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Observe the Word

Michael Brent

Bible teacher Michael Brent helps listeners observe and interpret the Word of God. His present series addresses the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) with an emphasis on the sermon’s thought and structure. Search for previous series on the Pentateuch, Isaiah, John, Acts and Romans here at podbean or by accessing these series individually at the observetheword.com website or on various podcasting platforms such as itunes, spotify and youtube.

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20 episodes
Avg 46 min
English

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#197
Nov 20, 2025 · 54 min
Matthew 7:13-29 Kingdom Decision
In Matthew 7:13-29 Jesus concludes the Sermon on the Mount with a call to decision. It is an invitation, a challenge and a warning. Every human being has a choice to make. And that choice is about Jesus. What is the narrow way? And who do you trust to take you along the narrow way? The choice is yours to make.
#196
Nov 6, 2025 · 55 min
Matthew 7:1-12 Kingdom Wisdom
In Matthew 7:1-12 Jesus gives us wisdom on how to love our neighbor in a sinful, messy world. Love is hard and risky. We need self-awareness, others-awareness and God-awareness to live out the ethic of Jesus.
#195
Oct 23, 2025 · 54 min
Matthew 6:19-34 Kingdom Priority
In Matthew 6:19-34 we are challenged to ask, "What do I really want out of life?" Jesus uses a series of deceptively simple metaphors that urge us to reorient our lives around heavenly treasure. And he tells us why seeking first the kingdom of heaven is so simple and why it is so hard.
#194
Oct 9, 2025 · 57 min
Matthew 6:7-15 Kingdom Piety 2
In Matthew 6:7-15 Jesus further develops his exhortation on genuine prayer. Known as "the Lord's prayer" and as "the Our Father", this is not a prayer given us to pray word for word. This is a model of prayer guiding us in the way we should pray. Jesus teaches us how to think about our interaction with God and the reward that God promises when we meet with him alone in genuine, humble faith.
#193
Sep 25, 2025 · 51 min
Matthew 6:1-6 and 16-18 Kingdom Piety 1
In Matthew 6:1-6 and 16-18, Jesus shifts from loving our neighbor to loving our God, a shift from public spiritual life that ought to be seen, to private spiritual life that ought not be seen. Jesus now exhorts us to acts of devotion that bring about lasting reward from God.
#192
Feb 25, 2024 · 51 min
Matthew 5:33-48 Kingdom Commandments 2
In Matthew 5:33-48, we continue with the second half of Jesus' kingdom commandments. He calls us deeper in and further out, establishing an incredibly high moral standard for entrance into the kingdom of heaven. At this point, we are finally ready to go back and understand the blessings Jesus announced at the beginning of his sermon.
#191
Dec 23, 2023 · 46 min
Matthew 5:17-32 Kingdom Commandments 1
In Matthew 5:17-32, we address the first half of kingdom commandments indicated by Jesus formula, "You have heard it said...but I say to you..." What does it look like to be salt and light for the kingdom of heaven? Jesus is going to tell us. And the standard he sets is going to be very high indeed.
#190
Nov 29, 2023 · 39 min
Matthew 5:1-16 Kingdom Values
In Matthew 5:1-16, Jesus begins the sermon on the mount with a two part introduction. First, he communicates a series of virtues God affirms by rewarding. And second, he exhorts his disciples to be salt and light in society, presumably by living out the virtues that God values. But what does it look like, really, to live out the virtues? In the end, Jesus raises more questions than answers, and that is intentional.
#189
Nov 9, 2023 · 32 min
Matthew 3-4 Gospel of the Kingdom
In Matthew 3-4, we continue to follow Matthew as he sets up the context for the sermon on the mount. Who is this Jesus? What has he come to do? What is his connection to the Old Covenant? What does he mean that the kingdom of heaven is near? What is this gospel of the kingdom that Jesus proclaims?
#188
Oct 27, 2023 · 36 min
Matthew 1-2 Origin of the King
We begin our Sermon on the Mount series with a two-part overview of Matthew 1-4 to set up our context. Who is this Jesus? What has he come to do? What is his connection to the Old Covenant? That's what Matthew has in mind to tell us, starting with the origin of the king in chapters 1 and 2.
#187
Jul 22, 2023 · 53 min
Isaiah 66:18-24 A Sign Among the Nations
In Isaiah 66:18-24, the end of Isaiah speaks of the end of this age. God sets a sign among his people. And he sends survivors out to the ends of the earth. They raise the sign as a standard. It is time to gather in the nations, time for every knee to bow and every tongue confess that the Holy One of Israel, He is God.
#186
Jun 13, 2023 · 49 min
Isaiah 65:17-66:17 New Heavens and New Earth
In Isaiah 65:17-66:17, God's response to the watcher's lament reaches a climax with the promise of a recreation. God will create the heavens and earth anew as an eternal dwelling place for his chosen ones. Who are the chosen ones? Who are these servants of God that dwell with him forever?
#185
Jun 1, 2023 · 46 min
Isaiah 63:7-65:16 Lament and Response
In Isaiah 63:7-65:16, we move from the triumphant vision of glorious Zion to the struggle of holding onto the promise of that glorious future in the painful present. A human watcher cries out to God in a theological rich lament. God challenges the watcher to accept a more accurate perspective of what he is doing.
#184
May 18, 2023 · 45 min
Isaiah 61:10-63:6 Four Songs of the Conqueror
In Isaiah 61:10-63:6, we encounter two further songs of a mysterious figure committed to the establishment of an ideal society for God's people. In the first song he comes dressed as a groom for a wedding. In the second song he comes dressed as a champion for battle.
#183
May 3, 2023 · 38 min
Isaiah 61:1-9 The Favorable Year of the Lord
In Isaiah 61:1-9 God pours out his Spirit, anointing a chosen servant to proclaim good news to the afflicted. That good news transforms God's people. 700 years later Jesus stood up in a synagogue, read the first two verses of this passage, sat down and declared, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
#182
Apr 16, 2023 · 49 min
Isaiah 60 The Coming Glory
In Isaiah 60, the glory of God shines out from Zion as a glorious city on a hill. Many peoples respond to that light bringing gifts of tribute to the Holy One of Israel, tribute including frankincense and gold. How does this vision of Zion relate to the church? Is this our mission to build a city of light on earth?
#181
Mar 29, 2023 · 38 min
Isaiah 59 The Conqueror Comes
In Isaiah 59, the prophet first condemns the wickedness of his society and then includes himself in with all the rest as he confesses, "our sins testify against us...we know our iniquities." Seeing no man to intercede, the Lord arms himself to bring justice and salvation. But who is this divine conqueror who comes to redeem Zion?
#180
Mar 20, 2023 · 49 min
Isaiah 58 A True Fast – Desiring God and Loving People
In Isaiah 58, the prophet calls out religious hypocrisy. As the paganism of chapter 57 represents the progressive idolatry of the left, the human-centered religiosity of chapter 58 represents the conservative idolatry of the right. In this lesson we raise our third big picture interpretation question, "How does the gospel of Jesus Christ help me interpret this text?"
#179
Jan 20, 2023 · 42 min
Isaiah 56:9-57:21 Two Parties in Judah
In Isaiah 56:9-57:21, we shift from the ideal of God's people depicted in 56:1-8 to the actual reality of God's people. This gives us an opportunity to ask the critical interpretive question, "Who is Isaiah's primary audience?" Who were the people of God he was talking to and what were they like?
#178
Dec 13, 2022 · 34 min
Isaiah 56:1-8 World People, Sabbath People, Praying People
In Isaiah 56:1-8, we introduce the Book of the Conqueror, chapters 56-66, asking a critical interpretive question, overviewing this book's structure, and considering in its first 8 verses the inclusion of eunuchs and foreigners into covenant community with God.

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