“It’s All Grace” Matthew 20:1-16

“It’s All Grace”                                  2/26/23                                                Matthew 20:1-16 Let me begin by commenting on how we should interpret parables:  by understanding its broad point The greatest reward from Jesus is himself and with him is life and light And along these lines of misinterpretation by focusing on details:  we can confidently say that Jesus isn’t teaching anything…

Eyes for Heaven Matthew 19:16-20:16

“Eyes for Heaven”                                                           2/19/23                                                    Matthew 19:16-20:16 HI:  live for heaven by seeking positive holiness as a pilgrim Introduction: If getting saved was dependent on a person praying the sinners’ prayer, then what was Jesus doing with this guy? It has to make you question your understanding of salvation if you did believe that the…

Inheritors of the Kingdom Matthew 19:13-15

“Inheritors of the Kingdom”                                        February 12, 2023                                     Matthew 19:13-15 HI:  grasp and pursue God’s promises Introduction:      “I’m sure God loves the sound of little children laughing and playing in his house” ~ paraphrasing Corrie Ten Boom  Tramp for the Lord Thomas’ baptism—running around the church…the understanding of the covenant promises we had then. …

Committed to the Kingdom Matthew 19:10-12

The Disciples came to an erroneous conclusion about marriage, namely that it is better not to marry if divorce leads to adultery. Jesus offers gentle correction and points them to the timeless truth of marriage’s goodness and God’s rare gift of celibacy for the kingdom’s sake. We take the principles of the passage and apply…

Matthew 19:1-9 “God’s Standard, Not Ours”

“God’s Standard, Not Ours”                           January 29, 2023                               Matthew 19:1-9 Introduction:  God created man in his image (Gen. 1:26) We have to be on guard against the world’s view of life, and we have to guard against our own view being influenced by our sin and the world’s sin We see this same kind of…

Forgiving Each Other Matthew 18:15-35

“Love and Forgiveness”                                 January 23, 2023                                               Matthew 18:15-35 It’s so easy to read 15-21 only as what to with unrepentant believers—but in context, we see Jesus’ bigger point is about love and forgiveness Skipping to the end first (parable of the unforgiving servant given in reply to Peter’s question) Forgiveness implies sin Why is…

Keeping Hold of Each Other Matthew 18:10-14

A little housekeeping by way of footnotes first.  Look at the context of chapter 18: from the disciples’ point of view, this really went downhill fast:  from “who’s the greatest” in the kingdom of heaven to chasing the lost lamb, and rejoicing over it! In this parable, Jesus says that we should rejoice to chase…

Caring For Each Other Matthew 18:5-14

Caring for each other                     1/8/2023            Matthew 18:5-14 Intro: If I ask you what’s in Matthew 18, what would you say? Today—Jesus’ family is called to Care for Each Other—we’re all “little ones who believe”  1.  Getting Ready; 2.  Caring for Each Other; 3.  Living with Each Other