The fundamental building block of an apprentice of Jesus is having one’s mind and heart conformed to Jesus in our ordinary lives. If we learn how to spend an ordinary day with our minds set on things above, we will have learned one of the most important spiritual exercises in the Christian life.

Judging others is tempting, but it never succeeds long term. The far better approach is to pray for and stand with those we care about. In short, we treat them as we want to be treated.

Worry is futile. Jesus encourages us to resist the temptation to worry and concentrate on the fact that God is with us in all that we do, which is the right attitude toward the present and the future. Our lives and worries are ever-changing, but the God in Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever and that God will neither leave us nor forsake us.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches the crowds and his disciples about their relationship with God and their discipleship – that is, what it means to follow Jesus in the world. Jesus speaks about how God provides for our every need and how undue concern for our possessions can get in the way of our living as his disciples, or followers.

Vainglory is the need to be thought well of by others. It is driven by the notion that the opinions of others determine our worth. When this vice is fully rooted in our hearts we find ourselves interested in the accolades of others (causing us to become self-centered and puffed up). Jesus brought to this world the message through his words and actions that it is in service and humility that we give God the glory. Pastor Dennis Hanson Nazareth Evangelical Lutheran Church February 28, 2021

Jesus chose the way of the cross as the clearest expression of how God confronts and deals with human evil, not by responding in kind, giving evil for evil, but by extending self-giving, unconditional love. Those who follow Jesus are called to refuse violence because we are his disciples and we do things as He did. While reciprocity and retribution are the laws that govern worldly behavior, in the Kingdom of God the law of love - even when applied to enemies - is modeled by God himself and applied by those who are invited to take up their own crosses as they follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Pastor Brian King Nazareth Evangelical Lutheran Church February 21, 2021