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
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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
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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.
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Dig Deeper - Week 10: The Two Emmaus Disciples
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Join us as we dig deeper into the teaching on “What’s the answer: What did Jesus tell them?”, found in Luke 24:13-27 - the story of 2 men “On the Road to Emmaus.” Two men are on their way, walking to the town of Emmaus are joined by Jesus. Let’s focus in on who these men were. For one of them we are given his name. Luke 24:18 “ One of them, named Cleopas, asked Jesus, …” Cleopas is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible, but there is another name very similar - Clopas - and this name is mentioned other places in the Bible. Over the centuries, many believers, scholars...
info_outlineToday we come to one of the most fascinating times in the history of the kingdom of Judah, an amazing king who does amazing things by the power of an amazing God.
But first we take a look at King Ahaz who ruled from 731-715 BC. In 2 Kings 16:2-3 we read that Ahaz did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He followed the ways of other kings, even sacrificing his son in the fire.
King Ahaz
⁃ Finds himself under attack by Pekah and Rezin
⁃ Discovers there is a price to pay when you turn your back on the Living God
⁃ Seeks help from the Assyrians - Assyria was a massive growing super power.
⁃ Then God brings a rebuke through the prophet Isaiah (a most effective and influential prophet) but Ahaz refuses to listen.
⁃ Ahaz continues to turn away from God and desecrated the Temple of God as he continues to rebel against God.
⁃ His rebellion brings sadness and tragedy and he continues to suffer military attacks.
During Ahaz’s reign in Judah, we read in 2 Kings 17:5-6 that Israel is defeated by the Assyrians after a 3 year siege.
At the end of Ahaz’s reign we see that in spite of the faithlessness of God’s people, God remains faithful. The next king of Judah is one of the best. King Hezekiah is Ahaz’s son and Hezakiah rules 715-686 BC.
King Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. 2 Kings 18:3.
King Hezekiah
⁃ In the first month of the first year of his reign he had the Temple cleansed. 2 Chronicles 29:3-5
⁃ Then Hezekiah holds a national Passover celebration inviting all of Israel and Judah. They had a 2 week Passover celebration. 2 Chronicles 30:1.
⁃ Hezekiah destroys the sacred stones, high places and Asherah poles and also brakes into pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had used to God’s glory but that had become an idol of the Israelites who had been burning incense to it. 2 Kings 18:4
⁃ Hezekiah is facing the enemy of Assyria as they are coming to conquer Jerusalem and so in 2 Kings 20:20 we read that he built a tunnel and a pool. In the 1880’s the Siloam Inscription was discovered. It tells the story of the building of the tunnel. Hezekiah built this tunnel to ensure there would be water when under siege by the Assyrian army by diverting the Gehon spring into Jerusalem leaving no fresh water available to the Assyrian army.
⁃ Then the siege begins against Jerusalem. 2 Kings 18:28-29 the king’s commander, speaking in Hebrew, calls out that the king of Assyria says that Hezekiah has deceived you because he will not be able to deliver you from me and my army. The king of Assyria is trying to get the people in Jerusalem to just give up.
⁃ Then Hezekiah prays a beautiful prayer - 2 Kings 19:15-16 and God listens and the King of Assyria is defeated by God Himself. 2 Kings 19:35-36. The Assyrians withdraw and return to Nineveh and the siege is ended.
⁃ Then Hezekiah becomes very ill to the point of death. Isaiah comes to Hezekiah to tell him to put his house in order. Hezekiah weeps and prays and God sees Hezekiah’s tears and hears his prayer and God heals him. 2 Kings 20:1-5
⁃ Hezekiah is visited by the Babylonians, a rising power that will ultimately defeat the Assyrians. 2 Kings 20:13 we read of Hezekiah being tempted by pride. The prophet Isaiah then brings a word to Hezekiah telling him that everything you just showed off to the Babylonians will be taken by Babylonians. Hezekiah repents.
⁃ The prophets Micah and Isaiah were very active during Hezekiah’s reign.
⁃ Hezekiah was one of the greatest kings the nation had ever known. 2 Kings 18:5-6 tells us that Hezekiah trusted the Lord, that there was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, both before and after him, that Hezekiah held fast to the Lord and did not stop following God and that he kept the commands of the Lord.
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