The Curriculum

Does my marriage display the Gospel?

Jesus said in Matthew 5:27 “You’ve heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery.” He was quoting Moses who was quoting God way back in Exodus 20:14 when the Law was given at Mt. Sinai. Rules God gave to his people, the nation of Israel, were meant to reflect His holiness and to keep them safe. Though restrictive, the command was for their good—God had their best interest in mind. The heart of this commandment was directed at protecting the sanctity of the home—the goodness of marriage, family, the fundamental building blocks of society. The marriage vow was holy, a covenantal commitment made before God. And because God is faithful and longs to see his children live faithfully, this command upholds sexual faithfulness as supremely important to God.

But that was a long long time ago, right? I mean…times have changed, and lots of things have changed since “Thou shall not commit adultery.” Do you ever wonder, why is it that Jesus cares what we do sexually? I mean, that’s pretty private stuff, that’s my business, why is Jesus concerned with what happens in the bedroom?

Lord God Almighty, who is holy, holy, holy, created sex. He thought it up and invented it on purpose for our enjoyment and his glory. God designed marriage to be between a man and a woman but his purpose for marriage goes WAY beyond a bride and groom’s mutual happiness. The purpose of marriage is to put the greatest love story in the world on display, the story of a love so great that it would sacrifice for you, and even die for you.

God, who IS LOVE (1 John 4) wanted the world to see a small glimpse of himself. Done God’s way, marriage is an incredible platform to display the beauty of God’s faithfulness, and love. He created man and woman to become one flesh—so intimately unified in mind, body and spirit that the construct of marriage would be like a billboard to an aching world that there is a love like that. There is a love that is faithful, forgiving, slow to anger, a love that says, “I will never leave you, I will never forsake you”, a love that abhors adultery, a love that lasts.

In Matthew 19, Jesus reminds the teachers of the law, “at the beginning the Creator made them male and female and said, “for this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two shall become one flesh, so they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together let man not separate.

Donielle Winter
EFCC Member

by Donielle Winter

Leave Your Gift

I could feel a wave of heat rising up my face as I gripped the steering wheel tightly. I began to mutter frustrations under my breath, and then I saw where the car had turned. The person who had just run the stop sign, nearly hitting me, had turned right into the church parking lot. I wanted to roll down my window and yell something like "You fool!" I wanted them to acknowledge what had just happened, I wanted them to understand their mistake.

As I parked, my frustration turned into anger, but then God intervened. I watched the person get out of their car and realized it was someone I knew and cared for deeply. In that moment, the anger dissipated, the frustration subsided, and I quickly confessed my sins to my Savior. Can you relate?

We sometimes think that leaving our gifts applies only when we are about to take communion or give an offering or even when we arrive at church. However, God wants us to recognize that we are to leave our gifts and go make things right whenever possible. Whether we have committed a wrongdoing or someone else has wronged us, Jesus tells us to attempt to reconcile.

Do not bring your anger as a gift before our Heavenly Father. Instead, honor him by making peace. This is a valuable reminder for us today. If you go on social media, you will see comments that are angry and often hurtful. You will see division among people who should be united. You will see how certain viewpoints distract people from the Great Commission and focus on something that does not contribute to our calling. Thinking about these things makes me realize where I should put my focus and attention.

Jesus masterfully tells us to stop and try to fix things. He knows our hearts and cares so much for us that he would rather have us mend a broken relationship than give a gift in anger. We have a wise and good Savior!

Of course, this is not always easy, but Jesus did many difficult things too. Let's do our best to follow his words. If you have wronged someone, go make it right. If someone has wronged you, go make it right. Take a moment to read Matthew 5:23-24 and see what Jesus tells you. Praying for you all!

Pastor Jeremy Johnson

by Jeremy Johnson

Reconciliation. JUST DO IT.

by Donielle Winter

Hiding Behind Defensive Anger

Anger is a weird thing in humans. Occasionally it's righteous (see Jesus turning over the money changer’s tables on the temple grounds Matt 21:12-13.) But anger guided and controlled by truth is rare. Anger itself isn’t bad, it is a God-given emotion and one that God himself knows and feels. “They abandoned the temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and worshiped Asherah poles and idols. Because of their guilt, God’s anger came on Judah and Jerusalem” - 2 Chro 24:18.

Anger is a normal response to pain. If a person gets hit, first they feel hurt, then anger springs. But anger can spring as a response to many things; the sound of someone chewing loudly or dragging their flip flops as they walk by, careless people leaving the lights on, the toilet seat up, or being too lazy to clean up their mess, drivers cutting in front, distracted by their phone, or going too slow.

All human emotions give clues to help people know what is going on inside of them, but sometimes humans are not good at reading the clues. This can be especially true and harmful with anger. Anger can be a weapon people employ in an attempt to protect themselves.

Once a student in 8th grade and his friend were intentionally trying to throw basketballs across the church’s gym to hit one of my older (she was in her 70’s) Wednesday night leaders on the head. I didn’t see it the first week, but she told me basketballs were flying at her while we were in the gym. I told her to stay away from the hoops because students tried to make half-court shots and they can bounce a long way. But the next week, I saw one of the boys intentionally shoot it toward her when she was in the corner of the gym, nowhere close to the basket. It landed right on her poor head. I was instantly filled with anger at this boy for his foolishness and disregard and I confronted him about it and had him step outside. Rather than confess or apologize, he got angry at me, claiming I falsely accused him. He tried to use anger to hide from accountability.

Like cornered animals, people lash out with anger when defensive. This is how the Pharisees responded to Jesus turning over the tables at the temple, “they were indignant” - vs 15. They were mad; angry, attempting to cover guilt.

Jesus warned that anger with the folks we are close to can be a problem. “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment” – Matt 5:22. He doesn’t say guilty, but “subject to” because it could (and probably is) a sign that something is wrong with you, not them. What does your anger reveal about you?

Pastor John Riley

by John Riley

Say What?

Spoken words are at the heart of everything consequential, whether good or evil. Creation itself began with the Almighty speaking! Similarly, when Satan approached Eve in the Garden of Eden, it was a single conversation that ushered sin in. While everyone knows the quintessential wedding vows, capped off with the simplest “I do," salvation is confessed with our mouths, so too can destruction be born from what we say.

“The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Proverbs 12:18

In Matthew 5:22, Jesus shows how anger progresses. Even unspoken anger is not hidden from God—He knows why we are angry, and we are already in danger of judgment. But when words are spoken, the situation escalates. The insult "Raca," meaning "empty-headed" or "worthless," expresses contempt and demeans another person’s value. In Jesus' day, the Sanhedrin would handle such insults, much like our courts do today. Now we face two judges: human courts and God Himself.

Calling someone a fool offends further, implying a moral judgment, and accusing someone of being corrupt or godless. Psalm 14:1 says, "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" In calling someone a fool, we assume a position of authority that belongs to God alone. Imagine a child barging into a courtroom to deliver their own verdict—it would be a mockery! Similarly, when we take God's role as judge, the penalty is severe, because God does not share His gavel.

“The tongue is also a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is set on fire by hell.” James 3:6

Yet, through Christ’s grace, sins like these no longer spell our doom. His sacrifice removes our sins and gives us hope for a new day. We can learn new habits and become more like our savior, he’ll help us every step along the way.

Jonathan Duncan
EFCC Member

by Jonathan Duncan

Anger = Murder?

21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment . . .- Matthew 5:21-22a

This passage is the first of six unique teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount that have been called “the antithesis.” These teachings follow some version of the formula, “it was said… but I say to you….” In each of these teachings, Jesus takes a saying known to his hearers (sometimes directly from the pages of scripture), and then he reinterprets it for them, sometimes drastically changing the meaning. In doing so, Jesus makes it clear that he is the authority and the ultimate source of truth!

In the verse that we have for today, the known saying is one of the big ones… it's one of the 10 Commandments: “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13). This might be one of the most universally agreed-upon ethical principles in or outside the Bible. No one disagrees about this one. How could Jesus suggest an “antithesis” for this of all commands? Well, as is often the case, Jesus surprises us.

Notice his words, “But I say to you that everyone who is angry . . .” Jesus’ “antithesis” is not a contradiction of the original command, but a relocation of the sin. You see, the original command suggests that the sin is purely physical. It is just something that is done on the outside. Jesus’ reinterpretation of the command suggests that sin starts well before we get to the physical action of murder . . . it starts in the heart or mind of the person. It is on the inside. Jesus is radically shifting the way we understand sin. Sin is no longer just the things that we do, it is also the way we think.

So, to answer the question suggested in the title, Jesus is not saying that anger is equal to murder. Of course not! Murder is much worse because it is actually two sins. It is the sin of hate-filled anger in one’s soul followed by the sin of physically murdering another human. Anger doesn’t equal murder, but it can lead to it, so it must be stopped when it gets too bad. This new interpretation is a much more helpful interpretation because it gets people to think about their anger before it becomes a problem. But what I love most about this interpretation is what it says about God. By suggesting that our inward thoughts and motivations are morally significant, it suggests that God has the power to know our inward thoughts and motivations! On one level, for the people listening, this was brand new! But on another level, this was very old. In 1 Samuel 16:7, we learned that “the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

Let him see your heart today.

Josh Rose
Family Pastor

by Josh Rose

The Law Hog

I got enthusiastic permission from Pastor Ryan to name this devotion as I did.

Looking at Matthew 5:17-20, we see Jesus talking about the new role of the law in his kingdom. It is not diminished at all, rather, it is completed. But what does that mean? We see Jesus’s ministry later setting aside some elements of the law, dietary restrictions, cleansing rituals, and sabbath regulations. Paul, in several places in Romans, also proclaims that we are “released from the law” Yet here in verse 19, Jesus warns that whoever relaxes even the smallest commandment and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.

When we were discussing this week’s devotions in the writing group, the analogy of riding a bike with training wheels came up, reminding me of a story of an experience I had.

Growing up, I rode a bike all the time! My bike had training wheels, like big honkin beefy ones, which I rode well into Jr High. I outgrew that bike at some point, but I was always aware that I never rode a bicycle without training wheels before. Later in life, a family friend, Greg Reynolds, caught wind of my love for speed and offered me a ride on the back of his Harley-Davidson. As I climbed on, he said, “Jonathan, when we lean into turns, just sit still—don’t lean.” And with that simple instruction, we took off. It was awesome! We leaned into big sweeping turns as smooth as butter, the wind in my clothes brought the sensation of speed to life in a visceral way!

When you have training wheels all you can think about is getting rid of them. Much like trying to keep all the rules, you long for the freedom that comes from a life without sin. In the same way that I’m unable to balance a bike, we are unable rid ourselves of our sinful nature and keep the law. All the while Jesus is inviting us to abandon our little struggles to experience power and freedom completely different from what we could ever know otherwise.

Greg gave me a gift, he let me experience something categorically different from everything I knew. I listened to Greg’s simple instructions and my horizons expanded. Likewise, if we listen to Jesus and do what he says, we will be living in his power with his freedom!

Jonathan Duncan
EFCC member

by Jonathan Duncan

Exceedingly Righteous

I grew up in a wonderful Christian home and attended a fabulous church where it was abundantly clear as to what behavior was pleasing to the Lord and what was not. I went to church multiple times a week, said all of my Bible verses, served wherever needed, and obeyed those in authority. My outward compliance would have likely been deemed as righteous. But I don’t think that outward compliance always reflected my internal attitude. I probably often looked a bit like a Pharisee; with righteousness glowing for everyone to see.

Being called a Pharisee is rarely a positive thing. In Matthew 23 and Luke 11, amongst other passages, Jesus flat-out calls the Pharisees hypocrites! They knew and obeyed the Law, but were their hearts fully committed to God, or did they just work really hard to look like they were? Matthew 5:20 says, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” This has been a troubling verse for me. I spent many years working on looking righteous - and now Jesus is saying that I have to “exceed” that righteousness? So what does that mean?

Jesus’ death and resurrection provided for righteousness in us that we could not accomplish on our own. That righteousness comes from a relinquished heart, fully surrendered, admitting that our works and obedience could never accomplish what Christ’s flawless obedience could. Paul, who calls himself a Pharisee in Philippians 3:5, goes on in vs. 9 to share about his longing to “be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.” As believers in Jesus Christ, our righteousness is not of our own doing. It comes from a perfect God and therefore it exceeds the Law because it is perfect righteousness.

My guess is that most of us have looked like a Pharisee at times. That’s natural - we tend to be self-seeking and we live in a fallen world that drives us to prove ourselves. But praise be to God that this is not his design. We are who our Creator has designed us to be - a royal priesthood, justified by faith, forgiven, redeemed and sanctified. We are free to live surrendered to our Lord not out of duty but with the hope of Paul’s words in Romans 10:4; “Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”

So let’s go freely live as righteous children of God!

Lynette Fuson
Care & Counseling Director

by Lynette Fuson