Today’s passage: Matthew 8:1-17

Helpful thoughts:

• We are officially past the “Sermon on the Mount” and today are moving into a series of healings that teach us more about King Jesus.
• The miracles were used to authenticate Jesus’ teaching.  The crowds were astonished that He taught with such authority…but then he did the miracles to back it up.  He spoke with authority because He possessed all authority!
• The Jews were not allowed to touch a leprous person.  It would make them “unclean” and expose them to the disease.  But, when Jesus touches the unclean…they become clean!
• In response to the faith of the Roman centurion, Jesus declares that there are Gentiles who are in the Kingdom of God and Jews who are not.  Jesus was not surprised by this fact of course…but His Jewish audience probably was!
• Matthew again points out Jesus’ fulfillment of prophecy from the Old Testament.  This time from Isaiah 53.

Questions to consider:

1. If you were alive in the first century in the Middle East, and had to guess which three people an important Jewish religious leader would give his attention to…would it have been a leper, a Gentile and a woman?
2. What did the Roman centurion have that made him say what he did to Jesus?  By what do we gain entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven?
3. Why does it make sense that healings would have been more commonplace during the ministry of Jesus and not normal now?  What was the purpose of healing?
4. When Jesus healed these people, how healed were they?  How healed are we when we put our faith in Christ for the forgiveness of our sins?

Today’s passage: Matthew 7:24-29

Helpful thoughts:

• There is a difference between hearing and doing.
• Both the one who builds on the rock and the one who builds on the sand heard the words of Jesus.
• Both of them should also expect to experience rains, floods and wind.
• Hearing and rejecting results in foolishness and destruction (Remember the wide and narrow gates…)
• Hearing and obeying results in life.  A Christian is a person who hears the truth of the Gospel, believes and then follows Jesus.

Questions to consider:

1. Does following Jesus mean that life will be easy?  How is the truth BETTER than an “easy” life?  What is an “easy” life?
2. Remember one of the themes of Matthew’s Gospel is that Jesus is King.  Why did Jesus have authority to speak the way He did?  How is He different than the scribes (and every other teacher)?
3. What was the crowd’s general reaction?  What is even better than being astonished after hearing the teaching of Jesus?

Today’s passage: Matthew 7:15-23

Helpful thoughts:

• Wolves are the natural enemy of sheep and the word “ravenous” could also be translated, “swindler”- a false prophet seeks to find and ravage an unsuspecting sheep.
• The false prophet dresses in “sheep’s clothing”.  They will call themselves Christians, build “churches”, put crosses on the walls and speak the name of Jesus, etc.
• Fruit trees are beautiful and provide shade…but if they don’t produce good fruit they are worthless and cut down.

Questions to consider:

1. Is there such a thing as a harmless false teacher?  What does verse 15 declare them to be?
2. What are some examples that you have seen recently in your life and in the lives of others in our church of good, healthy fruit?  Praise the Lord for it and encourage one another!
3. Is it possible to identify false teachers? How?
4. What will “many” false teachers believe about themselves based on verse 22?  How important is it for us to know, believe and obey the Scriptures?

Today’s passage: Matthew 7:7-14

Helpful thoughts:

• Jesus invites us to ask, seek and knock.
  • James 1:17 – Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
• Verse 12 -The Golden Rule- is another way to say, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:29 – The 2nd greatest commandment)
• Since God is our Father and we know He will never fail to give us what is best for us, we are free to selflessly love others.
• “Entering” the gate of your choice requires action and results in also choosing a “way”.  If you are not actively pursuing the narrow gate and the narrow way, then you are actively pursuing the wide gate and the way that leads to destruction.
• “Those who find it are few” is a phrase that points to diligence.
  • Jeremiah 29:13 – You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
  • It takes effort and concentration to get to know someone well and grow close to them…a relationship with Jesus is not for the lazy and half-hearted.

Questions to consider:

1. How might a person look at the promises in verses 7-8 think that God has failed?  Do these verses teach us that God will give us whatever we want? Does God withhold what is best for us?
2. If God doesn’t withhold what is best for us, then how might our thinking, attitude or desires need to change?
3. Why is the effort to know and follow Christ totally worth it? (And remember, your salvation is totally provided for in Christ!  You aren’t earning or paying back any of your salvation through your efforts…)

Today’s passage: Matthew 7:1-6

Helpful thoughts:

• The focus of these verses is a self-righteous, judgmental spirit.
• When you have a speck (a splinter or a twig…This is NOT a piece of dust), you definitely know it.  You don’t really need someone else to point it out to you.
  • So, this comparison of a speck and log does not refer to a small sin and a big sin.  It is not like the speck is fighting and the log is murder.  The log is self-righteousness, believing you have arrived and need no correction-that you are superior.
• The dogs and pigs Jesus refers to in verse 6 aren’t the cute kind.  They were scavengers; wild, dirty and often diseased.

Questions to consider:

1. What would it take to literally have a log jammed into your eye and not notice it?  What would that look like spiritually?  How is that possible?
2. Whose sin should we be most concerned with in a spirit of humility?
3. Does verse 1 mean that we are NEVER to point out sin in others, to rebuke them?  What is it saying?
4. How would humility and love change the way we help a brother or sister with the speck that is in their eye?
5. How would the humility required for the previous question help us to respond appropriately to people who act like wild dogs and/or swine when we attempt to reach out and help them?  Should we point the finger and proclaim our superiority or be grieved at their rejection of the truth?

Today’s passage: Matthew 6:25-34

Helpful thoughts:

• This passage begins with a “Therefore”.  In the previous passage, Jesus told us to treasure and serve God alone.
• If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, God is your Father.  He has committed to provide for you as your Father.
• The phrase, “do not be anxious” is a command.
• Dr. Charles Mayo wrote, “Worry affects the circulation, the heart, the glands and the whole nervous system. I have never met a man or known a man to die of overwork, but I have known a lot who died of worry.”

Questions to consider:

1. Do you really believe that flowers in the field are more spectacular than Solomon at the pinnacle of his power?
2. If “do not be anxious” is a command, then what are we doing when we are anxious?
3. What would the root cause of anxiety be?  (Think back to yesterday’s passage…it’s about treasure)
4. What does “all these things” mean in verse 33?  What is Jesus promising to us here?  What do we need to ask ourselves when we feel like what Jesus promises isn’t enough?

Today’s passage: Matthew 6:19-24

Helpful thoughts:

• The key words in the first verse are “for yourselves”.
• Wealth often was measured in those days by the amount of clothes you owned…hence the moths.
• Our deepest desires push us towards our most cherished possessions.  Our heart is with our treasures.
• Our eyes will also gaze upon our treasure.  The eyes of our heart will be healthy and full of light when they are fixed on the greatest treasure!

Questions to consider:

1. How does the qualifier, “for yourselves” help us to think about savings, retirement plans, etc.?  Why is it right to plan for your future?
2. How does our view of giving change as we grow as Christians?  What changes need to take place in our motivations/expectations?
3. How might your spending show you what your treasures are?  How might your time spent and your energies show you the same thing?
4. How could growing in the spiritual disciplines help you to re-calibrate your “wanter” (The desires of your heart)?

Today’s passage: Matthew 6:5-18

Helpful thoughts:

• The Jews who were being actors (hypocrites) loved to pray publicly for the praise of man.
• The Gentiles prayed long, wordy prayers hoping to awaken, alert, convince, etc. their gods.
• The true God can be reached through prayer at any time (“When you pray”) and knows what we will pray before we even say or think a word.  He isn’t impressed with repetition or theological vocabulary.  He knows and looks at the heart.
• In this example prayer:
  • The Father is addressed and praised
  • His purposes and will are acknowledged
  • Requests are made for needs
  • Forgiveness is sought for our sin
  • Protection is requested from evil

Questions to consider:

1. How is this passage similar to what we read yesterday?  What is the common principle?
2. Who is prayer for?  Who is the on the receiving end?  How does this make prayer and fasting for show make no sense?
3. If God already knows what we are going to pray, is prayer for the purpose of communication to make Him aware or is it for relationship?  Who benefits from prayer (and fasting)?  How does this display God’s love for us?
4. How would acknowledging God’s perfect will and purposes help us to reorient our view towards our requests in prayer?
5. How do verses 14-15 compare with verse 5?  What kind of heart will pray the best kind of prayer?