This week, RD teaches from Matthew 3:7-12, continuing teaching on John the Baptist. In Israel, during the first century, there was an expectation that something was coming. After hundreds of years of silence from God, they had a feeling that God was getting ready to move. Out of this expectation came a voice in the wilderness - John the Baptist. God had abandoned Israel and the Temple, so John met Him in the wilderness. RD asks us to consider what wildernesses is God inviting us into so that we can hear His voice. John the Baptist heard the voice of the Lord was preparing the way for Him. He was teaching to be prepared for His coming and that the way to be prepared is to repent. How do we hear the voice of God? By repenting, confessing, being in the Word and prayer, and by having people who speak into your life.
The Voice
July 18, 2021 • RD McClenagan • Isaiah 40:1–5, Matthew 3:7–12, John 1:19–23, John 3:25–30
The Kingdom is Near
August 29, 2021 • Matthew 4:17–25
This week, Greg teaches from Matthew 4:17-25. In these verses, Matthew continues to emphasize his main thesis: "Repent. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand". Through Christ calling the disciples, we are shown what it means to be a follower of Christ. We are to repent, have a change of heart, and do something unimaginable. Matthew also shows us the things we are to be doing as churches and believers: discipleship, teaching, and serving. Christianity is not about Christ making our lives easier. It is about our lives being redefined by the Gospel of the Kingdom and following Christ no matter the consequences.
Dawn for the Dead
August 22, 2021 • Isaiah 9, Matthew 4:12–17, Isaiah 8, John 1:4–5
This week, RD teaches from Matthew 4:12-17 and opened with the question "Who is weary?" He Looks back at Isaiah chapters 8 and 9 to remind us of the despair that the Israelites were in when the promise of Christ coming was made. It is in the places of darkness where Jesus begins His work - He meets people on their worst day. As John 1:5 says, "the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." The way to have access to this light is to repent and realine our lives to the Kingdom that is coming.
The Temptation of Jesus
August 15, 2021 • Matthew 4:1–11
This week, Greg teaches from Matthew 4:1-11. These verses tell us about the temptation of Jesus by the devil and what this battle between them tells us about who our God and Savior is. The devil was very cunning in the temptations that he chose and used them because Christ was both God and man. He wanted to put Jesus' flesh and spirit at war with each other. Satan tempts us the same way. He wants us to believe that what God has promised us isn't true and that the easier and faster way is better than holiness. Christ shows us that we learn obedience to God through our suffering and that the goodness of God is worth the suffering.