Grace Church International

During the week of passover, as Jesus and the disciples were walking into the city, Jesus decides to curse and kill a fig tree. Why would He do such a thing, it seems so pointless. Yet, as is always the case, there is a reason for why Jesus chooses to take this action. What he does in this passage pictures what is about to happen as He confronts the religious leaders, so it is an important teaching moment and a foreshadowing of what is to come.

Jesus has just finished His triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem. What will He do next? As is often the case, He does what people might least expect. But what He does reveals something of His character and who He is. Jesus had just been called a prophet by the crowd, and now He will act like a prophet in confronting the sin of the people and pronouncing judgement on them for their sin and unbelief, but He will do it in a unique way.

In this passage, we find one of the greatest moments in human history. Jesus is presented to his people and to the city of Jerusalem as their Messiah and King. Celebration begins and the enthusiastic crowds accompany him and his disciples into the city. But all is not as it appears.

Why did Jesus come to earth and how does His Kingdom operate? These are the very question that Jesus answers for His disciples in Matthew 20. While they were wondering about power and authority, Jesus talked about service and then He showed them what He meant.

Grace – a common, ordinary word that everyone has heard of. And yet many people do not know what grace means. Jesus tells a parable to explain what God’s grace is like, and challenges us to live as people of grace.

“What must I do to get eternal life?” There are many ways to answer that question. But when a rich man comes to Jesus with that question, he receives a surprising answer. Jesus’ response is a great challenge not only for the rich man but also for us.

What was Jesus’ view of marriage? What about Singleness? Oh, and what about children – their place and importance? Thankfully, we do not need to guess. Rather, Jesus speaks to all of these important topics in just a few short verses. Yet, He does so in such a way that the people who heard Him were very surprised by what He had to say. Just as in His day, what Jesus taught on these issues remains counter-cultural still.

It might surprise people to know that some of the reasons and allowances for divorce in Jesus’ day are very similar to our society’s view in the modern day. In this passage, the religious leaders try to catch Jesus by giving Him a trick question on a difficult topic – divorce. But Jesus does not fall for their ploy, rather, He uses the opportunity to clearly explain God’s original purpose and design for marriage.

How can Christians love one another when we disagree about a matter that is not specifically mentioned in the Bible? How can we still fight for unity in a church and love for individual Christians when we hold different views. This is not a new problem. In fact, Paul spends more than 10% of his letter to the Romans dealing with this very question. What he says is vitally important for the current situation of the church.

What is the role of human government and how are Christians to respond to human government? Romans 13 is a familiar passage on these topics but it is also a passage that is often misunderstood. Join us as we consider God’s defined role for human government as well as how Christians should respond to government and God.