The Importance of Community

The Importance of Community

Matthew 4:17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”  As news of John the Baptist’s imprisonment spread, Jesus stepped into the spotlight, beginning His public ministry in Galilee. His message was urgent and transformative: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Walking along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus encountered ordinary fishermen—Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John—men immersed in their daily work. With a simple yet life-changing invitation, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men,” He called them to a greater purpose and callings. Without hesitation, they left their nets, boats, and even family behind to follow Him. This passage marks the beginning of the movement that would change the world, revealing Jesus’ authority to call people into a new life of faith, mission, and discipleship.

Understanding How God Sees You

Matthew 3:17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Continuing in our study of Jesus' baptism, we're looking at the Identity of the Son of God. The baptism story is told four different ways all declaring the same thing: Jesus is the Christ the Son of God! And this identity comes from the heart of the Father. God's words to Jesus and to those who were present that Jesus is His Son, He is loved, and He brings great pleasure to God. This is the heart of God towards His Son, and it's the heart of God towards us in Jesus! Before any of us step into what God has for us, we have to remind ourselves of who we are and whose we are. Jesus received this word from God, and immediately was driven into the wilderness and into temptation. We often think that when we step into our callings that we won't experience hardships, but we have to remind ourselves that "Abba, I belong to you." Jesus knew His identity, and this is what drove Him throughout His whole ministry!

Understanding the Empowerment of the Holy Spirit

Matthew 3:16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him.  We are revisiting the Baptism story in Matthew! The Holy Spirit had been all over the place from the very beginning of Matthew, introduced in 1:20 talking about how what was conceived in Mary was from the Holy Spirit, and now publicly the Holy Spirit makes His presence known to those witnessing Jesus' baptism (an anointing). All throughout the Old Testament, kings were anointed by prophets to set them aside and apart for the work of ministry. This was done publicly as a way to represent the "set apartness" of the anointed one (which is what the Christ means!). They were leaders, chosen by God, and anointed by a prophet of God for the work of ministry, and the dove that descended represented the Holy Spirit that hovered over the creation waters (thus showcasing the New Creation work that Jesus was about to begin by ushering in the Kingdom of God).

Discerning the Call of God on Your Life

Matthew 2:14-15 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Matthew is the very first book of the New Testament, which obviously follows the Old Testament, and Matthew meticulously makes theological claims about the personhood and divinity of Jesus in the very beginning. Matthew's predominantly Jewish audience would have known the story of Moses, the one who brought the Hebrews out of captivity and into the Promised Land, and one claim that Matthew makes early on is that Jesus is a greater Moses. This would have been a huge claim for the Jewish audience! Moses was the hero of the Old Testament, the writer of the Torah, the archetype of faith and boldness, and most of their understanding of salvation was because of how God moved during that day (from the Plagues, to Passover, to the signs and wonders, and even their entry into Canaan). Moses was an incredible man of God, but there would be one who would be better. This motif is carried up in the book of Hebrews if you're wanting to read more, but it's first introduced in Matthew and even in Matthew's structure of Five Narratives that mirror the Five Books of the Law. All that to say, Jesus is better!

How to Decipher the Voice of The Lord

Matthew 1:20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said... In the first few chapters of Matthew, there's something that happens that can easily be glossed over without careful investigation. God revealed His plans for Jesus' birth all in dreams! God speaks to Joseph multiple times in dreams: that Jesus was a gift of the Holy Spirit, to go to Egypt, and then to come back. And God speaks to the Magi to avoid Herod on their way back after visiting Jesus. When God wants to accompish something, He usually speaks in dreams! There are a lot of reasons for this, but all throughout the Old Testament, God was always revealing Himself in visions and dreams. These became moments that God's people could go back to and say, "This is what the Lord said and this is what the Lord has done!" We're going to look at some other stories in the Old Testament and learn what it means to be people that listen to the Lord when He speaks in visions and dreams.