It’s been one week since Easter, one week since the chaos and excitement, one week since the empty tomb, one week since our first “Alleluia.” One week since our shouts “Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia.” It’s been one week after the resurrection and the disciples are in the same place they were on Easter night. They are in the same room behind the same locked doors. So,
You know the story, don’t you? The Easter story I mean. You know that on the first Easter morning Jesus rose from the grave. Oh, you may not know all the details, but you know the story. You knew the story this morning when you got up; you knew it last night when you went to bed; you have known it for years; you may have known it for so
The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and a colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes
Sometime in the period between A.D. 31-32, a crowd of spiritually hungry people were listening to a spiritual peacemaker as He spoke the words that would later become known as the Sermon on the Mount. In that sermon, He presented eight Beatitudes that start with the word “Blessed.” Those eight statements are famous and have been quoted by millions of people and by many authors. The speaker of the eight
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). Jesus is concerned with our heart—It is not enough to simply clean up our act on the outside. The aim of Jesus Christ is not to reform the manners of society, but to truly change the hearts of all people like you and me. The heart is what you are, in the secrecy of your thoughts and
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” (Matthew 5:7) This passage is scary because we recognize how inconsistently we show mercy to others. We expect mercy from other people, but we hold grudges against those who wrong us. We forget that willingness to forgive others their trespasses is a sure sign of a forgiven heart that rests in Jesus alone for salvation (Matthew 6:14–15). Thanks be to God, for God
Many people today have souls that hunger and hearts that thirst. They feel an insatiable longing for something—they are restless. Almost everywhere they turn, the grass seems greener than where they stand. And the great tragedy for some is that even though this is the Spirit of God beckoning us to himself, we often turn away again and again to short-run, temporary, backfiring pleasures—the pleasures of this world in which
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). When we hear these words, we tend to think about times of sadness and grief. The loss of a loved one—Difficult health news—Troubles seemingly surrounding us on every side. Amid these experiences, we tend to mourn, and we pray that we might experience the presence and comfort of God. We worship a gracious and glorious God who comforts
Last week, we saw Jesus give His epiphany to the people of Nazareth—It didn’t go well. The people of Nazareth tried to kill Jesus. It is not surprising to learn that Nazareth (Jesus’ hometown) was not chosen as the headquarters for his preaching and teaching ministry. Although Jesus grew up in Nazareth and although Jesus was known as Jesus of Nazareth, Capernaum eventually became the headquarters for His ministry. Sunday’s Gospel
