Series: Jesus in the Wilderness Read: Matthew 4:18-22 One of my favorite things to do as a kid was to go on vacation to my Grandpa’s in Shady Valley, Tennessee. He had a pond in his backyard and we used to go fishing. Now, I have never been commercial fishing or even sport fishing, but […]
Follow Me, And I Will Make You Fishers of Men by Dr. Larry Moyer
Read: Matthew 4:18-22 Acknowledging Christ as Savior means coming to Him as a sinner, recognizing He took my punishment on a cross, and trusting Him alone as my only way to heaven. Discipleship is a growing experience in which I surrender myself to His will, walk in obedience to Him, and allow Him to use […]
Answering Critical Questions: Why Did Jesus Fast for 40 Days by Micah Lovell
Read: Matthew 4:1-11 The number 40 is used frequently in biblical narratives, especially in the Old Testament. In Genesis 7, the rains fall on the earth for 40 days and nights while Noah and his family wait within the ark. In the book of Jonah, the prophet, fresh from his own deliverance from the belly […]
The People Dwelling in Darkness Have Seen A Great Light by Adam Miller
Read: Matthew 4:12-17 During my first trip to Israel, I was able to visit the mountains of the Golan Heights surrounding Galilee. I was standing on the top of one of the highest points, looking down into the United Nations’ Demilitarized Zone when I heard what sounded like thunder. I was excited at first. I […]
The Baptism of Jesus
Series: Jesus in the Wilderness Read: Matthew 3:13-17 In the Baptist conviction in which I was raised, it was important for individuals to approach baptism as an individual decision to make a public proclamation of one’s faith. My problem, however, was that I was incredibly shy. I remember when my mom came and got me […]
Answering Crucial Questions: Why Did Jesus Need to be Baptized?
Read: Matthew 3:13-17 It is well known that the four Gospel writers each chose to highlight different aspects of Christ’s ministry. Often we find them recounting the same event in a very similar way. Occasionally, we find slight variance of expression due to the different perspective that each writer or eyewitness may have had of […]
John the Baptist, Preparing the Way of the Lord
Series: Jesus in the Wilderness Read: Matthew 3:1-12 John the Baptist must have been a strange sight to behold. He dressed in an outfit made from camel’s hair tied together with a leather belt and ate locusts and wild honey. If you know anything about me, then you know that I like to grow my […]
Christmas: The Gospel of Matthew | Jesus, Kings Still Hate Him
Read: Matthew 2:13-23, Revelation 3:14-22 There has been a common trend in the last decade or so to write complexity into the motivations of villains in cinema, television, and literature. Gone are the days of simple conflicts between good and evil, arch-nemesis who simply mirror each other’s complexities, or evil masterminds bent on world domination. […]
Moving Biblical Characters Off the Felt Board by Nancy Guthrie
Return as an Adult with New Eyes If you’re like me and you grew up going to Sunday school, how we understand so many of the people that we read about in the Bible can, in some ways, be stuck to what I would call the “felt board of our minds.” Our understanding of who […]
Hindsight is 2020: Moving Ahead from A Difficult Year by Adam Miller
I think C.S. Lewis captured our collective sentiment quite well when he wrote his first installment of The Chronicles of Narnia, “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” As the four Pevensie children found themselves in a magical winter wonderland, there was one hitch: it was always winter, but never Christmas. I love winter. I […]
Christmas: The Gospel of Matthew | Jesus, Wise Men Still Seek Him
Read: Matthew 2:1-12 We have made it through another Christmas. Arguably, this was a little more unusual than previous years, but we got through it all the same. That is, we are past the first day of Christmas, but there are still 12 full days of celebration. Our resilience to listen to Christmas music into […]