Today is part 2 of our Christmas series. I am going to follow up on the theme of the incarnation that I introduced briefly last week. But today as we wrap up the new year, it’s also going to be part reflection, part confession, part hope for how things might be different in the new […]
Jesus
Matt 15: Religion is Outside In, Christianity is Inside Out (pt2 of 3)
What about the ordinances? There are 2 ordinances or traditions that Christ himself ordained for us to observe. One is the Lord’s Supper and the other is baptism. Catholics observe the Lord’s Supper every Sunday and many Protestants look at that and say, that’s just a meaningless ritual. So why bother observing it? Attending church […]
Matt 12 – The Lord of the Sabbath and the Promised Messiah (pt3 of 3)
RECAP 1) Religion is all about rules. 2) Religious people are more interested in self than others. 3) Religious people think God wants them to sacrifice and mercy is completely foreign to them. 4) Religious people bear bad fruit. 5) Religious people deal with sin through human effort. Religion cannot save us. If we are […]
Matthew 11 – Rest for All, Disciples Included (pt4 of 4)
4) Rest for the sinner Jesus provides rest for those who minister, he provides rest for the doubters, he provides rest for those who are suffering, and lastly, Jesus provides rest for the sinner. Jesus prefaces the verses about rest with verses 16-24 about sin. Before we can talk about true rest, we cannot ignore […]
Matthew 10 – Fear the Lord, Not Man (pt2 of 3)
How many times does Jesus say, do not be afraid, in this chapter? 3 times. First, in v26– 26 “So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. Second, v28– 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the […]
Matthew 9 – Faith is Seeing Jesus as the Answer (pt3 of 3)
Lastly, I want to end with a daughter and bleeding woman in v18-26. Jairus is a ruler. He’s powerful, he has influence, but there is nothing he can do to save his daughter. This is the most impossible situation in this chapter because by the time Jairus reaches Jesus, his daughter is dead. Not sick, […]