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.
The Kingdom of God
August 8, 2021 • JC Neely • Matthew 22:1–14
This week, JC teaches from Matthew 22:1-14 - the Parable of the Wedding Feast. In this parable, Jesus teaches on the Kingdom of God and how His kingdom is the rule and reign of our Heavenly Father through the praise of the Son by the power of His Spirit. These verses show us that life can get in the way of us entering into the Kingdom of God and that there is no love without justice, but that there is still grace for those that come before Him. JC compared the Kingdom of God, which is extravagant, invitational, surprising, and will of grace, to the kingdom of the world, which is cheap, closed, expected, and based on performance.
The Absence of a Lamb and The Presence of THE LAMB
August 1, 2021 • Rick Dunn • Matthew 26:26–29, John 1:29, Romans 3
This week, Communion Sunday, Rick teaches from John 1:29: "The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'" In the absence of a sacrificial lamb, all people are subject to destruction. Justice must be served. Christ came as the Sacrificial Lamb and put himself between those who deserve justice and the justified. Christ's blood on the cross redeems the whole of humanity and makes the believers saints. We need to come to the communion table as sinners and as saints.
Behold the Lamb of God
July 25, 2021 • Greg Pinkner • Matthew 3:13–17, Isaiah 42
This week, Greg teaches from Matthew 3:13-17, the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. John the Baptist tells us that someone is coming who is going to judge and judge harshly. In the Gospel of Matthew, we will see a clash between law and grace. Without the law, there can be no grace or mercy of God. As He spent time at the river with those being baptized, Jesus was not repenting Himself since He was without sin, but He identified with the sinners who needed repentance. Jesus identifying with sinners in repentance allows God to give us the Holy Spirit, the Dove of Peace. After repentance, God does not just save us from our sins. He then adopts us as His child.
The Voice
July 18, 2021 • RD McClenagan • Isaiah 40:1–5, Matthew 3:7–12, John 1:19–23, John 3:25–30
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 Forerunner
July 11, 2021 • Greg Pinkner • Luke 1, Matthew 3:1–6
This week, Greg teaches from Matthew 3:1-6. In these verses, Matthew introduces us to John the Baptist, a man born to be in tune with the Holy spirit. Greg uses verses from Luke 1, 2 Kings 1:8, and Malachi 4:5-6 to show us how John the Baptist was the True and Better Aaron, Elijah, and Abraham. John the Baptist pointed the Jews to the Gospel. He called them to repentance and confession, the same things that Jesus continued to call them to. If the Gospel being taught today does not call us to "Repent. The Kingdom of God is at hand," it is not the Gospel. The true Gospel is greater than our failures and our darkest moments. John the Baptist was the Forerunner for Christ, but also for us - for those who fail and fall, but are forgiven by His grace.
The True and Better Moses
July 4, 2021 • Rick Dunn • Matthew 2:13–23
This week, Greg teaches from Matthew 2:13-23. Matthew uses this story of evil to show the Jewish people and us how Jesus is the fulfillment of the true and better Moses. These verses pick up immediately after the wisemen depart from Mary and Joseph and the events that follow parallel the events in Moses' life. In the same way that God called Moses, Mary, and Joseph out of Egypt, He has called His people to new life in His son.
King of the Jews: A Call to Worship
June 27, 2021 • Rick Dunn • Matthew 2:1–12
This week, Rick teaches from Matthew 2:1-12, the gift of the Magi. He shows how Matthew uses this text to demonstrate a clash between two kingdoms: the Kingdom of Heaven and the kingdom of men. Matthew also uses this text as a call to worship. Jesus is represented as our access to the Father and the source by which we have new life in this New Kingdom. A defining characteristic of the people in this New Kingdom is worship.
What the Birth of Christ Shows us about God as our Father
June 20, 2021 • Rick Dunn • Matthew 2:6, Zechariah 8:4–6, Isaiah 46:3–9, Hebrews 1:1–11, Matthew 1:23
This week, Father's Day, Rick teaches from Matthew 1:23 and 2:6. He uses these verses and others from the Old and New Testaments to show the characteristics of God the Father that are demonstrated through the birth of Christ. God the Father is Faithful, Powerful, and Vulnerable. Faithfulness and goodness are not very productive without having power. And how do we know that God is faithful and powerful? Because of His vulnerability. God has chosen to be with us on a heart level. To be a part of the larger story, Joseph and Mary were required to be vulnerable and God has called us to the same.
You Shall Call His Name Jesus
June 13, 2021 • Greg Pinkner • Matthew 1:18–25
This week, Greg teaches from Matthew 1:18-25 - the Christmas Story. Greg focused on Joseph's journey, as a devout Jewish man, from law to revelation. Joseph set aside his understanding of how God operates to allow Jesus be Jesus. For us to be like Joseph and followers of Jesus, we must start with the sin in our own hearts and not focus on the sin of others and external threats.
The Gospel is Your Life
June 6, 2021 • JC Neely • Matthew 9
This week, JC looks at Matthew 9. These verses show us how Christ called Matthew. When Christ said “Follow me”, Matthew stopped his work and followed and allowed Jesus entered into his professional, personal, and private life. JC asks us to examine the ways that we should invite Christ into our work, our relationships and priorities, and our hearts.
God is Faithful
May 30, 2021 • RD McClenagan • Matthew 1:11–17
This week for our Family Worship Service, RD continues teaching on the genealogy of Christ from Matthew 1:11-17. He begins by sharing a story about a hiking trip where he was bitten by a snake. The genealogy of Christ and the Christian life are like a hike God sends us on. We might not know where He is leading us, but God is faithful—faithful in our waiting, in Moses' years of wondering, in Abraham's waiting for his promised son, in David's waiting to be king, in the Jews waiting for the Messiah. God does not waste the time spent waiting.
The Empire Strikes Back
May 23, 2021 • Greg Pinkner • Matthew 1:6–11
This week, Greg continues teaching on the genealogy of Christ from Matthew 1:6-11. The first section of the genealogy (verses 1-5), shows God's patience, kindness, and faithfulness to overlook sins and grant Israel their kingdom anyway. This second section (verses 6-11), focuses on God’s righteousness. It shows that eventually God's patience and mercy will run out and He will come in justice and wrath. We must learn from Judah and Israel and only look to the One who saves us and not to the false hopes of an evil kingdom.
