Mark 7:24-30; Matthew 15:21-28; Mark 7:31-37; Matthew 15:29-31; Mark 8:1-10; Matthew 15:32-16:4; Mark 8:11-21; Matthew 16:5-12 Perhaps this is the hardest passage to understand in the Gospels. Jesus interacts with a Gentile woman and it has been used by skeptics to claim that Jesus is racist, antiwoman, and thus a sinner. The Bible is clear that Jesus is morally perfect and without sin. How are we...  Read More

John 6:22-71; Mark 7:1-23; Matthew 15:1-20 This past week we have seen firsthand that physical bread is not enough. Material things do not last. It is awfully easy, even after you have put your faith in Christ, to get caught up in material things or the trappings of religion like the Pharisees did, but none of that will satisfy. Physical bread is not enough. Material things alone do not satisfy. M...  Read More

Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-15; Mark 6:45-52; Matthew 14:22-33; John 6:16-21; Mark 6:53-56; Matthew 14:34-36 What motivates you to serve? What compels you to love people, especially those who are difficult? Our motivation should be the same as Jesus which is compassion. Jesus saw the crowds and seeing their need for food fed them. Yet what caused him to respond this way was a heart of com...  Read More

Matthew 9:27-34; Mark 6:1-6; Matthew 13:53-58, 9:35-38; Mark 6:7-13; Matthew 10:1-42; Luke 9:1-6 God chooses to do his work through us. This may seem like a strange idea since God can always do it better by himself, but he has chosen you to accomplish his will. From the very beginning of history, he called Adam and Eve to work his garden. Now at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, he calls his disci...  Read More

Mark 5:1-20; Matthew 8:28-34; Luke 8:26-39; Mark 5:21-43; Matthew 9:18-26; Luke 8:40-56 Jesus revealed his power throughout his ministry on Earth. He revealed his power over demons, death, and illness in his early ministry. His greatness was undeniable─sadly, not everyone responded correctly to his power. The most saddening response to Jesus was the crowd who asked Jesus to leave upon seeing the f...  Read More

Matthew 13:10-23; Luke 8:9-18; Mark 4:21-29; Matthew 13:24-30; Mark 4:30-34; Matthew 13:31-52; Mark 4:35-41; Matthew 8:23-27; Luke 8:22-25 Being a good listener is a necessary part of the Christian life. The psalms, the prophets (especially Isaiah and Jeremiah), and now Jesus tell us the necessity of listening well. Sure, we should listen to people, but the focus today is learning to hear from God...  Read More

Luke 8:1-3; Mark 3:20-30; Matthew 12:22-45; Mark 3:31-35; Matthew 12:46-50; Luke 8:19-21; Mark 4:1-9; Matthew 13:1-9; Luke 8:4-8; Mark 4:10-20 C.S. Lewis famously argued that Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. There is no room for the position that Jesus was simply a great moral teacher or revered religious man. He says people need to take the position he was intentionally deceptive, misg...  Read More

Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-17; Matthew 11:1-19; Luke 7:18-35; Matthew 11:20-30; Luke 7:36-50 Humility is a hard thing to live out. It runs against our flesh to acknowledge we are not the center of the universe, but this truth needs to be embraced by everyone. Notice the two very different people who embrace humility in Matthew and Luke. We see a powerful centurion who confesses he is not worthy to h...  Read More

Matthew 6:5-7:6; Luke 6:37-42; Matthew 7:7-20; Luke 6:43-45; Matthew 7:21-29; Luke 6:46-49 What are you going to do about it? Living in our broken world, this is a question we need to answer. We are surrounded by sin, darkness, and evil, so we must decide what we are going to do about it. Also, as we are confronted with God’s truth, we have to answer what we are going to do about that. Jesus touch...  Read More

Mark 3:7-19; Luke 6:12-16; Matthew 5:1-12; Luke 6:17-26; Matthew 5:13-48; Luke 6:27-36; Matthew 6:1-4 We often throw around the phrase, I'm blessed. Sometimes this is used as a recognition of God's grace in our lives, but often we are only talking about material blessings. Jesus' definition of those who are "blessed" in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) is potentially very different than how w...  Read More

John5:1-47; Mark 2:23-28; Matthew 12:1-8; Luke 6:1-5; Mark 3:1-6; Matthew 12:9-14; Luke 6:6-11; Matthew 12:15-21 It is easy to substitute things for God. Generally, these are things like money, possessions, comfort, and friendship but they can also be things like tradition, rules, and spiritual experiences. Religion can easily become a replacement for a relationship with God and we see this consis...  Read More

Luke 5:1-11; Mark 1:40-45; Matthew 8:1-4; Luke 5:12-16; Mark 2:1-12; Matthew 9:1-8; Luke 5:17-26; Mark 2:13-17; Matthew 9:9-13; Luke 5:27-32; Mark 2:18-22; Matthew 9:14-17; Luke 5:33-39 How do you feel when you have to keep good news a secret? Jesus has a very strange request in Mark 1 when he askes the healed man to keep it a secret. The man no longer has leprosy so not only is he medically cured...  Read More