In Matthew 6:33, Jesus commands, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” This command comes in the context of Jesus’ teaching about worry and anxiety. Our fears over provision often reveal that our hearts are more focused on the temporary than the eternal.

Pastor Ben Smith explains that seeking first the kingdom requires a reordering of priorities. God’s people are called to seek His rule, pursue His righteousness, and trust His provision. Worry focuses on our needs and our inability to meet them; prayer turns our attention to the power, providence, and provision of God.

This message calls believers to reject the anxiety of self-rule and live with singular devotion to the kingdom of God.

To learn more, visit BenSmithSr.org.

In Matthew 5:17–20, Jesus teaches that He has not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them. His kingdom is not opposed to the testimony of God in the Old Testament. Rather, His life, death, and resurrection accomplish what the law required and what the prophets proclaimed.

Pastor Ben Smith explains that the kingdom of God is eternal, that greatness in the kingdom is tied to obedience to God’s Word, and that entrance into the kingdom requires a righteousness greater than the scribes and Pharisees could provide. The message presses home the impossibility of self-made righteousness and the sufficiency of Christ’s fulfilled righteousness.

The hope of heaven is not found in God ignoring sin, but in Jesus atoning for sin and making sinners righteous before God.

To learn more, visit BenSmithSr.org.

In Matthew 4:17, Jesus begins His public ministry with a clear and urgent message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” This episode considers the meaning and necessity of repentance in light of the coming kingdom of God.

Pastor Ben Smith explains that repentance is a word of confrontation, action, and truth. It confronts the sinner’s direction, righteousness, and authority. It calls for more than regret or religious interest; it calls for submission to Christ. The kingdom has come in the arrival of Jesus, and the fullness of that kingdom will come when He returns.

This sermon helps listeners understand why repentance is essential to the gospel, why the call to repent cannot be separated from salvation, and why today remains the day to respond to the gracious warning of God.

To learn more, visit BenSmithSr.org.