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What Must I Do?

Dennis McCallum

Matthew 19:9-30

A man asked Jesus what he must do to gain eternal life. This reflects the typical religious attitude Jesus had been teaching against. The man ended up walking away saddened, because he wanted to earn righteous standing instead of simply asking for mercy from Jesus. Jesus' conversation with the man highlights the deceitfulness of the human heart and exposes what the man truly wanted, which wasn't forgiveness. Often, people are deceived into thinking they can do enough to be good with God, but in reality all people need to simply ask for God to have mercy on them through Jesus.

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What Does It Take to Get to Heaven?

Scott Risley

Matthew 19:13-30

The rich young ruler asked Jesus what good deed he must do to have eternal life. Rather than answer his question directly, He asks the ruler questions to uncover his profound misunderstanding of how good God really is. Jesus revealed how high the bar of goodness truly is. In spite of all his efforts to be good enough, he needed to give up on relying on his own merits and come to Jesus like a little child. Once he received grace (if he ever did) he needed to follow Jesus.

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Who Do You Think God Is?

Lee Campbell

Genesis 22:1-18

Sometimes, God will test the faith of His followers in order to both refine and show what they believe about Him. In the binding of Isaac, Abraham goes through extreme testing. This incident foreshadows the work of Christ in a powerful way. Like Abraham, our response to testing is determined by who we think that God is.\r\n

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{"passage": "Genesis 22:1-18","passageabreviated": "Gen 22:1-18","passagetiny": "Gen 22:1-18","teacher": "Lee Campbell","teachingDate": "...

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Jesus' Shepherd Heart

Dennis McCallum

Matthew 18:1-35

Jesus explains the humility needed to enter into the Kingdom of God. He expresses the severity that will fall on those who try to stumble others from entering the Kingdom. We see that Jesus is protective of his flock, as he addresses the practice of church discipline, which ultimately reflects God's love and care. Jesus also shares his forgiving nature as he teaches on the priority of forgiving others while talking with Peter. If we are trying to become more like Jesus, we must prioritize his heart of compassion, forgiveness, and humility. All three of these characteristics were personified with his work on the cross so that people could have a personal relationship with God.

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Three Important Questions

Dennis McCallum

Matthew 16:1-27

Through his interactions with the Pharisees and his disciples, Jesus brings up three major questions that are worth answering. The first question that comes up is who people think Jesus really is. Peter responds that he is the son of God, and Jesus promises that he will build his church to which nothing will overpower it, not even Satan. The second question concerns the call of discipleship, and if people are willing to follow Jesus' radical call of self-sacrifice. The last question concerns the cost of not following after Jesus, which is the forfeiture of one's own soul as Jesus will ultimately judge people according to their deeds. People must make a clear decision on what they think about Jesus.

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The Two Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make

Scott Risley

Matthew 16:1-24

Every person alive will need to decide who they believe Jesus is. Their eternal destiny depends upon this decision. The second decision, if one believes Jesus is the Son of God, is whether or not you will follow Him. There is no cost to you to receive salvation but there is a cost to follow Jesus. The best part of the Christian life is reserved for those who go all the way. Can you afford to not follow Him?

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{"passage": "Matthew 16:1-24","passageabreviated": "Matt 16:1-24","passagetiny": "Matt 16:1-24","teacher": "Scott Risley","teachingDate":...

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Playing Games with God

Dennis McCallum

Mark 7:1-23

The Pharisees dispute with Jesus about why the disciples don't partake in the ceremonial hand washing before eating. The heart of this argument revolves around going through the outward motions without a change of the heart. By partaking in ceremonial washing, the Pharisees were cleaning the outside while not acknowledging their own sin. This issue makes people think they're okay before God when they really are not. The true need is in the heart, which needs a spiritual cleansing through Jesus Christ.

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{"passage": "Matthew 15:1-20","passageabreviated": "Matt 15:1-20","passagetiny": "Matt 15:1-20","teacher": "Dennis McCallum","teachingDat...

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Noah and the Flood: Crucial Questions

Jeff Gordon

Genesis 6:5-7:24

The flood story can be controversial for both scientific and theological reasons. Both of these issues with God's judgment can be resolved. Ultimately, God must judge our evil choices but those who choose to trust Him will be saved.

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{"passage": "Genesis 6:5-7:24","passageabreviated": "Gen 6:5-7:24","passagetiny": "Gen 6:5-7:24","teacher": "Jeff Gordon","teachingDate":...

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Jesus Versus Religion

Dennis McCallum

Matthew 11:16-12:21

Jesus and his disciples break grain during the Sabbath, infuriating the Pharisees. Jesus goes to discuss the difference between the "religious" mentality of the Pharisees versus what God actually cares about. Jesus argues directly with the Pharisees about their hypocritical religious mentality. For the religious, the focus is following all sorts of external regulations to be seen as righteous before people and seeing this as the way to please God. Jesus came to point out that real righteousness comes from humbly recognizing our inability to meet all the regulations of God's law, but instead to admit our brokenness and ask for forgiveness in faith. God desires to show people compassion rather than needing sacrifices from them.

Keywords

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