January 4, 2023
“The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined” (Matthew 4:16 NLT). After Jesus’ baptism and 40 days in the wilderness, He didn’t return to Nazareth. Instead, He began His public ministry in a town on
January 3, 2023
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry” (Matthew 4:1-2 ESV). Have you noticed how many times the numbers three and forty appear in the Bible? Both numbers are significant in today’s One Year® Bible
December 18, 2022 | Matthew 2:1-12 |
What is worship? It’s whatever you value or love the most. It’s what you spend your time, talent and treasure for as your greatest source of significance and security. That’s worship. It’s whatever or whoever you ascribe the greatest worth to. Ironically Christmas might be the most difficult time of the year to truly worship God because we are tempted to put more of our affections on material things and spending money.
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 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. 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 that had 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.
April 17, 2022 | Matthew 28:1-10 |
Have you really looked at the implications of the empty tomb? Because the empty tomb means that the resurrected Jesus has overcome sin, death and the grave! Are overcome by shame and guilt because of some sin, or habit, or addiction? In Christ, you are forgiven and empowered to overcome it! Are you grieving the loss of a relationship or the death of a loved one? In Christ, we grieve, but not as those who have no hope. In Christ, the dead live again! Are you anxious and filled with fear? In Christ, we can overcome fear with faith in Him.
In the gospel according to Matthew, he recorded the instructions given to those who rightly beheld Christ’s empty tomb. When we rightly behold Christ’s empty tomb, we can obey these instructions.
February 12, 2022
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, 2022
ARE YOU FOLLOWING JESUS AT A DISTANCE? On the night when Jesus was arrested, Peter tried to blend in as one of the crowd, following Jesus at a distance. This, after following so close must’ve been unbearable for Peter. Yet, it only took a little distance before denial overtook him. For just as Jesus predicted,
February 9, 2022
WHAT DID JESUS SING AT THE LAST SUPPER? The night when Jesus was later betrayed, He shared the Passover meal with His disciples. This was the last supper before His crucifixion the next day. At the end of the meal, He joined His disciples in singing a hymn before going up to the Mount of
February 8, 2022
DO YOU LOVE THE LEAST OF THESE? Jesus’ teaching on the end times included this image of the righteous being commended for caring for the “least of these.” Jesus equated their care for the hungry, sick and imprisoned as caring for Him. For the Church is His body of which He is the Head.
February 7, 2022
ARE YOU READY FOR CHRIST’S RETURN? It appears that the parable of the ten virgins was given by Jesus to his disciples in a private setting, as a further illustration of what the Day of his return would be like. As such, this parable seems particularly aimed at the state of the church at Christ’s
January 30, 2022
THE SERVANT-LEADERSHIP MODEL OF JESUS When the mother of James and John came to Jesus asking that He give them significant leadership roles in His coming kingdom, He didn’t rebuke them. Instead, He asked whether they were able to “drink from the bitter cup of suffering” that He was about to drink. He wanted them