The Narrow Road

October 02, 2018 by Kevin Johnson

We’ve all heard it before. The simple sentence that makes any class wake up and instantly pay attention. “This will be on the exam.”

There are moments in every class when you know it’s a good time to pay attention.

This morning we’re going to look at a passage where things really get real. In college, I took a computer simulation class, and early in the class the professor told us about the semester-long project that we would be doing in his class. He said that he was going to split us up into groups and the group that did the best would get an A, the second group would get a B and so-on. That was a moment where everyone really perked up! Suddenly, everyone was listening at that point! My group ended up with a B, but we got robbed. That’s beside the point.

In Matthew 7, Jesus is talking to a crowd of people and He says something that I think would perk them up. Jesus begins to talk about what it really looks like to follow Him in Matthew 7:13-14.

The Words of Jesus

July 25, 2018 by Kevin Johnson

Are there any parts of Scripture that you remember, but you couldn't find on your own? Sometimes there are illustrations or stories that we remember, but we don't know who said them. You may remember the warning to build your house on the rock instead of the sand. Do you know who said that and why?

It's the ending to one of Jesus' most famous sermons. Here's what He said in Matthew 7:24-27.

Beware

June 19, 2018 by Kevin Johnson

"Beware" is not a word that it's easy to think about Jesus saying all that much. However, it does seem like a word that we should pay attention to. In Matthew 6, Jesus warns us about living for Him for the wrong reasons. Look at Matthew 6:1-4:

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others.”

Essentially, Jesus is warning us to not miss the point of living for Him. I think it’s easy for us to start doing things for Jesus for people because of the way that WE look at people. How do you evaluate the faith of other people? How do you spot the good Christians and the bad ones? How do you evaluate a "super Christian?"

Our Eyes

May 03, 2018 by Kevin Johnson

There are a lot of places where Scripture talks about our eyes. They're very important. Jesus even talked about our eyeballs in the Sermon on the Mount. In this passage He tells us that our lives follow our eyes. What we look at is ultimately the direction of our hearts.

In Matthew 6:22-23, Jesus asks us to think about where we're focusing.