Apr 1, 2014 | Matthew
There once was a day when people were very confused about physical nature of the planet earth. Nearly everyone thought that the world was flat, and that there was very real danger of falling off, if someone went to far and lost his balance out near the edge. It is...
Mar 11, 2014 | Matthew
The adult Bible class for next week will be all about the Bible – the study sheet is on the lectern in the foyer. One of the questions involves Isaiah 53:7 – “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the...
Mar 10, 2014 | Matthew
This parable was apparently spoken on the Tuesday of Jesus’ last week – often called “the Passion Week.” It was a day of hand-to-hand conflict with the Jewish authorities – the Sanhedrin, with the chief priests, the Sadducees, the Herodians, and as we see toward the...
Mar 9, 2014 | Matthew
During His last week on earth, Christ Jesus spent quite a bit of time in the Temple. The Temple was where both the sincere AND the highly insincere – the hypocritical – gathered. I have little doubt that some during those last few hours came to the realization that...
Mar 8, 2014 | Matthew
I have several books about the life of Christ, and I have read several others which I no longer own. They come from the pens of different men with different back grounds and some with differing agendas. In reading these books, we find that in the early chapters there...
Mar 7, 2014 | Matthew
There is a great deal of well-intentioned Christian service in this world which is not God-approved. I am talking about churches, literature ministries and media ministries. It is not a new phenomenon, because we find them in the Bible. I’m thinking about the...
Mar 6, 2014 | Matthew
In Matthew chapter 24, the Lord Jesus speaks extensively about the future of Israel. He talks about “wars and rumors of wars” – about tribulation and false Christs and false prophets. He says, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be...
Mar 4, 2014 | Matthew
There is a record of Christ cleansing the Temple, in all four of the gospels, so it must have been important. But there are significant differences between John and what is found in the Synoptic Gospels. John says, “And the Jews’ passover was at hand, and Jesus went...
Mar 3, 2014 | Matthew
I wonder who first came up with the idea of calling this event “Christ’s Triumphal Entry.” It seems to me – that title is completely inappropriate. I wonder if the author of this title was a Protestant with confused ideas about the Millennial Kingdom. Even though...
Mar 2, 2014 | Matthew
One of the blessings of this kind of Bible study is that I’m not confined to one style of preaching. The general idea is to progress through Matthew expositorily – exposing the message of God. Once in a while my message is purely expositional, but that usually means...
Mar 1, 2014 | Matthew
What would you think if I put my hand in my jacket and declared that I never was David Oldfield, my real name has always been Napoleon Bonaparte? That sort of thing has been a running joke for two hundred years – such a man would be declared insane. Similarly, how...
Feb 13, 2014 | Matthew
Once again we come across a very special word in connection to our Lord Jesus. This is the sixth time we have seen in it Matthew, abut we haven’t directly addressed it as yet. “When (Jesus) saw the multitudes, he was moved with COMPASSION on them, because they...
Feb 10, 2014 | Matthew
There were apparently three blind men at Jericho, seeking the blessing of the Lord. One was posted was on the eastern side of the city, and two who were begging near the western gate. Mark tells us that the name of one was “Bartemaus,” apparently the son of a...
Feb 9, 2014 | Matthew
When I was in Bible school, Judy and I spent a fortune in poverty-stricken student dollars on a filing system. It had big dividers for a regular filing cabinets and smaller ones for 3×5 cards. It had dividers for several dozen branches of human knowledge and...
Feb 9, 2014 | Matthew
As we have already noticed, this event is also recorded in Mark, and we find it again in Luke. But there are exegetical problems when we start comparing those three accounts. They all took place on the outskirts of Jericho as Jesus and His disciples were making their...
Feb 8, 2014 | Matthew
This morning’s adult Bible class was spent considering Christians in eternity. And even though I was able to put together two pages of questions, it would have been difficult to extend that study much farther. The Lord has wisely not given us very much information on...
Feb 7, 2014 | Matthew
When brethren within churches begin to quarrel, sometimes it is nearly impossible to make them stop. Pride gets involved and emotions become engaged – the flesh is often very hard to put under control. I say “nearly impossible,” because “with men this is impossible,...
Feb 6, 2014 | Matthew
Every true Bible doctrine is linked to every other true Bible doctrine. They are all woven together like a beautiful tapestry and the image expressed is that of the Lord Jesus Christ. For example, there is the doctrine of prayer when we address God the Father through...
Feb 5, 2014 | Matthew
Who among us here this morning, will be sitting nearest to Christ “when we all get to Heaven”? I don’t know that I had ever considered that question until last Thursday as I started my preparation for today’s message. Perhaps you have never considered it either. But...
Feb 4, 2014 | Matthew
In each of the last two chapters we have had the same subject arise, and here it is once again. In each case it has been knocked into the dust, and yet like a stubborn, vicious insect it keeps rising up. In chapter 19 the disciples were asking, “Who is the greatest...
Feb 3, 2014 | Matthew
There were a many things in Jesus’ life to this point which Matthew has not described for us. For example, there were events which took place in Jerusalem, after Christ had said that He would not go up to the city with His brothers and His mother. The Apostle John...
Feb 2, 2014 | Matthew
It must be repeated over and over again – Heaven and eternal life are NOT REWARDS for faithful service. A person may work his way to Hell, but not to Heaven. Paul for example, was a servant of God – not in order to become one of the Lord’s people, but because he...
Feb 1, 2014 | Matthew
Last Thursday, Judy and I attended the funeral service of a philatelic friend of mine. I had known Ed for five or six years, and had visited his home and several hospital rooms. And we had spent hours together in various meetings. Judy and I attended because, as I...
Jan 11, 2014 | Matthew
Peter had been listening to the exchange between Christ and the rich young ruler. After the man had walked away, and the Lord Jesus had answered the disciples’ question about salvation, Peter in his own unique style blurted out – :”Lord, we’ve done just what you told...
Jan 9, 2014 | Matthew
When I started preparing last Sunday morning’s message, I had one thing in mind, but as it unfolded, the Lord seemed to have something else. For those who were not here, that message was entitled “WHO then can be saved?” First, I considered what the disciples might...
Jan 8, 2014 | Matthew
This man who can come to Christ was rich in the things of the world – of that there was no doubt. As in a great many things – like intelligence, health, and strength – there is no sin in wealth. However, as in things like intelligence, imagination, power and youth,...
Jan 7, 2014 | Matthew
As we have seen, an exceptional young man has come to Christ with a very worthy question – “Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” If more people asked that question, then perhaps we’d see more righteous people in this world. It was...
Jan 6, 2014 | Matthew
If Brother Carter had not preached here last Sunday, I would be giving you a message on the goodness of God tonight. I don’t think that he was aware that his theme was a part of our context, but the Lord certainly did. I could probably give you another lesson on the...
Jan 5, 2014 | Matthew
Just after I left my employment at the Silver Lake mall I began to visit – just about every day – the wife of the mall manager. I was visiting her in the hospice wing of the Kootenai County Hospital. She was dying of cancer. I had met her years before and had gotten...
Jan 4, 2014 | Matthew
A little rural church was having their very first Bible conference. They had visitors from all over the state, and most were staying in the homes of various members. After the first night’s service, one of the visiting brethren went to the home of a young farm...
