January 16, 2025
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28 ESV). The greatest invitation in human history was offered by Jesus. Not an invitation to come to a party, but to a Person. Not an invitation to a religion, but to a relationship. Yet, this invitation is
January 14, 2025
“Do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matthew 10:19-20 ESV). When Jesus sent His disciples out as
January 10, 2025
‘And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.”’ (Matthew 8:2-3 ESV). Notice the approach of the leper. First, he came to Jesus, second, he knelt before Him, third,
January 6, 2025
“Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you” (Matthew 5:42 ESV). In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He taught that citizens of His Kingdom will respond generously to those who ask for help. Of course we might think of many reasons why the one
January 5, 2025
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3 ESV). This is the first of the Beatitudes in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. Each one begins with the word, “Blessed,” which comes from the Greek word, “makarios,” which might also be translated “happy” or “completely satisfied.” This is not
January 4, 2025
“And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people” (Matthew 4:23 ESV). The apostle Matthew recorded that Jesus began His ministry by going all about Galilee preaching “the gospel of the kingdom.” Indeed, this seems to be
December 8, 2024 | Matthew 2:1-12 |
Have you finished your Christmas shopping? Don’t you feel the tension? Don’t you feel the pressure to spend more money than you have in order to give your kids (spouse, grandkids…) everything on their list? You want everyone to be happy and you want to be happy, so you spend, spend, spend… And the more you spend, the less it feels like Christmas. Or what it’s supposed to mean.
How can we pull our affection off of the crazy, chaotic spending spree that comes every December and instead focus on worshiping Christ as King? How can we spend less and worship more?
In the gospel of Matthew, the story of the birth of Jesus is told within the political backdrop of the times. From the beginning there was a battle between worshiping the true King and the false king Herod. The challenge for us is to remove our worship from the false king and to put our worship on the true King, Jesus Christ.
February 12, 2024
‘Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?”’ (Matthew 27:22 ESV). 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
February 10, 2024
“Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53 ESV). When Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot and was being arrested, the gospel of Matthew reported that one of those with Jesus drew his sword and cut off a
February 9, 2024
“But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee” (Matthew 26:32 ESV). Jesus said this to His disciples to encourage them. For He had already warned them that they would all stumble and scatter that very night. Yet He wanted them to look past His coming betrayal, crucifixion and death, and