 When Jesus left Jericho, He was followed by many who wanted to hear what He had to say. But there was someone who kept getting in the way—a blind beggar named Bartimaeus who interrupted, crying out loudly, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" He had a genuine, desperate need and was reaching out to Jesus the only way he knew how.
Watch our study of Matthew 20:29-34 (and Mark 10:46-52) as we considered Jesus' response to this interruption. People often have a “what’s in it for me” motivation for ministry rather than simply a desire to serve. We’re not the only ones who struggle with motivation in ministry. Jesus’ closest and most devoted followers struggled with the proper motivation for ministry.
Jesus really meant what He said when He taught, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23). When we ask what we’ll get out of serving Jesus, we’re asking the wrong question and have the wrong motivation. Watch our study from Sunday as we reflect on our own motivations for ministry and look to Jesus as the best model for serving with genuine motives. When the Holy Spirit puts His finger on the sin He is dealing with in your life, you have a choice. You can say ‘Yes’ and yield to Him and repent. Or you can say ‘No’ and walk away, unwilling to let go of whatever you loved more than the Lord.
Make no mistake, whatever you love more than the Lord is your god. But no one can serve two masters. That’s why repenting is so important—it is renouncing all other masters. Watch our study of Matthew 19:16-22 as we observed a rich young ruler who was willing to come to Jesus, but unwilling to follow Him. Matthew 19 initially appears to address marriage, divorce, singleness, and parenthood. However, its message reaches beyond these topics. When we read the Bible, we often seek solutions for others' sins. Yet, God's word is meant to work within us and draw us into a deeper, unhindered relationship with Him.
In the middle of Matthew 18, Jesus gives us instructions on how to handle situations when another believer sins against us. When read in isolation, it may appear like it’s an impersonal policy to prove your point or a procedure to win an argument. Some might see it as a step-by-step guide to remove difficult people from their lives or church.
But is that the heart of this passage? Is that what Jesus intended us to put into practice? When we consider this passage in the context of the whole chapter, things begin to make more sense. On Sunday, we studied the entirety of Matthew 18 in the context of dealing with another believer who has sinned against us. Watch our study as we learn from Jesus about what to do when another believer has wronged us. Over and over, God has proven Himself faithful to give insight and understanding as we simply commit to wrestling with Him. Like Jacob in his actual wrestling match with the Lord, we can say, “I’m not going to let you go until You bless me” as we wrestle with Him through His word. We can say, “I’m not letting this passage go, Lord, until you bless me and give me insight and understanding.” And then, it can be our glory to search those things out as we wrestle with Him (see Proverbs 25:2).
Watch our study of Matthew 17:24-27 as we wrestled with the Lord about the topics of death and…taxes? What does it mean to be greatly used of God? How does Jesus view and define greatness? How does one become great in His Kingdom? These are the questions we asked as we considered the stark and serious statement Jesus made to the Apostles, who promptly argued afterward.
The only hope for lasting change in our country and communities is not found in our own intellect, abilities, or strategies, but only in Jesus. Our only aim is to bring people to Him and watch Him pour out His power in love by His Holy Spirit.
This might seem irrelevant in light of the section of scripture we considered this past Sunday. But as we work our way through it, we see the importance of looking up instead of within—of looking to Jesus instead of anything else as we bring people to Him. Watch our study of Matthew 17:9-21 and the parallel passage in Mark 9:14-21 as we consider Jesus—our only hope! |
From Pastor Dom...When I first gave my life to Jesus, there were friends in my life who helped me to grow in my understanding of God, through His word, and for those friends Archives
January 2026
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