Matthew 10:1-15

Jesus gives authority to His disciples to be representatives of the Kingdom of God.

Outline:

1. Authority: Representatives (0:00 - 8:34)

2. Seeking the Welcome (8:35 - 12:25)

3. Freely Given, Freely Flowing (12:26 - 19:40)

4. The Ungiven Word: Rejection (19:41 - 25:17)

5. An Unchanging Invitation: Summoned (25:18 - 29:04)

Matthew 9:27-34

In the face of a world that is seemingly filled with hopelessness and darkness, Jesus says, "The Harvest is plentiful!"

Outline:

1. An Old Saying (0:00 - 7:25)

2. The Good News... Everywhere (7:26 - 13:12)

3. The Mirror of Hatred (13:13 - 19:35)

4. Seeing but not Perceiving (19:36 - 29:17)

5. Receiving Instruction (29:18 - 37:50)

6. Prayer (36:00 - 37:32)

Matthew 9:18-26

Something compels people to come to Jesus in a way that breaks down all notions of separateness and accepted decorum. The movement of faith sees the Life of God close at hand, to be touched and known now. Through the faith of a woman subject to perpetual bleeding and a synagogue leader with a dead daughter we are invited to know the same Spirit that sees the world as God knows it.

Outline:

1. True Vision (0:00 - 7:38)

2. Uncleanliness as a Black Hole (7:39 - 14:37)

3. Vision of a Foundational Cleanliness (14:38 - 27:46)

4. Faith: Like Meets Like (27:47 - 34:45)

5. Stillness (34:46 - 37:08)

Matthew 9:14-17

Empty ritual stands in contrast to a life overflowing with God's abundance. Where does fasting fit in? John's disciples come to Jesus with a question: “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?”

Outline:

1. Heaven and Earth Meet (0:00 - 9:00)

2. Receiving True Food (9:00 - 20:35)

3. Ascending to the Spirit of Abundance (20:35 - 28:48)

4. Something More: New Wine, New Wineskins (28:48 - 32:39)

5. Prayer (32:39 - 35:35)

Matthew 9:9-13

Matthew the tax collector is called to follow Jesus. At his house Jesus meets with other tax collectors and sinners and the Pharisees take offence. Jesus sends them back into the Old Testament which they apparently know so well to discover what Mercy is. "I desire mercy not sacrifice" - Hosea 6:6

Outline:

1. A Pre-Existing Correspondence (0:00)

2. "Follow Me" - Matthew 9:9-13 (12:15)

3. Learning Mercy through Hosea (18:15)

Matthew 9:1-8

A paralytic encounters Jesus and the Word of God is revealed to us. We are called to look beyond all appearances to know God Himself, to know Life by His authority and then to become that very Life in this world. Faith is the receipt of this Word.

Outline:

1. Faith in Him (0:00)

2. Cutting in Line or Room for More? (4:46)

3. Be at Peace! (8:37)

4. Talking in the Shadows (11:24)

5. The Authority of God (16:17)

6. The Word is Our Peace (20:15)

7. The Authority Given to Us (25:17)

Matthew 8:28-34

Jesus encounters two demon-possessed men and begins an interaction that involves pigs, a cliff, water and torture. There's a sifting that's happening in the lives of these two men as the Light, the Spirit of Jesus, hovers over them. The same Spirit of Jesus comes to us today.

Outline:

1. Pentecost and the Unchanging Spirit (0:00)

2. Internal Storms: Shedding the False-Self (6:52)

3. The Rising Sun: The Power of God's Word (15:16)

4. "Go": Judgement as Separation and Revelation (21:36)

5. The Burning Coals: Rethinking God's Wrath (27:53)

6. Claiming His Own: The Journey to the Cross (31:17)

Matthew 8:13-17

Jesus comes into Peter's house. Jesus touches Peter's mother-in-law. Jesus drives out evil spirits and heals the sick with a word. The Spirit of Jesus is defined by a movement to be planted as a Seed in the soil of our lives. His presence, His touch, His word meet us where we are, they unite with us and bear the Fruit of their Origin. As the Sower is, so too are those implanted by His Seed.

Matthew 21:1-11

We fast forward to Palm Sunday for our lead-in to Easter and find Jesus entering Jerusalem as a King on a donkey. Lowly and meek and yet proclaiming a Judgement. The Spirit of Life is enthroned to reveal Life and cast out all else.

Matthew 8:5-13

A Roman centurion, the picture of power in the ancient world, comes to Jesus seeking help. Pastor Matt highlights the Spirit of Jesus in this interaction that revolves around authority. Authority is order and meaning, without it there is nothing. The one who has their request answered is the one who humbles themselves before the Ultimate Authority who gives Life and Meaning to all things.