THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 3:7-12 “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11) Some people in church all about the symbols and ceremonies. Kneeling, sign of the cross, baptism, Christmas and Easter, church wedding. Some people do it out of custom or superstition. Some people do it because it looks good on…
Is anyone even looking?
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 3:1-6 “People went out to him…” (Matthew 3:5) This may seem like a strange verse to focus on. But as someone involved in ministry, I am struck how “people went out to him…” People came to repent, they came to address their spiritual concerns or questions. They actually thought about these things,…
Open to His guidance!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 2:19-23 “Having been warned in a dream…” (Matthew 2:22) I believe in spiritual guidance, that God helps and directs us through life. God is guarding Jesus for His life purpose, and guides His parents to do that. Here we have God using dreams; I don’t think God has used dreams for me….
Admit it or not, Jesus is King!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Psalm 2 “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.” (Psalm 2:6) As a Jesus follower, I believe that Jesus is Lord over all creation. He has been put in charge, after beating sin, Satan, death and hell. And yet many people would laugh at this. People continue to live as…
The wickedness of the world!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Genesis 4:1-6:8 “The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled.” (Genesis 6:6) What a sad sentence. God’s regret has to do with the position and power He entrusted to us. All authority over creation was given to us, and we have turned into…
Very good till we got our hands on it!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Genesis 1:1-3:24 “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” (Genesis 1:31) These chapters outline the God-source and the God-design behind all that is. There is much in creation that is ‘very good’, and yet… God gave us the job of naming what we saw (Genesis 2:19-20), the task of…
Tears are not enough!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 2:13-18 “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted because they are no more.” (Matthew 2:18 quoting Jeremiah 31:15) Imagine the trauma and grief, all the young sons in a region slaughtered. ‘Weeping and great mourning’ hardly seems enough to convey…
God works through other religions!?!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 2:1-12 “We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:2) I am curious how pagan astrology pointed them to a Jewish messiah? Apparently God works through non-christian religions to draw people to Jesus. Is this story really about the Magi seeking Jesus, or God seeking the…
The real Christmas miracle!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 1:18-25 “Mary was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1:18) The big miracle here is NOT that Mary became pregnant through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God created all things out of nothing, this is no big deal for God. The real big deal is WHO that child…
Welcome to the family!
THE STORY OF JESUS: Matthew 1:1-17 “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham.” (Matthew 1:1) Matthew’s genealogy differs from Luke’s (Luke 3:23-28). It has been suggested that Matthew uses Mary’s line, while Luke uses Joseph’s line. Matthew traces Jesus line to David to highlight His Messianic kingship. Luke traces…