 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! There are moments in the Gospels when we read of Jesus and His disciples on a mountain. These are typically profound yet temporary moments of intense emotional or spiritual experience. In those moments, we witness a profound sense of connection, joy, or revelation.
We can also have those mountaintop experiences—times of solitude that bring clarity and inspiration. And if we are honest, we wouldn’t mind staying put and enjoying times of elation for as long as we could. But life wasn’t meant to be lived just on the mountain. We experience those moments to endure difficult times in the valley. We considered one of the greatest mountaintop experiences this past Sunday as we looked at what’s called the Transfiguration of Jesus. Watch our study in Matthew 17:1-8 as we see Jesus revealed in His divine glory. The life of a believer isn’t just being born again to wait around in a spiritual diaper until He returns. We have work to do that we have been called to do—saving souls and making disciples.
To participate with Him in this work, we must learn what it means to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. This is something that the disciples of Jesus were still learning, even after three years of ministry with Him. Watch our study of Matthew 16:13-28 as we consider the importance of self-denial and self-sacrificial service so that others might live. Have we learned the lesson of the loaves yet? If we’re anything like the Apostles, we may easily forget and need frequent reminders. The miracles Jesus performed show us that Jesus is God. There is nothing too hard for God. Therefore, there is nothing too hard for Jesus.
More than that, Jesus loves us. He would do anything for us if He knew it would bring us blessing and glory to God. We can trust Him and pursue Him, just like we saw in several scenes we studied on Sunday. Watch our study of Matthew 15:21-16:12 as we also consider the parallel passage in Mark 7 as we continue to learn the lesson of the loaves. Jesus of Nazareth went about doing good, for God was with Him. And yet, the scribes and the Pharisees from Jerusalem were constantly finding fault with Jesus. They were supposed to be devoted to Scripture, but at some point, they began to believe that their culture was more important—even than Scripture.
Culture isn’t necessarily bad or evil. You just have to have the courage to call it what it is. We, too, are guilty of sanctifying our own preferences, or writing our own set of rules, or preserving our own culture at the expense of Scripture. And when we do that, we are in danger of the same exhortation from Jesus we read of in Matthew 15. Watch our study from Sunday as we explore the differences between legalism and love. There’s no difference between the miraculous power of multiplying five loaves of bread and two fish to feed over 5,000 people and walking on water. And yet, just after the first miracle, the Apostles were surprised by another amazing miracle.
Are we any different? Just as the Apostles quickly forgot the miracle they witnessed, we also begin to forget—whether we are five feet or five minutes from God. Doubt starts to harden our hearts, and we’re surprised when Jesus does something that He promised He would do. Thankfully, Jesus knows this about us. Instead of condemning us, He continually calls us to Himself to make us into His disciples. This was just one of the many lessons learned as we studied a wild interaction with Jesus in Matthew 14. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus prioritized teaching over miracles. His goal was for people to seek a genuine relationship with God. Returning to Nazareth (His hometown), there may have been a special hopefulness as He preached and taught the Word of God to his family and friends. Unfortunately, things didn’t turn out that way. The unhealthy assumption of familiarity led to contempt, offense, and a tragic limitation of what Jesus was able to do for the people in Nazareth.
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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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