As soon as Jesus was back in the midst of the Jewish people, the Scribes and Pharisees questioned him about his lack of enforcement of the traditions around hand washing. Rather than explain himself directly, Jesus in turn, responded with questions as to why the Pharisees and Scribes failed to comply with God’s commandments about honouring their parents, so that they might escape the full force of their responsibilities. He also went on to explain that external hand washing (as well as any kind of food) does nothing to deal with the problem of our sinful hearts, reminding them that only a complete transformation from within, from the heart, is what God ultimately requires.

Message

Outline

• From miracles and action to debate
• Hand washing?
• Was Jesus a traditionalist just for the sake of it?
• See how the text tells us about traditions, and …

1. The confrontation that began (v.1-2)
2. The critique that followed (v.3-9)
3. The clarification that resulted (v.10-20)

Traditions and us!
Caring more about the externals than the internals…

After Jesus fed the 5,000 with bread and fish, he proceeded to perform another miracle. This one, however was not on land, but at sea, and it was not in the day, but in the dark, and it was not done before the eyes of the crowds, but for his disciples alone. After sending away the crowds, Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, after also sending away his disciples in a boat to cross the lake. In the middle of the night, when the disciples had found the crossing hard going, Jesus came to them and gave them assurance of his person and power. Disciples who feel as though that they have been abandoned by Jesus, need to think through who it was that Jesus was praying for up there on the mountain, and that there is no barrier to his coming to his disciples in their hour of need.

Message

Outline

• ‘Born to be at sea’…
• Following on from the feeding of the 5,000
• A miracle on land, now one on water!
• See how the text tells us about …

1. The priority Jesus gave to prayer (v.22-24)
2. The encouragement Jesus gave to disciples (v.25-33)
3. The healing Jesus gave to the sick (v.34-36)

Life lesson 101…
Your times are in His hands.

After Jesus received the news of John’s death, he withdrew from public appearances to go away to a lonely place with disciples for some rest and prayer. However, according to Matthew 14:13-21, the crowds twigged where he would be and soon were there too. Jesus, however, as a true Shepherd of the sheep, put their needs before his own and had compassion upon them, even providing them with a free meal. All this happened far away from the eyes of the religious leaders and rulers, but not was not hidden from the eyes of his watching disciples who were taught a number of lessons.

Message

Outline

• A text we know well…
• From John back to Jesus…
• Just one year left for Jesus to live!
• See how the text tells us about …

1. How Jesus demonstrated His compassion (v.13-15)
2. How Jesus instructed His disciples (v.16-20)
3. How Jesus showed His sufficiency (v.19-21)

His ability. Our problem.
‘You give them something to eat!’

After Jesus was rejected by the people of Nazareth, the text of Matthew 14:1-12 shifts to focus our attention on what was happening in the mind and heart of King Herod. Having heard about the miracles and ministry of Jesus, Herod, prompted by his guilty conscience, wrongly assumed that Jesus was John the Baptist ‘raised from the dead’. To fill in why Herod thought this, Matthew then explains for his readers how it was that John’s life ended in martyrdom – ultimately because of a partying King who made an dangerously open-ended promise to a dancing girl.

Message

Outline

• A sad text!
• From Jesus to John…
• Which King Herod is this?
• See how the text tells us about …

1. The awful danger of rejecting conscience (v.1-5)
2. The strange reward for faithful service (v.6-14)

Herod’s conscience and yours
The cross – the cure for all sin and guilt!

There’s no doubt that Jesus was a popular among the people of Israel for a time. But not so among the people of Nazareth, his hometown. We read in Matthew 13:53-58 that they rejected His word and even rejected Him. It was by no means a ‘happy homecoming’ for Jesus. And so the question is ‘why?’. Why did the people of Nazareth turn their backs on Jesus and reject Him and His message? Hardness of heart has a lot to do with it – something that we must always pray that God would keep us from.

Message

Outline

• Our new series
• Resistance becoming hostility
• Jesus’ experience in his home town
• See how the text tells us about …

1. The hardness of their hearts (v.53-54)
2. The danger of their assumptions (v.55-57)
3. The poison of their unbelief (v.58)

Good and bad news from the prophet Isaiah!
The challenge to those who do and don’t believe!

There are all kinds of tensions in the Christian life. Tensions as in truths that seem to clash. In this message, the idea of being ‘free’ in Christ is contrasted with the need to ‘submit’ to Christ as Lord. How do freedom and submission fit together? Maybe Matthew 11:28-30 has the answer!

Message

Radio Service

00:00 Welcome
Song: Stand Up and Bless the Lord
00:19 Introduction
00:39 Prayer
05:15 Bible reading: John 8:12-36
Song: We Are His People
09:16 Shorter Catechism Introduction
10:44 Catechism Questions 162-167
14:43 Bible reading: Galatians 3:1-15
Song: Jesus Strong and Kind
Sermon: Matthew 11:28-30
Song: I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say
17:43 Closing

Outline

• This new series…
• A life of no conflict
• Freedom through submission?
• Note from this text …

1. The invitations Jesus gives us (v.28, 29)
2. The promises Jesus gives us (v.28)
3. The reasons Jesus gives us (v.29, 30)

The farmer, oxen and yokes
Be yoked to Jesus!

In this fifth and last of the parable recorded in Matthew 13, this one in Matthew 13:47-50, Jesus spoke of things that would have been familiar to those who lived on the shores of the Sea of Galilee – the everyday, ordinary practice of the people who made a living from fishing, and the associated sorting process that would follow… the not up-to-scratch fish thrown away and the best ones either sold or eaten. On this, Jesus taught that this was just a pointer toward the end of time, when people are sorted out into categories – some rejected, some not – and the only safe place to be to avoid such judgement.

Message

Radio Service

00:00 Welcome
Song: Standing on the Promises
00:18 Introduction
00:33 Prayer
06:06 Bible reading: Luke 5:1-11
Song: O Great God
07:37 Shorter Catechism Introduction
09:05 Catechism Questions 128-133
12:32 Bible reading: Revelation 14:14-20
Song: My Hope Rests Firm
Sermon: Matthew 13:47-50
Song: Out of My Bondage
14:05 Closing

Outline

• Found in 1986…
• The daily fishing trade
• A very pointed parable
• See how Jesus tells his followers about …

1. Their mission (v.47)
2. Their makeup (v.47-48)
3. Their future (v.49-50)

This is not a drill!
The only safe place to be …

In this fourth, and one of the smallest, parables found in Matthew 13:44-46, again we find that Jesus spoke to those who were around him about everyday common items. This time, the fairly well-known practise of finding buried wealth in a plot of land (which means it was yours if you bought the land!) and the search for a priceless, most valuable pearl. In the first case, the man who found the treasure gave all he could to gain something of greater value. In the second, the one who came across the pearl also gave up everything in order that he might have it. The Kingdom of God is like that. Worth more than anything else.

Message

Radio Service

00:00 Welcome
Song: And Can It Be
00:19 Introduction
00:34 Prayer
03:53 Bible reading: Matthew 19:16-30
Song: See Him Coming
06:05 Shorter Catechism Introduction
07:33 Catechism Questions 122-127
10:08 Bible reading: Philippians 3:1-11
Song: By Faith
Sermon: Matthew 13:44-46
Song: Glorious Things of Thee
12:00 Closing

Outline

• Daytime TV
• What is valuable?
• What’s the point of these parables?
• See in this parable.…

1. An unforeseen discovery (v.44, 45)
2. An unmatched desire (v.44, 46)
3. An unconventional decision (v.45-46)

Onboard the Titanic!
No entrance fee to the Kingdom, but…
Moses’ choice… and yours!

In this third parable of Matthew 13, Jesus speaks in Matthew 13:31-35 of two very common items from his day. The tiny mustrad seed which, which when grown, became a medium to large sized bush that would be the home for many birds, and an amount of yeast, which would turn a small amlount of leaven into a larger amount of bread. By these, Jesus again taught that the kingdom of God does not come by worldly means, but God brings it about silently and almost behind-the-scenes, leading us to always have hope that His Kingdom ‘will come’.

Message

Radio Service

00:00 Welcome
Song: Holy, Holy, Holy
00:18 Introduction
00:34 Prayer
04:20 Bible reading: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
Song: 10,000 Reasons
06:17 Shorter Catechism Introduction
07:45 Catechism Questions 115-121
13:00 Bible reading: Matthew 13:31-35
Song: Consider Christ
Sermon: Matthew 13:31-35
Song: Jesus Shall Reign
13:55 Closing

Outline

• These parables of Matthew 13
• Mary, Mary quite contrary
• How does His kingdom grow?
• See in this parable…

1. From little things big things grow (v.31-32)
2. From hidden things, some things grow (v.33)

Don’t despise the day of small things
Don’t despair of seeing kingdom growth
Don’t forget there’s room in those branches
Do adopt this vision of the kingdom!