Matthew Series:
12-24-17 Matthew 1:18-25 — Typically we read Luke's account of the Christmas story and then go to Matthew for the story of the Wise Men. Matthew's version should not be neglected. In it we see Christmas more from Joseph's perspective. He obey's the Lord and goes ahead and marries Mary, even though he was not the father of her unborn child. He obeyed again when God said to flee to Egypt. We can learn so much from Joseph and his obedience.
12-31-17 Matthew 1:1-17 — We backed up from Matthew's version of the Christmas story to get the rest of chapter one. If you like Bible stories then this is the sermon for you. Each person in Jesus lineage struggled with their faithfulness to God in some way. While ancient Jewish genealogies usually focus on the men, four women are mentioned in Jesus' genealogy. These women have stories that show that God does not care where you came from, just whether or not you are going to follow Him.
01-07-17 Matthew 2:1-23 — Matthew not only rolls out the red carpet for King Jesus by reciting His royal genealogy, but Matthew also records the story of foreign dignitaries making an official visit to baby Jesus. At first they are confused because the newborn King is not at Herod's palace, but they eventually find Him in Mary and Joseph's home in Bethlehem. This is a great story about how the people who are willing to listen to God are the ones who protect baby Jesus.
01-14-18 Matthew 3:1-12 — Matthew continues to roll the red carpet out for Jesus by telling the story of the forerunner. When royalty would visit a city, a forerunner would arrive ahead of time to prepare everything for the visiting royalty. In this case, John preaches that even good religious Jews need to repent of their sin and be ready to receive the King.
01-21-18 Matthew 3:13-17 — Jesus had no sin to repent of but He submits to John's baptism anyway. Jesus shows that He is submissive to God's plan, and John's very Spirit-filled ministry adds validity to Jesus' fledgling ministry. We still follow Jesus' example of baptism to this day.
01-28-18 Matthew 4:1-17 — All hero stories begin with the hero conquering his "inner demons" before he can go accomplish whatever it is he needs to accomplish. That is something for us to keep in mind as we live our lives. Before Jesus even starts His earthly ministry, He demonstrates His power over the devil and temptation. He is tempted to take a different path from the one the Father has laid out for Him, but Jesus stays strong. He will go forth and do His Father's will in the way the Father has willed it.
02-04-18 Matthew 4:17-25 — Jesus had been teaching and preaching in the city of Capernaum near the Sea of Galilee. In this story He calls on some young fishermen to stop being fishermen and come be students of His. These particular students will be more important later in the Bible, so we get this peek at how they were first called. With students in tow, Jesus begins to heal all kinds of diseases, cast out oppressive demons, and proclaim the kingdom.
02-18-18 Matthew 5:1-12 — Here we come to the familiar passage referred to as the Beatitudes. The Jews were always wanting to do the right things and be blessed by God as a result, but Jesus takes some of their ideas about what will bring blessing and turns them on their head. May we also have our worlds rocked by what Jesus has to say.
02-25-18 Matthew 5:13-16 — Jesus wants us to take His message and change the world. Salt has one job. If salt has lost it's ability to make things salty what would you do with it? You would throw it out. In the same way, we need to recognize that as disciples of Christ we have one job. To not do it would make about as much sense as keeping flavorless salt.
03-04-18 Matthew 5:17-26 — Jesus does not end the law, rather He fulfills it. The Law that God gave Moses on Mt. Sinai was good. It showed us where all of our sin was. The Law isn't there to help religious people feel good about themselves but to convict sinners of their sin. When Jesus explains the Law, we can all see that we are all guilty before it.
03-11-18 Matthew 5:27-37 — Think you are innocent of adultery? Jesus says looking on someone in lust is still adultery. Jesus also touches on divorce. As Jesus preaches and convicts of sin, we need to remember that forgiveness is available and free. Jesus makes everyone feel guilty with this sermon, but He also stands ready to wash away all of our guilt and shame. When the Bible makes us feel guilty we need to be ready to confess our sin and receive His forgiveness.
03-25-18 Matthew 5:38-48 — Jesus is the ultimate superhero. Not only has He defeated death and saved us all, but He gives us the power to do what seems impossible. Through the power of Jesus we can treat our enemies with love and kindness.
04-01-18 Matthew 6:1-15 — Happy Easter!!!!! This Sunday the sermon touches on the Lord's Prayer and then we, as a church, take the Lord's Supper together. The Bible says that as often as we take communion together we are proclaiming the Lord's death until He comes again, so please listen and enjoy.
04-08-18 Matthew 6:16-24 — We worry so much about how people will see us. We want them to see us as religious, as moral, and as powerful as possible. Jesus says that what we treasure shows us where our heart is. Make Jesus your treasure, He's the only caretaker of your heart who won't break it.
04-15-18 Matthew 6:25-34 — "Do not be anxious about your life!" What if we took these words of Jesus as seriously as we take other words of Jesus? What if our trust in God was so complete that we could honestly say that we do not sin by worrying? That would take a lot of faith.
04-22-18 Matthew 7:1-29 — The first track is the Gideon update from a Gideon speaker. It is very encouraging to hear that simply getting the word of God into people's hands leads to amazing results. In the second track is a sermon encompassing all the themes of Matthew chapter 7. In it, we find that we need to let God be God, and we need to be satisfied with our role in His creation.
04-29-18 Matthew 8:1-17 — What a wonderful Sunday! I had the privilege of baptizing a boy who gave his heart and life to Jesus! Also, in the sermon, we see Jesus heal a number of people. Not only does this get us excited about all the things Jesus can do, but the Holy Spirit uses these miracles to teach us important things about Jesus' ministry.
05-06-18 Matthew 8:18-34 — The miracles of Jesus continue! Jesus calms the raging sea which leaves his disciples asking "What kind of man is this?" Ironically, it is the demon-possessed men who show up to tell the disciples that He is the Son of God. If Jesus loved us but wasn't powerful, it wouldn't matter. But He is all powerful and He has chosen to love us, and that makes all the difference.
05-13-18 Matthew 9:1-38 — Jesus tells a paralytic that his sins are forgiven. When people express doubt that Jesus has the power to forgive sins Jesus heals the man as a show of power. The point is that He does have the power to absolve sins. He even calls a tax collector to be one of His disciples! Jesus not only heals us of physical ailments but heals of the worst ailment: sin.
05-20-18 Matthew 10:1-42 — He has trained them, they have watched His every move, now He is sending them out. Some of the instructions He gives them are only specific to this instance, but much of it applies to our ministries as well. Jesus warns that we will all suffer for the gospel, but He will always be with us.
05-27-18 Matthew 11:1-30 — The theme in this chapter is people doubting Jesus, His message, and His mission. The first doubter is someone unexpected. John the Baptist has suffered much and wants reassurance that Jesus really is the Messiah. Jesus reassures John and then defends John to the crowd. Jesus then warns that the religious are often blind to what God is doing while God has chosen to reveal His will to people who are more common.
06-03-18 Matthew 12:1-50 — In this chapter, Jesus' enemies really begin to pour on the accusations. They can't believe He doesn't observe the Sabbath the way they do. Instead, Jesus reveals He is Lord of the Sabbath. He then goes on to have very strong words for any one who rejects His claims and ministry.
06-10-18 Matthew 13:1-58 — Are you truly a part of the Kingdom of God? In this chapter, Jesus warns of three kinds of people who receive the Word, but who do not grow in it. Fortunately, there is also the fourth group that takes the Word, runs with it, and makes many disciples. Oh Lord, may we be those Christians!
06-17-18 Matthew 14:1-36 — On Father's Day we were fortunate enough to explore the example of John the Baptist who never gave in despite consequences and personal harm. We men tend to resemble our father Adam who sinned and then tried to blame everyone else involved. The opposite of this attitude is displayed by John and Jesus who were willing to suffer despite not having done anything wrong.
06-24-18 Matthew 15:1-39 — God had given His people strict rules about purity in what they ate, wore, and how they worshiped. In fact, the lame, crippled, blind, deaf, and other deformed people were forbidden to take part in temple worship. This seems harsh until we meet Jesus who does not change the rules but heals people, washes them clean, and makes them perfect and acceptable to God. Religion will not get you there, only trusting in Jesus will.
07-01-18 Matthew 16:1-28 — This chapter is about whose side you choose. We are immediately confronted with the Pharisees' lack of faith, and this is contrasted with Peter's declaration that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Unfortunately, Peter soon shows his own faithlessness when He tries to convince Jesus that dying is not what Jesus is supposed to do. Not only must we say we will follow Jesus, but we are to prove we are following Jesus with our actions and our willingness to let God be in charge. This is the only way our souls can be saved.
07-08-18 Matthew 17:1-27 — Jesus is transfigured on the mountain and Peter, James, and John watch in amazement. Jesus again shows His power when they come down the mountain by casting out a demon that His disciples could not. This chapter is about seeing who Jesus is as He begins to make His way towards the cross.
07-15-18 Matthew 18:1-6 — Vacation Bible School was a blast! We borrowed a curriculum from 2014 called "Weird Animals" by Group Publishing. We learned that God made all kinds of weird animals in His amazing creation, and He made you just the way you are, too. He loves you just the way you are. It fit very well with where we are in Matthew. Jesus tells us that we must be as dependent and humble before God like a child.
07-22-18 Matthew 18:7-35 — The teaching of Jesus that we began studying last week is continued this week. Not only does Jesus tell us that we must humble ourselves like children but He reveals that the angels of these children hold a special place in heaven. Our society congratulates itself on being inclusive and friendly to everyone, but in reality people are just as abandoned and broken as they have ever been. Jesus has strong words for people, especially religious people, who take advantage of the weak in the name of God's law.
08-05-18 Matthew 19:1-30 — I fully appreciated that the Holy Spirit led last Sunday's evangelist to continue our journey through Matthew and preach from the 19th chapter. He didn't know about our series and I didn't ask him to do that. He only preached on the Rich Young Ruler so this week I attempted to show how that story fits into the message of the whole chapter. In fact, the message that is presented in this chapter and the previous one is the importance of humility. May all we do be to the glory of God and not ourselves.
08-12-18 Matthew 20:1-34 — We live in a day and age when everything is about "Me, me, me." Instead, Jesus tells a parable where workers are arguing with the boss. Then, he explains to His twelve disciples that He is submitting to the will of the Father and is going to be crucified. When some of the disciples ask for special treatment, Jesus simply replies that it isn't His to give out. Throughout His life, ministry, and death Jesus is totally submitted to the Father. You are not the boss. May we all be as humble and submissive to the Father as Jesus is.
08-19-18 Matthew 21:1-46 — Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey and not a warhorse because He is already the rightful ruler of this city. What He finds there, however, is disappointing. Like the fig tree He curses, Jesus finds that the people of God have not been producing good fruit. Hopefully we as the church are more faithful and doing a better job.
08-26-18 Matthew 22:1-14 — Today we celebrated the promotion of our children into the next stage of our various children's ministries. Our kindergartners graduated from Mission Friends into Children in Action (CAs) and our 7th graders graduated from CAs into our Youth on Mission program. In Jesus' parable, Jesus reveals that the original invitees proved unworthy of the party God is throwing. Don't be someone who rejects the invitation! Become a follower of Jesus today!
09-02-18 Matthew 22:15-46 — In our story today the various political/religious groups of Jesus' day try to trip Him up in His own words. They ask Him questions that are designed to make Him look bad to one crowd or another. Instead, He answers with such wisdom that He comes out of each conversation completely unscathed. Do you question or bargain with God? Instead of questioning God because we are trying to win an argument with Him, we should trust Him with our lives.
09-16-18 Matthew 23:1-39 — In this passage Jesus' conflict with the religious leaders of His day escalates to a new level when He delivers a chapter-long speech about their hypocrisy. They think they are faithful to God but their actions show they are carrying on the tradition of rejecting the message of those sent by God. Ultimately, they will show their true colors by killing Jesus. Hopefully we are true followers of God and not just trying to act like it.
09-23-18 Matthew 26:1-13 — I'm saving chapters 23-24 for Advent season. In this passage we see a contrast between the religious rulers who are plotting against Jesus and the woman who anoints Him with expensive perfume. We are forced to ask ourselves which one we identify with the most. The true people God love Jesus. May we always love Jesus.
09-30-18 Matthew 26:14-25,47-50, 27:3-9 — He's the one traitor who is a symbol for all other traitors. History has not been kind to him, and rightly so. Judas helped cause the death of the world's most innocent man, but we'll never know if God stood ready to forgive if he had only asked. Instead, his guild overwhelmed him and he committed suicide. Hopefully his dire situation will teach us that should seek forgiveness instead of be swallowed by despair.
10-07-18 Matthew 26:26-29 — Ages ago God set His people free in the story of the Exodus. For centuries afterward this was commemorated in the annual Passover celebration. In this passage Jesus reveals that the Passover actually has been pointing forward to Him the entire time. Included in the recording is our church's celebration of the Lord's Supper.
10-14-18 Matthew 26:30-35, 51-54, 69-75 — Peter, and the other disciples, also betrayed Jesus. Maybe what they did was a little different than what Judas did, but the difference is that they found God's forgiveness even though they betrayed Jesus the night He was crucified. No matter what we've done, God has forgiveness waiting for us too.
10-21-18 Matthew 26:36-46 — In this passage, as in several other places in Matthew, we see that Jesus prays. Being human, He is sometimes overwhelmed with the task at hand. If Jesus, who is Almighty God in human form, feels the need to rely on God in prayer, how much more do we need to do the same?
10-28-18 Matthew 26:51-68, 27:1-2 — The Jewish authorities seek to do what mankind has tried to do since the beginning of time: put God on trial. Adam blamed God and Eve when He fell from innocence and his descendants have been doing the same ever since. The only solution is to admit we are sinners and seek the forgiveness of our loving God.
11-04-18 Matthew 27:11-26 — This morning's question was "Are you brave?" Jesus is our example of courage as He makes no defense for who He is while everyone around Him is motivated by fear. I have also included our choir's special, the classic (and public domain) "Dwelling in Beulah Land."
11-11-18 Matthew 27:27-44 — In Western Christianity we often talk about how Jesus paid for our sin, but now how Jesus took our shame. In this passage Jesus is beaten, mocked, and therefore shamed by Romans, Jews, religious leaders, and even the criminals who are dying next to Him. If Jesus took your shame then you don't have to carry it anymore. Because of this we can be unafraid and thoroughly confident in all things.
11-18-18 Matthew 27:45-61 — Jesus' death on the cross is the single most important event in all of human history. Everything before it was leading up to it. Everything after has continued to be about it. Matthew underscores its importance by waxing poetic about how the earth shook, the rocks split, and the saints were raised. Not only does it raise the saints who had gone on before but it raises those of us who trust Jesus today.
11-25-18 Matthew 27:62-28:15 — The authorities have successfully killed Jesus and fear that Jesus' followers will stage a fake resurrection. However, when they hear of a genuine resurrection from their own soldiers, it still does not change their minds about Jesus. This should have convinced them that He was from God and they should have listened to Him. Instead, they try to cover it up. Hopefully we are not this stubborn.
12-02-18 Matthew 24:1-31 — We skipped this passage earlier in order to come back to it at Christmas time. The people of Jesus day were eagerly looking forward to the coming of the Messiah. Today, we also wait for Jesus' return. Just like then, everyone has a theory of what it will be like. Amidst all the noise, we need to make sure we are getting Jesus' message about the end of the world.
12-09-18 Matthew 24:32-51 — Apologies for the audio on this one. As we celebrate Advent and Jesus' first arrival, we also look forward to His second coming. As His servants, we should be ready for His arrival at any time. Specifically, He should find us doing what He commanded us to do regardless of when He shows up.
Dec. 16, 2018 - For by grace we are saved through faith, and that not of ourselves, but He saved us and gave us a job to do. Just like when a boss surprises his employees with an early return, Jesus wants to find us faithful when He arrives again. As we minister to the world around us we plan, invest, and work hard towards advancing God's kingdom.
12-23-18 Matthew 25:1-30 — We have introduced video to our website! In this famous passage Jesus warns about the judgment that will come upon those who claim to be believers but who do not take care of "the least of these."
Dec. 30, 2018 — Now that we have experienced the gospel according to Matthew, and we have learned that God came as a man and died for our sins, what are we to do with that knowledge?