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Welcome to the Westside church’s special Monday Morning Coffee podcast with Mark Roberts. Mark is a disciple, a husband, father and grand dad, as well as a certified coffee geek, fan of CS Lewis’ writings and he loves his big red Jeep. He’s also the preacher for Westside church.
Episode Transcript
Hello, and welcome to the Westside Church's special
Monday Morning Coffee Podcast.
On this podcast, our preacher,Mark Roberts, will help you get
your week started right with alook back at yesterday's sermon
so that we can think through itother and better work the
applications into our dailylife.
(00:27):
Mark will then look forward intothis week's Bible reading so
that we can know what to expectand watch for.
And he may have some extra bonusthoughts from time to time.
So grab a cup of coffee as westart the week together on
Monday morning coffee with Mark.
SPEAKER_01 (00:52):
Good morning, good morning.
Welcome to the Monday MorningCoffee Podcast for Monday,
December the 29th.
I'm Mark.
I'm holding really good coffee.
And I know, I know, I know,you're probably surprised to
hear any of that.
You didn't think you're gonnaget a podcast maybe this week,
because last week I said thatwas the last episode for the
year, and yet here I am thismorning.
(01:15):
Well, let me just say a word ortwo here about our daily Bible
reading and talk about that.
I want to say more about thatwhen we get to Monday's reading
and so forth, but I just knowthere's a lot of listeners out
there who make this podcast apart of their regular routine.
Heard from some listeners thislast week, and that just really
reminded me that there's a lotof people both at Westside and
(01:35):
outside of the Westside familywho this the podcast is a big
part of your week.
And it's always tough when ourdiscipleship routines get thrown
off.
And I didn't want that tohappen.
Not for me, not for you.
So here I am.
I've got coffee, and I know thisis a crazy week.
But it doesn't matter.
We still want to maintain ourspiritual discipline.
So grab your Bible, grab yourcoffee.
(01:57):
Yep, we're gonna grow togetherwith this bonus episode of the
podcast.
Let's start with some notes fromthe preaching yesterday.
Yesterday, I talked a little bitabout faithfulness being better
than New Year's resolutions.
And I think, again, and I saidthis yesterday, there's a place
for resolutions, and therecertainly are some dramatic
(02:19):
changes, kind of wham bangovernight changes in the Bible.
I'm thinking about Saul ofTarsus.
But most of the time, most ofthe time, it's about walking
with God.
It's about day-to-day, ordinarylife, serving Jesus Christ right
where you are.
It's about being faithful.
And I should add here, andhere's your sermon note for
(02:41):
today, one of the hardest thingsabout faithfulness is that most
of that happens where nobodysees it.
We can talk about public faith,coming to church, serving in
some kind of way, taking part inthe assembly, being involved in
good works, helping people inthe community.
That's visible.
But scripture really spends justas much time talking about our
(03:01):
private faith.
What happens when there's noaudience, when there's no
recognition, and get this noimmediate result?
Jesus talks about that a lot inthe Sermon on the Mount when he
mentions praying in secret,giving in secret, fasting in
secret.
And the assumption is that a lotof discipleship will happen
quietly away from the spotlight.
And maybe the uncomfortabletruth with that is it's often
(03:23):
easier to be faithful whensomeone is watching.
It is easier to pray out loudsometimes than it is to pray
alone.
It is easier to read scripturewhen you're teaching a Bible
class than when you're justdoing that as part of your daily
routines and you're tired.
It's easier to do the rightthing when somebody might
notice.
But it's faithfulness that lastsis the faithfulness, that kind
of faithfulness is the kind offaithfulness that's built in
(03:46):
private.
I think about Joseph in Genesis.
Nobody knows where he is, nobodyknows what he's doing, he's
still serving the Lord.
I'm thinking about Daniel, notjust the lion's den, but the
decades of daily prayer thatdidn't make the headlines.
I thought that was a spot-onillustration yesterday.
And sometimes we get a littlebit discouraged because we
wonder if the ordinary things oflife matter, those unnoticed
(04:07):
prayers, quiet obedience, thesteady refusal to give up.
And the answer is yes, it does.
It matters that we continue towalk with the Lord.
So your encouragement today isto be faithful.
Be faithful.
God is at work in your life,even if we don't see that in
(04:30):
large, earth-shaking,mind-blowing kinds of ways.
Be faithful.
God is forming you, He's shapingyou.
He may even be preparing you forsomething down the road that is
earth-shaking in a really bigdeal.
Just keep walking with God.
Keep trusting, keep showing up,even when nobody's watching,
(04:50):
because the faith that is builtin places that no one ever sees
is the kind of faith that isreally what Christianity is all
about.
And that's what we talked abouton Sunday.
Show up, stay in the Word,refuse to give up.
Be faithful.
How about that for a resolutionin 2026?
(05:13):
And how about some daily Biblereading for the week?
What are we going to read thisweek?
Let's think about our dailyBible reading.
(05:42):
Let me give you an explanatoryword.
We are in between readingschedules.
We completed our 2025 readingplan, having a heart for God
like David, and that's donewith.
And we haven't started our 2026reading plan that begins next
week.
So this is a free week in whichyou can read whatever you'd
like, wherever you'd like.
(06:03):
But if you'd like to read alongwith me for the podcast this
week, I would like to read theSermon on the Mount, listening
to Jesus' most famous teachingin five simple sections.
These are words that I havespent a lot of time with over
the years, including writing abook on the Sermon on the Mount.
And I can tell you this (06:22):
every time I look at the Sermon on the
Mount, every time I come back toit, Jesus still has a way of
challenging me, shaping me, andsteadying my heart.
So if you're looking forsomething solid to sit with this
week, open your Bible with me toMatthew chapter 5.
We're going to read Matthew 5,6, and 7 this week.
(06:42):
It's really easy reading.
It's extremely practical.
It will help you immediately bea better follower of Jesus.
So let's walk through ittogether.
Our reading for Monday isMatthew chapter 5, verses 1 to
16, focusing on the kind ofpeople who belong in the
kingdom.
Now, I don't know if you listento the podcast and then do the
(07:03):
reading, or you do the readingand then listen to the podcast.
If you need to stop here, it'sMatthew 5, 1 to 16 that we're
reading for Monday.
And this is the opening of theSermon on the Mount.
Jesus is describing the kind ofpeople who belong in the kingdom
and who will flourish in thekingdom, a different kind of
kingdom, and what their liveslook like in the world.
And that begins with theBeatitudes, really surprising
(07:26):
ideas of the character ofkingdom citizens.
And this really sets the tonebecause this sermon is about not
just so much what we do, it'sabout becoming, who we are
becoming.
And you know, if you've beenaround me at all, if you paid
attention to anything I've doneon the Sermon on the Mount, you
know I have to say somethinghere about the word blessed,
because so often there'swriting, blogs, podcasts, people
(07:48):
talking about blessed meaninghappy.
And of course, what that meansin the American mindset is just
very far removed from what Jesusis talking about here in Matthew
chapter 5.
There's no American happiness inthe Sermon on the Mount.
The idea here is that blessedmeans the life that God approves
of.
God blesses people who live hisway.
(08:09):
The word blessed is adescription and a commendation
of the people who enjoy thefavor of God.
It's not a fleeting thing, it'snot even a feeling, it's not
about emotion.
It's about God's verdict onsomeone's life.
You want to have God'scommendation and blessing.
You want to live God's way.
Here are the characteristicsthat you need to install in your
(08:30):
life.
And for today's podcast episode,I'll just focus on verse six.
Blessed are those who hunger andthirst for righteousness.
In the holiday season, there isso much grazing going on.
Is that happening at your house?
That is happening at our house.
We've got some cookies andchecks mix and just all kinds of
stuff.
It's sitting out on the island,and you just walk by and just
get a little of this and get alittle bit of that, just grazing
(08:52):
all the time.
Verse 6 is not grazing.
It is not.
One fellow said this is anintense spiritual appetite.
And a great thing for us tothink about here is just how
hungry are we for God and hisways?
How hungry are you for God andHis ways?
So that's a great thought righthere.
(09:14):
And each day we'll do somereading in the Sermon on the
Mount, and then I'll I'll giveyou a closing question.
I guess that how hungry are youfor God to his ways?
That's a pretty good closingquestion.
Here's another, all right?
What part of this descriptionhere of the kingdom person is
challenging you or encouragingyou the most right now?
Think about that, pray aboutthat.
(09:35):
I'll see you tomorrow on thepodcast.
We'll read in Matthew 5, verses17 to 48, if you want to be
ready for that.
But our reading for Monday,Matthew 5, 1 to 16.
It is Tuesday.
It is Tuesday, and our readingtoday is Matthew 5, 17 to 48.
Jesus is really pushing the ideaof true righteousness that goes
(09:56):
way beyond outward obedience andgoes all the way into the heart.
And the most important part ofour reading today, in fact, I
think this is the most importantpart of a chunk of this because
this idea extends into chapter6, is what he says in verse 20.
For I tell you, unless yourrighteousness exceeds the
righteousness of the scribes andPharisees, you will never enter
(10:18):
the kingdom of heaven.
Now that sets the tone andstructure for the sermon, as I
said, even into chapter 6.
But you must imagine here thatwhen Jesus said that, his
audience must have shook theirheads a little bit or got a
little weak in the knees becausethat would be really tough.
Really tough.
The scribes and the Pharisees inJesus' day, they're not bad guys
wearing the black hats.
(10:39):
No, they were considered to bethe religious elite.
This is this is SEAL team six ofreligion.
These people have Olympic goldmedals for knowing the Bible
hanging around their neck.
That would be a really coolOlympic event, wouldn't it?
Get a gold medal and knowing theBible.
But unfortunately, theirapproach to doing business with
(11:00):
God has become very external.
It's really about what peoplesee, paying attention to how
they're received by the folksaround them, what everybody's
looking at, doing things so thatpeople will look and see.
That's a very externally drivenapproach.
And Jesus says, that doesn'twork.
That doesn't work, that's notwhat God wants, and that's not
(11:23):
how citizens in his kingdom willact.
So he goes through anger,through lust, verses 27 to 30,
truthfulness, being true to ourmarriage, being true in our
word, and then the idea ofretaliation, revenge, and even
loving our enemies.
All of this is heart-levelstuff.
Heart-level stuff.
(11:46):
Read it carefully, and thenhere's the closing question for
the day.
Where might Jesus be calling youto deal with the heart of an
issue instead of surface levelbehavior?
Our reading for Tuesday, theSermon on the Mount, Matthew
chapter 5, verses 17 to 48.
(12:06):
It's Wednesday.
It's Wednesday.
What a great day this is.
Not just because it's New Year'sEve, not just because my
Buckeyes are playing in thecollege football playoff tonight
in the cotton ball.
It's a great day for me becauseit's my anniversary.
Happy anniversary, sweetie.
You make me everything that Iam.
And our reading today is inMatthew chapter 6, verses 1 to
(12:28):
18.
And as I said yesterday, thecontrolling idea in this part of
the Sermon on the Mount is toexceed the righteousness of the
scribes and Pharisees fromMatthew 5 and verse 20.
And Jesus continues that.
(12:52):
So he's talking about giving,talking about praying, talking
about fasting, and at the centerof this is the idea of hypocrisy
versus sincerity.
Now, my focus today in thereading is the Lord's Prayer.
Beginning in verse 9, pray thenlike this: Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name, yourkingdom come, your will be done
(13:13):
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our dailybread, and forgive us our debts.
As we also have forgiven ourdebtors, and lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us fromevil.
Some translations have anadditional doxology on the end
of verse 13.
It is not in the besttranslations, and that's why the
ESV, other translations don'tcarry it.
(13:34):
It's beautiful, but it's notpart of the original Lord's
Prayer.
Don't panic about that.
Remember, it's terrible to cutthings out of the Bible, but
it's just as terrible to addthings to the Bible.
So the translators have to makedecisions based on the
manuscripts and all that.
Wow, this is not really apodcast about textual criticism,
but that's not part of theoriginal Lord's Prayer.
Now, I I should say this.
(13:55):
I've been doing a lot with theLord's Prayer, especially in
some gospel meeting efforts.
I've been in a couple ofdifferent places where I've done
something about the Lord'sPrayer, and I'm really wanting
to continue to do that becauseJesus says, verse 9, pray then
like this.
And the reality is nobody does.
This is the prayer that Jesussaid we ought to all pray this,
and we're not.
(14:16):
And I think I understand why,because we've seen it mindlessly
chanted, and we know that thatis not right.
In fact, Jesus says, don't praylike that in Matthew 6 and verse
7.
So we've kind of just pushedaway from it.
But the fact that people havemindlessly chanted it does not
mean it's not a great prayer.
It is a fabulous prayer.
And I want to urge you to praythis prayer.
(14:39):
Pray it.
You can pray this prayer.
I grew up hearing that we can'tpray the your the kingdom come
part, because the kingdom hasalready come.
The kingdom has come.
Wow, that's tremendous, isn'tit?
Let me, more coffee is theanswer to bad grammar.
Which may be why I drink so muchcoffee.
The kingdom has come.
I understand that.
You understand that.
Acts chapter 2, the kingdomcame.
(15:00):
But the kingdom here is not justthe idea of the beginning and
founding of the church in Actschapter 2.
The kingdom here is the reignand rule of Jesus in men and
women's hearts.
And when people submitthemselves to Jesus the Christ,
then the kingdom has come intotheir lives.
When you see somebody baptized,what you're seeing is the coming
of the kingdom into thatperson's life.
(15:21):
So we can continue to pray thatthe kingdom will spread, the
kingdom will come into more andmore people's lives.
So you can pray this prayer.
You can pray this prayer withoutasterisk, without caveats, pray
it.
It's short.
You probably have it memorized.
And it just, it just says somuch that we need to say.
It has a spiritual focus, notmuch about material needs, one
(15:44):
line about that.
It centers us on God's will.
Pray this prayer.
You will be glad that you did.
You can just, in a number ofsituations, you can quickly
bring this prayer before yourFather, and you'll find it
centering you and helping you bea better disciple, a better
kingdom follower.
(16:05):
So here's our closing questiontoday.
Maybe something for us to thinkabout in an age of social media.
Who is your real audience whenyou practice your faith?
Is it people around you or is ityour father in heaven?
Think about that.
Our reading for Wednesday,Matthew 6, 1 to 18.
It's Thursday.
(16:25):
Happy New Year.
Happy New Year, everyone.
Today we're reading Matthewchapter 6, verses 19 to 34.
A wonderful, wonderful sectionon anxiety, treasures, and not
worrying.
Jesus really pushes some ideasabout how kingdom citizens live
in the moment and they don'tborrow trouble from the future.
Now I preached on a bunch ofthis text earlier this month as
(16:47):
part of the preaching theme, thequestion Jesus asked.
So you can go back and resume,re-listen to, or maybe listen to
for the first time that sermon.
If you have a lot of anxiety andworries, just go get that
sermon.
But let me focus on the partthat didn't make that sermon,
which is the section in verses19 to 24.
That's the section abouttreasures.
(17:07):
And I think this is the placewhere Jesus is turning the
sermon away from exceeding therighteousness of the scribes and
Pharisees, that outwardappearance, that outward
practice religion, and reallyhoming in on the heart.
True religion, authenticdiscipleship, is about what's at
the center of us and what welive for, what we dream about,
(17:28):
that matters to God.
And of course, none of thismeans that money is bad.
It just means it can't be thecenter of who we are, and that
we can't be enslaved to money.
So work on that.
Think about what do you reallytreasure?
What do you really treasure?
And if you're concerned thatyou're too materialistic, you're
too possessive, especially ofwealth and money, just ask
(17:49):
yourself, here's your closingquestion.
Who have I shared my wealth, mytreasure, my money with?
Because one of the best ways tokeep from being a slave to your
possessions and stuff is to openyour hands and give it away.
Don't lay up for yourselvestreasures on earth.
Lay up for yourselves treasuresin heaven.
That's what Jesus is challengingus to do in our reading today.
(18:12):
When we do that, that'll deal,mm, that'll deal a lot with the
worries and anxiety that we seein our world.
Our reading for today, Matthewchapter 6, verses 19 to 34.
See you tomorrow.
We'll be in Matthew chapter 7.
It's Friday.
It is Friday.
(18:32):
Lots of great things happening,especially this Sunday at
Westside, when we will roll outthe 2026 daily Bible reading
schedule.
It'll be on the website, justChristians.com.
Rusty and I are going to talkabout what we're doing in daily
Bible reading for 2026 and whatthe goals are, what we're trying
to get accomplished.
Rusty, put that scheduletogether and be really neat to
(18:54):
get a chance to pick his brain,see what he's doing, what he's
hoping is going to happen as aresult.
Rusty's one of our shepherdshere.
Very, very excited about that.
So until we get with that newdaily Bible reading schedule,
Matthew chapter 7 is the readingfor Friday.
Matthew 7, 1 to 29 is thereading for Friday.
And this is, in many ways, theconclusion of the sermon.
(19:15):
Jesus pushes for a decision tomove past what a lot of people
are thinking.
That is, I need to make myselfbetter than others, 1 to 6.
Maybe some ideas about praying,7 to 11.
And then that wonderful goldenrule in verse 12, a final
admonition about false teachersand where that will end up,
(19:36):
verses 15 to 20, and where itends up 21 to 23.
But I really love the closehere.
Preachers love a good close, andthe wise man built his house
upon the rock is about as goodas it gets.
What are you building your lifeon?
This last summer we saw thosetragic floods in the hill
country.
So many lives lost, really hard,really tough.
(20:00):
And all of that serves to remindus of the power of flooding.
And that makes Jesus' words sorelevant for us today.
This is a good place for me topoint out the dangers of daily
Bible reading and a podcastabout daily Bible reading.
Now, certainly not the dangersof coffee.
Coffee is always good.
There's no danger with coffee.
But what's the danger here?
(20:22):
The danger here is that wedecide that reading, thinking
about, talking about, analyzingthe Word of God is sufficient
when Jesus says, verse 24,everyone who hears these words
of mine and does them, doesthem.
That's what we need to make surewe are involved in and we are
(20:43):
about.
Am I installing the Word of Godin my life?
Am I living differently fromhearing the Sermon on the Mount?
So here's your closing question.
Instead of just listening to,thinking about, reading, that's
dangerous.
That's dangerous business.
That's foolish business.
That's a building on sand.
Here's your question.
What is one specific way you cando these words of Jesus?
(21:08):
What's one specific way you canput Jesus' teaching into
practice today?
Our reading for Friday, Matthewchapter 7, verses 1 to 29.
That concludes the podcast forthe week.
Really do appreciate youlistening.
Hope you're telling other peopleabout it.
It's time for people to ramp upthose ideas about, hey, I want
(21:29):
to read my Bible more in a newyear.
And the podcast is an excellentway to encourage people to be in
the Word.
So share the podcast.
Big rollout on Sunday.
New ideas, new things going on.
The 2026 Bible reading scheduleis going to be amazing.
Be sure you tune in for that,get that, download your reading
schedule off the website.
(21:50):
It'll be up Sunday.
Get the reading schedule.
Let's get in the Word.
Podcast will be with you.
I'll be with you on Monday.
We're starting that new year.
It's going to be great.
But until then, let me justremind you: I'm Mark Roberts,
and I want to go to heaven.
I want you to come too.
Looking forward to seeing you onMonday.
New Bible reading schedule and acup of coffee.
SPEAKER_00 (22:18):
Thanks for listening to the Westside Church of Christ
podcast, Monday Morning Coffeewith Mark.
For more information aboutWestside, you can connect with
us through our website, justChristians.com, and our Facebook
page.
Our music is from Upbeat.io.
That's Upbeat with two P's,U-P-P-B-E-A-T, where creators
(22:42):
can get free music.
Please share our podcast withothers, and we look forward to
seeing you again with a cup ofcoffee, of course, on next
Monday.
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