Beginning at Matthew 16:13 Jesus asks the disciples who people are saying that He is. They gave Him many different opinions, just as people have many different opinions today. But then Jesus makes the question personal, asking who they say that He is. And Peter responds that He is the Christ, the Son of the living God. The important thing about this opinion was that it didn't come from man but from God. Jesus told Peter that he was blessed because he was receiving information from God, and forming his opinion based upon that. What is the source of your opinions about life and eternity, man or God?

Pastor Chris

Matthew 10-12

What struck me as I read this passage is the priority that Jesus gave the kingdom of God. He was constantly stressing it with His disciples. He made it clear to them that they were citizens of that kingdom and representatives of it as well. He told them that how people would react them to them was dependant upon their relationship to the King. Both the children of the kingdom of God and the children of this age will be identified by the fruit that is produced from their lives. This would be a good time to evaluate the fruit that we are producing. Are we encouraging people to walk with Jesus or to walk like the world?

Pastor Chris

Matthew 4-6

Within these chapters we have a portion of the Sermon On The Mount. In this message Jesus is describing what a citizen of the kingdom of God looks like. Much of His description has to do with our possessions and the way we view what life is really about. Are our lives wrapped up in possessions? If they are we will be prone to worry, because possessions come and go. Even the best of things don't last forever. I have a Levi wallet that I bought when I was a teenager in the 70's at the Springfield Mall in northern Virginia. It is made of a sort of sail cloth and it seemed like it would never wear out. It would get dirty and I would just throw it in the washing machine and it would look as good as new. Well, as I took the wallet out of my pocket yesterday I noticed that a hole was beginning to form and the threads were beginning to break. This could be especially traumatic since just a few months ago I finally had to throw out my 35 year old JC Penny work shoes. For those of you that might not know, they were a real fashion statement at the time. Then, I am reminded that, as the Lord said, "one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses" (Luke 12:15). And, as Jesus tells us here in this sermon that if we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness He will provide the things that we really need (Matthew 6:33). The worry decreases when we have less of an attachment to this world and more of a connection with God's eternal kingdom and I become more aware of His incredible love for me.

Pastor Chris