FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2012: MATTHEW 6:1-6 THREE PRACTICES
This text is located in the middle of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus lays out the constitution of the new Kingdom. Here Jesus addresses three important religious practices of his day: giving alms, prayer and fasting. Like Isaiah, Jesus puts the harsh light of judgment on empty piety. It is not the act … Read more
THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 2012; MATTHEW 17:1-8 PROXIMITY
Jesus, Peter, James, Moses, and Elijah all in the same place at the same time? When they come into proximity with one another, extraordinary things happen. The second lens for building genuine relationships is proximity. Who are you around on a regular basis? We all have neighbors, but a recent poll reports that less than … Read more
TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012; MATTHEW 20:29-34 PEOPLE
It would be easy for Jesus to simply tend to the crowd, the mass of individuals following him. So many need healing! But Jesus hears the cries of two blind men sitting by the road. He sees them not only for who they are, but for what they might become. He sees them as people. … Read more
THURSDAY, JANUARY 12 | MATTHEW 16:124-28 WITNESS
Evangelism is a very misunderstood word. Some of us have operated with a framework that looks like this: The burden is on us. We have to close the sale. It’s all about information and decision. The focus is on what happens after you die. It proposes a transaction: God will do something if we will … Read more
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11 | MATTHEW 19:16-22 FOLLOWING JESUS
Negative images of fulfilling the Great Commission are all around us: religious door-to-door callers, bullhorn guy and big tent revivals, to name just a few. But this is a process more often than an event. For many of us, evangelism has generally been understood as inviting people to church. While that’s certainly not a bad … Read more
TUESDAY, JANUARY 10 | MATTHEW 28:16-20 AGAIN AUTHORITY
Matthew 28:18-20 frames the ministry of Jesus’ eleven remaining disciples. Jesus words contain four “alls,” which capture the central message of Matthew’s entire Gospel. All authority: God has now given the resurrected Jesus authority over all of creation, both heaven and earth. We, too, are given this authority. All nations: The disciples are to make … Read more
Saturday, January 7, 2012: Matthew 5:14-16
Mary and Joseph hold a child in their arms. How can they possibly believe the hope that Simeon and Anna hold out to them? Christians must live in the tension of “already, but not yet.” God’s salvation, God’s Kingdom reality, has come in Jesus. We see glimpses of it, though not the fullness of it. … Read more
