Scripture: Matthew 21:28-33

Key Takeaways:

+ Only those who demonstrate repentance and faith through wholehearted obedience to the will of the Father will enter the kingdom of heaven.

+ Repentance Is Necessary and Good

+ Repentance Should Be the Lifestyle of the Christian

+ Repentance Leads to Obedience

John 15:5

+ You Become Like What You Behold

Philippians 2:5–11

Scripture: Matthew 20:1-16

Key Takeaways:

+ God is radically generous and free with His grace

Psalm 145:8-9

Micah 7:18

+ Everyone is equal in the Kingdom of God

Ephesians 1:3

1 Peter 5:1-2

+ It is never too late to come into the Kingdom of God

Psalm 92:12-15

Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35

Key Takeaways:

+ Forgiveness is a lifetime pursuit

+ Forgiveness is the cancellation of a debt

-       Forgiveness doesn’t mean removing healthy boundaries

-       Forgiveness does not exempt us from justice

+ Forgiveness must be experienced

-       Luke 7:36-50

+ Experienced forgiveness allows us to extend forgiveness

 “Forgiveness is granted before it is felt.” – Tim Keller

+ Forgiveness reflects the Gospel

Scripture: Matthew 13:44-46

Key Takeaways: 

— Finding

— Assessing

— Selling

— Rejoicing

— Buying

+ Jesus is the one thing worth losing all things just to have

+ This is how we become a Christian

— Jesus is not your Savior unless He is your Treasure

“How sweet all at once it was for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared to lose… You drove them from me, you who are the true, the sovereign joy. You drove them from me and took their place, you who are sweeter than all pleasure… you who outshine all light… you who surpass all honor…O Lord my God, my Light, my Wealth, and my Salvation.” – Confessions, IX, 1.

— Philippians 3:4-11

+ This is how we live as a Christian

— Philippians 3:7-8

+ This is how we overcome temptation

— Hebrews 11:24-26

Scripture: Matthew 13:31-33

Key Takeaways: 

+ The Kingdom of God is humble in its start and unstoppable in its spread.

Acts 6:7

Acts 12:24

Acts 19:20

+ A Global Dimension  

Ezekiel 17:22-24

Matthew 24:14

+ A Societal Dimension 

“I call myself a cultural Christian. I’m not a believer, but there is a distinction between believing in something and being steeped in the culture of it.” – Richard Dawkins, Atheist

“You cannot take the fruit of Christianity and then say you don’t want the tree.” – Douglas Murray, Atheist Cultural Critic

+ A Personal Dimension 

Philippians 1:6

Scripture: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Key Takeaways:

 + Two Destinies 

+ One Day

+ Listen and Live

+ Patience and Persuasion

1 Peter 3:14-16

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-23

Key Takeaways:

 + The Seed explained

 “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison

+ The Soil explained

The Path

Rocky Ground

Thorns

+ For me to live is ______ and to die is ______

The Good Soil

Scripture: Genesis 11:1–9

Key Takeaways:

Genesis 9:1

+ Pride seeks to construct a life apart from God

-       Do I consistently spend time seeking God in his word and in prayer?

-       Do I often spontaneously voice to God my admiration of Him, gratitude to Him, and need for Him?

-       Do I often lose arguments with God?

-       Do I pray and seek wisdom in God’s word and from God’s people before I make a major decision?

-       Do I arrange my life around God’s priorities?

-       Am I generous toward God?

Psalm 4:6-8

+ Pride is always resisted by God

Luke 14:11

+ Jesus is the Anti-Babel

Philippians 2:5-11

+ Jesus reverses Babel

Acts 2:4-11

Scripture: Genesis 8:20–9:17

Key Takeaways:

+ God will not let evil prevail

+ God saves by grace

-       1 Peter 3:20–21

+ God honors faith

-       Hebrews 11:7

+ God has another Day of Judgment coming

-       Matthew 24:36–44