What is your priority in life? What dreams and goals are you seeking above anything else? Jesus makes it clear to his disciples that there is nothing that is supposed to come before Him in our lives. Hear in this part of Jesus' sermon to his disciples about the life we are called to in our pursuit of Christ as our primary priority in our lives and what our lives might look like because of it.

In sending His disciples out to deliver His message, Jesus gives them a parting message that paints a portrait of a servant for us. Jesus' words are like brushstrokes that pain a picture of who we are to be and what we are to do as a servant of the Kingdom of God. As you look at this portrait, do you see yourself in the image Jesus paints?

What does Jesus see when he looks at and sees the brokenness and pain in our world? When we hear of what he felt when he looked out at his world, we know not only what he feels towards our world but what we should feel as well.

Where are you on your journey with Jesus? Are you on a search to find meaning, purpose, or something new? We see today the story of a man who would have never expected to be on a journey with Jesus, but Jesus comes to Him and calls him to follow him. People are shocked that Jesus would have anything to do with him, but Jesus shows us that He has come to change the lives of people that the world doesn't want or that the world sees no value in. This passage shows us that we are all on a journey with Jesus, but that we have to be honest with ourselves with where we really stand on theat journey and whether or not we are willing to take the next steps to come closer to Him.

Jesus is the only one who can give us the forgiveness we need, but sometimes we are more concerned with Him doing other things in our lives before we ask him to deal with our sins. In this passage, we see Jesus taking care of sin first before he deals with the more obvious problems. Listen to the authority Jesus has in your life and be challenged to put first things first in your own life.

When we read this passage in Matthew, our attention is drawn to a storm that leaves fishermen believing they are going to drown, demon possessed men finding Jesus on the shore, pigs getting possessed by demons and drowning, and the many out of the ordinary things that happen here. But those details of the story cause us to miss the point. Listen to see what this strange story is really all about and what it means for who Jesus is in our lives today.

We all need some kind of healing - physical, emotional, spiritual, relational, etc. When we see Jesus healing in the gospels, many often wonder if he can still heal us like that today, but what we find when we examine these stories is that is the wrong question. Hear the right question to ask and what these stories teach us about finding the healing we ourselves need.

Jesus ends his sermon on the mount by telling us that there are not many who follow the right path, not many who live the life God has called us to, not many who follow the path to life. Why do we chose the path that leads to destruction and death instead of the path that leads to life? How do we know for sure that we are on the path to life? Listen to the end of Jesus' sermon to find out how to be sure you are on the path that leads to life.

We often treat God like He is a genie in a bottle: we wish for things, and God gives them to us. We use Jesus' words "Ask and you will receive" to convince ourselves that this is how it works. But as we look at these words from Jesus, we should find a deeper understanding about the good things God wants for us, has for us, and will give you if you ask for them.

When you think you are holier than everyone else, it affects how you value and treat everyone else. The truth in Jesus' day was that many seemed righteous not because of themselves, but because of how they constantly and consistently made others look and feel so small. Jesus warns us in this passage on the dangers of finding fault in others (judging). Listen to his words to find how we can begin to find value in each other and in doing so, find our own lives in a better place.