Episodes

  • Matthew 5:27-37 "Lust, Divorce, Oaths & the Gospel"

    Matthew 5:27-37 "Lust, Divorce, Oaths & the Gospel"
    Mar 31 2026
    LUST, DIVORCE, OATHS & THE GOSPEL Pastor Chris Hall | buckcreekchurch.com 1. HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE Today's message has a lot to say to every human. But especially guys. And it's very adult in nature. You've been warned. Got it. Here's the full version with scripture included: 1. HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE Any dudes here today? Cool. Anyone have a dude in their life you love? Then this is for you. Today's message has a lot to say to every human. But especially guys. So I don't want to see any droopy eyelids. God has something special for you. And it's very adult in nature. Great time to check your kiddos in with Creek Kids downstairs. You've been warned. Let's read Matthew 5:27-30. "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell." If gouging out your eye or cutting off your hands could rid you of lust… do it. The problem is it won't. But now you see how bad sin is. Early church. Guy named Origen gets saved, hears Christ's teaching, knows he's in trouble. Goes off alone so he won't see a woman. Still lusted. Castrates himself. Still lusted. Because the problem wasn't his eyes or hands. The problem was his heart. And that is true for all of us. The super holy religious people looked to outward performance. "I didn't jump into bed with her. Commandment kept." But Jesus says the root of it all is the heart. We don't need less hands. We need a new heart. "Please God, have mercy on me. A sinner." That's what this is meant to do. Drive us to Jesus. God has always had a very high regard for sexual purity. It started in the garden. Sex was present before the Fall. That means it's good. Very good. There are three kinds of dudes: those who struggle with lust, liars, and dead guys. Sex is beautiful. It's erotic. It's captivating. So save it for the one you love. It's not just a physical act. It's spiritual. A mingling of souls. The fireplace for sex is a lifelong covenant. Until death do you part. Now let's read Matthew 5:31-32. "It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery." He's talking to husbands. Men got rid of wives for any reason. Don't like her cooking? Certificate of divorce. Wife is ruined. Kids starving. Divorce is always meant to be a last resort. If you're married and looking for exit signs, thinking the grass is greener, you've already sinned in your heart. Read Matthew 5:33-37. "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil." To have to swear an oath means your word alone isn't trustworthy. Why can't you just make your yes mean yes? At its heart, this is about making promises we don't keep. Jesus kept His Word. Our King is faithful. Are we people like our King? 2. NOT EVEN CLOSE: How we get it wrong Recognizing she is pretty is not lust. Wanting sex is not lust. That second look? Lust. Imagining what she looks like naked? Lust. That thing you did when nobody was looking. Lust. You think what you did was only you and that phone. Jesus says you just committed adultery. One of the Big Ten. Satan knows how powerful sex is. He makes counterfeits. Porn is a counterfeit to the beautiful covenant gift of sex between one man and his one wife. Lust leads to adultery. Adultery to divorce. Divorce means broken vows. These are connected. And nobody has clean hands here. To a holy God, lustful thoughts = adultery. Marriage vows matter. Your word is your bond. We aren't bad people because we do bad things. We do bad things because we're people with wayward, sin sick hearts. 3. REDEMPTION: How Jesus got it right Psalm 24 asks, who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? The one with clean hands and a pure heart. Because of our lust and divorce and deceit, we cannot stand in His holy place. We can't. Your sin has wrecked your own life. You know. Your sin has wrecked the lives of those you love. And it haunts you every day. Ascend the holy mountain? We don't deserve to be anywhere near the Lord. So ...
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    48 mins
  • Matthew 5:21-26 "Root to Fruit"

    Matthew 5:21-26 "Root to Fruit"
    Mar 20 2026
    Rev. Christopher Hall Practicing the Way of Jesus: Sermon on the Mount buckcreekchurch.org The Sin Beneath the Sin Matthew 5:21–26 · Sermon on the Mount There's a federal law — Title 18, USC, subsection 1821 — that makes it a crime for non-dentists to ship dentures across state lines. Maximum sentence: one year in jail. It's a jaw-dropping law. Hasn't been enforced in decades. You could say it doesn't have any teeth. Why is that a law? I'm sure there's a story. Apart from God speaking the universe into existence, stuff doesn't just happen. Crimes don't just happen. There are dozens of decisions that lead to a crime. Under every action is a motivation. Under every motivation is a belief. We're entering a section of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus gets to the sin beneath the sin. At the heart of it all is a lie. A lie powerful enough to keep us from entering the Kingdom of Heaven. I want to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I assume you do too. So let's drill down. And trade that lie for truth. Turn with me to Matthew 5:21. Part 1 How It's Supposed to Be "You have heard that it was said… 'You shall not murder.'" The Pharisees and scribes knew that rule well. But Jesus raises the standard. "Don't even allow anger into your heart." That's shocking. In fact Jesus says unless your righteousness exceeds the Pharisees, you won't enter the Kingdom. These were the super-religious rule keepers. They dotted the i's. Crossed the t's. And even with all that devotion to getting it right — they were getting it wrong. So what are we supposed to do? Give up? How could anyone possibly enter the Kingdom? Knowing all the rules won't do it. Breaking all the rules won't do it. Jesus wants to shock us. God isn't a gentle old man floating on a cloud. He is holy. Completely other. His standard should shock us. And when we see it, we begin to long for the kind of life only He can give. A life where anger doesn't rule. Where hatred and hostility disappear. Jesus isn't trying to crush us. He's showing us how far we've wandered — and inviting us back. Because righteousness doesn't come from inside us. It comes from Him. When we turn to Jesus in faith, He saves us not only from the penalty of sin. He saves us from the power of sin. Part 2 How We Get It Wrong When I was young, Kent Trails was just old railroad tracks. Follow that path and you could fall one way into wild raspberries. Or the other way into poison ivy. Following Jesus' narrow path is like that. We fall off one side or the other. Some of us are rule keepers. We notice when others break the rules. We get angry. We become legalistic. Focused on appearances instead of grace. Others of us are rule breakers. We push boundaries. We're irresponsible. We rely on grace while ignoring obedience. Neither path is Jesus' path. Both are marked by anger, division, and broken relationships. When anger rules our lives, we know we've wandered from His narrow path. Part 3 How Jesus Got It Right In Jesus we see the ultimate rule keeper. He obeyed God's law perfectly. But He also broke human rules whenever they got in the way of love. Jesus wasn't ruled by anger. When they mocked Him. Lied about Him. Scourged Him. Crucified Him. There was no sinful anger. Instead there was grace. Jesus knew exactly what He was signing up for. He knew how broken we were. He knew rescuing us would cost His life. And on the cross He asks a question: Are you with Me? Are you with Me as I take the punishment for your sin? Are you with Me in the grave where your sin is buried? Are you with Me as I rise into new life? That's the gospel. Jesus' path leads from cross to grave to resurrection. And when He says "Follow Me," He's inviting us onto that path. Part 4 How Do We Respond? First: Believe God is gracious. You don't have to prove yourself. Forgiven people forgive people. Someone who truly believes they've been forgiven has no room for bitterness or unrighteous anger. Second: Live like you believe God is gracious. Who do you need to ask forgiveness from? Who do you need to pursue reconciliation with? Jesus takes relationships so seriously that He says if reconciliation needs to happen, go make it right. Even if it means leaving church to do it. Perfect obedience isn't possible. But true obedience is. So take the first step. Today. When bad fruit shows up — anger, bitterness, name-calling — don't just fix the behavior. Drill down to the root. What belief is underneath that sin? Replace the lie with truth. Because good roots produce good fruit. And the truth is simple: God is gracious. So I'll end with the same question Jesus asks: Are you with Him?
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    47 mins
  • Matthew 5:1-3 "Jesus' 8 Ways to Live"

    Matthew 5:1-3 "Jesus' 8 Ways to Live"
    Mar 5 2026
    Rev. Christopher Hall Practicing the Way of Jesus: Sermon on the Mount buckcreekchurch.org Jesus sat down on a hillside. He looked at the crowd. And He said something that stopped everyone cold. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Nobody expected that. Nobody wanted to hear that. And honestly? Most of us still don't. We've Got Blessing Backwards Here's how we pray. Thank you God for blessing me with... And then we fill in the blank. The job. The house. The health. The kids doing well. We treat blessing like it's a feeling. Like it's happiness wrapped in stuff. But that's not what Jesus said. Blessed doesn't mean happy. Happy is a feeling. Blessed is a truth. Happy changes with your circumstances. Blessed doesn't. That's the whole point. The Heart of the Problem We are drawn to our feelings more than we are drawn to truth. That's not a new problem. That's the oldest problem. We feel like God isn't good enough. We feel like we deserve more. We feel like things should be different. And when life gets hard? Those feelings get loud. Really loud. Jesus knows this. That's why He starts here. What Does "Poor in Spirit" Actually Mean? It doesn't mean sad. It doesn't mean depressed. It's not an emotional state. It's a spiritual one. Poor in spirit means you know the truth about yourself. You are spiritually bankrupt. You have nothing in the account. Zero. Not a little short. Not overdrawn by a few bucks. Empty. Calvin put it this way. He said this is for those who are pressed and afflicted by adversity. People who've had the props kicked out from under them. People who know what it feels like when everything falls apart. That's who Jesus is talking to. And He's saying — that's exactly where you need to be. The Four Ways We Shake Our Fist at God When life gets hard, here's what we do. We doubt God is great — so we worry. We doubt God is glorious — so we get jealous. We doubt God is good — so we go bitter. We doubt God is gracious — so we walk around ashamed and afraid. That's pride dressed up as pain. Haughty on the inside even when we look humble on the outside. The poor in spirit don't do that. They trust God more than they trust their feelings. Even when it's hard. Especially when it's hard. The Danger of Having It All Jesus had something to say to a church called Laodicea. They had everything. Wealth. Comfort. Security. They looked blessed by every measure the world uses. And Jesus looked at them and said — you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. They thought they were rich. He called them naked beggars. Why? Because they confused material blessing with spiritual health. They forgot what they deserved. They forgot who saved them. They didn't need anything — so they stopped needing God. And that is the most dangerous place a person can be. When Empty Is Actually Good Here's the flip side. When you don't have much? When you're suffering? When things are falling apart? That's when you can see most clearly how much you need God. Not as a crutch. Not as a last resort. As everything. The adversity is real. The suffering is real. Living in a broken world is hard. I'm not going to stand up here and tell you it isn't. But here's what I know. When we look back at what Christ did — And when we look forward to what's been promised — There is something to hold onto. Hope. Calvin again. Hope of eternal life animates us to patience by assuring us that this is how we pass into the Kingdom of God. We're not waiting for nothing. We're waiting for everything. Even Lifelong Christians Need This This isn't just for new believers. This isn't just for people in crisis. Even those of us who've been doing this for decades need to remember. How great our sin is. And how much greater our Savior is. The point of this whole passage is simple. Trust God more than your feelings. Especially when the feelings are bad. Especially when things are hard. Especially when you've got nothing left. Because that's Kingdom ground. Close Jesus didn't say blessed are the successful. Blessed are the strong. Blessed are the ones who've got it figured out. He said blessed are the poor in spirit. The ones with empty hands. The ones who know they've got nothing to offer. Because those are the ones who get the Kingdom. Not because they earned it. Not because they deserved it. But because they finally stopped pretending they did. Rock bottom isn't the end of the story. For the follower of Jesus? Rock bottom is Kingdom ground.
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    51 mins