Christ's Aroma (Fostoria Baptist)

Vatican City is going to take over the world! Ridiculous, isn't it? But at first glance, so is the message that Jesus is making in claiming to be the divine Son of Man given the humble beginnings. But that is only at first glance. These three parables start explaining it well.

If the sower sows the Word and there are different responses, what is the soil like? What is the difference between good soil and the varied useless soil? That is the focus of this second message on the Parable of the Sower.

It's not up to us to ensure the seed falls on good soil. And that is good news. This frees us from trying to find a silver bullet and instead to trust in the Word of God accompanied by the Spirit of God to accomplish that for which it is given.

We all have to make choices when it comes to our priorities. So too does Jesus through his human nature make choices in his priorities and at the end of Matthew 12, those choices seem to be surprising to the crowds. Join in to see Jesus' true priorities.

Sometimes an atheist or any unbeliever has very strong reasons for their unbelief. But sometimes their reasons are very clearly excuses. In this passage, Jesus exposes the excuses of Pharisees who demand of him a sign on their own terms.

The news that Jesus gives true rest to the outcast and weary who only admit their needs is not welcome news for the Pharisees, nor do they take too kindly to the crowds questioning whether Jesus might just be the long-expected Messiah, so they take some rash actions that end in their condemnation.

Can we see the forest for the trees? The Pharisees sure couldn't and so they did not realize what God was after in the Hebrew Scriptures or the Mosaic covenant and so they do not recognize that there is something greater than the Sabbath in Jesus Christ!

Isaiah 40:31 is a verse we all like, but the primary encouragement is actually the surrounding context on the nature of God. This is the God we serve and for whom we wait.

Restlessness and exhaustion seem to be the norm. Is there really hope for rest in a busy and anxious age? Yes, but only in Jesus, the gentle and lowly one.

Afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicting. That's what Jesus does as he condemns hardened cities who refused to repent at his mighty works, and invites the heavy-burdened to come to him in order to have rest.

Life can get hard sometimes and far from being sheltered from it, Christians are promised that we will be mistreated and persecuted. But difficult times sometimes breed doubt. Does the persecution of the messenger cast doubt on the message? No, but more significantly, we can trust that God is always good and the Jesus that fulfilled messianic prophecies in his first coming will fulfill the rest in...

How high is the cost of discipleship? It really depends on how you look at it. It will certainly cost more than anything else we could do, but in light of the reward that is generously given, it's cost is minimal. Indeed, as Rich Mullins would sing, it's a steal at any price.

We can get quite fearful over many things, but the response is not to try to minimize those fears but have a better fear and a greater fear. Let us learn to fear God, the best cure for all other fears.

How stable is your faith? How stable will your faith be when persecution strengthens? Is your confidence in luxury, or in people or in the Lord? Matthew 10:16-25 shows us what Jesus said to the church in regard to being prepared for the inevitable persecution.

For the Twelve disciples, to be like their master is a great privilege. And the first part of the mission discourse establishes that continuity between the two.

Sheep need shepherds to guide and guard them, and so do people, and the shepherd we need is all-authoritative Jesus who scans the crowds and is moved with compassion for the multitudes who need him to lay down his life for them.

Being raised from the dead. Your faith has saved you. In accordance with your faith, you will receive mercy. Is this personal eschatological or Jesus' healing ministry. Join as Matthew finishes his miracles section continuing to blur the line between the healings and Jesus' ultimate ministry to die in order to save people from their sins.

Forgiveness is something as old as the fall, but there is something distinctly new about Jesus, enfleshed and human, able to forgive sins and bring about the new covenant. That newness means some old traditions (and ultimately an old covenant need broken).

We the reader know what the miracles of Jesus mean, but those in the narrative do not. But that seems to change here as the narrative shows us what the narration has told us: that the miracles indicate that Jesus is not a mere man, but rather the divine Son of Man prophesied in Daniel come to judge the world and forgive sins.

Easter weekend is a time of celebration: a victory won at Calvary, culminating in the resurrection, giving us grounds for hope in its consummation at the Second Coming! But it is also the call for complete commitment to the Christ who bore our sins. That's what Matthew teaches us during this pause in his miracles accounts.

When you watch an illusionist, you begin to wonder where is the trick? Where's the magnet in the shoe or string? But when Jesus does miracles, there is no trick or rite or ritual. There is nothing outside himself. And that is one of the main things Matthew teaches us in this narrative section.

Contrast, contrast, contrast, contrast! That is the name of the game in this passage as the Sermon on the Mount that begins with a blessing (two groups of four) ends with a warning (four contrasts, or four groups of two).

How easy it is to see in others things that we don't want to admit in ourselves and thus end with a bit of overjudgmentalism of others. And that is just the last seemingly impossible standard for the follower of Christ in the Sermon on the Mount. Is there hope for the disciple? Yes, listen in as Jesus teaches that innreliance upon God we are to treat people kindly.

Anxiety. Being so stressed about needs of tomorrow that you can't pray, sleep, or do the tasks God has intended, but we are called to undivided loyalty in the day. How are we to do this? With uncompromised trust. Listen in as Jesus brings these together.

Prayer is a difficult topic for many. But it is not meant to be rocket surgery. Here's a reminder that our God is not inattentive or petty and need not be bartered with.