January 11, 2020
ARE YOU FOCUSED ON THE STORM OR THE SAVIOR? At first the disciples were afraid of the storm outside the boat, then they feared the One inside the boat. “Who can this be?” They wondered. He demonstrates authority over both the seen and the unseen creation. For both storms and evil spirits obey Him. Who
January 10, 2020
WILL YOU SIT DOWN WITH ABRAHAM, ISAAC AND JACOB? A Roman centurion came to Jesus at Capernaum asking for healing for his servant. Jesus offered to come and heal the servant. But the centurion replied that he wasn’t worthy to have Jesus under his roof. Instead, he said that he believed that Jesus need only
January 6, 2020
LIVING GENEROUSLY In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He taught that citizens of His Kingdom should respond generously to those who ask for help. Of course we might think of many reasons why the one doing the asking might be undeserving, but that shouldn’t be our first thought. Our first inclination as followers of Jesus
January 4, 2020
WHAT IS THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM? The apostle Matthew recorded that Jesus’ ministry in Galilee was in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, saying that the people of Galilee who “sat in darkness have seen a great light” (Matt. 10:16 quoting Isa. 9:1-2). He also reported that Jesus went all about Galilee preaching “the gospel of
December 8, 2019 | Matthew 2:1-12 |
Our wishes, our longings, are really a kind of worship. Because that’s what worship is. Worship is seeing something or someone that we count worthy of our affection and longing, our love, and then, recognizing that worthiness, we seek to give them what they’re worth.
In the book of Matthew the story of the birth of Jesus was told within the political backdrop of the times. Jesus was the one prophesied to be King, but He came in the most unexpected way. And from the beginning there was a battle between His Kingdom and the false king that usurped His Throne. The challenge for us is to remove our worship from the false king and to put our worship on the true King, Jesus Christ. After all, it’s His birthday we’re celebrating. Not ours.
November 24, 2019 | Matthew 16:24 |
Our flesh, our sin nature, constantly desires the easy way, the short cut, it wants its own way. But the way of discipleship, the way of following Jesus begins with a decision to “deny ourselves.” In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus described what it meant to answer the call to come after Him and be one of His disciples. We can answer the call to be a disciple of Jesus.
February 12, 2019
WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH JESUS? The Roman Governor Pilate asked the crowd to answer this question for him. He sought to avoid making a decision about Jesus, but his plan backfired. The crowd’s surprising support of the criminal Barabbas left Pilate still responsible to answer the question of what to do with Jesus. Pilate
February 10, 2019
JESUS, SON OF MAN, SON OF GOD Jesus remained silent before His accusers. But when Caiaphas, the high priest, demanded that Jesus answer whether He was the Messiah, the Son of God, He replied, “You have said it.” In other words, Jesus answered in the positive. And Jesus said even more, quoting the prophet Daniel,
February 9, 2019
THE LORD JESUS SANG ON THE NIGHT OF HIS BETRAYAL The night Jesus was betrayed to be crucified, He joined His disciples in singing a hymn before going up to the Mount of Olives to pray and await His betrayer. What hymn did they sing? The traditional Passover hymns were the “Hallel” (“praise”) psalms found
February 8, 2019
EXTRAVAGANT GENEROSITY THE MARK OF GOSPEL BELIEVING PEOPLE What Jesus said is true. Wherever the gospel is preached, the story of a woman’s extravagant generosity towards Jesus is told. A woman in Bethany came up to him with “an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and poured it on his head” (Matt.26:7) causing those in