The Pearl of Great Price
Read: Matthew 13:44-46 What does it profit you if you gain the whole world and forfeit your life? Is there anything in the world that’s worth the price of your soul? Jesus’ parable of the Pearl of Great Price urges us to take a much wiser approach to the way we invest our lives, and the […]
The Mustard Seed
Read: Matthew 13:31-33 How does the church grow; how does God’s kingdom come? Jesus’ parable of the Mustard Seed offers us a clue about the way God’s work advances in the world. Hint: it doesn’t happen the way most people expect it would. Just once I would like to hear an introduction for a Christian speaker […]
Our Inner Struggle
Read: Romans 7:1-25 What cure can there be for our agonizing inner conflict? Welcome, dear friends, to another in our series on the heart of the gospel, studies in the letter to the Romans, chapters 1-8. Today it’s chapter 7, a very powerful explanation about the continuing struggle that believers continue to have, even after they […]
The Unforgivable Sin
Read: Matthew 12:22-32 Have you ever worried about doing something so bad it could not be forgiven? According to Jesus, there is unforgivable sin, but if you’re worried about it, that means you have not committed it. Have you ever worried about committing an unpardonable sin, about doing something so terrible, so awfully wicked, that you […]
God’s Chosen Servant
Read: Matthew 12:15-21 As he nears the mid-point of his gospel Matthew sums up Jesus’ ministry—who he was, what he came to do, and how he will do it—by quoting a passage from the prophecy of Isaiah. It’s all about “God’s Chosen Servant.” This series of programs has been focusing on Matthew’s account of Jesus’ public […]
Pray the Lord of the Harvest
Read: Matthew 9:37-38 Biblical Christians realize that Christ has commissioned us to do something about a world of lost people. But we don’t always remember that the first thing he told us to do is pray. When I first visited New Delhi a number of years ago, I noticed a large electronic display next to a […]
The Compassion of Jesus
Read: Matthew 9:35-36 Your response to the world’s suffering depends on what you force yourself to notice. Thankfully when Jesus looks at a lost world, feels compassion, and then does something. In the ancient world, compassion was in short supply. It was rare enough in the everyday world of people, but it was virtually unknown […]
Touched by Jesus
Read: Matthew 8:1-4 The first miracle described in the gospel of Matthew is an amazing demonstration, not just of Jesus’ power, but of his compassionate love. One of the most appealing of all Jesus’ many attractive qualities was his sympathy for suffering people. Most of us feel bad when we hear about someone who is […]
The Song of Simeon
Read: Luke 2:25-35 The Song that the aged Simeon sang as he held baby Jesus in his arms has served as a parting blessing for believers of all ages ever since. Christmas may be over, but I’m not ready to leave it just yet. I’d like to listen to one last Christmas song. It’s recorded in […]