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Learning from the good guys and the bad guys...Matthew 2:1-12

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  Funny but true.  Honestly, sometimes it has come back to bite me.  I would like it to be that I am always looking for the good and not noticing so much the bad.  In Gaylord, Michigan, I gave out pineapples to people who I caught doing something that was kinda hidden from others but not from my eyes.  That was a pretty public acknowledgement of it but how we need to show appreciation on the private level like the guy behind the counter at the coffee shop who remembered my name.   This week we find ourselves focusing on Herod the Great, the religious leaders, and the wise men from the East.   Herod is antagonist toward this Baby born King of the Jews.   The religious leaders are apathetic to the Baby's birth as old news.  They already knew His birthplace, Bethlehem. The wise men from the East are in adoration to find the Baby.  A God-made star led them from the East to bow down and worship Him. We see these three today.  We find those antagonist or against anything that has to d
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Answering the Question and Simple Obedience...Matthew 1:18-25

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  I look for crosses everywhere.  I saw one on the side of a mountain the other day.  I should have taken a picture of that.  This cross is behind the church I am serving in Colorado.  I look forward to sitting beneath this cross and spending some time in prayer after a little more snow melts.  I will have to take a picture of what I see from that vantage point.  I can guarantee you there will be some mountains. Our study of the Gospel of Matthew will take us to the most important cross, the one Jesus hung on, the one that really matters.  We are at the start of that journey.  Jesus is coming in this passage by divine intervention, " of the Holy Spirit ."  Joseph accepts the explanation and fulfills the commands Father God gave to him through the angel who met him in the dream.  It is an important point that Joseph is described prior to this big news from the angel as a " just " man, a " righteous " man, " an observer of divine laws. "  Joseph wa
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Matthew's Bold Statement...Matthew 1:1-17

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  Here is a chart hanging in the foyer/lobby/entrance of the Stillwater Community Chapel that I serve at as pastor.  It is a genealogy from God to Jesus and very detailed.   The bold statement of Matthew is of course, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  All of God's word is God breathed (2 Timothy 3:16).  God is speaking through Matthew to let us know who His Son is.  The genealogy is only the start to show that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Chosen One, the Anointed One of God, and many other titles found in His word.  The genealogy starts this gospel off with a bang! Matthew doesn't erase or modify history but rather exposes and uses history to make the point that Jesus is the fulfiller of the Davidic and Abrahamic Covenants.  Jesus is the everlasting King of the line of David and also the Blessing to all the nations.  Matthew shows us Jesus' very messy family tree.   Point 1:  Our messes don't thwart God's plan and do not disqualify us of being used
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