Matthew 11:7-30 Throughout the course of our lives, unmet expectations are unavoidable. The dreams we have for our marriage, family, jobs etc. will often fail to come to fruition. Similarly, our expectations for what we want God to do will often not be met. How will we respond when things do not work out how we hoped? Jesus confronts unmet expectations by addressing how his ministry, and that of J...  Read More

Matthew 10:24-11:6 What are you afraid of ? What are the things that paralyze you and fill your mind with worry? Jesus addresses fear and worry in Matthew 10. Matthew 9-10 describe the call of all believers to participate in God’s kingdom work. The beginning of chapter 10 describes what the disciples were to do and today’s reading describes how we are to do it. We are to serve God without fear of ...  Read More

Matthew 10:1-23 Matthew 9 ended with a call to pray for God to send out people to do his work. Matthew 10 begins by Jesus sending out the disciples to do this very work. Their prayers turn into action. This paradigm is often the way that God works in our lives as well. As we pray for something, our heart will inevitably change, and we will be compelled to take action in the area we have been prayi...  Read More

Matthew 9:18-38 What do you do and where do you go when you have run out of options? Where would you go if no doctors could cure your child? Where would you turn if you had an incurable disease? Where would you go if you were blind and nothing could restore your sight? Where would you turn if you encountered someone who was demon possessed? We meet the potential answer to all of these questions in...  Read More

Matthew 9:1-17 Who is Jesus? This is the most critical question for every person to answer. Yet it was difficult for those in Jesus’ day to answer, as it is also hard for people in our world today. Jesus did not fit into anyone's preexisting box when he came to Earth. The Pharisees could not make sense of the fact that he claimed to forgive sins, while at the same time he was eating with tax colle...  Read More

Matthew 8:18-34 We reveal how valuable something is by what we are willing to relinquish for it. Jesus has multiple people who claim to want to follow him, but he warns them about what that will cost them. If they follow Jesus, they are going to have to give up the comfort of a permanent residence and are even going to have to give up their families. Are they willing to sacrifice these things for ...  Read More

Matthew 8:1-17 How often do we just “go through the motions?” We can go to church every Sunday, give money away and back to God, read our Bibles, and be mostly nice to others. These are all good things, but they are also things we can take too much pride in—not one of those things buys us salvation. Being raised in a Christian home with parents who pray over you and take you to church every week i...  Read More

Matthew 7:15-29 What are you looking for? Some people are looking for a spouse, a new job, a package to arrive, or for a more stable financial situation. All of us are inevitably looking for something, but are we looking/watching for the right things? Jesus ends the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5- 7) by instructing us to "watch out." We are to externally watch out for those who are propagating lie...  Read More

Matthew 6:25-7:14 Worry is a chronic issue in most of our lives. We find ourselves filled with anxiety that does not seem to dissipate and struggle to experience the freedom and life which Christ has made available to us. Beautifully, Jesus gives us a way to live that can overcome worry. Jesus tells us not to feed our worry but to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.” In seeking to motiv...  Read More

Matthew 6:1-24 What motivates you to live the way you do? Are you motivated by a desire to fit in, for material prosperity, for ease, or for God’s glory? As Jesus continues the Sermon on the Mount, he wants us to consider what is motivating our actions and from whom we are seeking to receive praise. Jesus speaks multiple times to the temptation to live to be seen by others. This attitude creeps in...  Read More

Matthew 5:27-48Doctors can give you an assessment to determine your heart health. They can examine your history, an EKG result, and a number of other factors to determine your likelihood of having a cardiac event. Jesus in his sermon wants us to examine our heart health, not physically but spiritually. So, what is your spiritual heart health? Jesus first points out that the health of our heart is ...  Read More

Matthew 5:1-26 We live in accordance with the kingdom to which we belong. As citizen of America you pay taxes, follow laws, and can vote. So, what does it look like to live aligned with God’s kingdom? Jesus will develop the ethics and character of a citizen of the kingdom of heaven in the Sermon on the Mount (chapter 5-7). He will describe what the blessed life looks like and how we can live with ...  Read More