The Gospel According to Matthew - Week 10
Awake Us Now
In this section of Scripture, Jesus addresses common issues that all of us deal with.
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Questions - Week 24: Is the Shroud of Turin Genuine?
Awake Us Now
The Shroud of Turin is a relic housed in the cathedral in Turin Italy and claimed to be the burial cloth of Christ. The Gospels give us some details: Matthew 27:59-60 ESV “And Joseph (of Arimathea) took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away.” Mark 15:46 ESV “And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking Him (Jesus) down, wrapped Him in the linen shroud and laid Him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone...
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Daniel: When Kingdoms Collide (2) - Mixed, Not Melted
Awake Us Now
God calls His people not to blend in to society, but to stand out, to reflect the mercy and goodness of God, so that He may be exalted through all the nations!
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The Gospel According to Matthew - Week 9
Awake Us Now
Prayer is an amazing gift from God! We have His plea to talk with Him. Genuine prayer; not showy prayer, but rather simply experiencing the presence of our Living God, the Father. Other topics covered are Jesus’ teaching on fasting and possessions. Based on Matthew 6:5-24.
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The Gospel According to Matthew - Week 8
Awake Us Now
Pastor points out the Old Testament’s words, “Thus says the LORD,” and compares them to the words of Jesus in the New Testament that say, “But I tell you.” What does this tell us about who Jesus is? Pastor explores the “But I tell yous” as found in Matthew chapter 5 and we learn what Jesus calls us to. That call is to a changed heart, which can only happen when we come to faith in Jesus. God’s call is personal! He wants to change each one of us by the shed blood of Jesus, the Son of God.
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The Gospel According to Matthew - Week 7
Awake Us Now
In Week 7, we hear more of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Jesus calls us salt and light. What does He mean when He uses these words to describe how we are to be? As historians have looked at world history, more and more of them are coming to the realization Christianity changed everything. Jesus has had a greater impact on the human condition than anyone in all of history. What Jesus produces in people, changes them!
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Dig Deeper - Week 11: Two Pictures of the Messiah
Awake Us Now
We will look at the two pictures of the Messiah found in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). 2 Pictures of Messiah Reigning King Humble Substitute This double picture is what led some of the great Hebrew rabbis to suggest there might be two Messiahs that would come at different times and in different manners. And that then became the dominant tradition: Messiah will raise the dead Messiah will be victorious Messiah will reign in Jerusalem Messiah will bring peace If we look at the New Testament the early followers of Jesus believed this same thing about the Messiah....
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The Gospel According to Matthew - Week 6
Awake Us Now
We finish Matthew 4 on following Jesus, and begin the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 that opens with the Beatitudes.
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The Gospel According to Matthew - Week 5
Awake Us Now
Week 5 of our Matthew study digs into chapter 4 on the Temptation of Jesus, His three temptations and the reality of an unseen spiritual world.
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Questions - Week 23: How Are Minds Opened Today?
Awake Us Now
This message focuses on the question: “How are minds opened today?”, which is part of our ongoing series: “What’s the answer?” Pastor explores how people’s lives are changed and what changes their attitudes about God, about Jesus, the resurrection, and about the power of God’s Word. Pastor takes us through Luke 24:36-47, an encounter with Jesus that His disciples have with Him after His resurrection. Jesus tells them: “This is what I told you while I was still with you; Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets...
info_outlineThis teaching is from Matthew 24:6-28.
Today’s class continues with Jesus’ discussion with His disciples on the last days. In verse 6 He tells of wars and rumors of wars with the encouragement to not be alarmed, to not live in fear, because even in the most uncertain of times believers know that God is in control. Jesus goes on to mention famines and earthquakes with nation against nation and calls this the beginnings of birth pains.
Jesus uses the analogy of a woman giving birth and the birth pains to represent the coming of the last days. Birth pains start slowly - far apart and then grow closer as she gets closer to delivering the baby - stronger and closer. Meaning these last days events (wars, famines, earthquakes) will become more and more frequent and more severe.
Pastor shares statistics pointing to the evidence of these last days birth pains ramping up.
Verses 9-11 point to even more attacks and persecution of believers and again these are likened to birth pains - becoming more frequent. Pastor shares stats showing the evidence of Christian martyrdom ramping up.
Verses 12-14 - Jesus shares that there will be an increase of wickedness and that love for God will grow cold. Jesus encourages us to stand firm to the end and not to buy into the narrative of the culture. Jesus goes on to say that the gospel message would be preached as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come.
With the current technology over the last 100 years, people have come to know of Jesus by the 100s of millions.
We don’t know the day - but we are called to be awake and prepared.
As we read on, Jesus’ focus switches to the “abomination that causes desolation” - Jesus refers to Daniels’ prophecy in Daniel 9:26-27. In Daniel’s vision he saw the day the Messiah would come, that He would be cut off - killed - and shortly after that the city of Jerusalem and the temple would be destroyed.
This all came to fruition approximately 40 years after Jesus spoke of Daniel’s vision from centuries earlier from the Messiah’s birth, to His death and 40 years later the temple and the city of Jerusalem being destroyed in 70AD.
Jesus warns them of what’s coming so they will be prepared. "When you see the signs get out of the city of Jerusalem," He said. Many were saved because they took this warning seriously.
Many Bible scholars and Pastor as well, see The Great Tribulation is the suffering of God’s people until the return of Jesus, not just the temple’s destruction, but a time through to the end of time.
In Matthew 24:21 Jesus refers to the great tribulation, saying, “For then” meaning from that point on, there will be great tribulation, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now - and never to be equaled again. What is Jesus saying? What does the New Testament tell us of the great tribulation?
Many Bible scholars look at the great tribulation not simply as one narrow slice of tribulation at the end of time or one narrow slice of time of the temple’s destruction but basically the suffering of God’s people until the return of Jesus.
Jesus says in verses 22-25 that these days would be cut short for the sake of believers and to not fall for false Christs or other religious schemes and ideas but instead to get into His word and search out His truth and to not be deceived. He is sharing this with us so we are prepared.
In today’s closing verses, 26-28, Jesus says we will all know when He returns! There will be no doubt when He returns!!
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