In this second parable that Matthew records Jesus teaching in Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, the everyday item that Jesus used was wheat and weeds. To us, these might sound like two completely different items, but in his day the ‘weed’ was a ‘counterfeit wheat’ that was very hard to distinguish from the real. As Jesus explained the parable, it becomes clear that the point he was making is still so important for His people today, as we grow in the world along with the ‘counterfeit wheat’ – leading us to see the world around us through His eyes.

Message

Radio Service

00:00 Welcome
Song: Praise to the Lord
00:18 Introduction
00:33 Prayer
04:40 Bible reading: Matthew 9:1-13
Song: Come Praise and Glorify
06:46 Shorter Catechism Introduction
08:13 Catechism Questions 111-114
11:25 Bible reading: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Song: Christ Is Mine Forevermore
Sermon: Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Song: May the Mind of Christ
13:23 Closing

Outline

• These parables of Matthew 13
• How can good and evil exist in the world side by side?
• Two extremes we could adopt..
• See how this parable.…

1. Explains our present reality (v.24-30)
2. Points to a future certainty (v.36-43)

John Wesley’s visit to Newcastle (UK)
How do you see the world?

Of the 5 parables that make up Matthew 13, the first in one Matthew 13:1-23 is by far the longest. All of them have to do with the Kingdom of God, how and when it comes and how it grows, and what will be the consequences of not being part of it. In this parable, Jesus takes familiar agricultural themes and makes a point about listening, hearing and fruitfulness.

Message

Radio service

00:00 Welcome
Song: Immortal Invisible
00:20 Introduction
00:34 Prayer
04:50 Bible reading: Matthew 13:1-23
Song: Behold Our God
08:07 Shorter Catechism Introduction
09:35 Catechism Questions 107-110
13:24 Bible reading: James 1:19-27
Song: Meekness and Majesty
Sermon: Matthew 13:1-23
Song: Master Speak
14:50 Closing

Outline

• The parables of Matthew 13
• Was Jesus making truth plain or hiding it?
• It all depends if you’re ‘in’ or ‘out’ of the Kingdom
• See how Jesus tells us of…

1. Some vital activity (v.1-3)
2. Some varied responses (v.4-9, 18-22)
3. Some very big results (v.23)

Hearing the Word isn’t enough!
Fruit is the proof of life!

When the women first went to the tomb where Jesus has been buried on that first Easter Sunday morning, they never expected to find Him alive. But when Matthew records in Matthew 28:1-20 that Jesus was alive, this changed everything. While they worshipped Him by falling down at His feet, the soldiers who had been guarding the tomb (and saw what happened) and the Jewish authorities were meeting together to spread misinformation about the truth. But no lie can stop the truth, and the whole universe is now under the Lordship on Jesus!

Service

00:00 Welcome
Song: Jesus Christ Is Risen Today
00:17 Introduction
00:43 Prayer
04:20 Bible reading: Matthew 27:57-28:7
Song: In Christ Alone
07:06 Kids’ Talk – Colin Buchanan (with thanks to Compassion)
14:42 Bible reading: Matthew 28:1-20
Song: Never Alone
Sermon: Matthew 28:1-20
Song: Thine Be the Glory
17:02 Closing

Outline

• If the gospels ended at the cross…
• The resurrection is the great game changer
• Three scenes in the text
• See how Matthew tells us of…

1. Feet worth touching (v.1-10)
2. Lies worth telling (v.11-15)
3. Commands worth keeping (v.16-20)

A choice to be made… which will be yours?

Matthew’ gospel continues to record the ‘things that happened to Jesus’ in Matthew 27:11-44. His sufferings did not end with His denial and betrayal or His arrest and trial, but also extended right up to and including His death on the cross. Matthew records all these things to make it doubly clear that Jesus was innocent of all crime and all sin. That He was the One who was ‘the righteous’ who died for the unrighteous’, to ‘bring us to God’ (1 Peter 3:18)

Outline

• Where we are in Matthew 26
• Vivid, remembered details
• Three scenes in the text
• See how Matthew tells us of…

1. Jesus on trial before Pilate (v.11-26)
2. Jesus on show before the soldiers (v.27-32)
3. Jesus on the cross before the world (v.33-44)

All this… at great expense to Himself… for you!

After Jesus allowed Himself to be arrested and separated from His disciples, the Bible tells us that they all forsook Him and fled. All but one. Peter followed, but at a distance. And through the providence of God, Peter found a way to be nearer to Jesus than the rest of the disciples were… nearer, but sadly, further away from Him. Being close up to Jesus didn’t help Peter at all. It just magnified his weakness. It showed up what he wasn’t made of. He had professed that he would die with jesus, but he couldn’t even testify that he was one of His disciples! Poor Peter… but poor us when we think and act as if we have more strength that we do!

Service

00:00 Welcome
Song: There Is a Fountain
00:17 Introduction
00:39 Prayer
05:27 Bible reading: Isaiah 53
Song: Jesus Paid It All
07:41 Kids’ Talk
Song: Jesus Didn’t Sin
13:11 Bible reading: Matthew 26:57-27:10
Song: Jesus Thank You
Sermon: Matthew 26:57-27:10
Song: Man of Sorrows
16:50 Closing

Outline

• Where we are in Matthew 26
• A downward spiral begins
• The changing scenes before the reader
• See how Matthew tells us of…

1. The threats of many witnesses testifying against Him (v.57-68)
2. The tragedy of one disciple who denied Him (v.69-75)
3. The fate of one disciple who betrayed Him (v.1-10)

See the Saviour in the midst of enemies and failures!

Was there ever a scene so poignant as the time that Jesus spent in the garden of Gethsemane right before the cross? The gospel writers make much of this, as we find in Matthew 26:36-56. The text tells us that Jesus struggled with the enormity of the ‘cup’ placed before Him by the Father, which He must take and drink. It wasn’t out of fear of pain or death that he recoiled from drinking it. Not at all. But He knew that on drinking it, He would face separation from His Father. And yet (thanks be to God), He obeyed! What a wonderful Saviour!

Service

00:00 Welcome
Song: Holy Holy Holy
00:17 Introduction
00:38 Prayer
04:52 Bible reading: Jeremiah 25:8-17
Song: Jerusalem
06:40 Kids’ Talk
Song: Jesus Rose to Pray
11:49 Bible reading: Matthew 26:36-56
Song: My Hope Rests Firm
Sermon: Matthew 26:36-56
Song: When I Survey
15:14 Closing

Outline

• The garden
• Extreme trial for Jesus
• The ‘heavy load he chose to bear’…
• See how Matthew tells us of…

1. The sorrow of Jesus (v.36-42)
2. The submission of Jesus (v.43-46)
3. The betrayal of Jesus (v.47-56)

Victory won – before the cross!
‘I have come to do Your will, O God’

The scene at the Last Supper as recorded in Matthew 26:17-35 is so full of significance. Much could be (and has been!) written about the event which connected the Passover to this institution of the new covenant by Jesus. But what happened after the Last Supper is also important for setting the scene that would take place in the garden of Gethsemane, and this specifically concerns Peter, who, on hearing what was about to take place, boldly claimed to ‘even die with Jesus’. Poor Peter… but yes, how many times have you and I been like him?

Service

00:00 Welcome
Song: Praise to the Lord
00:18 Introduction
00:39 Prayer
03:35 Bible reading: Zechariah 13:1-9
Song: Be Unto Your Name
05:38 Kids’ Talk
Song: I Can’t Save Myself
10:09 Bible reading: Matthew 26:17-35
Song: How Deep the Father’s Love
Sermon: Matthew 26:17-35
Song: This Life I Live
12:33 Closing

Outline

• Where we are in Matthew 26
• The calm before the coming storm
• The focus switches to Jesus and the eleven
• See how Matthew tells us of…

1. The astonishing news that He broke to them (v.17-25)
2. The memorable meal he shared with them (v.26-29)
3. The bold pronouncement made to Him (v.30-35)

The disciples… what a mixed bag!
Remember who we are and whose we are…

In the chapters leading up to the events of the death and resurrection of Jesus in Matthew’s gospel, Matthew 26:1-16 follows on directly after the Olivet Discourse. In these chapters, Matthew sets out clearly the events that led up to the the death of Jesus, beginning with the plot the Jewish religious leaders hatched to put Him to death and ending (in these verses) with the desire of Judas to betray Him. But in the midst of those two events is the wonderful act of love completed by Mary. While the men in this text are clearly walking in darkness, she, on the other hand, is walking in the light.

Service

00:00 Welcome
Song: Immortal Invisible
00:18 Introduction
00:40 Prayer
03:18 Bible reading: Zechariah 11:1-13
Song: Behold the Lamb of God
05:39 Kids’ Talk
Song: Mary and Martha
09:59 Bible reading: Matthew 26:1-16
Song: Before the Throne
Sermon: Matthew 26:1-16
Song: My Hope Is Built
11:53 Closing

Outline

• A new series leading up to Easter
• Irony in the life of Jesus
• ‘Let the games begin’
• See how Matthew tells us…

1. How the plot to kill Jesus was hatched (v.1-5)
2. How the action to anoint Jesus was noted (v.6-13)
3. How the decision to betray Jesus was motivated (v.14-16)

Where do you fit in this picture?
More irony… hated and rejected but the only safe place to stand!