Kingdom of Heaven — The Gospels in English

Story 4: The Covenant of David and the Anointed One of Isaiah

One of the amazing things about the story of the Bible is the way it is grounded in real human history. The places the Bible mentions can be found on a map. The ruins of towns listed by Scripture thousands of years ago are still there.

Story 6: A New Hope

A Day is coming that will be the end of everything...or at least everything as we know it. The timing of the End of Time will not be chosen by rulers in the human realm, national politics, environmental disruption, or a chance collision with meteors from space.

Story 48: The Sermon on the Mount: AKA "Marching Orders"

There are few sections of the Bible that are read and celebrated as much as the Sermon on the Mount. It is found in chapters five through seven in the book of Matthew. It contains some of the most beautiful ideals ever written down by a human hand.

Story 49: The Sermon on the Mount: Naming the Blessed

The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most beautiful ethical writings in the history of humanity. Just before giving us the Sermon Matthew explained that crowds of people were traveling from all over the nation of Israel and the surrounding Gentile countries to get near Jesus.

Story 50: Rich in Blessings, Poor in Spirit

These words are like the doorway to being a disciple. In each verse, the Lord did not give a specific action, like “serving” or “sharing the Gospel.”

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,