Stamped with His Image

Stamped with His Image

Living as Someone Who Belongs to God 05/17/26 Later the leaders sent some Pharisees and supporters of Herod to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested.  “Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest you are. You are impartial and don’t play favorites. You teach the way of God truthfully. Now tell us—is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them, or shouldn’t we?” Jesus saw through their hypocrisy…  — Mark 12:13–15a NLT “…Why are you trying to trap me? Show me a Roman coin, and I’ll tell you.” When they handed it to him, he asked, “Whose picture and title are stamped on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied.  “Well, then,” Jesus said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” His reply completely amazed them. — Mark 12:15b–17 NLT  Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. — Genesis 1:26a, 27 NIV Caesar may get your taxes, but God wants you! God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” — Genesis 1:28 NIV  “I will bless you… and you will be a blessing.” — Genesis 12:2 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day…— Genesis 3:8 NIV Caesar may get your taxes, but God wants you! 16 But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. — 2 Corinthians 3:16–18 NLT Caesar may get your taxes, but God wants you! You are stamped with His image and you were created to be with Him, live like Him, give all of yourself to Him. God wants you!

The Patience Of God

A Story of Rebellion, Judgement, and Grace Pastor Jon Verwey Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed. —Mark 12:1-5 NIV …The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. — Exodus 34:6-7a NIV  God patiently calls people to repentance and forms them into a people who love, follow, and live for His Son. He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ “But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. —Mark 12:6-8 NIV What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. — Mark 12:9 NIV The Lord is slow to anger but great in power;  the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished. — Nahum 1:3a NIV  Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture: “ ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” — Mark 12:10-11 NIV The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. — Psalm 118:22–23 NIV  But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. Turn to me and have mercy on me; show your strength in behalf of your servant; save me, because I serve you just as my mother did. — Psalm 86:15–16 NIV

Making Room at the Table

Why Matthew Threw a Party—and Why We Will Too Pastor Jon Verwey Combined reading Matthew 9:9-13/Mark 2:13-17/Luke 5:27-32 NIV Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. As he walked along, he saw a man named Matthew, son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Matthew got up, left everything and followed him. Then Matthew held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.  But when the Pharisees and the teachers of the law saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they complained to his disciples, “Why does your teachers eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”     Then Matthew held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.    But when the Pharisees and the teachers of the law saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they complained to his disciples, “Why does your teachers eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”   “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” — Revelation 3:20   “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick… I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”   “…I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” — Mark 2:17b NLT   “You do not delight in sacrifice… My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.” — Psalm 51:16–17 (NIV)    When Jesus calls us to follow Him and we respond, it should move us to create space for others to encounter Him and hear His call to them.   Hospitality means primarily the creation of free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend… Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place. – Henri Nouwen

From Withered Trees to Living Temples

Faith, Forgiveness, and the Prayer of God’s People 04/26/26 In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” — Mark 11:20-25 NIV  Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. v 23  ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’ Mark 11:17 b NIV  In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. vv 20-22  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. v 24  …I will do whatever you ask in my name… — John 14:13 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. — John 15:7 NIV  And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. v 25 “…anything against anyone…” v 25  “Everyone thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea until he has something to forgive” C.S. Lewis  “…forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” v 25 Unforgiveness happens when someone else’s sin becomes bigger than the cross. The debt others owe us seems bigger than the debt we owed God. — Jason Meyer. As God’s living temple, we are a praying people who trust Him and choose to forgive.

When Jesus Cleans House

What the Temple Was Meant to Be 04/19/26 12 The next morning as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 He noticed a fig tree in full leaf a little way off, so he went over to see if he could find any figs. But there were only leaves because it was too early in the season for fruit. 14 Then Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat your fruit again!” And the disciples heard him say it. 15 When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, 16 and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace. 17 He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”  18 When the leading priests and teachers of religious law heard what Jesus had done, they began planning how to kill him. But they were afraid of him because the people were so amazed at his teaching. 19 That evening Jesus and the disciples left the city. 20 The next morning as they passed by the fig tree he had cursed, the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots up. 21 Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, “Look, Rabbi! The fig tree you cursed has withered and died!” — Mark 11:12–21 NLT  …All the families on earth will be blessed through you. — Genesis 12:3b NLT 12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul. — Deuteronomy 10:12 NLT  8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. — Micah 6:8 NIV  “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.” v. 17  20 The next morning as they passed by the fig tree he had cursed, the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots up.v. 20  16 Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? — 1 Corinthians 3:16 NLT  19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God… — 1 Corinthians 6:19a NLT  ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ v. 17 Hear, O people of God:  The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. He has shown you, O [people of God], what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. — Micah 6:8 NIV Jesus replaces the temple with His people—so we can love Him, walk with Him, and be a blessing to the nations.