Pastor Symps leads us through a challenging account of Matthew

21:23-46.

Here, Jesus refutes the Pharisees' dubious inquiry into His authority by issuing four challenges: a right response to John the Baptist's ministry, the parable of the two sons, the parable of the vineyard landowner, and His own description of Himself as the chief corner (and stumbling) stone.

In all, our challenge is to recognize Christ's authority on our lives through our conduct and our priorities.

We continue our series on Matthew with three detailed accounts of events in Matthew 21 - Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the cleansing of the temple, and the cursing of the fig tree. In these three events, Jesus was demonstrating His authority to be King, to be Priest, and to be Prophet over Israel. In all three, the people had expectations, but in each Jesus had other plans. While the people were frustrated that their plans and hopes were not met, it was to our whole world's eternal benefit that Jesus instead chose His better, narrow way!

Isaiah prophesied about the Christ, the Suffering Servant. In Matthew 20:17-28, we hear of James and John requesting just the opposite from Jesus: power, authority and the implicit privilege that accompanies such. "Not so, with you!" exhorted our Savior. He then instructs the disciples, and us, that those who get ahead in the kingdom are those who serve, and suffering will inevitably be present.

Pastor Ryan continues our series on Matthew, targeting all the ways that Jesus taught us of the "narrow way" to enter the Kingdom. Today we look at the "rich young ruler" found in Matthew 19:13-30.

Jesus targets the one thing left that he needs to do in order to receive eternal life: surrender! Submit to Jesus! He, not wealth, is the source of your identity.

Pastor Ryan explores Jesus' teachings on marriage and sexuality in earnest, looking deeply into the verses in Matthew Ch. 19 for today's Scripture. What is this "better story" that our Father has given us to share and emulate? How have we all failed to honor such a call? How is it that this God/Man Jesus knows more about marriage than anyone, yet epitomizes the call of the single life in His Gospel ministry? How can we better include our single brothers and sisters into our Godly family? And how should the Church respond to all of the narratives on sexuality that the world perpetrates?

Pastor Ryan picks up on a long-overdue cliff hanger: returning to Matthew, the series begun before the COVID pandemic. Next week we resume progress on Matthew chapter 19, but today we get our "feet wet" through an introduction based on Math, Ch. 5-7 (the Sermon on the Mount). This discourse markedly points to the "better way" of Jesus, instructing us on not doing bad things, and not doing good things badly - under our Savior, God's children will always have the better story (including sexuality and marriage in Ch. 19), but it will be the "narrow way" as Jesus teaches at the end of His Sermon.

Pastor Ryan leads us in our first sermon of the New Year, concentrating on Psalm 6. The Psalms are a gift from God's Word, teaching us that God pursues, above all, an honest whole expression of relationship with Him; all our joys, sorrows, happiness, pain, blessings and frustrations......all of it, to our loving Father, nothing artificial, fabricated, or incomplete, but 100% everything! as He loves the ALL in each of us, as created by Him.

Pastor Ryan finishes our short, sweet series on Ruth, focusing on the end of Chapter 4. Here, our story is replete with a genealogy (the royal lineage of priesthood and kingship), service (God displays His service to us by giving us Jesus, hr Lamb of God) and lovingkindness (our acts of service are because He displays His love for us first) - in the end, Naomi is restored, a clear picture that God overcomes her hardship and her bitterness expressed n Chapter 1.

Pastor Ryan provides a short devotional message following our beloved Children's Christmas Presentation (see the streaming service for this date on our website). Pastor Ryan shares how Ruth's supporting prayer to Naomi is like Mary's response to the angel announcing her conception of Jesus: simple people with hearts of gratitude and loyalty, "hesed", open-handed. He also shares how Naomi's prayer in Ch. 1 is bitter, close-fisted, frustrated with God for what has happened to her. Both are realities in our walk with the Lord, perhaps even more so during the holiday season.

We begin a short series on a beautiful story of faithfulness, kindness and loyalty, of God's faithful care and attention towards "small" people. In Ruth, we find a surprisingly relationship to the Nativity of our Savior, where in the the "city of bread" that had no bread comes ultimately the Lord Jesus, the Bread of Life, Who gives living bread to the whole world.

Ruth, chapter 1 is our Scripture for today.