North Gate Church

Matthew 7:1 has been weaponized to make room for a dangerous game of human-sourced truth. We must understand Jesus' words when He tells us not to judge to live in true harmony. Find the massive beam in your eye. A friend may be able to help.

We live in a world of worry. Fueled by the desire to achieve, we may self-destruct in an implosion of anxiety. Jesus suggests another way.

Can you have two masters? Do you have a master at all? Trying to live our lives in two directions will tear us apart. Jesus warns us against a common idol. In the midst of it we must ask, "whom do I serve?"

Jesus warns us of darkness inside that masquerades as light... what are we to do? How do we shine the light?

Barabbas deserved to die. Yet, the people chose him as their savior. Who do you choose? Do you choose the real Jesus, or a Jesus that we think will give us what we want? Do you realize the gravity of His gift for us? This sermon walks us through the story of Barabbas and helps us to discover the real Jesus and what He did for us.

It's easy to judge others by their actions. When others express their worship of God, what happens in your heart? Are you worshipping Jesus, or are you worshipping who you want Him to be? These difficult questions come to the surface in this Palm Sunday look at Jesus's ascent into Jerusalem.

The question isn't, "will you worship?" The question is, "what will you worship?"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego give us a powerful example of worship in the midst of idols. What do you deem worthy?

There are cycles in our lives that cannot be broken by trying hard. They are fueled by desire and reinforced through a diabolical repeat of those things that we wish to avoid but cannot. Something must change. There is a cycle that God intended, and we need intervention to live in it. We need to worship.

There are many things that we can invest in. Jesus calls us to keep His Kingdom in the forefront. Invest wisely.

Jesus is determined to help His disciples to live lives from pure hearts before the Lord. The fasting of the Pharisees tell a tale of many of our hearts.

As Jesus teaches us to pray, He welcomes honesty and humility in the face of temptation and testing. In just a few words, Jesus reminds us that He understands and that there is a way to deliverance.

God doesn’t manipulate us into forgiving others; Heforgives us into forgiving others. As we continue through the Lord's prayer, we see His heart for forgiveness in community. It might just be more freeing that you realize.

Relationships depend upon conversation. Conversation involves speaking and listening. Benjamin takes a look at Scripture to dismantle misconceptions about and remove barriers to hearing God that may unlock the conversation for you and God.

There's a way of living that trusts God for today. It isn't easy, but it's the call. There is bread for today.

Jesus, in teaching His disciples to pray, instructs them to ask for God's will to be done. Within these few words, we see an invitation to trust, submit, and question what's in our own hearts.

Do you know what gifts the Magi brought to Jesus after His birth? They might have given Him more than you realize.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but the inn may not be what we understand it to be. The stable might have been a place closer to the heart of the home than we think. The implications may reach further than we've known.

Why would Jesus want us to pray that God's Kingdom would come? What does that mean? How does this relate to the Gospel? We live in a gap of frustration. Jesus knows, and He asks us to pray.

What is "hallowed"? Why does Jesus want us to pray that the name of God be hallowed? How does that impact our lives? Jesus teaches us how to pray. Benjamin helps us to understand what Jesus meant and God's heart for followers of Jesus.

As Jesus teaches us to pray, He uses a word that triggers some, brings rest to others, and can be missed by many: Father. Within the culture during the time of Jesus, the opening line to "The Lord's Prayer" may hold more than you know.

Culture is formed in part by language and story. In our culture, language and story are often dominated by themes of want and need. Our culture teems with invitations to spend and want more. Gratitude and thankfulness have a much lower financial ROI than other emotions and postures, yet gratitude and thankfulness are required of us as followers of Jesus. How do we walk in gratitude and thankfulness even when it's hard? Benjamin shares how, and it surprisingly involves 1500 years of shed blood.

Have you ever wondered if you pray right? Have you ever felt nervous to pray in front of others because you were unsure of your prayers? Jesus tells us the most important thing in prayer. How we pray matters, and Jesus makes it clear.

Having pure motives can be hard. We want to, but do we really? Jesus points out how doing the right things doesn't equate to righteousness, even if those things are really good. Find out what Jesus has to say about public religion and how to follow Him well.

There are some that leverage Halloween for fear and the worship of darkness. What if fear and worship were meant for Christmas? Retail stores are looking ahead toward Christmas already, and so should we.

How do you respond to conflict? Do you respond differently depending upon who the conflict is with? Jesus shares how we as His followers must respond to those we love and those that we call "enemy."

In the Sermon of the Mount, Jesus gives His disciples instructions on how to live as people of His Kingdom. Quite frankly, to this world, they look pretty ridiculous. Receiving insult, giving whatever you have when asked, and giving more than what someone is trying to take from you... ridiculous! In this sermon, we discover the grace to live trust God for our justice.

What is truth? Do you stick by your word? How do you walk in truth? Does a "yes" from you mean "yes" or something else? Do you swear by anything to make a point? Do you know someone who doesn't stick by what they say? Jesus discusses oaths as He presents the heart of God behind His Word. The invitation: walk in Truth.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus blows people’s minds talking about who will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven… it’s not those you would think… then, He proceeds to blow their minds regarding their understanding of Scripture. The battle between beliefs amongst the religious leaders came to a halt with the revelation of Jesus and His view of marriage. Jesus has grace and truth for each of us.

What is going on in your heart? This world promotes and exploits lust in what seems like an inescapable way. Adultery appears to be rampant. Jesus explains the weighty importance of lust and the fierceness with which we must move away from it. There are desires in our heart that must change direction.

We are running a race. There is opposition; there are obstacles. There is a call to run, but we do not have to run alone. There's a cloud of witnesses cheering us on, but we have to cast off weights that hold us back. Is today the day that we choose to cast off what's holding us back?

One of the biggest obstacles we will run up against in the journey toward forgiveness is grief. Jesus grieved and so must we. Grief is not always obvious, and it's not always easy. What are you feeling and experiencing? It may just be grief.

There are journeys in life that take more effort or energy than others. Jesus models for us the journey of forgiveness and invites us to walk this impossible journey to the end. The obstacles that have stopped you might just be the steps that you need to take.

We know that living above the law (as if it doesn't apply to you) comes with very real consequences. We also know that living under the law can feel oppressive. Jesus, in describing the kind of righteousness that He expects, gives us a glimpse of living below the law. What does that mean? This sermon invites us to get to the heart of the law and the heart behind our behavior.

How are we to interact with the Old Testament? What does Jesus mean when He says that He fulfilled the law and that we are to be even more righteous than the Pharisees? This sermon unpacks the heart of Jesus for us today.

Jesus is the light of the world, so why does He call us that? In Matthew 6, Jesus tell us not to do righteous works before others, but in Matthew 5, He says to do acts of righteousness for others to see. So what are we to do? This sermon digs deeper into the words of Jesus to help us to know how to be a light in this world.

What did Jesus mean by calling us the salt of the earth? Historical context provides an overwhelming number of meanings as to what the disciples might have heard, but they all point to one thing for us to do...

We have all felt unfairly treated at one time or another. But what is persecution? Is that really a thing that we need to think about anymore? How can someone who is persecuted be blessed? This sermon examines the final Beatitude of Jesus's Sermon on the Mount.

There are peaceful people. There are peaceable people. There are even peacekeepers. In a world crying out for peace, Jesus asks us to be peacemakers. How do we make peace? A look into the ministry of Jesus and some historical and Scriptural context reveals how.

Who is blessed? Those who have a pure heart. Is that possible? Can you have a pure heart at all? Can you see God? Jesus requires a pure heart from His disciples. This sermon shares the path to a pure heart and how to see God's face.

Have mercy? Does it leak out? Is that good or bad? How do you show mercy? Why does it matter? This sermon unpacks the promise of Jesus that it goes well with those who are full of mercy... even when it makes no sense.

We live in a world that promises that goods, services, and experiences are guaranteed to provide 100% satisfaction, but research shows that they fail to deliver. Jesus sheds light on this human condition. Satisfaction is within reach.

There is a race in this world to influence and control. There's an effort to establish a legacy, create a kingdom, and change things. Jesus tells us that there's another approach that doesn't include taking, but it does include inheriting. Benjamin explains what it means to go against the grain for His Kingdom.

How could anyone experiencing grief enough to actually express it be blessed? There is a promise from Jesus for those who mourn, and we must understand it. The comfort of God is on the line.

Most everyone attempts to escape or avoid poverty with much effort. What if there were one area in which being poor was good? Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount by turning our understanding upside down.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus shares eight statements about those who are blessed. If we are not careful, we will see these eight statements as impossible goals to reach to earn blessing. If we do not rightly define blessing, we will chase after the hollow promises of this world. In this sermon, Benjamin shares the posture we must have toward the Beatitudes as well as the biblical definition of blessing.

What does it mean to be successful? At what moment can you say, "I've made it"? The pressures of this life to be successful can pull us in a lot of directions, and even doing good can feel like success. Benjamin looks at Matthew's account of up-and-coming ministry of Jesus and how we can follow Jesus into the right definition of success.

When Jesus calls us, we must not miss the weighty honor. In Matthew 4, we see the call of Peter, James, John, and Andrew. Their response was to follow Jesus, but how much did it cost? Why would they sacrifice so much? A look at the historical context and a cross-reference of the Gospels helps us hear that they heard when Jesus said, "Follow me."

When we feel unseen, it doesn't feel good. When the things that we do or the person that we are feel hidden, it's easy to feel that we are doing something wrong. Jesus went into obscurity. Should we follow Him there too?

What would you do to see God's will done on earth as it is in Heaven? Would you compromise? Would the end justify the means? Benjamin shares the final temptation of Jesus to see His Kingdom come... by some other means than God's way. Jesus makes a choice, and both His means and end are justified.

Jesus appeared to many after His resurrection, and yet it seemed as though those who saw Him didn't see Him at all. They needed something for their eyes to be opened. Benjamin discusses what several of those who saw Him needed to see in order to see Jesus and seeks to help us to answer the question: have you seen Him?