Matthew 24 - The Beginning of the End - The Village Chapel

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Matthew 24 - The Beginning of the End

February 12, 2023 • Pastor Jim Thomas • Matthew 24

Matthew 24 offers us a record of what Bible scholars have come to call the “Mount Olivet Discourse." This is the second-longest teaching segment of Jesus we find recorded in Matthew’s gospel. Here we read of the disciples gawking at the magnificent structure of the Jewish Temple and Jesus responding with what had to seem like a strange prediction: He said “not one stone here shall be left upon another, which will not be torn down.” What was the significance of that statement by Jesus and what does it tell us about Him?

In the rest of Matthew 24, Jesus talks about the signs of the End Times, Christ's glorious return and how we who follow Christ can best prepare for both.

A lot of what’s found here reads like today’s news feed. What hope can we have and in what ways does Jesus say believers should respond? Join Pastor Jim as he walks us through some of the major views on the End Times, the return of Christ and the Eschatological sequence of events leading up to the consummation of God’s kingdom.

More from Matthew: The King and His Kingdom

Matthew 28:16-20 - The Great Commission

April 16, 2023 • Pastor Jim Thomas • Matthew 28:16–20

After Jesus died and rose again from the tomb, He gave His disciples what has come to be called the Great Commission. What does that term mean and how does it relate to our role with God’s mission in the world? How does our understanding of God’s mission help define who we are to be as God’s people and Christ’s followers? If Christians have been entrusted with the great news that God in Christ is restoring all of His creation, how should that impact the way we live out the Great Commission in a world bound by the darkness it loves more than the light it so desperately needs? Join Pastor Jim as he helps us learn how to lovingly persuade postmodern hearts and minds, even as they flounder in the quicksands of intellectual confusion and moral relativism, of the biblical claim that Jesus Christ really is “the way, the truth and the life.”

Matthew 28:1-15 - The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

April 9, 2023 • Pastor Jim Thomas • Matthew 28:1–15

Christians all over the world believe in the physical death, burial and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Was the resurrection of Jesus hoax or history? What kinds of evidence exist for the claim that Jesus rose again? What impact does the resurrection have on those who put their trust in Christ? The power of the resurrection is central to the Christian faith and rooted in the faithfulness of God. Followers of Jesus Christ have an inextinguishable hope because Christ has defeated death and the Gospel promises that believers will share in His victory. Join Pastor Jim as he leads us through Matthew’s account of the resurrection of Jesus and the hope that fills us to overflowing with a trembling joy.

Matthew 27:32-66 - The Power of the Cross of Christ

April 2, 2023 • Pastor Jim Thomas • Matthew 27:32–66, 1 John 2:2

John Stott has said, “When we look at the cross, we see the justice, love, wisdom and power of God. It is not easy to decide which is the most luminously revealed.” How is it possible that the death of Christ on the cross reflects all of that? What difference does the death of Jesus 2000 years ago really make? Why did Jesus really die on the cross? What was accomplished through the cross of Christ? And what difference does it make for us so many years later? Join Pastor Jim as he leads us through a study of the crucifixion, death and burial of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in Matthew’s Gospel.