Mark 14:1-2; Matthew 26:1-5; Luke 22:1-2; Mark 14:10-11; Matthew 26:14-16; Luke 22:3-6; Mark 14:12-16; Matthew 26:17-19; Luke 22:7-13; John13:1-17; Mark 14:17-26; Matthew 26:20-30; Luke 22:14-30; John 13:18-30 No one wants to be a servant; everyone wants to be the boss. This is true in our world and even more so in the Roman Empire. To be a servant was demeaning and looked down upon, but Jesus rad...

Mark 13:32-37; Matthew 24:36-51; Luke 21:34-38; Matthew 25:1-46 A common error people have made throughout the centuries is thinking they know exactly when Jesus will return. Several years ago, a few billboards were purchased throughout the US claiming that May 21, 2011, would bring the return of Jesus. Like all previous predictions, this one was a failure. Instead of trying to figure out an exact...

Mark 13:1-23; Matthew 24:1-25; Luke 21:5-24; Mark 13:24-31; Matthew 24:26-35; Luke 21:25-33 If we looked around our homes, we may find several unfinished projects. Things we have started but never got around to finishing. We learn from our reading today that Jesus’ work is similarly not finished. Jesus accomplished everything necessary for our salvation, but we still await the ultimate healing and...

Mark 12:28-34; Matthew 22:34-40; Mark 12:35-37; Matthew 22:41-46; Luke 20:41-44; Mark 12:38-40; Matthew 23:1-12; Luke 20:45-47; Matthew 23:13-39; Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4 Whitewashed tombs. This term is used to describe anyone who externally looks great but whose heart is corrupted by death and sin. We see this reality in Jesus’ conflict with the religious leaders. The religious elite failed mis...

Matthew 21:28-32; Mark 12:1-12; Matthew 21:33-46; Luke 20:9-19; Matthew 22:1-14; Mark 12:13-17; Matthew 22:15-22; Luke 20:20-26; Mark 12:18-27; Matthew 22:23-33; Luke 20:27-40 Everyone loves a good story. We lean in and listen whether the story is of a galaxy far, far away, two sons, a vineyard owner, or a wedding banquet. Jesus took the mundane of life and used it to teach spiritual lessons. Ever...

John12:37-50; Mark 11:12-14; Matthew 21:18-22; Mark 11:15-19; Matthew 21:12-17; Luke 19:45-48; Mark 11:20-33; Matthew 21:23-27; Luke 20:1-8 What do people think of me? We have probably asked ourselves that at some point in our lives. The Gospels introduce us to two groups of people who are paralyzed by the opinions of others. John 12 describes some of the Pharisees have come to believe in Jesus bu...

Mark 14:3-9; Matthew 26:6-13; John12:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Matthew 21:1-11; Luke 19:28-40; John12:12-19; Luke 19:41-44; John12:20-36 Who sits on the throne of your life? Who rules your emotions, decisions, and actions? Scripture tells us there is only one king and that is Jesus. At Jesus’ birth, the wise men sought the one born king of the Jews. As he preached, he proclaimed the message of the kingd...

Matthew 20:1-16; Mark 10:32-34; Matthew 20:17-19; Luke 18:31-34; Mark 10:35-45; Matthew 20:20-34; Mark 10:46-52; Luke 18:35-19:27 We can live life with an attitude of thankfulness or with a mentality of frustration. Henri Nouwen said, "Where there is reason for gratitude, there can always be found a reason for bitterness. It is here that we are faced with the freedom to make a decision. We can dec...

Luke 18:9-14; Mark 10:1-12; Matthew 19:1-12; Mark 10:13-16; Matthew 19:13-15; Luke 18:15-17; Mark 10:17-31; Matthew 19:16-30; Luke 18:18-30 As much as culture changes, human nature does not. The world may seem to be transforming at warp speed around us, but ultimately, our hearts are the same throughout all of history. If you question this, look no further than the issues addressed in Scripture. W...

John 11:38-57; Luke 17:11-18:8 When my husband and I were dating, I would sometimes request him to do something. If it did not happen in my timetable, I would ask him again, and again, and… One day a cousin, who had prayed for over three years for us to date, asked how things were going. So I told him about my little timetable dilemma. He gave me wise advice, “Mention your request to him once. He ...

Luke 14:25-17:10; John 11:1-37 We all want to know we are loved and valued. We want to know we matter and someone cares about us. The repeated message of the Bible is we are loved by God. Further, this message was central to Jesus’ life. Jesus tells three stories to illustrate God’s love for all people. He tells a story about a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost son. God chases after these lost o...

John 10:1-42; Luke 13:22-14:24 We live in a postmodern climate where claims of universal truth and exclusivity are mocked. Yet Jesus consistently makes these types of claims throughout his life. He says he is the gate and only by entering through him can someone be saved. Further, he describes the way to salvation as a "narrow door" (Luke 13:24). People often want to think that some vague sense of...

Luke 12:35-13:21; John 9:1-41 The average person watches about three hours of TV a day and spends another two hours on social media. Our eyes are constantly attentive to what is happening in our world and the lives of our friends, but are we equally attentive to the things of God? One of Jesus’ repeated themes is that of watchfulness. As followers of Jesus, we are to live with our eyes looking for...

Luke 11:14-12:34 We live in what is potentially the most materialistic culture in history. We may feel like Jesus' world is vastly different from ours. Yet one of the most common issues he dealt with was money; thus, materialism. He, not surprisingly, speaks to our world in his teachings from 2000 years ago. Jesus' warnings about material possessions in Luke 12 are stark and clear. Jesus warns aga...

John 8:21-59; Luke 10:1-11:13 One of the highest values in our culture is that of freedom. People uphold the ability to do whatever they want as one of the necessary rights of our age. Freedom is defined as the ability to do whatever someone wants, if it does not hurt anyone else, with a very vague notion of hurt. Yet the ability to do whatever we desire only ends up leading to bondage. Jesus in J...

John 7:1-9; Luke 9:51-56; Matthew 8:18-22; Luke 9:57-62; John 7:10-8:20 In our reading you may have seen something like, “The earliest manuscripts and many other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53-8:11. A few manuscripts include these verses wholly or in part, after John 7:36, John 21:25, Luke 21:38 or Luke 24:53.” We may find ourselves scratching our heads and wondering what we should do wit...

Mark 9:14-29; Matthew 17:14-21; Luke 9:37-43; Mark 9:30-32; Matthew 17:22-23; Luke 9:43-45; Matthew 17:24-27; Mark 9:33-37; Matthew 18:1-6; Luke 9:46-48; Mark 9:38-41; Luke 9:49-50; Mark 9:42-50; Matthew 18:7-35 How do you respond to failure? Do you find yourself grumbling, groveling in a sense of worthlessness, or trying to ignore it? The disciples experienced failure in their inability to cast o...

Mark 8:22-30; Matthew 16:13-20; Luke 9:18-20; Mark 8:31-9:1; Matthew 16:21-28; Luke 9:21-27; Mark 9:2-13; Matthew 17:1-13; Luke 9:28-36 Imagine playing a game you knew with absolute certainty you would win. No matter the ups and downs that might occur during the game, you would never be anxious; instead, you would have peace and confidence. Jesus tells his disciples (and by extension us) that as f...

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...

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...