Life This Side of Heaven Life This Side of Heaven

When Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, folks in the crowd were often led to believe that having a relationship with God was a matter of following the rules and external righteousness. But that doesn’t go beyond the surface. Jesus came to change our heart!

For many of the folks in Jesus’ time, they were convinced that they had found loopholes in God’s Laws. And our sinful nature still goes looking for them today. But Jesus has come to give us something better.

It's Theme Thursday and we're looking at Famous Sayings That Aren’t In The Bible. Here's one: "It's not my place to judge another person." Wait a second, Jesus says, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” However, when this verse is used, judgment is often confused with admonishment.

“Well, I’m basically a good person. I’m not perfect, but at least I’ve never murdered anyone.” Have you ever heard someone say that when they describe how they’ve kept the Ten Commandments? Have you ever said it yourself? Are you sure?

Some folks just seem to have a green thumb when it comes to planting a garden. And some seem to have a knack for sharing the Gospel. But Paul reminds us that it is "God who makes things grow."

Choose life? Who wouldn't? As amazing as it sounds, our fallen sinful nature chooses death. In love, God has chosen to rescue us from this hopelessness and give us life in His Son.