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...
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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.
info_outlineThe Gospel of John Week 3
Scripture: John 1:19-51, Malachi 4:5-6, Psalm 105, Daniel 7:13-14.
Today we take a look at John the Baptist, his questioning by religious authorities, the Baptism of Jesus, and meet some of His first followers.
As Pastor begins today’s class we learn about who John the Baptist was and Pastor shares personal photos he has taken in the location where John lived and preached.
John the Baptist is the one who God foretold through Malachi the prophet: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” Malachi 4:5-6 John even dressed like Elijah: leather belt, animal skin clothing, ate locust and wild honey, lived in the wilderness. John the Baptist was totally devoted to preparing the way for the Messiah. John 1:23 tells us, “John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” He knew Messiah was coming!
Pastor lays out a map of the area around the Jordan River, Dead Sea and Bethany where John lived and preached and offered baptism - a cleansing done in anticipation of meeting God - a ritual washing in Judaism that signified a cleaning off of ones sins - repentance. John 1:29-31, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
John the Baptist preaches that the Messiah is coming. And He calls Jesus the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. John the Baptist understands who Jesus is and in verses 32-34 - we read his testimony: “Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.””
As we explore Jesus’ baptism - the question is why was Jesus baptized? Let’s start with why were people receiving John’s baptisms - because they realized they were sinners and needed to repent and the baptism represented the washing off of sin. But Jesus is sinless - why doe He get baptized - because it symbolized His willingness to take on all the sins that had been washed into the river. He goes into the water implying He is willing to take all of our sins onto Himself. And that’s where the road to the cross begins.
In John the Baptist’s testimony says that the Spirit come down and remained on Jesus and He is the One who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Jesus is the One who will bring the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Pastor shares an overview of the difference between the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament and the Holy Spirit in the New Testament and shows us that we are in the Age of the Spirit. Pastor also shares encouragement for the American church to find its way back to acknowledging the Spirit of God that has been poured out.
As our story continues we see Jesus begin to gather the group that would become His disciples. We meet Andrew, Peter and Nathaniel. Pastor gives some interesting insights to these men.
Pastor summarizes this first chapter of the Gospel of John: Jesus is the Word made flesh, who dwelt among us, who is the very glory of the Heavenly Father and who is God come to earth.
Join us next week for chapter 2 as we continue to learn about Jesus’ identity, about Judaism, about who Jesus the Messiah is, what He is doing and what that all means. We will look at His first miracle - one that many think is trivial - but as we will learn - it is NOT!
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⁃ The Gospel of John study is part five of five of our Two Year Study of the Gospels.
⁃ The Gospel of John may be one of the most powerful books ever written. Many people have come to faith after reading only this book of the Bible. Scholarly and archeological discoveries in recent decades give us new insight on details in the Gospel of John. We can now understand it as the most Jewish rather than the most “Gentile/Greek” of the Gospels, and when we do that we see many things that we missed before.
Our 2 year study of the gospels is great for large group, small group or home group study and can be started at any time!