When the Pharisees sought to- trap Jesus by their question about divorce in Matthew 19:1-12, Jesus was not backward in coming forward with his response. While the Pharisees tended to be quite lax with regard to laws about divorce, Jesus insisted that God’s good design for marriage in Genesis 2:18-25 was enough! Interestingly, he said all this in the context of helping and healing others. He was no narrow-minded bigot who cared nothing for people around him. Instead, while holding strong to the Word of God, he also backed up his words with caring deeds.

Message

Outline

‘The King’s response to a hot topic’
• Unlimited forgiveness. Always?
• The Pharisees seeking to trap Jesus…
• Jesus unafraid to answer their questions
• See how these verses tell us of …

1. What Jesus was doing (v.1-2)
2. How Jesus responded (v.3-9)
3. How the disciples responded (v.10-12)

Marriage matters!
No additional burdens to those who feel a failure!

After Jesus had challenged his disciples to follow certain steps in order to ensure that conflict between them be quickly resolved, Peter was quick to ask a question and Jesus was quick to give him an answer! All this can be found in Matthew 18:21-35. Peter’s question had to do with ‘how many times he ought to forgive his brother for an offence’ and Jesus’ answer was both plain and then couched in terms of a parable. The parable adds weight to Jesus’ answer, that the forgiveness that Peter should offer to his brother when offended has no limits. None at all.

Message

Outline

• The all-important context
• The question Peter thought of and asked…
• Conflict among the 12?
• See how from these verses we can note…

1. What was implied in Peter’s question (v.21)
2. What was implied by Jesus’ answer (v.22-34)
3. What was implied by Jesus’ conclusion (v.35)

What is your debt to God?
Where do all these implications touch you the most?

Matthew 18:15-20 is not necessarily a hard text to understand. It has no hard words, for example. However, the application of what Jesus said is quite difficult. While still speaking to His disciples about the issue of true greatness and how humility is a necessary aspect of it, in these verses, Jesus spoke further about the inevitable conflict that will arise between disciples when the path of humility is not taken. There is a way to solve conflict. It’s not an easy path to take, but for true greatness, it will be so necessary.

Message

Outline

• An observation and an apology
• The context of this
  chapter
• Humility that path to greatness
• See how Jesus taught his disciples about …

1. Self-discipline (v.1-14)
2. Mutual discipline (v.15-17)
3. Church discipline (v.18-20)
   A world of conflict…
   The source of forgiveness!

In speaking to His disciples in the way that He did in Matthew 18:7-14, Jesus was not going on to some new topic. In fact what he taught in these verses are very closely linked to verses 1-6. He is still talking about greatness and the ‘childlike humility’ that will lead His disciples towards it. While some of what He says in verses 7-14 is a little unclear, the implications of it are not. Those who will be great in the Kingdom will need to be like the Shepherd whose care for that one lost sheep was not just a matter of words.

Message

Outline

• GOAT?
• The context of this
  chapter
• Humility the path to greatness
• See how Jesus urged his disciples to …

1. Avoid being the source of temptation (v.7)
2. Avoid committing sin at whatever cost (v.8-9)
3. Avoid rejecting those whom the Father loves (v.10-14)

A reminder for believers…
An invitation to unbelievers…

When the disciples asked Jesus, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom?” in Matthew 18:1-6, there was a lot going through their minds. Jesus had just begun to set out for Jerusalem, having told the disciples that there He would be mistreated and killed. What was it then that got the disciples talking together about greatness? Mark’s gospel tells us that at least James and John had designs on the right and left hand side of Jesus’ throne. In answering the question, Jesus gave to them an object lesson… a child. And as he did so, He shattered the notions of greatness in our world.

Message

Outline

• Picking up from where we left off
• Matthew’s gospel – about Jesus and the
  twelve…
• Various reactions from the twelve
• See how the text tells us of …

1. The question the disciples asked Jesus (v.1)
2. The object lesson Jesus gave the disciples (v.2-3)
3. The implications Jesus taught the disciples (v.4-6)
   So who is the greatest in the Kingdom?
   ‘He came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life…’

Not everyone enjoys Christmas nor finds it a time of celebration or joy. Herod was certainly in that number. When the wise men rocked up with news about the birth of the Messiah in Matthew 2:1-23, they really rocked Herod’s world in more ways than one! In fact, Herod’s response to the news was quite an exterme one. Harsh too. And yet, even more tragic than the deaths of the innocents was the fact that Herod himself missed out on the salvation this baby came to bring. When people repeat Herod’s mistakes, that tragedy is simply repeated over and over.

Message

Outline

• The last in this series!
• Christmas: not always accompanied by happiness!
• Not a happy time for King Herod…
• See how we are shown Herod’s mistakes and errors…

1. The dangers of self-centredness (v.1-15)
2. The fruits of hard-heartedness (v.16-18)
3. The limits to earthly greatness (v.19-23)

‘We don’t want to live under the rule of this king’
The tragedy of the ‘neglected’ Jesus

Joseph is one of the key characters in the story of the birth of Jesus, especially so in the text of Matthew 1:18-25, but he can easily be overlooked in the preaching of the Christmas narratives – probably because he doesn’t get to say anything at all. Even the shepherds and wise men get some lines in the gospels, but Jospeh gets none! Even though that is the case, we can ‘read between the lines’ and see what was going on in Joseph’s mind and heart, and how in a crisis situation, the angel who spoke to him in his dream put everything into perspective for him – even if he didn’t fully understand the implications of it all!

Message

Outline

• The fourth in this series!
• Does Joseph get left out of the story?
• Not much told us about how he felt…
• See how we are told of how the angel…

1. Appeared to him in a crisis (v.18-20)
2. Averted him from his intentions (v.20)
3. Assured him of God’s purposes (v.21-25)

Joseph is not alone in needing rescue!
The great exchange!