Strive for Godly Perfection, Matthew 4:17-7:29

The LifeWay lesson material for Matthew is focused on basic questions concerning Christian behavior. Yesterday, I took an approach of asking members lot’s of questions, and in turn, encouraged them to ask questions. Our discussion was lively and informative. My worries about controlling the dialogue were unfounded. As usual, the Holy Spirit guided our speech to a positive result. Praise the Lord!

Also, this week’s lesson, “Strive for Godly Perfection,” from Matthew 4:17-7:29, answers basic questions about Christian behavior. Our highest goal is to maintain grace-filled relationships that invite people to Christ.

My first thought was to illustrate this lesson with a brief video of Nadia Comaneci scoring a perfect 10 in the 1976 Olympic games. Most of us can’t relate to the training regimen and disciple of such world-class athletes.

However, Jesus commanded believers to “Be perfect” (Matt 5:48). Like Nicodemus, I find myself asking, “How can this be?” (John 3:9). Let’s dig in and see what God’s Word teaches us!

P.S. If you can’t show a video of Nadia’s performance, then fall back to reading excerpts about it from a published article.