedience, Faith, forgiveness, freedom, Galilee, Gospels, healing, humility, Israel, Jesus, Jewish History, Jewish Law, Jews, Kingdom of God, Kingdom of Heaven, Law, Lord, Matthew, Messiah, Metanarrative, narrative, New Testament, obedience, Old Testament, pride, purity, radical, religious leaders, Scripture study, Sermon on the Mount, shine, Spiritual formation, spirituality, stories, transformation, truth, UncategorizedJennifer JagersonOctober 17, 2020beauty, Bible, Blessed, Christ, corruption, faith, Galilee, generosity, God, Gospels, grace, history, hope, humility, Israel, Jesus, Jews, love, Matthew, Messiah, narrative, New Testament, Old Testament, overcoming, Persecution, radical, reformer, righteousness, Salvation, theology, transformation, turn the other cheek, Word

Story 63: Who Do You Love? Part 2

As Jesus preached through His piercingly clear Sermon on the Mount, He began to talk about what it means to love. He pointed out that nobody should get a reward for loving the people who love you back. That’s easy.

Story 64: On Hiding and Loving

In the first part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught a high and holy Law where absolute love is the supreme goal. Then He taught that His disciples what it would look like to honor it perfectly. The vision of Kingdom love that the Lord presented on the mountain is so achingly pure and obviously holy that humanity naturally praises it and longs for it.

Beatitudes, Bible Learning, Bible Lesson, Biblical Narratives, blessing, calling, Christianity, corruption, disciples, disobedience, Faith, forgiveness, freedom, Galilee, generosity, Gospels, humility, hypocracy, hypocrisy, Jesus, Jewish History, Kingdom of God, Kingdom of Heaven, love, Matthew, Messiah, Metanarrative, narrative, New Testament, Old Testament, prayer, purity, radical, religious leaders, Scripture study, Sermon on the Mount, shine, Spiritual formation, spirituality, stories, treasureJennifer JagersonOctober 17, 2020beloved, Bible, Blessed, Christ, corruption, faith, God, Gospels, history, hope, hypocrisy, Israel, Jesus, Matthew, Messiah, miracles, narrative, New Testament, Old Testament, prayer, purity, radical, reformer, religious leaders, righteousness, Scripture, selfishness, theology, transformation

Story 65: How to Pray Part 1: The Holy One Who Hears

As Jesus taught His Sermon on the Mount, He explained how God wanted His disciples to pray. The people of Jesus' time were not to follow the models of their culture. The religious leaders who used prayer to show off their own piety. Instead,

Story 66: How to Pray Part 2: The Love Letters of God

Of all the important questions there are in the world, perhaps one of the most important is this: “How are we supposed to talk to God?” If you think about it, the fact that we can talk to Him at all is pretty amazing. There are lots of false stories about God out there that suggest we can’t come to Him.

Story 67: Fasting for God

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave some of the most beautiful truths every spoken or written. Each statement has infinite worth, and yet everything He says in His sermon hangs together like a beautiful golden chain. It helps to look at each part in depth.

Beatitudes, Bible Learning, Bible Lesson, Biblical Narratives, blessing, bravery, Christianity, corruption, disciples, Faith, Fasting, forgiveness, freedom, Galilee, generosity, Gospels, Holiness, humility, Jesus, Jewish Law, Kingdom of God, Kingdom of Heaven, Lord, Matthew, Messiah, Metanarrative, narrative, New Testament, obedience, Old Testament, prayer, purity, radical, religious leaders, Scripture study, Sermon on the Mount, sin, Spiritual formation, spirituality, stories, The Lord's Prayer, transformation, truthJennifer JagersonOctober 17, 2020Beatitudes, Bible, Christ, corruption, faith, fasting, Gospels, history, hope, Jesus, Jews, Matthew, Messiah, narrative, New Testament, Old Testament, overcoming, prayer, radical, reformer, religious leaders, Scripture, Sermon on the Mount, sin, stories, theology, transformation, Truth, Word

Story 68: Where Treasures Lie

An important way that members of Christ’s Kingdom show devotion to God is in our attitude about money and the way we spend it.

Beatitudes, Bible Learning, Bible Lesson, Biblical Narratives, blessings, calling, Christianity, corruption, disciples, disobedience, Faith, Fasting, forgiveness, freedom, Galilee, generosity, Gospels, greed, healing, Holiness, humility, Israel, Jesus, Jewish Law, Kingdom of God, Kingdom of Heaven, Lord, Matthew, Messiah, Metanarrative, narrative, New Testament, Old Testament, prayer, purity, radical, religious leaders, Scripture study, Sermon on the Mount, shine, Spiritual formation, spirituality, stories, temptation, treasureJennifer JagersonOctober 17, 2020Bible, Blessed, Christ, corruption, faith, Galilee, Gospels, greed, history, hope, Israel, Jesus, Jews, Lord, materialism, materialistic, Matthew, Messiah, narrative, New Testament, Old Testament, purification, Scripture, Sermon on the Mount, sin, Story, theology, transformation, treasures, Truth, Word

Story 70: Who Are You To Judge?

When we read the radical, world-changing sermon that Jesus preached on the mount, we are learning what it means to be subjects of His Kingdom. It is a strange Kingdom. We can’t see it, and yet He is seated on a throne ruling in mighty, sovereign power.

Story 72: Watch Out for the Wolves

A lot of times when we hear about the Good News of Jesus, we hear about the beauty of God's grace...and that is really good because His grace is amazing. He paid a tremendous price to give us that grace as a free gift. It means we have been adopted into His family, given the honor of being the children of the Most High God, receiving His love and protection.