Jesus’ refers to Genesis 2:21-25. His answer takes people back to creation when God made one man and one woman and put them together. The two became one flesh. By quoting Genesis, Jesus shows that this is not a cultural principle. It is not a principle which changes for different times or different places. It is a universal principal rooted in creation itself where God revealed His perfect plan for marriage. This clearly refutes many of the modern world’s excuses for allowing divorce of which there are many.

Pastor Kevin continues in his series, "The Sermon on the Mount". Today Pastor Kevin will be teaching from the Book of Matthew, chapter 5:21-26. In this section, Jesus deals with the commandment “Do not murder” which is one of the ten commandments given to Moses. Jesus is leading His listeners to see that true righteousness is far more than legal or external obedience. Righteousness is not about just getting your part done. It is not looking to see how much you can get away with and still be considered “righteous.” Righteousness is right relationships, relationships that spring out of a right heart, mind, and soul that always bring about blessing and life. God's righteousness is connected with His shalom, which is well-being and harmony. This is the righteousness, the Torah of God, that Jesus came to fulfill. Jesus has completed the Torah of God. He is completely in right, peaceful, life-giving relationship with God, us, and all of creation.

Today we are welcoming back Dave Metzger as guest speaker. Pastor Dave is continuing his series from the Book of Nehemiah. Today Pastor Dave will cover Nehemiah, chapter 9.  After the wall was completed, after the wall was working, after the people had heard and obeyed God’s Word, after the Holy Spirit was doing a significant work in the lives of people – now there is a scene of dramatic, humble repentance. Pastor Dave will be discussing what true spirituality involves and the one measure of true Christianity.

Today Pastor Kevin continues with the second part of his teaching on the "be-atitudes" from Matthew 5:7-12. Although the primary purpose of the beatitudes is to declare the blessings given by God’s kingdom, most scholars also regard them as painting a picture of the character of that kingdom. As we step into God’s kingdom, we hope to become more like those named as blessed—more meek, more merciful, more hungry for righteousness, more apt to make peace, and so on. This gives the beatitudes a moral imperative. Later, when Jesus says, “Make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19), the beatitudes describe the character these disciples are meant to take on.

Today we are welcoming Chase Feindel as guest speaker. Pastor Feindel is the lead pastor of Anthem Church located in Vista. This is his first time speaking at Valley. Pastor Feindel will be discussing the first beatitude in the sermon on the mount. Matthew 5:3–12 contains what have come to be known as the Beatitudes.  Each of the Beatitudes begins with a reference to those who are blessed, in connection to some behavior or attitude. The idea of being "blessed" in Jesus' sermon does not mean feeling happy, necessarily. Rather it means recognizing what is truly good in a person's life and why. It refers to those on the right track, who are following a godly pattern of thoughts and actions. Jesus begins by saying that the poor in spirit are blessed. This is not a reference to money or finances. To be "poor in spirit" is the opposite of being self-confident or self-reliant, especially in any spiritual sense. The poor in spirit recognize they are incapable of providing for themselves by their own strength, goodness, or righteousness. They know themselves to be spiritually bankrupt of true goodness. They cannot hope to bargain or earn their way into the kingdom of heaven.

In today's message, Jesus visits two sisters who hosted Him for dinner. How many of you have tried to get into God’s Word and spend time with the Lord in prayer, but you lost your motivation. Maybe you jumped into Genesis with gusto, you hung on through Exodus, but you got lost and died somewhere in Leviticus. Maybe you didn’t get much out of it and so you quit. But whatever happened to kill your motivation, the fact that Jesus calls Mary’s action of sitting at His feet and listening to His word “the necessary thing” ought to be sufficient reason to commit yourself to it. But let's hear Pastor Kevin give four lessons that we can learn from this story in Luke chapter 10, verses 38-42.

Religious leaders in Jesus’ day formed societies where men (and it was always men) sat in the evenings, ate meals and debated theology. There were also many Jewish people who lived on the margins, not living by the law, and rejected by these religious leaders as “sinners.” In the parable of the Two Debtors, Simon, a Pharisee, has invited Jesus to a dinner at Simon’s house. Like all cultures, there are certain “rules” when someone comes to your house. In Jesus’ day, three rituals were common: a kiss of greeting, washing of feet and anointing with oil. Suddenly a woman appears at the dinner table. This was possible in those days because the dinners would be held in a courtyard, with the gate open so that the rest of the town could look in on the festivities. The woman is described by Luke as a ‘sinner.’ After this event unfolds, Jesus tells a parable.

Today Pastor Kevin will be discussing the importance of baptism. At Valley Bible Church, we baptize people who have made a conscious decision to believe in Christ and trust Him alone for their salvation.  Baptism is a demonstration of someone’s union with Christ symbolizing His death and resurrection.  It signifies that your former way of life has been put to death and depicts a freedom from slavery to sin (Romans 6:1-6).  We get the honor of celebrating lives that have been changed by Jesus with Baptism!  If you’re a follower of Jesus Christ and haven’t been baptized or would like more information on what it is or why you should do it, you can email Pastor Kevin at Kevin@valleybible.com.

Having returned to Capernaum, a number of people now knew that Jesus was able to heal the sick. Four men had a friend who was paralyzed, whom they wanted to bring to Jesus for healing. It seems to have taken considerable time and effort to get the paralyzed man from where he was staying to the house where Jesus was teaching. By the time they arrived, the house was filled and a large crowd apparently had gathered outside. Perhaps the Lord could see the commotion going on outside, caused by the four who were determined to get the paralytic to Jesus.  Undaunted by the difficulties, the men elected to "go up on the roof and lower him on his mat (a.k.a. pallet)." The scene, as viewed from below, must have been amazing. This leads me to the theme I see in this passage: My faith is important, not just for the benefit of my own relationship with God, but for the benefit of those I spend time with as well. For faith to be effective, it must inspire the one who has it to act in a way that shows it is present. The faith of these men showed, and because of it, their friend was healed.