Psalm 96:1-13 & Matthew 8:5-13 (ESV) - If you were to make a mental list of the sort of person who is most likely to reject the gospel of Jesus Christ, what sort of person would be on your list? If we had lived in Israel in the 1st c., I expect that a Roman centurion would certainly make the cut. A centurion was a man of war, an invader, an occupier, a man with influence and power to bully and compel normal people. Above all, he was a Gentile, someone outside the kingdom of God by birth, a barrier that (it was thought) nothing could change. But the centurion of Matthew 8 would accomplish something quite impressive: He surprised the Lord Jesus because of the faith that he had that Jesus could help him when no one else could. Faith in the Lord is at the heart of our next sermon, and may the Lord use it to increase our faith in Him as well!