Sermons on Matthew (Page 4)

Sermons on Matthew (Page 4)

Matthew

Out with the old, in with the new

Without question Jesus was an enigma to most people of His day, and especially so to the religious types. He annoyed them, confused them, frustrated them, and angered them. He simply didn’t fit their boxes. And when He and His disciples seemed to have time to party and enjoy themselves, it was time for them to confront Him. In today’s passage Pastor Murray unpacks this encounter, showing that Jesus’ mission was not to revamp or patch up the laws of Moses, but to replace them with something totally new and better – salvation by grace – and all the freedom and joy that this would bring! This would be a whole new way of relating to God, and Jesus Himself is the key. Have you found this life in Jesus?

Greg Beaumont: Remember where you came from

So often as Christians we can forget where we came from. We can start to think of ourselves as superior to those around us in the church and in the world. The author of the first gospel invites us in to his own story – where he came from – and here, as Christians today we are given a reminder of where we came from too. We are sinners who have been miraculously called by Jesus. The more we ponder this wonderful and God glorifying truth, the more our own foolish pride is stripped away and we are readied as a church to go to the same uncomfortable places that Jesus went in his mission to save humanity.

Authority to forgive sins

Jesus is presented with a paralysed man. He sees his faith, but instead of healing him, as we expect, his first move is to forgive his sins. To claim to have the authority to forgive sin is a massive claim – a claim to divine authority. Jesus finally and emphatically proves he has this authority by conquering sin on the cross. And this has massive implications for us. Each of us, and all of our sin, is forgivable through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus. But do we live as though our greatest need is the forgiveness that Jesus offers? And do we witness as though other people’s greatest need is to be forgiven?

What are you afraid of?

These episodes remind us of Jesus’ true identity. They challenge us to think about what, and (more importantly), who, we are afraid of.

What not to bring

Many claim to want to follow Jesus but are unwilling to count the cost of doing so. Listen as we think about what must be left behind by those who want to follow Jesus.

Jesus, God’s heart to restore people to himself

In this passage, we look into Matthew’s record of three healings that Jesus performed. In his Powerful, Authoritative, and compassionate display, Jesus breaks down the religious barriers that separate three religious outcasts from God. Through Jesus, God connects the disconnected, qualifies the disqualified, and gives value to the devalued.

What makes Jesus so special?

The gospel of Matthew is all about Jesus. If there are questions about Jesus today, that’s no different from the first century AD. Who is he? Why did he come? What did he do? So right from the outset the disciple Matthew introduces us to several things about Jesus that set him apart as someone very special… his ancestry, his birth, his names and his role. He may have been born into the family of a humble, rural carpenter, but we mustn’t let that fool us. As we find out in this message, Jesus was always destined to be God’s promised Messiah. And that has massive implications for you and me today!

Decision Time

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches what it looks like to be a part of his kingdom. How will you respond to his teaching? Will you enter through the narrow or the wide gate? Will you be a wise or foolish builder?

Kingdom living in relationship with others

From judging others, to how we pray, to doing to others what we’d like them to do to us; Jesus covers various issues in these verses as he helps his followers to see the implications of being part of the Kingdom for all of their lives, in particular in relationship with other people.

The allegiance of the heart

In this passage, Jesus warns against having divided loyalties. Storing up treasures for ourselves on earth will turn our eyes from the things of God, and command the allegiance of our heart.

Greg Beaumont: The secret righteousness of the King’s people

Jesus has just given a massive lesson on Kingdom ethics and he finishes with those daunting words “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect”. In Matthew 6:1-18 Jesus piles even more on top of us – we can’t just strive for perfect actions but we need perfect motives too otherwise we will get no heavenly reward. This all seems too much, except that Jesus tells us that these expectations are played out in relationship with God – our loving heavenly Father – who sent his son to die for us. What a joy it is to seek to please a Father like this!