Scripture Reference: Matthew 2:13-23
Joseph and Mary find themselves in the center of God’s will for their lives…and they’re suffering horribly. But Matthew sees beneath the surface of their struggles to the undercurrents of fulfillment that Jesus is going to bring, becoming the True and Better Israel for his people.
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Scripture Reference: Matthew 1:1-6, 16-25
Every hero has an origin story! Matthew introduces us to this long anticipated hero by way of a genealogy and then a supernatural beginning involving a virgin pregnancy. These two avenues of introduction set the table for the kind of hero Jesus will be. He is going to be a hero that identifies with the broken and sinners and will save and heal everything that is wrong with the world.
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Scripture Reference: 1 Corinthians 15:1-26
The Scriptures claim that the bodily resurrection of Jesus is the lynchpin of all history and the Christian faith. The Apostle Paul says that without the resurrection, “our faith is in vain” and “we are of all people most to be pitied.” But if the resurrection happened, then forgiveness is a reality, life is stronger than death, and the trajectory of everything is changed.
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Scripture Reference: Philippians 2:1-11
Why does the class theological formulation that Jesus was “fully God, fully man” matter? We tend to do ok with Jesus divinity, but his humanity feels irreverent and perhaps even disrespectful. But properly understand, Jesus’ humanity connects our salvation with the reality of the world around us!
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Scripture Reference: Matthew 17:1-13
No act of believing can be said to have integrity until the full weight of exactly who we have put our faith in has been reasonably grappled with. Matthew 17 tells the almost incredible story of Jesus’ unveiling himself to show us exactly what the Creed means when it says, “Jesus…our LORD.”
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