Mission City Church

33  “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country.  34  When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants[ c ] to the tenants to get his fruit.  35  And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.  36...

36  One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table.  37  And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment,  38  and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them wit...

For most of us there are many seasons of life that just feel chaotic. There are so many things to do, so many things going on in the world around us, and so many things that seem to not make sense. In Matthew 24 Jesus speaks to his disciples about a time that is coming for them that resembles this kind of chaos. He wants to point out to them that in the midst of chaos followers of Jesus find our h...

28  “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’  29  And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. 30  And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go.  31  Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly...

23 And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, from where did...

18 In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry.19 And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once. 20 When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” 21 And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you...

12 And Jesus entered the temple[ b ] and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” 14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief pr...

Jesus reminds us in Matthew 18 that repentance and forgiveness go hand in hand. We are challenged to address someone directly when they have sinned against us and to forgive them of their sin. These are both difficult teachings to live out and they may not happen immediately. Over time to maintain a healthy family of believers these practices have to become a regular rhythm of life together in the...

21 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me.3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to ful...

29  And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him.  30  And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord,[ e ] have mercy on us, Son of David!”  31  The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”  32  And stopping, Jesus called...

20  Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something.  21  And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.”  22  Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to dr...

17  And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them,  18  “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death  19  and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”

20  “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.  2  After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius[ a ] a day, he sent them into his vineyard.  3  And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,  4  and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give...

16  And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”  17  And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.”  18  He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false w...

In this short series we are covering the house rules for the family of God. In part 1 we consider Jesus' teaching in Matthew 18 over humility, temptation, sin and the lost.

13  Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, 14  but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15  And he laid his hands on them and went away.

19  Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.  2  And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. 3  And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?”  4  He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and fe...

21  Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”  22  Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23  “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.[ g ]  24  When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him t...

15  “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.  16  But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17  If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the chur...

10  “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.[ d ]  12  What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?  13  And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices...

Jesus saw the opportunity to save our souls as a treasure worth paying everything for. He invites us to surrender everything ourselves so that we may experience eternity with Him.

7 “Woe to the world for temptations to sin![ b ] For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw...

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”  2  And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them  3  and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4  Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5  “Whoever receives one such c...

24  When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?”  25  He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?”  26  And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the...

22  As they were gathering[ f ] in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men,  23  and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were greatly distressed.