Do Not Worry: Seek First…. Part II (Matt 6:25-29) Verse 30 This is a continuation of Jesus’ command not to worry about what to wear. Not so much what outfit to wear, but that we would have something to wear. Jesus continues His analogy but switches from, “wild flowers” to “grass of the field.” His...
On Mission with God: To the Nations and the Neighbors (Rev 5:8-10) • Matt, Mark, & Luke all have the same basic command from Jesus to be on mission and take the Gospel to all nations. • These passages are generally referred to as the Great Commission. Acts 2:5 God saw fit to have every...
The church of Jesus has been born out of the presence of God and was created to gather around His presence continually through the Holy Spirit. In the book of Acts, we see that, within a few short weeks, the crowd in Jerusalem went from saying, “Crucify Jesus” to “What must we do to be...
Everything we need is the found in the presence of God. Moses knew this. Chapter 33 of the book of Exodus contains some incredible comments by Moses, statements that serve us well as we seek to know God and encourage others in the 21st Century. Even though Moses already had an incredible and personal relationship...
In Matthew chapter 12, Jesus illustrates spiritual realities through the natural world that apply to us as humans. Fruit trees require great care and attention to produce good fruit. The same is true for us – the words we speak reflect the condition we have cultivated in our hearts. Jesus condemns the religious leaders (the...
Words have great power. We were made in God’s image, and if we truly want to imitate him, we will use great care with our words and get in the habit of speaking blessings, not curses. The apostle Peter tells us that we should speak God’s words so that we advance Jesus’ kingdom, not...
There is no getting around it – God is concerned about justice for those who have no voice. Justice was a major part of Jesus’ ministry as well. In fact, the word “justice” is used 130 times in the NIV translation of the Bible. Jesus saved some of his harshest words for the religious leaders...
Seek First: The Church (Matt 16:18-19) • The Church is the body of Christ and the Bride of Christ. You can’t love one without loving the other. o But to love the church we must understand the mission of the church. Verse 16 Jesus is talking to Peter and setting him up to be the...
Seek First: The Economy of the Kingdom (Matt 25:14-30) • The context here is that Jesus has been telling parables about what the kingdom of God is like. • Jesus is talking about money. So, we are going to look at it from the stand point of money. Verse 14 The word “man” used is...
Seek First: Everything Belongs to the King (Psalm 50:8; Malachi 3:6) Psalm 50:8-15 The context here is God was dealing with the people’s attitudes toward the sacrifice. • Everything already belongs to Him. He is not asking for it because He needs it like an earthly king might. Verse 13 He clarifies that He does...
Seek First: The Kingdom has a Helper (2) John14:15 The kingdom rule of King Jesus starts with love. Verse 16 Jesus promises the Holy Spirit, referred to here as the Counselor. • Do you see how much this stands in contrast to the way earthly leaders rule? o Earthly leaders surround themselves with counselors. But...
Seek First: The Kingdom has a King (Matt 6:25-34; Romans 14:17) • I can only give myself to seeking the Kingdom I know the Kingdom. o And if there is a Kingdom then there must also be a King. o I can only give myself to seeking the Kingdom if I know the King The...
Intro to Seek First Seek First: This series will be based on this passage in Matt 6 and the parallel story in Luke 12 • For the entire series we will focus in on the statement that Jesus makes to “Seek First His Kingdom” • The theme of this series is “Seek First the Kingdom...
