Has anyone ever said to you they’d believe in God if God provides them with evidence that he exists? In this passage, the Pharisees asked Jesus to give them a sign — but Jesus’ reply showed their request up for what it was. We must avoid their attitude of hard-heartedness towards God and be aware of the root of unbelief.
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Is there any sin we can commit which is so bad it can’t be forgiven? Jesus says there is only one unforgivable sin — that is, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. But, as we discover, it is a different kind of sin to any other. What does it mean for us and how we live?
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Media appearances, self-promotion, meetings with important people… these are all the things we associate with our political leaders today. Jesus is completely different to this. Jesus doesn’t promote himself, he doesn’t separate himself from ordinary people — he came with a heart of compassion towards us. This passage shows us that Jesus will not break a “bruised reed” — but what does that mean?
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A lot of Christians give the impression that obeying God is simply about ticking off a long list of rules every day. The Pharisees thought that obeying the rules — like the Sabbath — was the most important thing. However, Jesus says they’d forgotten what obeying God was supposed to be about. Jesus turned their concept of obedience on its head and showed us what it really means to obey God.
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If God chooses people, how do we know whether we are ‘chosen’ or not? And what does it mean to be chosen by God anyway? This passage helps us to understand what it means to be chosen by Jesus. In particular, we see that it means not trusting in our own wisdom and strength but God’s, and simply bringing our burdens to Jesus.
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In this short passage, Jesus denounces towns which have rejected him. He shows that rejecting Jesus is a spiritual or moral issue, and that this will have consequences. This shows us that we need to pay careful attention to how we respond to Jesus and make sure that we listen to him every day.
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What is the biggest barrier to knowing Jesus? One of the biggest barriers we have is our own expectations. We come to Jesus, expecting him to be a certain way, but if he does not meet our expectations it challenges us: will we let Jesus be Jesus in our lives, or will we ignore him because he didn’t meet our expectations?
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What does Jesus really ask of His disciples? In this sermon on Matthew 10, we explore how much Jesus expects of us.
Jesus commissions His disciples to proclaim the Kingdom of God, warns them to expect opposition—even from family and authorities—and calls them to fear God above all. This powerful chapter reveals the true cost and reward of discipleship.
Key Points:
🙌 True life is found when we surrender everything to Christ.
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Evangelism has become a big talking point in the church – there are many books, courses, even conferences about it. And yet I believe the church has made it far too complicated! In this passage we see what Jesus’ mission was all about, and what it should be like for us too.
Sermons are also available on the podcast.
Church with UTB: This is part of Church with UTB. Please do have a look at that page for more information.
In this passage we see two contrasting pictures – of faith, and of unbelief. What is it that causes people to reject Jesus, and what should it be like for us instead?
Sermons are also available on the podcast.
Church with UTB: This is part of Church with UTB. Please do have a look at that page for more information.
