At about the same time, the disciples came to Jesus asking, "Who gets the highest rank in God’s kingdom?" Matthew 18:1 (TM)

The Top 40
Today’s Top 10
Best in Class
Magna Cum Laud
Mega-Church
Top Sales
World-class

Our culture is obsessed with success. There’s nothing wrong with striving for excellence, but our pursuit to be excellent at what we’re doing can easily become a desire to feel better than others. Instead of striving to please God we strive to feel superior. Jesus makes it clear that our attitude should be the exact opposite of the world. We should humble ourselves, serve, and lift others up – not ourselves.

Who can I serve today?

Jesus replied, "You, too? Are you being willfully stupid? Don’t you
know that anything that is swallowed works its way through the
intestines and is finally defecated? But what comes out of the mouth
gets its start in the heart. It’s from the heart that we vomit up evil
arguments, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, lies, and
cussing. That’s what pollutes. Eating or not eating certain foods,
washing or not washing your hands—that’s neither here nor there." Matthew 15:16-20 (TM)

The religious leaders of Jesus day were great at passing judgment and pontificating on things that were easy to see. Did he wash his hands? Did they give their tithe? Did that person avoid associating with ‘unclean’ peoples? Did she eat only foods that have the priest’s stamp of approval?

Actually, we do the same thing today. It’s easy to preach about the evils of drugs, alcohol, or sexual sin. When was the last time you heard a sermon talking about the evils of gossip? slander? malicious conversations? a critical spirit?

God is as concerned about what comes out of us as he is about what we let in.

Jesus replied, "You, too? Are you being willfully stupid? Don’t you
know that anything that is swallowed works its way through the
intestines and is finally defecated? But what comes out of the mouth
gets its start in the heart. It’s from the heart that we vomit up evil
arguments, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, lies, and
cussing. That’s what pollutes. Eating or not eating certain foods,
washing or not washing your hands—that’s neither here nor there." Matthew 15:16-20 (TM)

The religious leaders of Jesus day were great at passing judgment and pontificating on things that were easy to see. Did he wash his hands? Did they give their tithe? Did that person avoid associating with ‘unclean’ peoples? Did she eat only foods that have the priest’s stamp of approval?

Actually, we do the same thing today. It’s easy to preach about the evils of drugs, alcohol, or sexual sin. When was the last time you heard a sermon talking about the evils of gossip? slander? malicious conversations? a critical spirit?

God is as concerned about what comes out of us as he is about what we let in.

Jesus said, "Bring them here." Then he had the people sit on the grass.
He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in
prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples. The
disciples then gave the food to the congregation. They all ate their
fill. They gathered twelve baskets of leftovers. About five thousand
were fed. Matthew 14:18-21 (TM)

The miracles of Jesus had a point. In a grand scale, the miracles provided the "credentials" (the Pharisees were asking for in Chapter 12) of who He really was. Here Jesus adds to the resume that He is Jehovah-Jireh (Hebrew: "God Provides"). Jesus also wanted people to learn spiritual truth from a temporal experience. In the miracle of the loaves and the fish, the message is clear: God will provide what we need each day. But, it’s not just about our immediate needs. In fact, that’s the secondary lesson.

In John’s telling of this story (John  6), Jesus goes on to teach the crowds that the point isn’t that He can conjure up a few fish sandwiches at will. The physical shore lunch isn’t the focus, though it was certainly the thing the crowds were interested in. Certainly, the immediate temporal need is often the thing on which we’re focused. Jesus’ focus is on spiritual food that provides eternal sustenance.

For that meal, He will give up his own body and blood to be our bread and wine.

Jesus said, "Bring them here." Then he had the people sit on the grass.
He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in
prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples. The
disciples then gave the food to the congregation. They all ate their
fill. They gathered twelve baskets of leftovers. About five thousand
were fed. Matthew 14:18-21 (TM)

The miracles of Jesus had a point. In a grand scale, the miracles provided the "credentials" (the Pharisees were asking for in Chapter 12) of who He really was. Here Jesus adds to the resume that He is Jehovah-Jireh (Hebrew: "God Provides"). Jesus also wanted people to learn spiritual truth from a temporal experience. In the miracle of the loaves and the fish, the message is clear: God will provide what we need each day. But, it’s not just about our immediate needs. In fact, that’s the secondary lesson.

In John’s telling of this story (John  6), Jesus goes on to teach the crowds that the point isn’t that He can conjure up a few fish sandwiches at will. The physical shore lunch isn’t the focus, though it was certainly the thing the crowds were interested in. Certainly, the immediate temporal need is often the thing on which we’re focused. Jesus’ focus is on spiritual food that provides eternal sustenance.

For that meal, He will give up his own body and blood to be our bread and wine.

The disciples came up and asked, "Why do you tell stories?" Matthew 13:10 (TM)

Everyone loves a story. Stories are captivating. Stories inspire. Stories engage.

Jesus, the author of creation, was a creative teacher. Instead of didactic lectures that flew over the heads of everyone but the most learned, Jesus told simple stories for the masses. Instead of dull, life-less sermons on arcane Old Testament texts, Jesus took everyday objects and experiences and used them as engaging metaphors for universal spiritual principles.

Frustrated with how to talk to others about Jesus? Follow Jesus example. Tell them your story.

The disciples came up and asked, "Why do you tell stories?" Matthew 13:10 (TM)

Everyone loves a story. Stories are captivating. Stories inspire. Stories engage.

Jesus, the author of creation, was a creative teacher. Instead of didactic lectures that flew over the heads of everyone but the most learned, Jesus told simple stories for the masses. Instead of dull, life-less sermons on arcane Old Testament texts, Jesus took everyday objects and experiences and used them as engaging metaphors for universal spiritual principles.

Frustrated with how to talk to others about Jesus? Follow Jesus example. Tell them your story.