Many people today desire for God to show them a sign. This is nothing new however, mankind has always been this way. Jesus was asked by the Pharisees to produce a sign (Matthew 12:38). He responds by rebuking their “evil” request and says that the only sign which will be given is the “sign of Jonah,” which meant that Jesus would be buried three days just as Jonah had been in the “sea creature” three days (12:39-40). Most Christians know the account of Jonah, and certainly the

An article a few days ago noticed that Jesus wants everyone. Our text shows that, for sinners, Jesus has peace, time, and healing (Matthew 9:9-12). As this article continues through verse 15, we see Jesus also has a part for His people to play in reaching out to our friends and neighbors. JESUS DEMANDS COMPASSION (9:13). Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6. The problem was that many Jews preached religious correctness but did not have a shred of compassion in themselves for others. We can

“I cannot go to church - not after all I’ve done.” I’ve heard that many times. Perhaps you have thought this of yourself. Yet, Jesus wants everyone! This is often seen throughout scripture, particularly in our text for today: Matthew 9:9-15. For sinners… JESUS HAS PEACE (9:9). Jesus chose Matthew, a tax collector. In him, you have a man who works for the Romans, then you have Simon the Zealot, who took a vow against Romans! Talk about opposite sides of the aisle. Both were si

Horses are lovable, hard-working, and beautiful. They also are excellent examples of the forethought of God’s creation. Notice three ways members of the equine family show God’s design. THEIR DEFENSIVE MECHANISMS. Within a few months, foals learn to control the pelvic and leg joints to lock temporarily, allowing them to sleep while standing. Rarely will every horse in a herd lie down simultaneously. One or more will remain standing as a look-out. They are built to detect dang

Thirty years ago, on a Sunday morning, I was in a 15-passenger van with a deacon of the local congregation picking up kids to bring them to Bible study. I remember it as if it were yesterday. The van was packed to the gills with children, and my job was crowd control. It must have been a full moon the night before and the kids must have had extra sugar in their cereal that morning, for they were rowdy and getting out of hand. As a fairly young and somewhat inexperienced Chris