Jesus gave many different analogies of what the Kingdom of God is like. In Matthew 25 we read the parable of the talents. After he finishes this parable, he goes on to describe the final judgement. Earlier in chp. 25 is the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, which teaches us to always be prepared. We do not know the day and hour of his return; but he will return. The parable of the talents is a lesson to believers to take good care of what has been entrusted to them. Continue reading
Category Archives: Jesus’s Example
New Page: The Best Of…
I set out to make a short list of essential posts, my list of personal and reader favorites from all the material found on The Master’s Table. Writing a “short list” almost proved too great a task for me. The new page “Best Of” is sort of an anthology of my work here on this blog. I don’t expect anyone to go back and read each post, but the 18 posts listed almost form a working theology of everything I believe. Some of these probably deserve a repost, and I will actually be looking over some of them as I prepare sermon material in the near future.
Was Jesus a Radical?
The simple answer is yes. Jesus was radical in his ministry and teachings. He questioned the rulers of the Jewish faith, he threw people out of the temple, he pronounced woe to the scribes and Pharisees, he performed healings and miracles on the Sabbath, his disciples did not fast, and even ate without washing their hands. His whole Sermon on the Mount turned the Jewish traditions and laws seemingly upside down. The simple answer is that Jesus was a radical; however, I don’t believe it’s that simple. Continue reading
The Importance of the Gospel in the New Teastament
Paul wrote to the Galatians how astonished he was that they so quickly departed from the gospel that they were taught. Paul wrote to the Corinthian church that he wanted them to only know Christ and him crucified. Paul praised the church at Philippi for being partners with him in the gospel. And in what I think is the most obvious lesson of the importance of the gospel, in Mark chp. 1 Jesus preaches his first sermon, telling people to repent and believe the gospel.
Gal 1:6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
1 Cor. 2:1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
Phil. 1:3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
Mark 1:14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Jesus himself gave the example: the gospel is the most important thing that the world needs to hear. His earthly ministry was very short, and he had no time to waste. But in his very first sermon he preached the gospel (Greek for “good news” by the way). Recall the words of the Great Commission: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” His first and last words to an audience was the importance of the gospel.
The Apostle Paul wrote about two-thirds of what we call the New Testament. It is clear on several occassions that he believed sharing the gospel was the most important use of our time and energy. I’ve said this before: If I could talk to every preacher, I would say above all else, “Preach the gospel.” The world needs to hear more than anything else Christians have to say that Jesus saves! He is the way, the truth and the life. God doesn’t just judge the world, he provides escape from judgement. God doesn’t just hand out rules, he provides grace because he knows we will all fail at the rules anyway. Our God is an awesome God, and the only way to come to him is by believing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let’s make that what people see and hear when they listen to Christians or come into our churches, not all the other junk they see and hear and think we are about.
Be the salt, be the light, let’s cut the crap.
Pray Without Ceasing (part 4 of 4)
Pray without ceasing means that we are continually in a spirit of communion with our Heavenly Father. It means to pray frequently, about everything, until it becomes our nature to be in prayer, not something we have to be reminded of.
Jesus not only taught his disciples to pray, but we see in the gospels how important pray was in Jesus’ own life. On one occasion, we read that Jesus gets up early in the morning, while it is still night, and goes off by himself to pray. Another time, we find that Jesus has stayed up the entire night in prayer. Even Jesus, who was God incarnate, spent time alone with God in prayer. There is no way we can be so close to God that prayer isn’t necessary. The night before his arrest, Jesus prayed in agony until his sweat became as great drops of blood. Jesus was passionate about a lot of things, but he never did anything else until it nearly killed him the way he spent this evening in prayer. Continue reading
Teach Us to Pray (part 3 of 4)
I found out that I couldn’t make just one post and say everything I wanted about prayer. I was afraid of that. On this occasion, let’s look at what we commonly call The Lord’s Prayer as Jesus’ example of how we are to pray. This is the prayer he taught his followers.
“Our Father which art in heaven,” addresses the Father to let him know we are speaking to him, and reminds us who it is we pray to. The relationship is constantly before us; he is our father, and we are his children. We are children of the adoption, having been bought with a price and redeemed. “Hallowed be thy name,” since his name is holy and above all names. If we daily pray this prayer, not using God’s name in vain is almost guaranteed. “Thy kingdom come,” is both a request that God come quickly into this world, and reminds us that the kingdom of God is presently being built. We are a part of that. Continue reading
Word of God Speak (part 2 of 4)
“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
The Word of God, according to Psalm 119:105, lights our way through this dark world. It gives us direction, lights our way, and guides our steps. The Bible, God’s Word, provides us with instruction on how to live: how to treat the people we meet, how to find a godly spouse and raise a family, how to treat the people we work for and those that work for us, how to be honest in business, how to select church leaders, and a myriad of other tasks in life. More importantly, it is the story of how a holy God interacts with fallen people. That story is worth not only reading, but learning, studying and memorizing. The entire Bible is about we relate to God, and the intersecting point between fallen man and Holy Almighty God is Jesus. Coming to God through faith in Jesus Christ is the only hope we have, and the Bible is that story. Continue reading
Read the Bible and pray (part 1 of 4)
Weren’t we all told this as children? Perhaps as a new believer the pastor shook your hand and encouraged you to read the Bible every day. As basic as it sounds, as obvious as it seems to any believer, these two activities are the cornerstones of a close walk and fellowship with our Heavenly Father. But do we practice them?
This is an introduction to a series on reading the scriptures and praying. Continue reading
Jesus’ Example, the Samaritan woman
The story of the Samaritan woman at the well is found in the fourth chapter of John’s gospel. Jesus sets the example for us by doing several things wrong here. By “wrong” I mean he didn’t follow proper procedure for first century Jewish culture. He went against the conventions of culture to share the good news. Continue reading
Jesus’s Example; preaching the Gospel
“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel.” Mark 1:14-15 (ESV)
All through the Gospels, Jesus gives us examples of how we are to be his followers, treat our neighbors, who our neighbors are, and how to minister to the world around us. Mark 1:14 is about the very beginning of Jesus’s public ministry. The first thing he does is tell his audience of Jews the time is fulfilled. Without going into an Old Testament history lecture, Jesus’s listeners would have known he was talking about the prophesies of the Messiah. Saying the “kingdom of God is at hand” probably got them thinking the wrong thing, namely that we was the military leader type Messiah that would throw out the Roman Empire and sit as king on the throne in Jerusalem. Yes, he was beginning to build the kingdom of God if that’s what you’re thinking; I also think he’s announcing the kingdom of God is close to them, close at hand, as in himself. Jesus is the way into the kingdom of God, so in a sense, the kingdom of God was within arm’s reach of the people listening. Then it gets really good. Continue reading
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