Everybody I’ve ever know wants to go to Heaven and see God in all of His glory. Even unbelievers want to believe there is a Heaven. Believe me, there is! But heavenly glory is only for true believers who make a credible confession of faith while on earth.
In Matthew’s timely retelling, the miracle of the loaves and fishes is a love story about God and His people. It defines for us the love of God. It demonstrates some of the things God’s love can do. And, since every miracle of Jesus is a parable of the gospel, it declares to us the one thing, namely salvation, that only God’s love can bring.
Matthew’s Gospel presents the Lord Jesus Christ as King of “the kingdom.” Forty-four percent of the appearances of the word “kingdom” in the Gospels appear in the first one (56 out of 127), and thirty-five percent of the uses of the word “kingdom” in the New Testament are found in Matthew (56 out of 158).
The palms on Sunday wave at us like the hand of God. He wants our attention. Of course, He demands and deserves it every day of every week. But we are human, with feet of clay and minds that wander.
The only way a person can be saved is to respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ with faith and repentance. Faith and repentance are gifts from God. Faith and repentance are commitments to Christianity. Faith and repentance are put on beautiful, meaningful display in the act of a baptism. Jesus paved the way.
How was your Christmas this year? Did you get any good gifts? Did you get any bad gifts? Maybe your gift was in between good and bad, and you’re not sure whether to keep it or return it. Well, that’s Christmas! And, that’s life...
Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, and Solus Christus: Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. God sovereignly saves by granting faith and repentance through the preaching and acceptance of the gospel, converting people into true followers of Jesus Christ.
On the third Sunday of Advent we deal with one of the great themes and one of the great characters in the Bible, joy and John the Baptist. God brought John into the world, like certain angels, to give us “good tidings of great joy.” John’s job was to pave the way for the first arrival of Jesus Christ.
John the Baptist was a fighter, but he was a fighter for peace, the theme of this Advent Sunday. He used fighting words, but only for the purpose of putting people into the ring with God, so that they might find peace with God, through faith in the Messiah who has come to earth, and is coming again soon.
On this first Sunday of Advent we emphasize the hope we have in Jesus Christ, the hope that He has come to save us, and the hope He will come again to gather us and keep us together forever. Such advent hope should fill us with at least three things: certainty, mystery, and urgency.
