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...
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Daniel: When Kingdoms Collide (1) - Daniel's God
Awake Us Now
The Book of Daniel is the story of the collision of two kingdoms, a spiritual war that is still being fought in the heavens and on the earth. In the end, the Kingdom of God wins!
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The Gospel According to Matthew - Week 4
Awake Us Now
Week 4 of our Matthew study is all about John the Baptist and his message of repentance, a message that can be difficult for the religious to accept.
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The Gospel According to Matthew - Week 3
Awake Us Now
In our study of Matthew this week we look at chapters 2 and 3, with an emphasis on deliverance through Jesus the Messiah and the fulfillment of the New Covenant through Him as well.
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The Gospel According to Matthew - Week 2
Awake Us Now
This week our study of Matthew takes us into chapter 2 and the story of Jesus’ birth focusing on the Magi, their interaction with Herod, and their interesting gifts to Jesus.
info_outlineUp To Jerusalem - Teaching 8
Scripture - Matthew 24:15 - Matthew 25:13
Luke 21, Mark 13 and Matthew 24-25 all have the story of Jesus’ Mt. Olivet Discourse with His disciples.
In today’s opening verses in Matthew 24:15ff, we hear Jesus answering the questions we left off with last week.
The two questions the disciples asked Jesus:
1. When will these things you are telling us happen to the temple
2. What will be the sign of your return
They are thinking that these two questions coincide one with the other…. As we now know - that was not the case.
Jesus is giving a forewarning of what would befall Jerusalem. (The fall happened in the year 70AD when the Roman General Titus laid siege to Jerusalem and ultimately leveled it to the ground.)
Jesus’ answer contains responses for both the questions.
The Abomination that causes Desolation - three options of what this might be were shared last week - but only one seems to fit the time frame: An event in winter 67/68AD - the temple was profaned by Jewish insurgents. Pastor reads about the event from Josephus’ writing: The Jewish War. During this event the insurgents caused division within the Jewish community. It’s a good possibility that this event caused believers in Jesus in the city of Jerusalem to begin fleeing the city by those who took Jesus’ words literally. They left because they could see what was coming and Jesus had warned them about what was coming. They fled across the Jordan River and they were protected from the siege by Titus which began shortly after the insurgent uprising. Those who fled were protected from all that followed. Over 1 million people died in the siege of Jerusalem.
In Luke 21:20-24 we read: “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”
UNTIL THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES ARE FULFILLED - This passage in Luke has been fulfilled in our day. Pastor shares a brief history of the city of Jerusalem from 70AD to the mid 20th century of when the city of Jerusalem was dominated by gentiles.
Romans
Byzantines
Persians
Byzantines
Crusaders
Ottoman Turks
WWI
British control
WWII - The Jewish people were given a homeland in 1948
Six Day War - 1967 City of Jerusalem came under control of the Jewish people and has remained in their control in an uneasy peace. THIS IS SOMETHING JESUS SAID AND IT WAS FULFILLED IN OUR LIFE TIME.
"The times of the gentiles are fulfilled"... what does that mean? Does that refer simply to gentile control of Jerusalem? Or does it mean far more? Romans 9, 10, and 11 talk about the Jewish people returning to the Messiah. When they return to Him - the end comes! We don’t know the day or hour - but He tells us when we see these things happening, look up because our redemption is drawing near.
Jesus’ final return will be like lightening filling the sky. He will come on cloud in great glory!
As the discourse continues in Matthew 24 - 25 we read about the following:
⁃ Fig Tree Imagery - Jesus prophesies that the end is near when we again see Israel beginning to flourish then we know “summer is near” (the end is coming)
⁃ Jesus says, “This generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.” THIS GENERATION - generation in Greek has multiple meanings - one meaning refers to “this people” the other to “this nation” and in Aramaic (Jesus’ language of the day) the word for generation and the word for nation are the same word. It may well be that what Jesus is declaring is that the Jewish people will not come to an end - they will survive. And they have.
⁃ Judgement by fire
⁃ Be awake!
⁃ Do not grow weary in doing what is right
⁃ Follow Jesus - receive Him as King, Savior and Lord
⁃ Last days and times will be difficult - so we are called to walk close to God
⁃ Then Jesus shares several parables to emphasize what He has been teaching.
⁃ The Parable of the Ten Virgins - Be ready for Jesus’ return. Pastor shares what Jewish weddings were like in Jesus’ day and how knowing that brings insight to this parable to be encouraged to be awake and to be ready for Christ’s return.
Join us next time as we continue with the story of “Up to Jerusalem” as Jesus travels to the cross.
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Up to Jerusalem is a study of the final weeks of Jesus' ministry concluding with His resurrection and ascension, using the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John together with material from ancient sources and recent discoveries. Up to Jerusalem is part four of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. Up To Jerusalem is the story of the plan of God to redeem the world, and the story of a Savior willing to obey the Father’s plan. As we study Jesus’ final days, we will be impacted as we discover the Love of God for each one of us.
This study is great for large group, small group or home group study and can be started at any time.