That was the prayer this morning as I checked my deck. One of my projects this summer has been to make a impermeable deck surface so we can make and enjoy a patio underneath. Primed plywood and a really thick deck resurfacing paint might do the trick. But, I am noticing some cracks opening up that need to be refilled. If I don’t fill them, water will get in, and expand the plywood and the experiment is over. 

I had to smile about how my pattern of every moment dialogue (prayer) with Jesus joined with my work project today. “Thank you Jesus for exposing these cracks!” 

Immediately, the prayer on my lips reminded me of our hesitance to admit our failure to God and others. When your failure or rebellion is exposed, are the first words, “Thank you Jesus for exposing these cracks?”

Maybe they would be if we understood the good news about a gracious God who wants to keep the cracks from developing into soul rot. 

I’m curious to know how you are developing your dialogue with Jesus and others to be able to admit when you have rebelled? What is the good news about having your “cracks” exposed?

You’ll never guess what he does next. . . Against the advice of his disciples, Jesus had “set his face toward Jerusalem.” He would give his life for his friends as he would finish what he started. The fulfillment of his earthly task was in view and Jesus was resolute. In the time before this, Jesus told those he healed to keep the news to themselves, but on this last leg of the journey he would intentionally draw the crowds, provoke the opposition, and create a spectacle. Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it cannot produce fruit. The fruit that Jesus wanted the kingdom to produce was to require his death and his resurrection was going to produce new life for all. In this message about the events known in the Christian calendar as Palm Sunday consider what message Jesus was sending in the way he entered the city. What message do you think Jesus was giving as he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey? Listen to the message “Do You Follow: Palm Sunday” here and start a conversation.

In Matthew 7:12-29, we have reached the end of the first set of Jesus’ teachings. He does not let his hearers off easy. Not in the slightest. He requires that hearers must be doers and the doers must be open to the way of Jesus. Jesus is not searching for adherence to principles, but hearts ready to respond with a transformed heart and to live according the Golden Rule.

Graciously, Jesus gives us the heart to follow him, but even that requires us to respond to his gift. “In each of the four basic warnings—two gates and roads (7:13–14), two kinds of prophets (7:15–20), two kinds of disciples (7:21–23), and two foundations (7:24–27)—a choice must be made: Are you with Jesus or against him? There is no middle ground, no other choice, and a decision must be made—a decision with eternal consequences” (Michael J. Wilkins, NIV Application Commentary).

These passages can be troubling because they call out deep fears in us. Are we on the inside or the outside of the kingdom? Remember, he is talking to a mixed crowd of disciples who would be tempted to keep their traditions and foundations built on the the status quo without allowing Jesus to be the fulfillment of all they had learned. Also we are warned that we cannot use Jesus for our own means while relying on another foundation. Check out the message, “Do You Follow? A Warning and A Response” here.

Kingdom Spirituality Part 2 – Matthew 7:1-12 – One of the most dominant views about Christians today is that they are judgmental. According to the Barna Research Group and The Fermi Project (“A New Generation Expresses its Skepticism and Frustration with Christianity,” September 2007), a study of people ages 16–29 in the United States, nearly 90 percent of respondents said that Christians were judgmental in the way they practice their faith. If you are like me you can immediately justify your position and minimize their perception. I might say, “What they are doing is wrong and so they feel God’s judgment and they put it on us.” 

That seems like a good justification, but then comes Jesus. He says, in his Kingdom, interpersonal spirituality looks like not condemning and speaking evil of one another. Rather, we are to be merciful, seeking clarity, and understanding before even trying to address the issue in other brothers and sisters. This is clearly a complex issue, but so are the people (and their motivations or instincts) we are engaging. He is the judge and we would do well to not engage the amending of another’s character without plenty of self reflection and empathic tears. Jesus says we need wisdom; wisdom from above. This is something we need to ask for in order to receive and not give up.

Then Jesus launches into our distrust of the Father’s character and tells us that the Father is loving, attentive, and present. He wants us to pray for the kingdom to come and to be an active partner in bringing about his kingdom. What after all is the kingdom other than his will being done in and through his people? Take a listen to this message from March 4, “Do You Follow? Kingdom Spirituality” and tell me what you think it means when Jesus says to not be judgmental.

There is a whole universe of thought in Matthew chapter 4. I hope you read through it and get lost for while. Hopefully not 40 days. I’m kicking myself that I didn’t split this teaching up into multiple weeks and, admittedly, the message is pretty thick.

After his baptism, Jesus enters his ministry as the Spirit-anointed and Father-confirmed messianic deliverer. Humans have been unleashing sin, darkness, hell on earth for millennia and God loves his creation and Jesus arrives on the scene saying the time has come to bring the reign of God, the kingdom of heaven to invade earth and confront evil.

The first test of what kind of king Jesus will be comes in the wilderness. Will Jesus lord it over people as the nations do? Just how will he rule his people and destroy the power of the devil? We have a knee-jerk reaction to power as it is so often used against the poor.

After the testing in the wilderness, Jesus forms a new people who will be in his kingdom with him. They ARE the poor, the marginalized, those without a voice. This new people take their identity from Jesus and learn from him how to do what he was doing (discipleship). With his disciples, he shares the euangelion, the royal announcement, the Gospel.

As the kingdom advances, the territory in our hearts becomes his and we have the opportunity to be partners in his kingdom advance.

What is his kingdom like? What was the message Jesus shared? How did he show and tell the message? The messianic deliverer teaches the crowds, confronts evil powers (demons) and heals the sick. Follow along in the teaching series with this message “Do You Follow? The Kingdom Advances” here.

It is hard to imagine the impact of John the Baptist in our culture today. We have street corner “prophets” of a sort today, but they are speaking a foreign spiritual language to those walking by. It is hit or miss, but mostly miss.

John spoke in the voice of the prophets (especially Elijah) who would have been the heroes and heralds of hope in the days of Jesus. John’s renewal movement within Judaism piqued the interest of everyone. His disciples were ready for something new and looking for the return of the reign of Yahweh (The Creator God as revealed in the Bible). They would do whatever it took to prepare the way for the Messiah. The religious establishment was intrigued, but not repentant. The Tetrarch (King over 1/4 of the region) Herod Antipas didn’t like John’s meddling with his marital goals.

Does John have a word for you? Are you Repentant or Resistant or Rebellious? What does that even mean?

Find out with this teaching from Matthew 3 that I gave on January 21. Feel free to join us at Issaquah Christian Church, Sundays at 10:30am. http://www.iccweb.org