In the Word

ROMANS – Certain Truth for Uncertain Times

Paul was speaking at a very evil time in history. Tyrants ruled, and the immoral culture of the day seemed to be falling deeper into chaos. People were looking for meaning in life and freedom from the shame of their immorality. Paul knew that the only way a person or a society can be healed from the sickness of sin is through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Lesson 3

Romans 2:1-3:8. Martin ...

Lesson 2 - Certain Truth for Uncertain Times

Paul was speaking at a very evil time in history. Tyrants ruled, and the immoral culture of the day seemed to be falling deeper into chaos. People were looking for meaning in life and freedom from the shame of their immorality. Paul knew that the only way a person or a society can be healed from the sickness of sin is through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:18-32. There is an order to...

ROMANS – Certain Truth for Uncertain Times

Paul was speaking at a very evil time in history. Tyrants ruled, and the immoral culture of the day seemed to be falling deeper into chaos. People were looking for meaning in life and freedom from the shame of their immorality. Paul knew that the only way a person or a society can be healed from the sickness of sin is through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Lesson 2

Romans 1:16-17. Paul sta...

Lesson 16 - The King’s Mission Accomplished, His Commission Delivered

Matthew 27:1—28:20. The promised Messiah stood silent before His accusers. The Suffering Servant fully drained the cup He’d accepted in Gethsemane; and on Calvary’s cross, the true Passover Lamb yielded up His Spirit. Three days later He rose as the Promised King, victorious over death. Then He told His disciples to take everything He had t...

Lesson 15 - The End Draws Near

Matthew 25:14—26:75. Matthew records many final moments in these last chapters. Final words about Christ’s coming and final calls to faithfulness, a final act of loving devotion, the final Passover meal. He recounts the betrayal of one disciple, the public failure of another and the scattering of all the rest. And for the Lord Himself, there is the final surrender in Gethsemane, accepting t...

Lesson 14 - From Hypocrisy to Readiness - The Final Teaching

Matthew 23:1—25:13. Jesus pronounces His final woes on the Pharisees, even releasing them to complete the murderous sins of their fathers. He casts one last heartbreaking look at Jerusalem, weeping for what she had rejected and what awaited her. And then He admonishes His disciples, stunned by His words about the end of the age, to watch and wait. He tells them what...

Lesson 13 - The King is Tested

Matthew 21:23 — 22:46. The interrogators lined up like advancing troops — Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, experts in the Law — firing their trick questions and “gotcha” scenarios to trap Jesus in His words and have Him arrested. His answers astounded everyone in their clarity and their authority. No one could offer a word of refutation; and at the end of the day, no one d...

Lesson 12 - The King’s Final Journey Begins

Matthew 20:1—21:22. It is the last week of Jesus’ life. For the third time, He tells His disciples of the suffering that awaits Him in Jerusalem, but they remain distracted by thoughts of personal greatness and reward. The crowd welcomes Him with cries of victory, but their expectations of deliverance are misguided. No one yet realizes that the humble King on the donkey i...

Lesson 11 - The King’s Teaching - The Upside-Down Kingdom

Matthew 18:1—19:30. Jesus continues to explain the upside-down nature of His Kingdom in this fourth section of His teaching. It is the Kingdom in which humility defines greatness, care for others overrides personal preference, and reconciliation is sought. God’s design is the framework. Forgiveness is extended without limit, and great reward is promised to t...

The King Begins to Reveal Himself - Lesson 10

Matthew 16:1 — 17:27. Things were beginning to come together for the disciples. They finally grasped Christ’s warnings about the teachings of the Pharisees. Peter boldly confessed Christ was the Messiah — but struggled with what that meant. Christ revealed His glory on the Mount of Transfiguration and told the disciples that the path ahead included the horrific reality ...

Lesson 9 - The King’s Patience and Care

Matthew 14:1 — 15:39. The Kingdom education of the disciples continues in the next two chapters of Matthew. They watch their Master grieve the death of the beloved John the Baptist, miraculously feed thousands and then rescue them in a storm. They hear Him denounce the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and yet honor the faith of a persistent Canaanite woman. Whether they realized it or ...

Lesson 8 - Parables About the Kingdom

Matthew 13. As a prism reveals the true nature of the light shining through it, Matthew 13 describes the true nature of the Kingdom. It is like seeds on a path, wheat in a field laced with weeds, a mustard seed and a small measure of yeast, buried treasure, a priceless pearl and a fisherman’s net pulled through the water. It is open to all and ever-expanding — but the enemy’s o...

Lesson 7 - The Response to the King

Matthew 11 and 12 contain some of the most comforting and most confrontational words Christ spoke to those who heard Him. While some, like the imprisoned John the Baptist, thought He wasn’t moving fast enough, and needed reassurance — others, like the Pharisees, wanted to shut Him down, openly challenging His authority and ultimately deciding to get rid of Him. But there would be no es...

Lesson 6 - A Kingdom of Power

Matthew 9:18—10:42. Jesus continued to demonstrate that His Kingdom was unlike any other — a Kingdom of power and grace open to all who believe and trust in His mercy. He chose twelve disciples and sent them out in that same power to do the same works He had done, opening their eyes to the great harvest awaiting them. And He warned that the same persecution He was already facing awaited them...

Lesson 5 - A Kingdom of Grace, Mercy and Peace

Matthew 8:1—9:17. After describing His Kingdom in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus began to demonstrate its power. He healed many — among them a leper, the servant of a despised Roman centurion, a paralytic, and two Gentile men tormented by demons. He calmed a violent storm for His disciples and spoke strong words to would-be-followers and offended Pharisees. This, He said, is...

Lesson 4 - The King’s Teaching Continues: A Revolutionary New Way to Worship

Matthew 6:1—7:29. Jesus continued to reveal what His Kingdom is like. He unmasked the hypocrites and their showy obedience. He spoke of a loving Father who cares about all our needs and then taught us how to pray to Him. He warned against false teachers and how they could be identified. He identified two roads open to His listeners and told of t...

Easter 2026 - Turn to Jesus

John 20. As Mary stood at the empty tomb, she was so overcome with grief that she did not even register Christ’s gentle questions: “Why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” In our own seasons of loss and hardship, it is easy to remain rooted in sorrow, unable to see beyond our pain. Yet if we would only turn to Christ, He would comfort us and give us new purpose and new life a...

Lesson 3 - The King’s Teaching Begins: A Revolutionary New Way to Live

Matthew 5:1-48. As Moses revealed God’s Law on the mountain of Sinai, Jesus introduced the Kingdom of God and all its blessings on a Galilean hillside. His words brought joy and comfort to the humble and revealed what God really required of those who would truly follow Him. They also exposed the pride and hypocrisy of the religious leaders, a revelati...

Lesson 2 - The King Identified

Matthew 3:1 — 4:25. From the somewhat quiet and hidden birth of the Promised King, Matthew moved immediately into Jesus’ public ministry. He recounted John the Baptist’s call to repentance and baptism. He recorded Christ’s obedience to that call and the thunderous affirmation from Heaven that He was indeed the Son of God. He followed Christ as He was tempted in the wilderness, c...