Preaching Jesus' sermon

A few months ago the congregation we work with in Vila decided to begin meeting together on Wednesday nights. We weren't sure how many people would be able to attend, but decided that even if only a few could gather together it would still be beneficial. The primary purpose of our time together is to share a meal and visit - taking a break from the everyday worries of life and fostering spiritual relationships.

I do very little preaching on Sunday mornings (the native brethren are entirely capable), and so they asked if I would be willing to share some studies during our Wednesday night gatherings. I didn't want it be something where I stand up in front and talk for 20-30 minutes, and thus decided to make it less formal and more interactional. We all simply remain casually seated around the room and I lead the group through a study with a fair amount of questions and discussion. We are now in the final phases of going through Jesus' sermon on the mount from Matthew 5,6 and 7, and I have been so very pleased with the participation and interest shown.

I taught on Mt 7:1-6 recently, and for the first time it struck me that in v.1 Jesus says "do not judge" but in v.5 He says that there is a time to "take the speck out of your brother's eye." The difference would seem to be one of attitude. When we [a] recognize our own sinfulness and need for forgiveness, and [b] foster genuine relationships with others, only then are we truly in a position to humbly help them deal with sin and shortfall (rather than indignantly judging them). I understand this to be the point of Jesus' proverb in v.6 - it's an utter waste of time to judge superficially (e.g. wasting food on dogs or pearls on pigs), and actually ends up causing more harm than good. Being a former tax collector himself, I see Matthew focusing a lot on the Pharisees' (who were well-known for speaking disparagingly of tax collectors, Mt 9:10-13) negative attributes in his gospel account. It appears that chief among their problems was prideful judgmentalism of others, which stemmed from self-righteous arrogance and a lack of concern for their fellow man.

Lord, please help us refrain from such Pharisaistic tendencies. Remind us of our sinfulness and help us foster relationship, a combination that will facilitate our working together and building up one another. Thank you for the premier example you have shown us in Jesus. Amen.