Three Minute Thoughts

Jesus tells of his end and the many things that were stacked against him. Jesus was obedient and all so that he could do what the Old Testament said would happen.

Jesus teaches us to be ready all the time. No one knows when the end will be here so be ready!

There are things we call signs of the end. Some of the signs are easy to understand, others not so much. What do the signs tell you?

There are so many people who make you live by a rule but they themselves aren't willing to live by that same rule. We call them hypocrites, and Jesus has plenty to say about hypocrites.

The bible teaches that just because you know the truth it doesn't you necessarily live like you know the truth. You were invited but you still have to respond to the invitation.

Jesus is welcomed as king and that's all good but they obviously don't understand what it's all about. So not knowing the whole story they kind of get things messed up. Here's the link to the Palm Sunday message with some deeper connections to the story of Palm Sunday. https://youtu.be/2pzk63ikKm0

Sometimes life just doesn't seem fair. This is what Jesus says about a fair kind of life.

When we approach a topic with our negative mindset we will try to spin it in a way it was never meant to be spun.

Jesus takes time to teach about greatness and service and love and forgiveness.

What is this transfiguration thing about anyway?

From demands of signs to confession of identity this chapter of Matthew is packed with meaning and power for the follower of Jesus. The focus of this chapter is all about what we believe about Jesus and who we believe he is. Who do you say that he is?

There are a ton of rules that we may not even know about. One of them in the Bible was a rule on how you were to wash your hands. What makes this a tad more humorous is where we are in 2021 and how we're a bit more hyper sensitive about hand washings. Jesus tells the leaders that their focus is all wrong. Hand washing is important but it's not the point really.

Jesus does some pretty crazy and amazing things. This one time he fed tons of people with a boy's lunch. You should really check that one out.

Jesus teaches using something called parables. In parables Jesus combines the known with the unknown to make the unknown...known . It's pretty cool how this works. But not everyone will get it because some are stubborn or they're just hung up on themselves.

Jesus shows who he is by what he does but also by what's happened before him. A quick teaching moment with words and actions.

Jesus gathers his disciples then he gets questioned by just about everyone. Why did he choose those people? Why did he act that way or say that word or eat that food? The people are used to having so many different rules and traditions floating around but Jesus ends with some powerful and comforting words.

Jesus calls some men to come follow him. In the process of asking them to follow him, he fills them in on the good, bad and ugly of what following him will look like. This is really not the best way to gather a bunch of followers but it is the best way to gather committed ones.

Jesus does a lot of things we're not expecting. One of those things is when he heals people he doesn't always do what they're expecting. In this case it's no different. Jesus heals people but from an illness they don't even know is a problem.

This is not a license to do evil. It's not a license to do wrong. Disclaimer over. Jesus does some powerful things and sometimes to accomplish those powerful things he needs to show that the way of the world isn't the way of God.

As Jesus finishes the sermon on the mount we see a few more examples of what a transformed life will actually look like. Can we tell people right from wrong? Do you really understand the golden rule? And why am I not getting what I asked for?

Jesus moves from the "not to's" and moves to the should dos. This means there are things we should be doing as followers of Jesus. But Jesus gives a pretty strong caution that's easy to miss.

Matthew includes a cool part of Jesus' life and teaching called the sermon on the mount. This chapter is the kick off for that very long and thorough teaching by Jesus. The point of this sermon is to set the world on its head.

Temptations are all around us. Eat a little more. Sleep in a little later. Just one more drink. Drive a little faster. Go with the crowd. Jesus shows us how to handle temptations of all sorts in this short lesson.

John the Baptist has a strange message about repentance. Turn from your wrongs and live a different kind of life to experience the Kingdom today.

So why was Herod so mean? Who were the wise men? Why does it matter?