Messages from 2024

God hates sin. But He also hates unforgiveness with an equal passion—and consequence! There are brothers and sisters who are caught in sin that we need to correct, and we may have to escalate it to the point of cutting off fellowship with them. But…

Marriage. It can be the hardest of relationships. Surely there's a way out when things go bad. Even God wouldn't make me endure with this impossible person. God's Word is restrictive; in some cases, to obey would be tragic. So we seek to follow the…

What do you look to for assurance that you will enter Christ's kingdom? Is there a one-off event or deed that you did to confirm your salvation? Do you depend on your continued good deeds to assure your place in Heaven? In this passage, a…

"The first will be last and the last will be first." There are so many ways this can apply to us. Who is the first? Who is the last? Will they just be made equal? Will their positions be reversed? What does that mean for…

All who trust in Christ and serve Him are promised eternity with Him. But does that satisfy you? We've seen that Jesus has more to offer those who give up the things of this world and this life in order to build His kingdom. Does…

God has placed almost every one of us in some position of authority. Why? What does He intend? What should we do? Jesus sets an important example for us in this passage. From Matthew 21:1-17.

Jesus seems to have it in for fruitless fig trees and mountains! What's so bad about them that the one would deserve a curse and the other to be tossed into the ocean? Given the wider context, this doesn't seem to be simply a landscaper's…

The Bible can be hard to understand, for a variety of reasons. But it isn't so much because the Bible is written in complex language or complicated logic, or even that its teachings are cloaked in impenetrable cultural concepts. Jesus reveals two of the key…

A vineyard. Tenants. Slaves beaten, a son killed. Jesus both sums up Israel's history and foretells His own death. More than that, He foretells the end of all those faithless leaders of God's people, and the birth of His Church! A bad day for the…

Are you merely called or are you chosen? There is a difference. In the conclusion to this parable, Jesus tells us that "many are called, but few are chosen." The gospel goes out into all the world; daily people receive a call from God's servants.

The patience of Jesus' enemies is wearing thin. They are ready to kill Him. The only thing that holds them back is the great crowd in Jerusalem for the Passover. Too many of them think He is the Messiah; too many of them hang on…

How wise we think we are! How intelligent! So we have the boldness to deny the truth of things we don't like, even in God's Word! The Sadducees are not so different from us. They preferred to believe in what they could see and touch…

It is amazing how much time and energy we can spend on debating meaningless things. Carpets. Music. Greatest commandments. Does God actually rank His commands so that there are some we really need to pay attention to and others we can pretty much ignore? Not…

The chief priests, the elders, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, an expert in the Law. Jesus has been questioned over and over again. All to discredit Him, to turn the crowd against Him. Every attempt failed. Some examiners were further enraged against Him, some were amazed;…

How many insensitive, hypocritical leaders have you met in your life? There's certainly no lack of them, at all levels of leadership. So what should we as Christians do, when we're stuck under a foolish leader like that? Jesus has some instruction. Not advice, but…

At the beginning of Matthew 23, Jesus tells the crowds and His disciples that they need to do everything the teachers of the law and the Pharisees tell them to do. Even though He knows and says they're hypocrites! As if that wasn't insulting enough,…

Jesus is fully aware of the hypocrisy of the teachers of the Law and Pharisees, yet He expects His disciples to obey them! How unfair is that? What is He thinking? Won't His disciples have to suffer under the rule of uncaring leaders? What about…

There's nothing better than being a Christian! You sure about that? What makes it so? Jesus schools His disciples on what's coming for them, and it's not pretty. Are you sure you're ready to follow Christ? If you think it's not so bad, are you…

The disciples asked, "What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" Beginning in verse 15, Jesus finally answers their question. "So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the…

How do we motivate Christians to Christian living? One way is to convince people that Jesus is returning at any moment. But what Jesus has revealed here and what the rest of the Scriptures support and teach is that Jesus' return is not yet imminent.

Jesus is still answering His disciples' question: "What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" (Mt 24:3b) After giving all kinds of signs, both in regard to the time of the birth pains and of the time of…

What can we expect when the Lord returns? Jesus wants us to be prepared, but how? What should we be doing? In the rest of this chapter, Jesus will be expanding on and illustrating His expectations. Today He uses the example of a master going…

Since explaining the timing of His return and the end of the age, Jesus has spoken several parables to urge His disciples to be ready. But what preparations should we be making? If we've been entrusted with other servants, we're supposed to lead them well…

Time is short now. Jesus has finished His teachings on the end of this age and His return. Now it's time to prepare for His departure and inauguration of the New Covenant. So many preparations to make! Over the next 30 verses, we jump from…

How do you handle the most terrifying diagnosis? How do you handle tragedy befalling a loved one? How do you respond to a spouse who fails you in one way or another? How do you respond to a car breaking down by the side of…

Both Peter and Jesus are on trial here. You can see the difference between the One who submitted Himself to the Father's will, even to the point of death, and the one who gave in to his flesh. Jesus knows when to remain silent and…

Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin, by the people and even by Pilate—against his better judgment. Can this really be God's desire for His only Son? We know it is, but do we realize that in suffering all these things, He was leaving us an…

Now it's time to carry out the sentence of death against Jesus. You've heard it before; you've seen it in movies. It is brutal. And the worst thing we can do is become numb to it. Jesus Himself had the opportunity to take a concoction…

Jesus is dead. The priests and Pharisees have won! They are so confident and clever. They anticipate the next and final deception and take steps to prevent it. Yet in truth, they have it all wrong. Not only do they overestimate Jesus' disciples, but they,…

The angels joyously announced the birth of Jesus; the angels rejoice over the resurrection of Jesus! The resurrection seals the whole testimony of God. The resurrection proves Jesus is all He claimed to be. The resurrection changes everything! It frees us from all our fears…

The Great Commission included instruction for the Apostles to teach their disciples to obey everything Jesus commanded them. If everything Jesus commanded them had been included in the Gospels, there would be no need for the letters that make up the rest of the New…

Paul appoints Titus to finish laying a foundation of Christian life and doctrine for the fledgling churches of Crete. This is what the whole letter is about, notes for Titus as he seeks to complete this task. Chief among Titus' duties is to establish trustworthy…

Elders had two tasks: encourage the believers by sound doctrine and refute those who opposed sound doctrine (Titus 1:9). Refuting those who oppose sound doctrine is no joyful task, but one that is desperately needed, even today. There are far too many servants of Satan…

Elders had two tasks: encourage the believers by sound doctrine and refute those who opposed sound doctrine (Titus 1:9). Most of the rest of Paul's Letter to Titus deals with encouraging believers by sound doctrine. But sound doctrine is not merely knowledge about God, His…

Sound doctrine isn't merely a collection of truths to hold in our head and heart. It has implications for how we live. We've already seen very specific expectations that sound doctrine places on older men, older women and younger women. There are still three more…

To what do you look for the assurance of your salvation? A date? A prayer? A baptism? The grace of God came to bring us salvation, but do we understand that means? Whether we realize it or not, so many of us think that just…

What are you devoted to? We're called to be devoted to God, but what does that look like? We have a clue in Paul's repeated command that believers to devoted to doing what is good. It comes up twice in this last chapter. We already…