​The birth story of Jesus in the Gospel of John isn’t easy to find. There’s no list of names like in Matthew. There’s no heavenly host addressing shepherds as in Luke. But it’s still there! Because John highlighted how Jesus is God, we need to rethink what a birth story for God would look like.

Watch our study of John 1 and marvel at the wonder of the Infinite becoming infant, the Maker becoming man—Immanuel, God with us!

​In Matthew 8 and Luke 7, we learn two important lessons about having and employing faith from an unlikely source—a Roman Centurion. 

First, we learn that faith is not about feeling worthy. Faith is not dependent on a feeling of worthiness we can muster up. Faith is about focusing on the authority and ability of God to do what He promised.

Second, we do not need to see to believe—especially if we understand God’s authority and ability to do what He promised to do for those who feel unworthy. We have to believe, and then God will show us. Our eyes can deceive us, but the Bible cannot. Scripture records the infallible track record of God doing exactly what He promised to do—each and every time.

When we understand His authority and ability and trust in His love and mercy, we choose to believe—even, and especially, if we cannot see. 

“Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
–1 Peter 1:8-9

The world has a common saying: “I’ll believe it when I see it.” But is this always the best way to see? Must we always insist on seeing something before we’re willing to believe it has happened? Or is there a better way?

In His conversation with Thomas after His resurrection, Jesus says there is a special blessing for those who have not seen and yet still believe (John 20:29). This is just as true today as it was for the first-century church.

This past Sunday, we met a man of faith who believed without needing to see. This man exemplified faith, love, and trust. He understood authority and the power of God. But he wasn’t a religious professional—he was a gentile, a Roman Centurion who caused Jesus to marvel.

Watch our study of Matthew 8:5-13 as we consider the blessing of believing, then seeing.

​When you were forgiven and saved—healed and cleansed from all sin—how long did it take to feel like the stain and the stigma of sin were gone? Maybe you still struggle with it. After years of identifying as unclean, the leper probably struggled with this feeling too, which is why Jesus sent the man to the priest to perform a specific ceremony for someone miraculously cleansed of leprosy (see Matthew 8:4).

As described in Leviticus 14, every detail points to Jesus—wood, scarlet, hyssop, and blood. Each element in this ceremony shouts: “Because of blood, you are clean!” 

We who have been healed miraculously of the deadly disease called sin need to hear this as well: “Because of the blood—the shed blood of Jesus—you are clean!” Our identity is no longer ‘sinner’ but ‘son’ or ‘daughter’ of the King of kings. We must hear this truth repeatedly, or we will return to our old identity and behavior.

Because of the shed blood of Jesus, we are completely forgiven and cleansed. You are a new creation in Christ. Your sin is cast as far as the east is from the west—never to be seen again. Nothing and no one can take you out of your Father’s hand or separate you from His love. He is with you! He loves you! 

YOU are clean! 
YOU ARE clean! 
YOU ARE CLEAN! 

​As Jesus descended from the mountain where He delivered His sermon, He interacted with a leper. In the parallel passage in Luke 5, we read of another interaction Jesus had with a different man named Peter. 

While the leper struggled with his external condition, Peter struggled with his internal condition. However, there are similarities in their struggle—and there are similarities in the answer to their struggle. His name is Jesus.

Watch our study from this past Sunday in  Matthew 8:1-4 and Luke 5:1-14 as we consider how able and willing Jesus is to heal and to cleanse.

“They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read.”
–Nehemiah 8:5

Simply teaching the Bible is as important today as in Nehemiah’s day. It’s not the ideas or personality of a pastor that will change people’s lives. It is the Spirit of God working through the Word of God in the hearts of the people of God. 

Simply reading the Scripture clearly and then explaining the Scripture simply with the hope of helping others to understand can be radical and transformational for an individual, a family, a fellowship, or even an entire nation.

As we gather in unity, eagerly invite the pastor to “Bring the Book!” Serve behind the scenes to support the service and be intentional about what you hear. Be attentive and respectful, eager and appropriately emotional, responsive and worshipful. And as the Word read, be obedient and joyful—not only in understanding but also (and especially) in applying what you hear.

​When Jesus finished His Sermon on the Mount, Matthew writes that the people were astonished at His teaching, “for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” (Matthew 7:29)

Jesus wasn’t just a self-help guru sharing practical advice on how to get through life. Those who heard Jesus sensed the Holy Spirit stirring up their spirits as the ministry of the word happened. Something significant and important occurs when the Spirit of God works through the Word of God in the hearts of the People of God. 

On Sunday, we looked at another example in scripture where this occurred—Nehemiah 8. Watch our study as we consider the importance of the ministry of the Word and share the same request— “Bring the Book!”

Religion does not—and cannot—save you. Only Jesus can save you. Do you know Him? Does He know you? Have you genuinely asked Him to be the Lord of your life? Or do you casually, flippantly, disingenuously, and dangerously only claim Him to be the Lord of your life?

Only you and He know the answers to those questions. It would be best to have it sorted out now. At any time, we are all just a second away from eternity. Only Jesus can save you, but He cannot save you if you only know about Him intellectually or even how He could save you. You must place your faith in Him. You must believe Him and receive Him to be saved. 

The only way you enter a real relationship with Jesus Christ is to be born again of God’s Holy Spirit. This happens when you turn from your sin in repentance and turn towards Jesus in belief. Then place your faith in Him to save you from your sin and an eternity separated from Him.

Have you been born again? You can be—and have the assurance of eternal life! Simply acknowledge that you have sinned and ask Jesus to save you. Turn from your sin and ask God to forgive you. Believe that Jesus died for you on the cross and rose from the grave. Then put your faith in Him, invite Him to come into your life and take control through the Holy Spirit, and receive Him as your Lord and Savior.

Talk to God. Express these things in your heart. You could say something like this:
Dear God,
I know that I am a sinner. I want to turn from my sins, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ is Your Son. I believe that He died for my sins and that You raised Him to life. I want Him to come into my heart and to take control of my life. I want to trust Jesus as my Savior and follow Him as my Lord from this day forward. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

​Jesus ended His Sermon on the Mount with three warnings. This past Sunday, we considered Jesus’ third warning about faulty foundations. It’s a warning about merely listening to His words without actually doing what He said.

Listening to Jesus can’t save you. Hearing sermons (in a building or on a mountain) can’t save you. You have to do what Jesus says. You have to put down your excuses and take the leap of faith. 

Jesus gives us a warning because He knows a storm is coming. The only way to survive that storm is to be genuinely His—in a real relationship with Him by believing, receiving, and trusting Him.

Watch our study in Matthew 7:24-27 as we carefully consider the importance of the foundation upon which we live our lives.

​You can’t just declare yourself a Christian. You must be born again. If you have been truly born again, there will be a transformation—you will become a new creation. There will be evidence of a genuine conversion that Jesus calls ‘fruit.’ 

In last week’s study, we considered Simon in Acts 8. Whether Simon was a genuine believer has been debated for centuries. Some see Simon as a new believer struggling with sin. Others view him as a false prophet who made a false profession of faith. And yet, it’s an opportunity for us to reflect on. Do you really want the genuine of your conversion to be debatable? 

Jesus tells us that many will profess to be genuine believers who have never actually been born again. Watch our second study in Matthew 7:21-23 as we heed the warning of our Savior not to be one of the ‘many.’

​Being a disciple of Jesus is more than what you say or appear to do. It’s who you are. Are you still only His creation? Then your relationship to Him is as Creator and Judge. Are you a new creation? Have you truly been born again? Then your relationship is with Him as Father. You have been given a new nature and have become one of His children!

Jesus saw us all poisoned by bitterness and bound by sin. He loved us too much to allow us to remain that way, so He came to rescue us. We know we all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard of righteousness. We also know that the wages of sin is death. That’s why Jesus came to die for us. God demonstrated His love for us this way—while we were still sinners, Christ died on our behalf.

Here’s the good news: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God…” (John 1:12). “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation…” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

​Near the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives His disciples three dire warnings concerning false prophets, false professions, and faulty foundations. In our last study, we thoughtfully considered those who present themselves as sheep but are inwardly ravenous wolves.

This past Sunday, we turned our attention to Jesus’ second warning about false professions. How could someone say and do all the right things and not be a born-again believer and be saved? 

We see an example of a false prophet and a false profession in the same person in Acts 8 as we consider the careful warning of Jesus we read in Matthew 7:21-23.

You can identify the tree based on the fruit you see growing from it. If you see an apple on a tree, you can identify that the tree is an apple tree. 

Fruit grows out of identity. Like a tree, the fruit in our lives is more than just what we say and appear to do. The fruit we produce comes out as a result of who we are.

Jesus tells us that the fruit a person’s life produces will identify if they are a false prophet. Someone can say and do all the right things. They can (and will) have the appearance of a sheep, yet their identity is that of a ravenous wolf. 

Jesus wants His disciples to know how to spot the difference. The fruit in a person’s life will show if they are a genuine born-again believer who feeds upon God’s Word and displays the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control), or someone who claims to be a believer but uses the ministry to be in proximity to born-again believers to feed their ego, insecurities, and ravenous hunger to be in control.

Heed Jesus’ warning about such people—“By their fruits you will know them.”

“Beware…” 
Jesus had to warn His disciples about false prophets who would look like them but were not His. They are not sheep but ravenous wolves. 

Jesus wasn’t using poetic language to make a point. There are some who look like Christians, talk like Christians, and walk like Christians, but are not Christians and intentionally prey upon Christians.

So how do we know who these ravenous wolves are? Thankfully Jesus tells us—“by their fruits you will know them.”

Watch our study in Matthew 7:15-20 as we meditate on the warning Jesus gives us about false prophets.

​We have a good Father who knows how to give good gifts. He promises to give us all that we need to fulfill the clear expectations that He has for the beautiful worthy difficulty of ministry. So ask, seek, and knock. Do not give up, dismiss, or diminish the clear expectations for ministry just because it’s difficult. After all, Jesus told us it will be difficult! 

In our own strength and with our own resources, His clear expectations are impossible. This drives us to two options—the narrow gate and the wide gate. The narrow gate is difficult but the wide gate leads to destruction. Embrace the impossibility of ministry and ask, seek, and knock until you see His attitudes, actions, attributes, and motivations in your heart and life.

This is the adventure that He has called us to—the beautiful worthy difficulty of ministry. So ask Him, seek Him, knock on the door of His heart. His heart for you is to give you all of this so that you can have fellowship with Him as you are a blessing in the lives of others.

​Being a dedicated disciple of Jesus is not easy. That’s why we call it the beautiful worthy difficulty of ministry. In fact, being a dedicated disciple of Jesus is impossible in our strength and with our resources. Even with all of the effort and human willpower we can muster, we will find ourselves lacking what’s required to do what God calls us to do.

That’s why we need to cry out to God for His help continually. We must continually ask. We must continually seek. And we must continually knock, knowing that He is a good Father who knows how to give good gifts.

Watch our study in Matthew 7:7-14 as we continue our study in the Sermon on the Mount and learn why asking, seeking, and knocking are essential to entering by the narrow gate.