Pastor Matt finishes the Joshua House sermon series with an exploration of the partnership between the church and the home.

Pastor Matt expands on Generational Discipleship principles as they relate to families in crisis. NOTE: Audio quality is not good - you will need to increase your speaker volume

We come today to the pivotal passage in the book of Matthew. In some ways it is the climax of Matthews Gospel. I say that not because it is the climax of Jesus ministry, that obviously would be the cross and empty tomb, but it is the climax of Matthews message. From here like water running downhill this Gospel will run quickly to the last week of Jesus public ministry and a cross. The Setting: Caesarea Philippi – is a gentile and pagan city north east of the Sea of Galilee. It is located on the extreme northern fringe of Israel. From this area spring the headwaters of the Jordan River and the landscape is dominated by Mt Hermon the highest peak in the region of Syria. This mountain was the sight of worship for many gods and is the probable location for Jesus transfiguration. It is to this place far removed from the crowds of Galilee and the religious turmoil of Jerusalem that Jesus comes to pray according to Luke and to ask the most important question ever asked of man. He starts by asking a leading question:

To get where we are going today in the latter half of chapter 15 we have to go backwards to go forwards. First let me show you on a map where these things take place then we can take a look at what Matthew is trying to share with us. Matthew and in fact Jesus leaves a trail of bread crumbs that bring us in the end to the momentous question posed by Jesus that forms the heart of this Gospel. Bread in fact forms the theme of this section of Matthews writing. The trail begins outside Bethsaida (5000 fed), moves to Genessaret (confrontation with the Pharisees over bread), moves to Tyre (Canaanite woman), Decopolis (4000 fed), Magadan (second confrontation), Bethsaida (the meaning of the circuit). So let's look briefly at each crumb and then at the conclusion that is so important to us.

After the miracle on the Sea of Galilee that we looked at last week Jesus comes to the area of Gennesaret where He continues to heal and teach. At some point a group of Pharisees from Jerusalem come to confront Jesus. These men would not naturally be here in this area their arena is Jerusalem and the Sanhedrin. It is likely that they came here for the distinct purpose of confronting Jesus and ultimately condemning Him before the people. Anyway they come full of self-righteous indignation and arrogance. Before we read the whole passage this morning I want to frame it for you with what I believe is the key moment – v.7-9. This confrontation centers around a disconnect between the hands and the heart. Let's read the whole passage.

We continue in our study of Matthew's Gospel with the 3rd of his stories on fear vs faith. It happens on the heels of the last. If you remember the disciples have had a really tough day. It started in Capernaum where they worked to near exhaustion and continued in the wilderness outside of Bethsaida where they witnessed and participated in the feeding of the 5,000. Mathew says immediately after that miracle Jesus "made the disciples get into the boat" and begin rowing toward Genessaret just southwest of Capernaum where they started. The journey would be one of about 4 miles – but it turned into a much longer journey.

John's Gospel was the last to be written; Matthews was likely the first written within a few years of the resurrection of Christ (around 40AD). If John's Gospel were the heart of the New Testament pouring out a passionate heart stirring message; Matthew's Gospel might be considered it's mind coaxing the doubting, struggling, seeking mind to consider the evidence and see Jesus as Messiah. Matthew draws extensively on the Old Testament to present his case for the Messiah – using nearly 150 direct or indirect quotes from the OT. Matthew is speaking to primarily a Jewish audience in 1st century Palestine but his words echo down through the ages to resonate with a questioning audience in the 21st century. We are inching closer and closer to that critical question in this Gospel that Jesus poses to His disciples "Who do you say that I am?" Matthew offers compelling evidence that He is not only Messiah but King! Let's dig into chapter 14. He concluded the previous section with this statement "And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief". What follows is the beginning of a long section filled with his insights on the ministry of the rejected king. Matthew presents in chapter 14 three stories about faith and fear – as the heart responds to the message of Christ. We will look at the first one today.

If you remember Mattew concluded the previous section with this statement "And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief". What follows is the beginning of a long section filled with his insights on the ministry of the rejected king. Matthew presents in chapter 14 three stories about faith and fear – as the heart responds to the message of Christ. Today we look at the second event. Of all of the miracles Jesus preformed during His earthly ministry this is the only one recorded in all four of the Gospels. The story begins with Jesus in Capernaum where He has made his home. The news of John the Baptist's death reaches Jesus and Matthew says He withdrew from the crowds to a lonely place. We know that Jesus got in the boat and they rowed together across the northern end of the Sea of Galilee to the wilderness east of Bethsaida. That is where we pick up the story.

Pastor Matt expands on generational discipleship concepts by teaching on biblical roles of "Seasoned Christians" (i.e. Grandparents) in the family.

As we close this series on prayer this week I want to move us from the intimacy of prayer in the inner room to the power of prayer in life. What a powerful promise of God – "then you will call upon me and come and pray to Me and I will listen to you". Have you given any thought to what a privilege it is to be invited into the heart of God? What a wonder it is as broken man to be allowed into the inner rooms of the Divine Experience? To step backstage of the Cosmic reality and find our Father directing the movements of galaxies. The Power of prayer is immense and in fact uncalculable: