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We shift gears for Thomas’ remaining time at Circle to look at 6 verbs of what love is. Today we talk about that love is active, actively pursuing as God pursues us, actively responding to each other with what we actually need, and actively seeking the best thing for each other.

The Parable of the Sower is a well-known parable, but what’s important to realize is not only what the parable means as far as how Jesus explains it, but also realizing the context in which it’s said and the extent of the application to the other sowers of God’s word – Kingdom citizens, you and... Read More ›

Jesus is undeniably demonstrating what the Kingdom is like by His miracles, His teachings, and His ministry. But, the religious leaders of the day, while they can’t deny what Christ is doing, do try to discredit Him, going so far as to call Him empowered by Satan. What does this clash of the true Kingdom... Read More ›

The Pharisees and religious leaders prided themselves on keeping the law of Moses. Except they didn’t. Oh, they may have kept it according to how they had made it – fences around the law and all, but Jesus reminds them that by keeping the law so strictly that they’re breaking a higher law, the law... Read More ›

Denouncing cities? Claiming exclusivity? Saying our burden is light? CS Lewis once wrote that Jesus is either legend, lunatic, or Lord, and indeed, this passage is only something one of those could have said, only Jesus as LORD can make it be true and indeed something we can rest in and upon as truth.

The Kingdom is replicated and demonstrated by people who love & liveChrist in a way that makes them distinct, as John the Baptist did. This will sometimes cause division, but yet is the way to become truly human. Sometimes it seems that we need to expect different expectations if we truly are to be the... Read More ›

Jesus’ messengers’ mission is to replicate & extend the mission of Jesus, notjust to proclaim it but demonstrate it to the world. Ours is to do the same, but what parallels can we draw from Jesus’ original messengers to us today? Quite a few.

After healing the leper, centurion’s servant, and calming the storm, Matthew continues to expound on who King Jesus is. Jesus’ authority is questioned when He heals the paralytic, He calls those who shouldn’t be called, and Matthew’s question starts to shift from who is this man to if this IS who this man is, what... Read More ›

Easter Sunday 2021 with a non-traditional text. A man tells Jesus he’ll follow Jesus wherever He goes, yet Jesus challenges his commitment. The apostles find themselves in a storm, and them in front of two demon possessed men. Happy Easter? In fact, these texts tell us a lot about the Easter story, and why the... Read More ›

Jesus ends the Sermon on the Mount with a quite serious parable, and the crowds are amazed at the authority with which He teaches. Matthew then writes about three interactions Jesus has with a leper, a centurion, and crowds needing healing. If this is purposeful, why include these stories and these particular interactions now? Could... Read More ›

Jesus continues on in the Sermon on the Mount in the form of a jigsaw puzzle – what He’s teaching isn’t directly related to the teaching before or after it, but yet is important to round out the complete picture of what a Kingdom, Beatitudes citizen looks like. In this passage, we find very applicable... Read More ›

Worry is a staple of life, and Jesus famously commands to not worry in Matthew 6. What does this mean? Does it mean don’t stress? Have no concern for things? How can we not worry when it seems that Jesus worried before the cross? And speaking of hot topics, don’t judge – what does that... Read More ›

Jesus is interested not only in what we do, but how and why we do it, very much because what and why we do things impacts our true focus of our worship, our trust, and how we view God in our lives. Today, we look at fasting, and what it means then to store up... Read More ›

As Jesus continues the Sermon on the Mount, He begins to focus in from the general view of the Kingdom citizen into the practices, specifically the hypercritical practices, of the leaders around Him, with addressing giving, prayers, & fasting. Today we look at giving & praying, and look at how the Lord’s Prayer reorders our... Read More ›

After the introduction of the Kingdom Portrait of the Beatitudes, Jesus then delves into practical living, what the influence of salt and the beacon of light looks like among those who believed in Scripture. But Jesus just doesn’t teach new things or encourage, but He takes Scriptures that have been misapplied and redefines them for... Read More ›

When Jesus began His sermon, He didn’t start with a story, or a joke, or a poem, He started with a radical image – the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are somewhat often misinterpreted as to their purpose and what Jesus meant by them, but what do they tell us about who Jesus is, who we are,... Read More ›

Josh Stutzman continues our year in Matthew by looking at Jesus beginning to call His disciples. He looks a the OT reference of people sitting in darkness, and explains why it’s worth repenting, healing, and following the light.

Today we address the temptation of Jesus, but we don’t just take a surface level look at the temptations. Today, we take an at time uncomfortable dive into the temptations behind the obvious temptations, at the discontentment behind an obvious hunger, self-doubt behind pride, and easier, less painful path behind a lust for power. We... Read More ›

In Matthew 3 we meet Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist. John came preaching repentance, and came with a special anointing of his own to now only anoint Jesus to start His ministry, but an anointing for all believers. What is repentance, what is faith, and what is our anointing?

“The Dark Side of Christmas” as one commentator put it, is an odd text to base a sermon around, yet Matthew has included it whereas other gospel writers didn’t, and indeed intentionally written the things about it that he has for his readers’ benefit. What does the massacre of the innocents on the heel’s of... Read More ›