Sermon on the Mount
Scroll to all sermons in the "sermon on the mount" series — April 2016 through May 15.
April 10, 2016
Roger Paynter
Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church Decatur
Creating Righteousness
Matthew 5:13-20
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."
Matthew 5:14-16
Sermon Meditation
“To be righteous in one’s own estimation….to be judged good by one’s own self-assessment is to embrace a self-sufficiency and self-satisfaction which can be very alienating.” — Roger Paynter
April 17, 2016
Roger Paynter
Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church Decatur
Perfection and Humility
Matthew 5:21-37
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”
Matthew 5:21-24
Sermon Meditation
“You not only have to absolutely know that your sins are forgiven, but because they are forgiven, you have to also absolutely know that you are to live a life of moral excellence. As the Apostle Paul said, ‘Not that I have already attained this goal, not that I’m already perfect, but I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own.’” — Roger Paynter
April 24, 2016
Roger Paynter
Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church Decatur
The Hardest Love
Matthew 5:38-42
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you."
Matthew 5:38-42
Sermon Meditation
“A Ministry of Absorption is a willingness to receive the anger of others without responding in kind. I can think of few things more difficult in life.” —Ernest Campbell, Campbell’s Notebook
May 1, 2016
Roger Paynter
Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church Decatur
The Hostility Stops Here
Matthew 5:43-48
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:43-48
Sermon Meditation
“The past is never dead; it’s not even past.”—William Faulkner
“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate,adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”—Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength to Love
May 8, 2016
Roger Paynter
Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church Decatur
The Wildflower Gospel
Matthew 6:24-34
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"
Matthew 6:25-26
Sermon Meditation
“If prayer would do it
I’d pray.
If reading esteem thinkers would do it
I’d be halfway through the Patriarchs.
If discourse would do it
I’d be sitting with His Holiness
every moment he was free.
If contemplation would do it
I’d have translated the Periodic Table
to hermit poems, converting
matter to spirit.
If even fighting would do it
I’d already be a blackbelt.
If anything other than love would do it
I’d have done it already
and left the hardest for last."
“Breaking the Drought”
Stephen Levine
May 15, 2016
Roger Paynter
Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church Decatur
Blessed are the Wise
Matthew 7:13-21
"Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only one who does the will of my Father in heaven."
Matthew 7:21
Sermon Meditation
“Get wisdom; do not forsake her and she will keep you. The beginning of wisdom is this: Get Wisdom. Praise her highly, and she will exalt you. She will place on your head a fair garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown that the years of your life may be many.” — Proverbs 4:5-10