April 24, 2021
WHEN THE LORD REPEATS YOUR NAME The Lord addressed him as, “Simon, Simon,” not as “Peter,” for he wouldn’t live up to his new God-given name, which meant “the rock,” until after Christ’s resurrection. Simon Peter tried, but in his flesh he had no power to live up to the new name Jesus had given
April 22, 2021
LOVE AND GIVING ARE CONNECTED As Jesus watched the people putting their gifts into the Temple offering, He offered several insights. One insight is that God sees our giving. He watches over our giving, looking to see who is generous and who is not. Another insight is that God sees the proportion of our giving.
April 21, 2021
THE DIVINITY AND PREEXISTENCE OF CHRIST Jesus asked the Jewish leaders this question not to suggest that the Messiah wouldn’t be born into the line of David, but rather to show them that he would be the Son of God. It was a well known doctrine among the Jews that the Messiah would be born
April 20, 2021
SILENT AND AMAZED AT JESUS The Jewish leaders sent spies to entrap Jesus with what they thought was an unanswerable question. They asked Jesus, “Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” They had carefully crafted the politically charged question, so that if he answered in the positive, he would offend
April 17, 2021
THE CURRENCY OF THE KINGDOM IS ASKING When a blind man begging on the roadside near Jericho heard that Jesus was passing by, he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” When Jesus heard him, he commanded that the blind man be brought to Him. Jesus asked, “What do you want Me
April 15, 2021
WHERE IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD? Where is the kingdom of God? And when will it come? The Pharisees asked Jesus to show them the kingdom. But He warned them that it was not yet something they could observe. They were looking for the outward evidence of pomp and power from a conquering king, while
April 14, 2021
NOT MORE PROOF, BUT LESS PRIDE This was Abraham’s response to the rich man who while in torment in Hades begged for Lazarus to return to warn his brothers of the reality of heaven and hell. This dialogue was the conclusion to a story that Jesus told to illustrate the way people would refuse to
April 12, 2021
WHAT WILL IT TAKE FOR YOU TO COME TO YOUR SENSES? Jesus told a parable about a father and two sons. The younger one was rebellious and took his portion of his father’s wealth and squandered it in riotous living. When his money had run out, a famine came, and he took a job feeding
April 11, 2021
THE COST OF FOLLOWING JESUS Jesus gave the example of counting the cost before building a tower to illustrate the importance of doing the same before making a decision to follow Him. It’s true that Jesus has paid for our salvation, so we may receive it freely by faith. Yet saying yes to so great
April 8, 2021
WHAT DOES BEING READY LOOK LIKE? Jesus told a parable about a master returning from a wedding banquet and how his servants should be ready to open the door of his house the moment he knocks. He could return any hour of the night, so they must always be ready. Jesus told this parable