Letting our eyes adjust to the Word

Pastor Juliet Lyons begins with the feeling of sprinting from a bright kitchen into a dark basement without turning on the light, grabbing the walls until her eyes adjust. We approach Scripture the same way, carrying our worldview and upbringing into a book written in a very different environment. So she prays that the Holy Spirit would illuminate the eyes of our hearts to read the Word as it was intended.

Hearing from Jesus Himself

Elan has been working through the Messianic prophecies, but on this Advent and missions offering Sunday, Pastor Juliet pauses to hear from the Messiah directly. Jesus not only shows the way to God but walks it as a man and teaches His disciples to copy Him. She jokes that Jesus is the one exam answer we are allowed to plagiarize, yet we still find it hard to copy His way. Matthew 6 previews the spiritual practices series Elan will begin in January. The church stands to read the whole chapter, listening for five themes: giving, praying, fasting, refocusing our affection on what holds value, and resting in God's grace instead of anxiety.

Filling the law back up with God's heart

In Matthew 5:17 Jesus says He came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it, and the Greek word means to fill up. Pastor Juliet pictures an argument where the wires get crossed and both sides are wounded; that is what happened between God and humanity, made worse by teachers who emptied the law of God's heart. They enforced "do not murder" while tolerating anger, and "do not commit adultery" while winking at lust. Jesus restores the heart behind each command: God was protecting His people from what kills from the inside out.

Don't be a hypocrite

Before giving any practices, Jesus warns against practicing righteousness to be seen. The Greek word for hypocrite means an actor under an assumed character. Pastor Juliet describes Pharisees who whitened their faces on market days so everyone would notice their fasting, and points to Matthew 23:23, where Jesus rebukes them for tithing spices while neglecting justice, mercy, and faithfulness. Personal piety is for an audience of One. God does not need our fasting, prayers, or money; these practices are for us, to keep us healthy and connected to Him.

It has always been about the heart

Asked for the greatest commandment, Jesus answered from Deuteronomy 6: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. The Hebrew word for heart takes in the whole inner person. Every commandment is meant to flow out of God's heart into ours and out into the world. When we give, God's heart travels with the gift; when we fast, we let go of what feeds the flesh to make room for the Spirit.

Hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come

Pastor Juliet unpacks the Lord's Prayer as an unbroken chain: when we hallow God's name, His kingdom comes; when His kingdom comes, His will is done; as we lay down our own wills, the kingdom progresses and His holiness fills the earth. God partners with giving, prayer, and fasting offered this way, uses them to provide for His children, and draws us into intimacy like Enoch, her favorite Bible character. She invites the church into a season of prayer and fasting from January 5 to 25, 2025, asking not for a list of breakthroughs but, "What is Your will, God?"

Do not be anxious

Matthew 6 ends with Jesus telling His disciples not to worry, right after He has asked a great deal of them. The promise of protection belongs to those who let God's kingdom be sovereign over their lives. Because God sees in secret and the reward is Christ Himself, Pastor Juliet closes by inviting anyone who wants to begin or reorient their relationship with God to respond, reminding the room that today is the only day we are afforded.