Last week: contempt, two paths, a better word.
This week: Jesus goes deeper. He's not after the spark of anger. He's after the fire we keep.
In Matthew 5, Jesus connects lingering anger to murder — and then uses a word nobody expected: Gehenna. Not a metaphor. A real valley south of Jerusalem where the kings of Judah once burned their children alive. A valley so defiled that by Jesus' day it had become the Jewish word for final judgment.
And He puts contempt on that continuum.
In this message, Pastor David follows three movements — anger reveals what we worship, idols always demand life, and Jesus does the opposite. He traces it from Cain to Gehenna to the cross, addresses abortion with pastoral care and biblical conviction, and closes with the only question that matters: which path will you hand down?
In this message:
- Why Jesus targets "remaining anger" — nursing a grudge, not a momentary flare
- The history of Gehenna — and what it reveals about idols and human worth
- Why idols always demand life — and what a culture looks like when it decides who counts
- A pastoral, biblical conversation about abortion and the Church's historic response
- Three closing practices: receive life, protect life, give life
Key Scriptures:
Exodus 20:13; 34:6–7 • Matthew 5:21–22 • James 1:19–20 • Romans 12:19; 6:23 • Jeremiah 19:4–5 • Psalm 115:8; 139:13–16 • 1 John 3:15–16 • John 7:37–39; 14:6
Join us Sundays @ 9:15 AM
1120 Madison St., Jefferson City, MO
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