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Knowing Him, Growing in Him
April 19, 2026 • M • Colossians 2:6–7
This Sunday
If you've been going through the motions lately — if Sunday feels more like obligation than encounter — this message is for you.
If you're the person who's been around long enough that the gospel feels like old news, this is for you too.
And if you're someone who's genuinely hungry to grow but not sure where to start, Paul gives you the most practical three-part answer you'll find anywhere.
Join us Sunday, April 19, as we dig into what it actually means to be rooted in Christ — and what it looks like when you are.
Colossians 2:6–7. Ephesians 4:13.
CT057 - For God So Loved
April 17, 2026 • Matthew Allen • John 3:16
In this Friday Lord's Supper reflection, Matthew Allen opens John 3:16 — perhaps the most familiar verse in the Bible — and slows down long enough to let it land. Using a four-part framework drawn from the text itself, he walks through the Danger (apart from Christ, we are perishing under the wrath of God), the Design (God's love expressed through the gift of his one and only Son), the Duty (ongoing, present-tense belief that connects us to that rescuing love), and the Destiny (eternal life that begins now and never ends). Along the way he traces Jesus' own connection between the bronze serpent in Numbers 21 and the cross, and closes with the story of John Newton — the slave trader whose near-death experiences finally drove him to look to Christ — whose famous hymn captures the whole episode in four lines. A fitting meditation before the Lord's table.
CT056 - Light in the Darkness
April 16, 2026 • Matthew Allen • Matthew 4:12–25
In Matthew 4:12–25, Jesus moves from the wilderness into Galilee — and Matthew tells us this is no coincidence. It's the fulfillment of Isaiah's ancient promise that a great light would dawn on a people living in darkness. Jesus arrives, opens his ministry with a single urgent message — repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near — then walks along the shore and calls four fishermen by name. They leave everything immediately and follow. By the end of the passage, crowds are streaming in from every direction as Jesus teaches, preaches, and heals throughout the region. The mission has launched. The light is on.
Lesson 1: What Just Happened?
April 20, 2026 • Matthew Allen • 2 Corinthians 5:17, Colossians 1:13–14
Nobody warns you about the confusion that follows conversion.
The relief is real. The moment itself is real. But then you wake up the next morning supposed to be a completely different person — and you're not entirely sure how to do that. That disorientation isn't a sign something went wrong. It's exactly where Lesson 1 begins.
Most new Christians approach their spiritual life the way they approach self-improvement: identify weaknesses, work on them, get better over time. Same house, better version. It's understandable. It's also wrong. Paul doesn't say if anyone is in Christ, he is improving. He says new creation. The old has passed away. The new has come. That's not the language of renovation — it's the language of replacement.
Lesson 1 unpacks what that actually means. You don't work toward a new identity. You work from one. God didn't help you find the exit. He came in and carried you out. And the gap you feel between who you are in Christ and how your week actually went? That gap isn't a crisis. It's where discipleship happens.
This lesson also gives you permission to ask the questions you've been afraid to ask out loud — the ones good Christians aren't supposed to have. Real ones. Hard ones. Because faith that's alive enough to ask questions is stronger than faith that just performs certainty it doesn't feel.
Core Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 5:17 · Colossians 1:13–14
CT055 - Tested and True
April 14, 2026 • Matthew Allen • Matthew 4:1–11
In this episode, we look at the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness — and specifically at what the enemy was really after. Three times, Satan opened with the same pressure: "If you are the Son of God..." This wasn't just an attack on Jesus' willpower. It was an attack on his identity. And Jesus didn't defend himself with arguments. He didn't debate or negotiate. He answered with the Word — grounded, unhurried, sure of who he was. Matthew 4:1–11 shows us a Jesus who was tested in every real way and didn't move. And because he didn't move, we have somewhere to stand.
YPH 416
April 12, 2026 • Jason Schofield , Matthew Allen
Join Matt & Jason for live bible talk beginning at 8 AM ET!
CT054 - Interview with George Wacks on New Class Starting April 20
April 13, 2026 • George Wacks, Matthew Allen
Matthew sits down with George for an interview inviting people to attend our new class on the church, starting April 20
More Than Members—Growing Into Christ
April 12, 2026 • Ephesians 4:12–13
This Sunday, we're kicking off our April series, Growth in the Body, and we're starting with the most basic question: What is all this for?
Paul gives us a staggering answer. The goal isn't attendance numbers. It isn't a full parking lot or a busy calendar. It's maturity — "growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ's fullness." That's the target. Not compared to each other. Not compared to where we started. Measured against Jesus himself. Which is either the most inspiring standard you've ever heard, or the most humbling. Probably at the same time.
CT053 - He Always Lives
April 10, 2026 • Matthew Allen • Hebrews 7:23–25
The Levitical priests had one unavoidable problem.
They kept dying. One would serve, then he'd be gone. Another would take his place — and then he'd be gone too. Generation after generation, the priesthood turned over because the priests kept running out of time.
But Hebrews 7 points to something different. Because he remains forever, he holds his priesthood permanently.
Not for a long time. Permanently.
And the implication is staggering: he is able to save completely — to the uttermost — because he always lives to make intercession. Right now. Present tense. Ongoing. You still need a priest. You're still on the road. And the one who holds that priesthood permanently — holds you permanently.
CT052 - A Voice in the Wilderness
April 9, 2026 • Matthew Allen • Matthew 3:7–17
Two scenes. One chapter. And the contrast between them is everything.
In the first, John looks at the Pharisees and Sadducees — the most religiously credentialed people in Israel — and says: not enough. Produce fruit. The ax is already at the root.
In the second, Jesus walks into the Jordan River and asks to be baptized alongside sinners. John hesitates. Heaven opens. And the Father speaks.
The one who came after John didn't arrive with credentials on display. He arrived in the water — standing exactly where the broken people had stood.
CT051 - A Voice in the Wilderness
April 7, 2026 • Matthew Allen • Matthew 3:1–6
In this episode, we open Matthew 3 and meet John the Baptist — a wilderness preacher who arrives without introduction and wastes no time. His message is a single word: repent. But in the Greek, that word means far more than feeling sorry. It describes a complete reorientation — a turning of the mind and direction of a life toward God. John wasn't calling people to feel bad; he was calling them to turn around, because something had arrived. The kingdom of heaven was near. Matthew connects John to Isaiah 40 and the great promise of God coming near after a long silence. And the wilderness setting is no accident — it was always the place of stripping away, of dependence, of beginning again. Before John says a word, the location says everything.
YPH 415
April 5, 2026 • Jason Schofield , Matthew Allen
Join Matt & Jason for live bible talk beginning at 8 AM ET!
April 15, 2026 • Matthew Allen, Roger Robins • Numbers 22:1–14, Numbers 23:7–12, Numbers 24:9–11
As Israel continued toward the Promised Land, a new threat emerged; one they never saw coming. While God’s people camped unaware, enemies worked behind the scenes to curse and destroy them. In Numbers 22–24, the story of Balaam reveals a powerful truth: God’s purposes for His people cannot be overturned, even when powerful forces oppose them.
This lesson demonstrates that Israel’s destiny was not determined by their awareness, strength, or even faithfulness but by God’s unchanging promise. Although Balaam was hired to curse Israel, God repeatedly turned curses into blessings. What was intended for harm became a declaration of God’s unwavering commitment to His people. God protects and preserves His people in ways they may never fully understand, and that His plans are not fragile.
Week 6: The Bronze Serpent
April 8, 2026 • Matthew Allen, Roger Robins • Numbers 21:4–9
The wilderness journey exposes a sobering pattern: even after God’s repeated acts of grace, His people continued to struggle with trust. In Numbers 21, Israel once again grumbles against God and His leadership, and this time the consequences are immediate and severe. Yet during judgment, God provides an unexpected means of healing; not by removing the danger instantly, but by calling the people to look in faith.
This lesson explores the strange and powerful episode of the bronze serpent and what it reveals about sin, judgment, faith, and God’s mercy. Healing did not come through effort, merit, or understanding—it came through obedience and trust in God’s provision. As Jesus later explained, this moment in Israel’s history pointed beyond itself to God’s ultimate act of salvation. Faith is often as simple, and as difficult, as looking to God and trusting Him to save.
Week 5: Leadership and Unity
April 1, 2026 • Roger Robins • Numbers 12:1–6
The wilderness journey reveals that one of the greatest threats to God’s people is not external opposition, but internal division. After moments of rebellion and mercy, Israel faced a quieter but equally dangerous challenge—pride, comparison, and resistance to God’s appointed leadership. In Numbers 12, criticism arose not from outsiders but from within, disrupting the unity of the entire nation.
This lesson explores how God views leadership and why unity among His people matters. Leadership in God’s design is not about superiority or control, but faithfulness and responsibility. Unity does not mean that all roles are the same, but that all hearts are aligned in trust and submission to God’s will. As God corrected division among Israel and restored unity, He taught His people that resisting godly leadership ultimately hinders their journey forward. This lesson challenges us to examine how our attitudes toward leadership affect the health, peace, and progress of God’s people today.
This lesson explores the close link between knowing Christ and obeying Him. Scripture clearly shows that obedience is not an optional addition to faith, nor a legalistic way to earn God’s favor. Instead, obedience naturally flows from love for Christ and demonstrates a real relationship with Him. Using the teachings of Jesus and the writings of John and James, this lesson stresses that knowing Christ is shown not just by confession or knowledge, but by a life committed to faithful obedience.
Week 7: Growing in the Word
April 12, 2026 • Matthew Allen • Colossians 3:16
In this lesson, we focus on the central role of God’s Word in spiritual growth and maturity. Scripture teaches that knowing Christ personally is inseparable from knowing Him through His Word. The Word of God shapes belief, renews the mind, anchors faith, and equips believers for faithful living. Drawing from passages such as Colossians 3, 2 Timothy 3, and Psalm 119, this lesson emphasizes that spiritual development does not occur by accident, but through consistent, humble engagement with God’s revealed truth. A mature church is built on believers who are rooted in the Word.
