It's not hard to get worn out. Whether that's from work or chores or relationships, life is often tiring. But in this passage, we see that the Good Shepherd gives rest and peace to His sheep.

Pastor Kevin Craft

If you've ever memorized one chapter in the Bible, chances are that you memorized Psalm 23. It is a Psalm that applies to all of life. As we focus on verse 1, we think about what it means that God is our shepherd. 

Pastor Kevin Craft

Jesus has now been resurrected, He has been exalted to King over the entire universe with all authority, and now He sends out His disciples with this commission to make disciples.

Pastor Kevin Craft

When an unstoppable force meets an immovable object, what happens? There were many ways that Jesus was opposed in this passage, but none of those oppositions was able to stop Jesus. Jesus has power over everything and and the plan of God cannot be stopped.

Pastor Kevin Craft

It's natural for people to want a leader who will do exactly what they want, a Savior who will meet their every desire. But Jesus shows us what it really means to be the Messiah King, and He is rejected for it. But He trusts in God and is not rejected by God so that we would not be rejected by God. 

Pastor Kevin Craft

Contrasts can help us see things clearly. Knowing what is wrong can help us see what is right, knowing what is right can help us see what is wrong. This passage gives us two sets of contrasts - the contrast between Jesus and Peter facing the risk of death and the contrast between Peter and Judas facing the burden of guilt.

Pastor Kevin Craft

Jesus is omniscient, and yet when we read the gospels we more often see the emphasis that He knew the Scriptures. And it is that example that we follow as we seek to know the will of God and hold to the will of God, being strengthened by prayer. 

Pastor Kevin Craft

In order to know what is new, it helps to compare it to what is old. We do that in all areas of life - that's how we even define the word "new." Jesus does that in this passage as He institutes the Lord's Supper. He is introducing the New Covenant and compares it to the Old Covenant at the Passover meal. And in all of that, He focuses on His death. That is what we remember in the Lord's Supper. Pastor Kevin Craft

There are at least 2 types of magnification. A microscope takes an object that is truly small and makes it look big. A telescope takes an object that is truly massive and gives us a little better glimpse of how spectacular it is. It is this second type of magnification that the Bible talks about when it says to magnify the Lord. This passage has both types of magnification, and they lead to very different results. 

Pastor Kevin Craft

At the end, Jesus will sit on His throne and judge, separated everyone into two groups. The criteria that this passage talks about is rather surprising, given the other verses which talk about our eternal destiny.

Pastor Kevin Craft