Matthew 28:16-20
According to Matthew, the Great Commission is not about proclaiming the gospel around the world. That is part of the larger picture, but here Jesus sends the Church into the whole world to "make disciples."

In Matthew 10, the mission of The Twelve was merely to proclaim the gospel to the towns in the region of Galilee. If a town would not listen, they simply moved on to the next one. The strategy and method of the Great Commission is very different. Now, Christians are called by Lord Jesus to be Christian everywhere we go. At times this will involve sharing the facts of the gospel of Jesus. At all times it involves demonstrating the rule of God in our lives as we conform to Jesus rather than to the nations and world in which we live.

In this way, being disciples is how Jesus through us will make disciples who will also follow him.

Recording notes: Due to technical difficulties, only the last portion of the sermon was recorded. So, the description above offers more of an introduction than usual, so that the recording makes sense (hopefully!). Also, there is a one minute portion of the sermon recording where we watched a YouTube video. When that time comes, simply click on the picture above to play the video. You will want to pause the audio of the sermon while you do that.

Matthew 25:31-46
Jesus identifies himself with the Christian whom we have never met. He says, "I was a stranger, and you welcomed me." We are daily being tested. Do we honor Jesus's name more than our own "comfort zone"? Jesus's teaching in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats guides us to pass these tests with joy and confidence.

Matthew 21:18-22
Prayer is much more than something else we do to practice our faith in Jesus. Faithful prayer is crucial for a vital connection to the life of God. There can be no "fruit" without it.

Matthew 16:24-28
It is true that Christians have the hope of "going to Heaven" at the end of God's plan for history.
But that is not the good news that calls each of us to follow Jesus.
In this passage in Matthew 16, Jesus exposes the heart of his call to discipleship--to following him and his way. It is the call of the master to his servants. Jesus warns that anyone following him for other reasons will lose the very thing they hope to gain.
Instead, Jesus invites every human being to embrace what we are: servants of God. Jesus invites every human being to devote ourselves to the only worthwhile object in this life: living for the happiness of God. Jesus sounds this call, because the truth is that God alone is worthy.

Matthew 16:13-20
In any time, there are always many reasons to wonder whether Christianity can survive much farther into the future. Yet, regardless of the challenges, Christians can rest assured that the Church will survive the worst her enemies can muster. This confidence rests squarely upon Jesus's promise to Peter, "I will build my church," (Matt. 16:18).

Matthew 15:10-20
It is always tempting to try to overcome our shortcomings by ourselves. "Self-improvement" is a primary value of our times. But Jesus reminds us that the problem is rooted in our own hearts and minds. In this lesson, we consider how Jesus calls us to seek God's help in the transformation of our soul.

Matthew 14:22-33
Many forces in the world today conspire against Christian faithfulness. Daily news cycles and Facebook posts seem to beg us to become discouraged in our resistance to a culture more ungodly by the year. In Matthew's account of a perilous sea crossing by Jesus' first disciples encourages us to stay faithful to Jesus against these forces that tempt us to give up.

Matthew 14:13-21
Whatever we are hungry for, if we bring that to Jesus, it will be multiplied. We must be careful, though, to hunger for that which will bring blessing rather than a curse.

Thomas needed to see the evidence of Jesus' death to believe that the living Jesus was the same man who died on the cross. In a similar way, Christians live in a world that needs to see the marks of our own death in Christ before they will believe what we preach about Jesus.

In Matthew 5:16, Jesus teaches that his disciples are to do their good works in such a way that God receives the glory. This sermon considers how that works when God is the source of his own glory.