Several times in Jesus’ life, He showed that He was a man on a mission. He had a purpose, which He intentionally fulfilled. In this week's passage, we find Jesus resolutely setting out for Jerusalem, where He knows He will be killed. And this, he explains, is why He came; "to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mt. 20:28).

Unlike the world, God does not favor the rich or powerful. He saves by grace, not by merit. And God is gracious to whomever He chooses. In this study, we'll examine the grace of God and how it should shape our lives.

We return to Matthew to look at Jesus’ encounter with a rich young man. Jesus reveals the man’s neediness, but he leaves Jesus, holding fast to his riches with an unchanged heart. This week, we study Jesus’ criteria for who enters the kingdom of heaven and see that human achievement is not able to save.

Too often Christian parents are on their heels, talking about all of the hazards out there. They are very concerned about the world infecting their children. And this is understandable. There are hazards to avoid. But the goal of Christian parenting isn't merely to protect our children from being infected but is also to prepare them to launch out to infect. To go out into the world and make disciples of Jesus Christ. But to do this well, we must prepare them to be adults. We have to get them ready for launch.

Children are a blessing from the Lord but also a lot of work! God commissions us to train our children in the way they should go. But what does that entail? This week, we study the Scriptures to find help and hope for parenting (and grandparenting) little children.

We live in a country and a culture where children are often seen as a burden. Sadly, this kind of thinking has also seeped into the church. This is a modern problem but not a new one. When children were brought to Jesus, the disciples rebuked their parents. But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me." Even when Jesus’ disciples saw children as a nuisance to be avoided, Jesus saw them as a treasure to be welcomed, to be received, to be loved, to be cherished.

We are on a mission to build or buy or lease a house – a building for the Lord – just like thousands, or hundreds of thousands, of local churches before us and, even like the people of Israel. Today, let’s take a brief look at how God used Haggai to encourage his people to continue to rebuild the temple so we can receive comfort and encouragement for ourselves.

Why should local churches and individual Christians do things like go overseas to tell people about Jesus? Why should we forsake the comfort of a safe and easy life to give sacrificially to the cause of Christ? Why should we be willing to leave behind friends and family, careers and comfort in order to tell people about the love of God in Christ? In other words, why do we do missions? Our study this week will examine the answer.