As Jesus calls His first disciples to join Him, we see the power Jesus has to make immediate, radical change in our lives. As soon as He calls Simon and Andrew and James and John, they leave their lives to join Jesus in His mission. We also see in this passage that Jesus's mission is to care for those who are in need, and that He builds His kingdom through lowly sinners like his disciples and like us. 

Coming off of the spiritual "high" of his baptism, Jesus is led into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. In this sermon, Pastor Jeremy shows us how the wilderness if always a place of testing, to expose where our hearts are at with the Lord. We learn how Satan's main attack is to tempt us to disbelieve the gospel, and how we can overcome those temptations by relying on the Spirit of God, and the Word of God, that reminds us that through Christ, we are the beloved children of God. Matthew 3:13-4:11

Continuing in our series in Matthew, we look at the responses of both King Herod and the three Wise Men to the birth of Jesus, the king of the Jews. Although we don't know much about the Wise Men, we know that they traveled a long distance to come and worship Jesus, and we can learn from their heart attitude in worshipping Him. 

This week we look at the miraculous story of Mary's conception and Joseph's response to the news. This story challenges us by reminding us that sometimes what God calls us to is greater than what we can handle on our own, but it also gives us encouragement when we face trials by reminding us that God has already provided the way through. 

This week we look at Zechariah 4 and are reminded that it is by God's power (not our own) that the church is built. Even in the small things that may seem insignificant to us, He is building His church. Not only that, but He will continue to sustain the church through His infinite supply of grace and mercy.

Because Jesus is coming back, we as Christians need to live our lives full of love. The message we send to others should be that those who follow Jesus are people who have received mercy and grace and want to share that freedom with others. Because of this, Peter commands us to be hospitable to others and to serve one another with the gifts that God has given us. 

This week, we look at the instructions Peter gives to husbands and wives and see how Jesus exemplifies what husbands and wives ought to do by coming "to serve... not to be served." We also see that while husbands and wives serve each other in marriage, the way they serve each other looks different, but both ways reflect the character of Christ who continually sacrificed Himself for us, ultimately giving His life for our sake. 

In this section of Peter's letter, he addresses the moral responsibility that the slaves who were members of the early church had to be obedient to their masters, whether their masters were just or unjust. Although it is not easy for us to suffer with patience during times of injustice, Peter reminds us that Jesus lead as an example of this through his life by entrusting himself to the One who judges justly.

In this passage, Peter calls us to submit to our governing authorities, honor our neighbors, and fear God. Part of being resident aliens (as Peter spoke of in the previous passage) is living not only in accordance to God's law, but the laws of man as well. By doing good works in this way, we will be better witnesses of God's truth and kindness to our neighbors. 

As Christians, we are resident aliens here on earth, called to live side-by-side with the people who do not share the same faith as us. Our belief in the gospel makes us strangers among our neighbors, but Peter encourages us to wage war against our former, sinful selves so that we might be a light to our neighbors.