Saint Matthew Baptist Church

08/30/2026

Sermon Series: From Law to Grace

Sermon Title: Faithful Stewardship
Scripture: Exodus 20:15 ESV
Responsive Reading: Leviticus 19:9-18 ESV​
Speaker: Pastor T. Barlow

Description: “You shall not steal.”

The Eighth Commandment is about far more than taking something that does not belong to us. It reveals God’s concern for honesty, contentment, generosity, and how we steward everything He has placed into our hands. In “Faithful Stewardship,” we will examine how stealing can take many forms—from obvious theft and fraud to exploitation and withholding what is rightfully owed—and how the commandment also carries a positive responsibility toward our neighbor. Scripture calls us not merely to stop taking, but to work honestly, provide responsibly, and give generously. The gospel transforms the hands that once took into hands willing to give. Ultimately, we will look to Jesus Christ, the One who never took what was not His, yet willingly gave Himself for sinners. Through His cross and resurrection, Christ transforms takers into faithful stewards who recognize that everything we possess ultimately belongs to God and should be used for His glory and our neighbor’s good.

Catechism for Reflection

Q: What does the Eighth Commandment require of us?

A: The Eighth Commandment requires us to respect what belongs to others, work honestly, practice faithful stewardship, and generously use what God has entrusted to us for the good of our neighbor.
Exodus 20:15; Ephesians 4:28; Deuteronomy 15:7–8

Q: How do we violate the Eighth Commandment?

A: We violate the Eighth Commandment whenever we take, withhold, obtain, or use what rightfully belongs to another through theft, fraud, dishonesty, exploitation, or injustice, and when greed or selfishness closes our hearts to genuine need.
Leviticus 19:11, 13; James 5:4; 1 John 3:17

Q: How does Christ answer our failure to keep the Eighth Commandment?

A: Christ, who never stole or defrauded anyone, freely gave Himself for guilty sinners, bearing our judgment on the cross and rising again so that those who once lived as takers might become honest workers, faithful stewards, and generous givers.
Mark 10:45; 2 Corinthians 8:9; Ephesians 4:28

� If you feel led to support the ministry of Saint Matthew Baptist Church, we welcome your gifts via CashApp: $smbcnext10. Your generosity helps us continue proclaiming the gospel and serving our community in the name of Christ.

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08/23/2026

Sermon Series: From Law to Grace

Sermon Title: My Body, His Rules
Scripture: Exodus 20:14 ESV
Responsive Reading: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 ESV​
Speaker: Pastor T. Barlow

Description: “You shall not commit adultery.”

The Seventh Commandment confronts one of the defining claims of our culture: “My body, my rules.” Scripture presents something radically different. Our bodies, s*xuality, desires, marriages, and singleness are not territories where God’s authority ends. God created our bodies, established marriage, designed s*xuality, and therefore has the right to determine how His gifts are used.

In “My Body, His Rules,” we examine the goodness of God’s design for s*xuality and the boundaries He established to protect it. The Seventh Commandment is not God declaring that s*x is dirty; it is God declaring that s*x is powerful, marriage is sacred, covenant faithfulness matters, and our desires must remain under His authority. Jesus takes the command even deeper, showing that adultery does not begin merely in the bedroom—it begins in the heart through lust and desires that refuse God’s boundaries.

This commandment exposes our fallen pursuit of s*xual autonomy. Adultery, fornication, po*******hy, lust, emotional unfaithfulness, and every other form of s*xual immorality ultimately ask the same question: Will God determine what I do with my body, or will I? Consent matters, but consent alone does not determine holiness. The Christian must ask not only, “What do I desire?” but “What has God commanded?”

Yet the Seventh Commandment does not leave s*xually broken people without hope. The gospel announces something greater than “my body, my rules”: “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.” Jesus perfectly honored His Father with His body and then offered that sinless body on the cross to redeem sinners who have dishonored God with ours. He shed His blood to wash the s*xually immoral, the adulterer, the lustful, and the ashamed—and He rose bodily from the grave so that those united to Him might walk in newness of life.

Our bodies are created by God, purchased by Christ, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and destined for resurrection. Therefore, s*xual holiness is ultimately not merely about what Christians are forbidden to do. It is about whose we are.

My body. His rules. Because I belong to Him.

Catechism for Reflection

Q: What does the Seventh Commandment require of us?
A: The Seventh Commandment requires us to honor God’s design for s*xuality by remaining faithful in marriage, pure in singleness, and holy in our bodies, hearts, eyes, thoughts, and desires.
Scripture: Exodus 20:14; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:3–4

Q: How do we violate the Seventh Commandment?
A: We violate the Seventh Commandment through adultery and every form of s*xual immorality, including lust, po*******hy, fornication, and other desires and actions that separate God’s gift of s*xuality from the boundaries He established for it.
Scripture: Matthew 5:27–28; 1 Corinthians 6:18; Ephesians 5:3

Q: How does Christ answer our s*xual sin and enable us to live in purity?
A: Christ perfectly obeyed the Father in body and heart, gave His sinless body on the cross to purchase sinners with His blood, and rose again so that those united to Him might be washed, forgiven, and empowered by His Spirit to glorify God with their bodies.
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:11, 14, 19–20; 1 Peter 2:24

� If you feel led to support the ministry of Saint Matthew Baptist Church, we welcome your gifts via CashApp: $smbcnext10. Your generosity helps us continue proclaiming the gospel and serving our community in the name of Christ.

Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share this livestream so others can hear the good news of God’s mercy!

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08/16/2026

Sermon Series: From Law to Grace

Sermon Title: The Sacredness of Human Life
Scripture: Exodus 20:13 ESV
Responsive Reading: Matthew 5:17-24 ESV
Speaker: Pastor T. Barlow

Description: “You shall not murder.”

The Sixth Commandment is brief, but its implications reach far beyond the physical act of taking a life. Because every human being is made in the image of God, human life possesses a dignity and value that cannot be determined by usefulness, convenience, ability, age, status, or human preference. From the unborn child in the womb to the elderly, from our neighbor to our enemy, human life belongs to God and must be treated as sacred.

In “The Sacredness of Human Life,” we examine how a fallen world continually violates this command through abortion, violence, murder, hatred, vengeance, dehumanization, and contempt for others. Jesus takes the Sixth Commandment even deeper, exposing the murderous roots within our own hearts: sinful anger, bitterness, hatred, and the desire to see another image-bearer harmed. The commandment therefore leaves none of us able to claim innocence simply because we have never physically taken a life.

But the Law ultimately leads us to Christ—the Author of life whom sinful men put to death. Jesus perfectly loved His neighbors and His enemies, willingly laid down His life, and bore the judgment deserved by sinners with murderous hearts. Though hatred nailed Him to a cross and His body was placed in a tomb, death did not have enough power to keep the Author of life dead. On the third day, Christ rose in victory, proving that sin, hatred, the grave, and death itself will not have the final word.

The Sixth Commandment calls us not merely to refrain from murder, but to become a people who value life, protect the vulnerable, reject hatred, pursue reconciliation, love our enemies, and recognize God's image in our fellow human beings. The cross offers forgiveness to those who have violated the sacredness of life, and the empty tomb declares that in Christ, life ultimately triumphs over death.

Catechism for Reflection

Q: What does the Sixth Commandment require of us?

A: The Sixth Commandment requires us to honor the sacredness of human life, refusing to unjustly take life and seeking instead to protect, preserve, and promote the life and well-being of our neighbor.
Scripture: Exodus 20:13; Genesis 1:27; Genesis 9:6

Q: How do we violate the Sixth Commandment without physically taking a life?

A: We violate the Sixth Commandment when we harbor sinful anger, hatred, bitterness, contempt, or vengeance toward others, because murder begins in the heart before it is carried out by the hands.
Scripture: Matthew 5:21–22; 1 John 3:15; James 3:9–10

Q: How does Christ answer our violation of the Sixth Commandment?

A: Christ perfectly loved His neighbors and enemies, willingly laid down His life for sinners, and bore the judgment our murderous hearts deserve. Though wicked men crucified Him, death could not hold the Author of life; He rose from the grave and, by His Spirit, transforms us into people who love, forgive, reconcile, and honor the life God has created.
Scripture: John 10:17–18; Acts 2:23–24; Acts 3:15; Matthew 5:44

� If you feel led to support the ministry of Saint Matthew Baptist Church, we welcome your gifts via CashApp: $smbcnext10. Your generosity helps us continue proclaiming the gospel and serving our community in the name of Christ.

Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share this livestream so others can hear the good news of God’s mercy!

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08/09/2026

Sermon Series: From Law to Grace

Sermon Title: The Obligation to Honor
Scripture: Exodus 20:12 ESV
Responsive Reading: Ephesians 5:28-6:4 ESV
Speaker: Pastor T. Barlow

Description: With the Fifth Commandment, the focus of the Law shifts from our relationship with God to our relationships with one another—and God begins at home: “Honor your father and your mother.”

In “The Obligation to Honor,” we explore why God places the family at the foundation of our responsibility toward our neighbor. The home is our first classroom, our first experience with authority, and one of the first places where we learn what love, obedience, sacrifice, and responsibility look like. The Fifth Commandment reminds us that honoring our parents is not dependent upon their perfection, but upon the position God has established, while also recognizing that all human authority remains accountable to Him.

Yet this commandment also exposes the fallen condition of our hearts and our society. Children rebel, parents neglect their responsibilities, generations despise one another, rightful authority is rejected, and authority itself is sometimes abused. Beneath it all lies humanity’s deeper rebellion against God: we naturally desire autonomy rather than submission.

But the Fifth Commandment ultimately leads us to Jesus Christ, the perfectly obedient Son. Jesus honored His heavenly Father, submitted to His earthly parents, and even from the cross ensured that His mother would be cared for. Where we have dishonored, Christ perfectly honored. At Calvary, the obedient Son bore the guilt of rebellious sons and daughters, and through His resurrection and the power of the Holy Spirit, He gives His people new hearts that can learn to walk in godly honor.

Join us as we discover that the call to honor father and mother is more than a childhood obligation—it is a lifelong expression of our submission to God, fulfilled perfectly in Christ and lived out by those who have been redeemed by grace.

Catechism for Reflection

Q: What does the Fifth Commandment require of us?

A: The Fifth Commandment requires us to honor our father and mother, respecting their God-given position, receiving their faithful instruction, obeying them when under their authority, and continuing to show them love, gratitude, and appropriate care throughout their lives.

Scripture: Exodus 20:12; Ephesians 6:1–3; Proverbs 23:22

Q: Why are we obligated to honor our father and mother?

A: We are obligated to honor our father and mother because God established the family and delegated parental authority. Therefore, honoring rightful parental authority is an expression of our submission to and honor of God, from whom all legitimate authority comes.

Scripture: Exodus 20:12; Ephesians 6:1–2; Colossians 3:20

Q: How does Christ fulfill the Fifth Commandment and enable us to walk in honor?

A: Christ perfectly honored His heavenly Father and His earthly parents, even caring for His mother from the cross. Through His death He bore the guilt of our dishonor, through His resurrection He conquered sin and death, and by His Spirit He enables redeemed sons and daughters to walk in obedience, love, and honor.

Scripture: Luke 2:51; John 8:29; John 19:26–27; Philippians 2:8; Ephesians 6:1–2

� If you feel led to support the ministry of Saint Matthew Baptist Church, we welcome your gifts via CashApp: $smbcnext10. Your generosity helps us continue proclaiming the gospel and serving our community in the name of Christ.

Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share this livestream so others can hear the good news of God’s mercy!

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07/25/2026

We had a great time yesterday with the church volunteers that came out during Omaha Blitz!!! Pastor T. was grateful that one person from the community is coming back on Sunday to fellowship with us, he also gave thanks to everyone who volunteered, and closed the block party out with prayer. GOD IS GOOD 🙌🏾🙌🏾

07/25/2026

07/24/2026

🎉BLOCK PARTY 🎉 Come join us 6:30-8 PM Live music, free food, games and more!!!