We’re going to take the 28 days of Advent to read through the Gospel of Matthew. Why read through all of Matthew this Advent? We spend a lot of time talking about Christmas Day, but we want to spend the time leading up to that day thinking about whom it is that we celebrate being born on December 25. Going through Matthew, we will explore the wonder of the gift God gave us by coming into our world two thousand years ago to save us.
It is easy to want Jesus for the healing, peace, and confidence he gives while keeping the rest of life safely under our control. In Matthew 8, however, the One who heals the sick also tells would-be disciples that the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. What does it mean to follow him rather than merely watch?
Knowing where we want to end up is easy; trusting that faithfulness will get us there is another matter—especially when the path looks like a dead end. Ruth 3–4 traces ordinary people facing exactly that tension, each called to let go of control at the moment it costs them most.
When life feels unpredictable, we reach for security blankets of money, health, and plans that promise safety. Jesus opens the Sermon on the Mount by telling us we’re seeking security in the wrong places: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The decorations come down, the calendar turns, and Christmas recedes into memory—but Matthew 2 insists there’s something that doesn’t go out of season. And if the Gospel doesn’t go out of season, are we keeping ourselves focused on where it is pointing us?
Comfort, institutional preservation, and tribal identity can crowd out obedience to God’s call in our lives. Do we hear His call to reach those in need of His Grace and to live in the “risky repentance” that involves?
Saying the right things about Jesus can feel like a low-risk move until He keeps walking and we have to follow. The next part of our journey in Matthew 9 leads us to face the uncomfortable junction of faith and faithfulness.
We have a hard time listening to God. A phone vibrates, a mind runs off, and even when nothing interrupts we still lose the thread. The wise men of Matthew 2 trusted His word enough to travel months toward a king they couldn’t yet see—can we listen and trust Him when our own picture still looks unfinished?
Satan tempted Jesus, yet He did not fall to those temptations. Tonight we consider our temptation to seek shortcuts in faithfulness.
What’s the mission of Jesus’s church? What’s His mission for each of us? That’s what we are considering on tonight’s Steadfast.