In Matthew 21:23-32, Jesus turns the tables on the Jewish religious leaders when they question him on his authority.
Read More
Rev. Andy Rice, president of the Berkshire Institute for Christian Studies, takes us to the prayer of King David in 1 Chronicles 29, wherein David confesses who God is and what belongs to Him.
Read More
"Who are you to say I need Jesus?" It's a question demanding proof of authority. Yet the Christian claims no authority of her own - like the first disciples, we simply go as messengers of Christ, telling what we have been told. It's Jesus who first claims that we need him, that he has the salvation we've all been looking for. And he's not just a bunch of talk - his proof of authority is his power. And that power visibly reaches into the present in the lives and work of Christians today. The best Christian messengers evidence that power in every aspect of their lives.
Pastor Tom guides us in examining Matthew's account of Jesus's first commission to his 12 disciples to go town to town with the good news that God's Kingdom has come near to us.
Read More
When you look at the world, do you see the opportunities for the Gospel that Jesus sees? And before you blame the smallness of our churches on society, have you considered that the real problem is that we are not sending enough people out?
Join us for worship this Sunday as we hear the word of Christ in Matthew 9:35-38, orienting us to look upon the world with His vision.
Read More
Can Jesus really bring us back from dead? Can our sins truly be forgiven if we are united with him? Any positive answer to these questions requires us to have faith - to trust Jesus beyond what everyday realities reveal to us. But that trust can only find solid grounding if it is built on what Jesus reveals to us in the course of his earthly life. Matthew tells us that Jesus healed many who were stricken with diseases and demons and that he even brought the dead back to life. We see faith at the center of these episodes. These miracles come to those who have faith. It's under these conditions that Jesus is preparing us to see the relationship between faith and the greater miracle of our salvation that he is offering. Listen as Pastor Tom takes us into Matthew 9:18-34.
Read More
If you can admit you're messed up, then Jesus is for you. He won't leave you that way, but make no mistake, he's telling you to come to him right now, just as you are. When the church shoos people away because they don't have their act together, they are essentially missing the point of what Jesus is doing - and maybe even drowning the grace they themselves need with their self-righteous arrogance. Jesus explains his mission in Matthew 9:9-17.
Read More
Can you be forgiven? Everyone wants to be forgiven, but we are close-handed when it comes to offering it to others. In fact, if you say someone can be forgiven, you might just get shouted down by angry mobs! They say you can't offer that to so-and-so. And on your own, maybe they are right. But what about Jesus? Can he offer forgiveness? Can we share with others what He offers? Listen as we find our answer in Matthew 9:1-8.
Read More
The presence of evil in our world is undeniable. Humans partake in it and perpetuate it - but are we its sole cause? The Bible says there are others. There are spiritual beings that have rebelled against God, identified as Satan and his league of demons. What happens when Jesus comes face to face with these demonic terrorists? Listen as we dig into Matthew 8:28-34 to learn what goes down.
Read More