Jesus & the End | Calm in Chaos | Matthew 26:57-68 | Joseph Rosales

In Matthew 8:23-34, Jesus demonstrates his power over the storm and over the spiritual realm. 

In Matthew 13:1-23, Jesus begins his sermon of parables with a story about a farmer who’s sowing seeds.  The seed falls upon 4 different soils and we’re told, by Jesus, that each type of soil represents a heart condition.  In this sermon, Pastor Noel Piepgrass shares how the heart can be hard, shallow, or distracted and thus unable to receive the seed of the gospel and thrive.  Finally, Noel points us to Jesus, the one who makes our soil good as we turn to him through repentance.  (sermon credit due, Danny Bartlett, whose work Pastor Noel drew heavily from) 

In Matthew 14:1-12, we find out that Herod has been hearing about the deeds of Jesus.  In fact, Matthew tells us Herod actually suspects that John the Baptist has risen from the dead and is the one performing these deeds.  In this passage, we learn that John was killed because he took a stand against Herod’s illegitimate marriage and sensual lifestyle.  Noel Piepgrass shares how we ought to be willing to take a similar stand against our culture’s wayward views on gender, marriage, and sexuality.  

In Matthew 9:9-13, Jesus calls the tax collector Matthew to follow him.  Matthew follows immediately and invites his unloveable friends to have dinner with Jesus which upsets the Pharisees and begins a controversy.  The good news is, Jesus came for the sick, not for the well.  He came for sinners like you and me, not the righteous.