As I studied Matthew 7:13-20 last week, I was struck by the immediate, almost abrupt transition from Jesus to “Enter the narrow gate.” It seemed almost out of place, after His instruction in Matthew 7:7-12 about His goodness towards us and how we should treat others. But as I backed up to see the fuller context…
Matthew 7:7-12 is one of my favorite passages of Scripture because of its description of God’s goodness to us. For most of my early years as a Christian, really until I was 29, I was convinced that God was at minimum mildly displeased with me and at worst, really mad at me. I never felt I could…
This post will be a touch longer because it’s two weeks in the making… Three weeks ago, we studied Matthew 6:19-24, where Jesus taught about kingdom treasure. The main thrust of that sermon was that our loyalties are revealed by what we treasure. Divided loyalty corrupts our entire life and prevents us from wholeheartedly serving Christ. In…
