Matthew 20:1-16A Lead in #1: In Matthew 20, Jesus tells a parable where workers who work only one hour are paid the same as workers who labored for ten hours. Naturally, when those who worked all day learn that they were not paid any more than those who worked only...

Matthew 18:15-20 Lead in #1: Matthew 18 presents a delicate issue. How does the church deal with troublesome people who disrupt unity within the community, yet not exclude the unrepentant sinner? Reconciliation here is much more than conflict resolution or legal...

Matthew 16:21-27 Lead in #1: In Matthew 16, Jesus levels with his disciples. He tells them flat out, “What lays ahead for me in Jerusalem will not end well.” Peter will hear none of it, “God forbid that anything like that should happen to you.” Jesus then rebukes...

Matthew 16:13-20 Lead in #1: Jesus was aware that people were speculating about who he might be. Some were thinking he was John the Baptist or some other prophet from of old. So, Jesus pressed the disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” It was Peter who spoke up, “You...

Matthew 15:21-28 Lead in #1: Isaiah 56 speaks of salvation being offered to all, regardless of ethnic origins or social condition. This message is in anticipation of the message Jesus would preach. The spirit of that message is heard in the story of the Canaanite...

Matthew 14:22-33 Lead in #1: Matthew 14 is a fascinating story. At the fourth watch of the night, 4:00 a.m., Jesus comes to the fishing boat of the disciples walking on the water. The disciples cry out in fear, “It’s a ghost!” But Jesus assures them, “Take courage! It...

Matthew 14:13-21 Lead in #1: The crowd that follows Jesus is a people oppressed by their foreign ruler, Rome. In many ways, they’ve lost heart. They are weary with no real hope. And now at the end of the day, they are exhausted and hungry with nothing to eat. Seeing...

Matthew 13:14-52 Lead in #1: In each of the three parables Jesus tells in Matthew 13:44-52, we hear of people who are on a search for something they hope to find, a hidden treasure, a pearl of great price, and a large catch of fish. In the first parable, Jesus...

Matthew 3:24 - 43 Lead in #1: When it was learned that there were weeds growing with the wheat, the master’s slaves asked if he wanted them to pull the weeds. But the master answered, “No, let the weeds grow with the wheat.” And so, in life, darkness coexists with...