40:1 I waited patiently for the Lord;he inclined to me and heard my cry.2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction,out of the miry bog,and set my feet upon a rock,making my steps secure.3 He put a new song in my mouth,a song of praise to our God.Many will see and fear,and put their trust in the Lord.4 Blessed is the man who makesthe Lord his trust,who does not turn to the proud,to those who go astray after a lie!5 You have multiplied, O Lord my God,your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;none can compare with you!I will proclaim and tell of them,yet they are more than can be told.6 In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,but you have given me an open ear.Burnt offering and sin offeringyou have not required.7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come;in the scroll of the book it is written of me:8 I delight to do your will, O my God;your law is within my heart.”9 I have told the glad news of deliverancein the great congregation;behold, I have not restrained my lips,as you know, O Lord.10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulnessfrom the great congregation.11 As for you, O Lord, you will not restrainyour mercy from me;your steadfast love and your faithfulness willever preserve me!12 For evils have encompassed mebeyond number;my iniquities have overtaken me,and I cannot see;they are more than the hairs of my head;my heart fails me.13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!O Lord, make haste to help me!14 Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogetherwho seek to snatch away my life;let those be turned back and brought to dishonorwho delight in my hurt!15 Let those be appalled because of their shamewho say to me, “Aha, Aha!”16 But may all who seek yourejoice and be glad in you;may those who love your salvationsay continually, “Great is the Lord!”17 As for me, I am poor and needy,but the Lord takes thought for me.You are my help and my deliverer;do not delay, O my God! -Psalm 40 (esv)

Well, what do you think about Matthew chapter thirteen? We've been walking through it now for eleven weeks together. Think you've go it? Think you understand it? Think you could teach it to others?

This is the sort of question Jesus poses to His disciples in our passage this morning: "Do you understand these things?" I've heard it said that, you don't really know something until you can teach it to another. So, disciple of Jesus, can you reveal Him to others through His Word?

Join us in our passage today as our Master further prepares His own for their Great Commission.

Today's passage:

51 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” -Matthew 13.51-52 (esv)

King Jesus spoke more about hell than He did about love, not because He loved hell, but because He loves His Church. Love warns of evil, of that which is harmful and destructive to her in her relationship to Him.

Despite popular opinion, Hell is a very real... reality. Even in the church today you might hear some false teachers say things like, "Jesus died, so no one goes to hell anymore." Others believe hell is just a fragment of old archaic thinking that will soon evolve away from our minds. Still others think that hell sounds like fun, a place where flesh and sin about forever. So who's right? What's the truth about hell?

If you've got a copy of God's Word, join us in Matthew 13.47-50 as Jesus provides another parable about the Kingdom of heaven... and hell.

Today's passage:

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. -Matthew 13.47-50 (esv)

"The Kingdom of Heaven is like..." How would you complete that sentence?

In today's passage, Jesus completes it for us: twice! The two parables have similarities, but also some key differences. Understanding those difference can help us understand His Kingdom and how we might enter in.

Are you a child of God's Kingdom? If so, did it cost you anything? Are you sure?

Join us for today's exposition of the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Matthew, chapter 13, verses 44-46.

Today's passage:

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. -Matthew 13.44-46 (esv)

Have you had enough yet? Are you weary, tired, sick of sin and all of it's causes and causers? Are you ready for God to rid the world of evil, to crush all the wicked of the earth? If so, my friend, today's passage is just for you.

If you are able, grab a copy of God's Word and join us in Matthew's account of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, chapter thirteen, verses 36-43 where God has provided us an opportunity to listen in as our Savior explains to His disciples "The Parable of The Weeds".

Today's passage:

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. -Matthew 13.36-43 (esv)

As we would expect again this week, Matthew continues his mission of revealing to his biological, Jewish brethren that the Jesus they'd rejected to the Cross really was and is the long-awaited Promised Messiah.

Behind just a couple of short verses this morning stands a history of God's redemptive history. Just what does that mean? Well, join us for more of Matthew's account of God's Gospel: the revelation of the Son of Man, the Son of God, Jesus the Lamb.

Today's passage:

34 All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:“I will open my mouth in parables;I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.” -Matthew 13.34-35 (esv)

Matthew continues his mission in our passage today of revealing that Jesus really is Israel's long-awaited Messiah.

But try to imagine how hard that message may have been to receive for Jesus' original audience of onlookers and listeners. They'd grown up hearing about God's Kingdom that was coming, the devastation that He would level upon the sinful earth, the salvation He would extend to His faithful. Expectations were incredibly high... too high for a Galilean carpenter to be their King. "Could this really be our Messiah?"

Join us today for more of Matthew's message of the arrival of his King.

Today's passage:

31 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”33 He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” -Matthew 13.31-33 (esv)

When you turn on the world news and see so much evil, darkness and sin seemingly running rampant, it's no wonder many wonder, "If there truly was an all-powerful, good God, would there really be so much evil in the world?" Christian, do you have an answer to their question today? Perhaps more often than not you find yourself asking as much... maybe not aloud, but wondering all the same?

Join us today for a look into God's Word as Jesus depicts His Kingdom spreading throughout the world like wheat among weeds.

Today's passage:

24 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’” -Matthew 13.24-30 (esv)

Are you a fruit-bearing Christian? Is there really any other kind?

Well then, how's your crop? That can be a difficult questions to answer. And if we're not careful, the pursuit of an answer might find us trying to tie on store-bought fruit to wilted dead branches.

Rather than focusing on the fruit, Jesus tells us to set our attention elsewhere: on the soil where God's Word is received, where roots can go down deep. Our Lord said, "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speak." In other words, the condition of the soil determines the health of the plant and its ability to produce fruit. So, what is the condition of your soil? How is your heart?

Join us today for another look into the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 13 verses 18-23.

Today's passage:

18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” -Matthew 13.18-23 (esv)

Today we continue our series on the Gospel according to Matthew. On a mission to convince his biological brethren than Jesus truly is the Messiah, Matthew attests to yet another prophecy fulfilled by Jesus. This time, however, it isn't met with a lot of joy and enthusiasm by the crowds. The tables have turned. They've had ample opportunity to see, hear, believe and receive the truth of Jesus the Messiah. Yet, rather than entrust their lives to and follow Him, they've rejected Him.

But what of those who have received Him, who follow His call and His word? Have you been called, given eyes to see, ears to hear, feet that follow? If so, what fruit is following you?

Today's passage:

10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:“‘You will indeed hear but never understand,and you will indeed see but never perceive.15 For this people's heart has grown dull,and with their ears they can barely hear,and their eyes they have closed,lest they should see with their eyesand hear with their earsand understand with their heartand turn, and I would heal them.’16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. -Matthew 13.10-17 (esv)