Bible Encounters

Anybody hungry? Well, we have 5 dinner parties and a humble little moment about crumbs to explore in these chapters. They way I think Matthew is bringing all these dinners together to make a point about the Kingdom of God I think is amazing! 

Why does Jesus speak in parables? Does he purposely not want people to understand him? 

Jesus advances his kingdom through many signs but the Jews still demand to see more. 

Why does Jesus send 12? Why does Jesus tell them not to go to Gentile or Samaritan homes? What kind of pep talk does Jesus offer before the disciples head out?

The theme of the Kingdom of Heaven continues here. What is interesting is who enters into the Kingdom and how some struggle to see who Jesus really is. We will also here about the 'GOSPEL' again and find something surprising about Isaiah 53.

Did Jesus come to bring a new law? Well, he is bringing a new covenant right? How does the Law of Moses relate to the New Covenant mentioned in Jeremiah 31?

So the Gospel is about sins being forgiven so I can go to heaven right? Well, that may not be the best way to explain it. Actually, the Gospel may just be more about Jesus than about us. I think that is what Isaiah 40 is telling us. What does Isaiah 40 have to do with Matthew 3-4? Well, here we go....

In this lesson I want us to look at 4 'prophecies' from the OT from a different perspective.

As we read Matthew's account of Jesus's birth story, just think about how he is employing OT stories all over the place. Could this help us understand why he quotes Isaiah 7:14 and connects that birth story with Jesus? Maybe a 'virgin' having a child wasn't the miracle Matthew is referencing....oh boy.

We are actually going to talk about Matthew's genealogy and why it's such a big deal. Now you may be thinking to yourself this will be majorly boring but I promise you there are some really cool things Matthew does.