Be Imitators of God: MATTHEW 5:48

Dr. Sean Cole preached a special Mother's Day sermon on parenting, based on Matthew 5:48. This section of the Sermon on the Mount started at 5:17 and now ends at 5:48 as a summary of the six antitheses. Jesus has addressed six laws or issues that the religious leaders were twisting: (1) murder, (2) adultery, (3) divorce, (4) oaths and vows, (5) retaliation and revenge, and (6) loving our enemies. These laws were all addressed in the Old Testament, but Jesus takes us deeper into God’s requirements by getting to the heart of the issue. Where is our heart? What dominates our thoughts? Do we merely try to conform to some outward list of rules and regulations, or do we truly see God’s law as not only the perfect standard of our outward conduct, but also the inward condition of our hearts? Here is the main point or central idea I want us to explore today: Parents should imitate their heavenly Father, not perfectly, but intentionally.   Sean's new book, Compassionate Calvinism: Defending the Doctrines of Grace Without Being a Jerk, has been released.   You can purchase it here:   https://www.amazon.com/Compassionate-Calvinism-Defending-Doctrines-Without-ebook/dp/B0FZDNLGK4/ref=sr_1_1   https://shop.g3min.org/products/compassionate-calvinism-defending-the-doctrines-of-grace-without-being-a-jerk     You can purchase Sean’s two books here:   40 Days in Philippians: Finding Joy in Jesus:   https://g3min.org/shop/books/g3press/40-days-in-philippians-finding-joy-in-jesus-sean-cole/   Your Identity in the Trinity: Discovering God’s Grace in the Gospel:  https://rb.gy/yoa223     VISIT OUR WEBSITE:   www.seancole.net     FOLLOW on:   Apple:   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/understanding-christianity/id979729949   Spotify:   https://open.spotify.com/show/5F5IniTefWZPu2DjaazxPc?si=c37f71675a6e4321     FOLLOW US ON OUR SOCIALS:   YouTube:   https://www.youtube.com/@emmanuelbaptistchurch-ster4705   Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/sean.cole.16144   Twitter/X:   https://x.com/sdcole