Wealth and the Kingdom
Pastor Jim Fikkert
Jesus said, “… go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. V.22 Pretend for a moment you don’t know this story. Jesus is approached by man while setting out on […]
Marriage and the Kingdom
Pastor Jim Fikkert
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh V. 5 After a time of teaching, Jesus moves away from the crowds at Galilee … so the crowds follow him. Among the crowd are the Pharisees who seek to trap Jesus in a […]
Forgiveness
Pastor Jim Fikkert
So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart. V. 35 Even though we know it is something that God has called us to do, forgiveness is hard. In this passage Jesus doesn’t tell us to ignore it when someone sins against […]
Faith
Pastor Jim Fikkert
He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you. V.20 After the disciples fail to cast out […]
Transfiguration
Pastor Jim Fikkert
Just after Jesus has given them a new perspective of success in this world, He decides to giveHis disciples a picture of glory. As He goes up on the mountain to pray He is transfigured. This means that He can be seen in His glorified body. The disciples see Jesus in a way that confirms, […]
Dying to Live
Pastor Jim Fikkert
Jesus describes His death to the disciples in a more complete way then He ever has before and they are shocked. It isn’t just that they don’t want Him to suffer, but their entire understanding of His kingship is based on His authoritative rule. Their hope is built on His power. Jesus rebukes Peter because […]
Jesus Builds His Church
Pastor Jim Fikkert
There is a narrative that has become popular that describes the church as a human industrial response to the concept of God. It gives credit to the Catholic Church or Constantine or the Middle Ages to making something that replaces God’s original plan. We can see here that the church was very much created by […]
Jesus Warns
Pastor Jim Fikkert
Being Christians in the world is not an easy task. The Christian life forces us to be discerning; we have to not just be reactionary, but wise. Too often Christians are known for being gullible: connect the name of Jesus to it, put a cross on it and you can sell it to the church. […]
Jesus Heals
Pastor Jim Fikket
When we think of Jesus healing our minds go to the lame walking, the mute talking, and the sick being made well. For good reason, this is what He did, but there was much more to healing then taking away infirmaries. Jesus is revealing in individual and physical ways what He will do to the […]
Jesus Clarifies
Pastor Jim Fikkert
The law of God is not the measure of our holiness. As Jesus has made clear before in His confrontations with the Pharisees, the law is necessary to guide us because we are blind to the goodness of God. If we put God’s goodness into the dos and do nots of the law it does […]
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