Matthew

The Gospel | The Kingdom of God is at Hand

SERMONS | RESOURCES | TEXT-IN QUESTIONS

How would you summarize Jesus’ teachings? Depending on who you ask, you’re likely to get different answers. However, Jesus’ summary statement is actually one of his first statements in the Gospels: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 

In other words, Jesus’ life and teachings are all about ushering in God’s loving rule and reign on Earth as it is in Heaven. So what might His kingdom look like in our city, and how do we faithfully follow Him in our time and place?

Join us for five weeks as we examine Jesus’ teachings and consider how we can experience more of His kingdom in Columbia as it is in Heaven.

This series is part of our Year of Biblical Literacy initiative.

To help facilitate LifeGroup discussion, we'll be posting resources for each week of the series.

Week 1: The Kingdom of God Is at Hand

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Sermon Outline)

Week 2: The Acceptance You’ve Always Wanted

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Sermon Outline)

Week 3: The Power of Forgiveness

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Sermon Outline)

Week 4: The King Wants Your Heart

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Sermon Outline)

Week 5: The Pursuit of Greatness

(Sermon) (LifeGroup Guide) (Sermon Outline)

Check out our Year of Biblical Literacy site for more articles, podcasts, and book recommendations.

BOOKS | COURSES | ARTICLES

Throughout the year, we want to know the concepts and passages you wrestle with. We'll answer some of these questions in podcast episodes throughout the year.

To submit your topic or question, text "DOWNTOWN" followed by your topic to 855-855-0655.

The Way of Jesus: A Study of the Sermon on the Mount

We are studying the principles of 1 Timothy as we learn how we should live as the church and spread the gospel in Columbia, SC and Charlotte, NC.

SERMONS | PRACTICES | READING PLAN | COMMENTARIES

The gospel according to Matthew was one of the earliest accounts of Jesus’ life that circulated among the church. These early believers were first called, “Followers of the Way”. They weren’t marked by merely believing in a few theological truths, rather they were marked by being with Him, becoming like Him, and doing what He did. 

For this series, we’ll focus on the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7. It’s here King Jesus gives us a radical picture of what life in the Kingdom looks like. It’s our hope that as we meditate on Jesus’ words that we might more closely follow His Way.

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To help you worship at home, we'll be posting resources for each week of the series.

Week 1: The Kingdom of Jesus

(Sermon) (Transcript) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 2: The Beatitudes

(Sermon) (Transcript) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 3: Salt and Light

(Sermon) (Transcript) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 4: Jesus and the Bible

(Sermon) (Transcript) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 5: From Murderers to Reconcilers

(Sermon) (Transcript) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 6: On Lust & Objectification

(Sermon) (Transcript) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 7: On Integrity and Becoming Truth-Tellers

(Sermon) (Transcript) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 8: On Retaliation and Becoming People of Peace

(Sermon) (Transcript) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 9: On Enemy Love

(Sermon) (Transcript) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 10: The Right Kind of Notice

(Sermon) (Transcript) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 11: The Practice of Prayer

(Sermon) (Transcript) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 12: The Age of Anxiety - Pt.1

(Sermon) (Transcript) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 13: The Age of Anxiety - Pt.2

(Sermon) (Transcript) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 14: Dogs, Pigs, Specks, and Planks

(Sermon) (Transcript) (LifeGroup Guide)

Week 15: A Call to Decide

(Sermon) (Transcript) (LifeGroup Guide)

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For this series, we want to focus on a particular tool to help us learn to follow Jesus more closely. It’s our hope that as we do new teaching series, we would be introduced to new practices that help us learn to be with Jesus and look more like Him.

In order for us to meditate more fully on Jesus’ words - our practice for this series will be journaling.

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As God’s people, we want to be guided by His Word and empowered by His Spirit to fuel us to be a Jesus-centered family on mission. This reading plan is designed to ground you in God’s Word to better prepare your heart for the teaching you’ll hear on Sundays.

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The commentaries below are some of the resources used in preparation for our series. For those wanting a more in-depth study of the text, we’d recommend the following to you.