January 8, 2018
In Christ’s sermon on the mount, we learn something about persistence in prayer and more importantly, about the goodness of the Father in answering. Jesus taught His followers to be persistent in “asking, seeking and knocking.” Then, He revealed the Father’s heart by comparing the good gifts that even sinful parents give their children with how much more the Heavenly Father will give good gifts to those who ask Him (Matt. 7:11).
The currency of the kingdom is asking. As the apostle James wrote, “You have not because you ask not” (James 4:2).
January 7, 2018
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Matthew 16:24
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following, goals
The new year is upon us and with it many of us are setting goals we’d like to accomplish this year. We want to be winners and leaders. We want to achieve greatness in some arena of life. We want self-fulfillment. These are admirable goals, yet the way the world seeks such goals is very different from the way the Lord would have us take. For the Lord teaches us that the way to winning is losing, the way to self-fulfillment is self-denial, the way of greatness is serving. He teaches that in order to become a great leader, you must first learn to be a follower.
The world’s path is very different from the Lord’s. The world’s way may seem to work for a season, but many of us have tried to climb the ladder of success only to find that it was leaning against the wrong building. A man achieves that big promotion, but loses his family in the process. A woman tries to be a super-wife, a super-mom and seek super fulfillment in her career, but all she feels is super-burned-out. A teenager wears the latest fashions, listens to the latest tunes and tries to use all the latest lingo, but still feels alone and unaccepted at school.
Yet, as people of faith, we are not to live as the world lives. We’re supposed to be different. We don’t follow a philosophy, we follow a Person. We don’t follow a system, we follow our Savior. In the book of Matthew, Jesus described what it meant to answer the call to come after Him and be one of His followers. We can answer the call to be a follower of Jesus.
December 17, 2017
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Matthew 1:18-25
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christmas
Have you noticed how prominent the color red is at Christmas? Red bows and red wrapping, red poinsettias and red holly berries, red striped candy canes, Santa’s suit is red, and even Rudolph’s nose! Red is everywhere this time of year! The color red reminds us of the love of God and the blood of Jesus, which He willing shed for our sins. We can’t really understand the meaning of Christmas without Easter. The cradle points to the cross. God’s “love ran red.”
In the gospel according to Matthew, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream to announce that his betrothed, Mary, would give birth to a son who was God’s loving gift of salvation. We can trust in God’s Son as His loving gift of salvation.
December 10, 2017
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Matthew 2:1-12
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christmas
What is it about this song “White Christmas” that stirs us so? Isn’t it the desire to have the perfect Christmas? To experience the wonder and expectation that we once felt as a child? Don’t you desire to have the perfect Christmas? Don’t you feel the pressure to make it happen? To spend more money than you have in order to give your kids everything on their list? You decorate your house. You cook and clean. Because you want a “White,” a “Perfect,” Christmas. This longing for wonder and beauty, this longing for the eternal is in every human heart. It’s what moves us to dream of something perfect and lasting. It’s what moves us to worship.
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.
August 20, 2017
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Matthew 4:18-22
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three commitments
In the book of Matthew, Jesus challenged the disciples with a simple commitment: “Follow me.” Jesus called them to a relationship with Him. He called them to be Jesus-followers. Of course, this meant leaving everything else behind. It was such a simple commitment, yet it led to a radically better life. We can answer this same simple commitment to follow Jesus and experience the better life He promised.
May 14, 2017
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Matthew 16:13-26
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identity
How do you answer the question, “Who am I?” For many of you, you’ve tied your identity to your name, “I’m John or I’m Susie.” Others might say, “I’m a father or mother, or I’m a husband or a wife, I’m a son or daughter, I’m a teacher, I’m a nurse, I’m a coach, I’m a dog-lover or cat-lover. How do you answer the question? In Tim Keller’s book, Making Sense of God, he describes two ways that people have found their identity. One, he calls the “traditional path,” where the individual finds identity from the community in which they are born and grow up. The second path, Keller calls the “modern” or “secular” approach. This is the new emphasis on looking “inward” to find the true self, where one’s desires and dreams are to dictate one’s identity.
In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus told His followers that they must lose their former sense of self in order to find their true identity in Christ. The only way that we can discover our true, God-given identity is by losing our former one and finding our true identity in Christ. How can we find our true identity in Christ? The text gives three steps to finding your true identity in Christ.
February 12, 2017
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Matthew 28:18-20
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disciple making, discipleship
Disciple making begins with being a witness for Christ, sharing the gospel and inviting others to attend church with you. But why don’t more Christians witness? Recent statistics state that “86% of people who visit were invited by a friend or relative.” Yet, “only 2% of church people have invited an unchurched person to church with them.” What kind of a disciple are you? Do you want to be a disciple who makes disciples?
In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus commissioned his disciples to be disciple-makers. We call this the Great Commission. Christ made being a disciple and making-disciples inseparable. If you want to be a disciple of Jesus, you will be a disciple-maker. In Christ’s Great Commission, he taught them how to make disciples. We can obey Christ’s call to be disciples who make disciples.
[Note: Pastor Gary was visiting the Rocky Mount campus, Eastgate Community Church, this Sunday. This campus did not have the ability to record video of his message, so only audio is available for this sermon]
February 12, 2017
The Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, had a custom of releasing a prisoner during the feast of Passover. He gave the unruly crowd a choice between Barabbas and Jesus, thinking they would choose Jesus and let him off the hook. But at the urging of the chief priests and elders, they chose Barabbas instead. Ironically, “Barabbas” is from the Aramaic, which means, “son of a father” (“bar” = “son of” + “abba” = “father”). So, the guilty “son of a father,” representing fallen humanity was released. And the innocent and holy, Son of the Father, was condemned in his place.
February 10, 2017
Before we judge the disciples too harshly, we must answer the question, “When have you forsaken Christ?” For even those of us with the most sturdy faith have certainly faltered at times. Simon Peter, still stinging from Christ’s prediction that he would deny him three times at sunset, pulled out his sword and cut off an ear of the high priest’s servant who had laid hands on Jesus. What did Peter get from Jesus for this protective action? Praise? No. He received a rebuke. Jesus didn’t need Peter’s protection. He could’ve called more than 12 legions (72,000+) of angels to His side, but instead He went willingly and obediently to the cross. Peter dropped his sword and fled along with the other disciples. Peter must’ve been overwrought with fear and confusion. Jesus wouldn’t listen when he tried to talk him out of going to the cross, calling him “Satan” in rebuke. And now, Jesus wouldn’t let him protect him, rebuking him for using his sword. Peter was at the end of his own wisdom and strength. “What does Jesus want from me?” He must’ve wondered. So he “forsook” and “fled,” instead of forsaking himself and following. Jesus does not need our protection, he wants us to deny ourselves, take up our own cross, and follow him (Luke 9:23). Even the best of us have forsaken and fled at times, but Jesus prays for us as he did for Peter, that our faith should not fail; and that we return to him” (Luke 22:31).
February 9, 2017
We remember that Peter made this promise, but we forget that all the other disciples said the same, “I will not deny you.” Jesus had taught his disciples that the cost of discipleship involved denying oneself, taking up one’s own cross daily and following him (Luke 9:23). Yet, he predicted that Peter would deny him three times before the rooster crowed. I think Peter meant it. And so did the other disciples. They all wanted to be able to deny themselves and follow Christ, even unto death. Their spirit was willing, but their flesh was weak (Mark 14:38). It wasn’t until after the Day of Pentecost, when the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, that Peter was able to truly deny himself and follow Jesus even unto death. We must be filled with the Spirit and walk in the Spirit in order to deny ourselves and truly follow Jesus.