1/22 at The Gathering
Blake Coffee and Tony Diamond each taught from Matthew 7 on Sunday, January 22. The videos and listening guides from both those lessons, followed by the scripture, are below.
Core Lesson (Tony Diamond)
Discipleship 101
Matthew 7:1-27
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Core Listening Guide
Judging is a matter of attitude
Dealing with imperfect people requires a real mirror check. Look and see if what’s in the mirror is what you’re condemning in others. Your attitude is rooted in compassion—reflecting the love of Christ.
We find life when we push away from the easy route
It’s so easy to want people to be extraordinarily nice to you. It can be difficult to be that nice to everyone else. Expecting much and giving little, or begrudgingly, is the wide gate choice. The narrow gate is following Christ’s way.
Religious imposters
lead us to empty lives
We are surrounded by opinions on religion. Especially as it relates to how we should live as Christians. Judging those who are genuine and seeking their company and counsel is critical. Christ wants us to bond with true believers and live together in concert in His will.
Superficial Christian life means not knowing Christ at all
Good works. Being “spiritual.” Being nice but not in a relationship with Christ. These all reflect a superficial Christian life. The most terrifying consequence is to have Christ say, “I never knew you.”
A strong foundation is the basis of a Christian life
We see what happens when a home is built on a bad foundation. The home cannot be fixed. It never lives up to its expectations. Christ lets us rebuild that foundation at any time…and wants us to do it.
How can you learn more and live more in Christ?
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Venture Lesson (Blake Coffee)
Snapshots of Community
Matthew 7:1-27
Venture Listening Guide
Holding each other accountable to our walk with the Lord is done out of love for each other, not out of a sense of law enforcement or superiority.
Christian accountability is a voluntary process among those within the church. Requiring those outside the church to act as if they are inside the church is a waste of everyone’s time.
From the beginning of Jesus’ revolution (which He called “the church”), prayer together has ben a foundational and integral part of its fabric. If we are not praying together, we are not doing church as He intended.
Being discerning without having a judgmental attitude requires a level of spiritual maturity which, in turn, comes from time in the Word and time in prayer.
Building a “house on the rock” is a long, gradual process requiring effective study, meaningful friendships, and attention to detail.
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Scripture
Matthew 7
1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Next week: Matthew 8:18-22
