Matthew 22

How can we make the message of life so boringly predictable? Phil Ware begins a series of 5 messages on Inviting Jesus to church; this one focuses on not making the message of Jesus boring.

"That same day Jesus was approached by some Sadducees — religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. They posed this question:..."

Is this really a safe place? Tom Norvell reminds us that the safest place is in the center of God's will and that means loving God and loving people.

Why would anyone want to live in a place with such strong currents? We are called to live in the strong currents where Jesus' Kingdom meets the world and those trapped by darkness, but we need to know there is both danger and richness.

"Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus asked them a question: "What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?" They replied, "He is the..."

"[Trying to trap Jesus, the Pharisees said to him:] "Now tell us what you think about this: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" But Jesus...."

Do we have a Master's tradition? Tom compares the Masters, a golf tournament that is a tradition like no other and suggests that we can follow Jesus as our Master, and use the love commands to be our tradition like no other and this will revolutionize our lives.

How much more do we really need? Tom Norvell reminds us of the importance of Jesus' two love commands and challenges us to let this be enough for us.

What better gift can you give to the Creator of the universe? Paul Faulkner reminds us that the best gift we can give God is the gift of ourselves, loving him completely.

Are we really to be family to those who don't have family? We've got to show the world that we will actually love them way we claim we will.

"[Trying to entrap Jesus, the Pharisees asked Him, "Now tell us what you think about this: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" But Jesus..."

"But when the Pharisees heard that [Jesus] had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. One of them, an expert....."

"Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus asked them a question: "What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?" They replied, "He is the son of David."...."

"[Jesus concluded his parable:] "But when the king came in to meet the guests [at the wedding feast for his son], he noticed a man who wasn't wearing....."

"[Jesus continued his parable about guests killing a king's servants who brought an invitation to a wedding feast for his son:] "The king was furious,...."

"Jesus also told [the leading priests and Pharisees] other parables. He said, "The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who..."

"[Jesus continued his reply to the Sadducees about the resurrection:] "But now, as to whether there will be a resurrection of the dead — haven't you..."

"[A Pharisees asked Jesus:] "Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?" Jesus replied, "'You must love the Lord your..."

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it:..."

Inspirational illustration of Matthew 22:37-39 -- Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.

We are called to live in the strong currents where Jesus' Kingdom meets the world and those trapped by darkness, and we need to know there is both danger and richness as we live in 'The Shear.' Phil Ware continues his series on becoming JesuShaped disciples.

Isn't it about time to get rid of the fluff and get back to the basics? Rubel Shelly uses the recent world series and a few Casey Stengel stories about the early days of the Mets to remind us that the we need to get back to the basics of what we do as believers: love God and love each other.

"Dear Disciple, When James wrote about wisdom and peace, he used terms whose meanings were rooted in what you call the Old Testament — The Law,...."

"Dear Friend, Before I ascended to the Father, I promised My disciples that I would send the Spirit. I promised I would pour out the Spirit on people...."

"[After Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love God, he continued:] "A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' The....."

"[Jesus continued his parable about guests invited to a wedding feast by a king:] "But the guests he had invited ignored them and went their own way,....."

"But when the Pharisees heard that [Jesus] had silenced the Sadducees with his reply [about the resurrection], they met together to question him again...."

"[After Jesus' parables against the Pharisees, they] met together to plot how to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested. They...."

"[Jesus continued his answer to the expert in religious law about the most important commandment:] "A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor...."

So what's the real gist of the problem? Tom Norvell shares several quotes from the Bible that share what is most important to God, then reminds us that it is about loving God and loving others and we need to get down and just do it!

So what are we supposed to do about such days as this? Phil Ware shares Scriptures pertaining to the IRS deadline for taxes and other issues related to money.

What does it mean to be a good neighbor? Rick Brown writes about a group of ministers and pastors in Denver who got together to try to bless their community by calling their people to be good neighbors.

One week to a fuller life of love? Rick Brown challenges us to really love each other in active ways for one week after having seen a shocking ad during the Super Bowl.

How do we define what is so easily distorted? Bill Sherrill reminds us that the measure of success in Jesus' eyes is whether or not we helped those in need who are around us.

Prayer becomes a tuning fork that helps us sing the song of God's magnificence with both holy praise as well as genuine concern for the people in our world. Phil Ware continues his series of thoughts on living as a disciple that is JesuShaped and focuses on how the Lord's Prayer tunes our hearts to living the JesuShaped life.

Have you seen the Gospel demonstrated lately? Sometimes it is helpful to just see the Gospel of Jesus demonstrated; that's what the movie Radio helps do for us.

How can we tune our hearts to the vibe of heaven? Phil Ware continues his series of thoughts on The Jesus Vibe and this time he shares how the Lord's Prayer tunes our hearts to living the life of the Jesus Vibe.

David concludes Psalm 19 with a prayer that his interior and exterior worlds align with the character of God and bring the LORD pleasure! Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in an online, virtual worship through words and music using YouTube videos to call us to align our internal feelings of love for God with our external daily lives that should be lived as our worship of God.

"[Jesus continued his reply to the Sadducees about the resurrection:] "For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In..."

"The great test of your soul's health is, What think you of Christ? Is he to you "fairer than the children of men"-"the chief among ten thousand"-the....."

We are called to live on Mission Under Social Distancing, not hide, hibernate, or withdraw from faith, ministry, and active compassion. Phil Ware describes what it means to 'live MUSD' and how important that we find ways to minister to our neighbors and one another in God's family.

I remain convicted that these passages give us the CORE of what we must believe and practice as Jesus' disciples. Phil Ware brings his series on 'What is CORE!' to a close, giving us a short summary to help us remember these three CORE passages and what they teach and call on us to do.

What happens when Jesus comes to visit? Phil Ware uses a story narrative to remind us what it means to live God's will and fulfill the 10 Commandments.

Hey, don't forget the greatest source of information on our mission, the Bible! Phil Ware continues the series of articles on discerning your mission for churches to work through as they are in a season of looking for a preaching minister or pastor and Phil emphasizes both the universal mission passages and the specific mission passa

When is the last time you let God know how much you love Him? Mike Barres reminds us of the incredible and personal nature of God and his love for us and our need to let Him know with kind words and loving words and genuine affection.

"Dear Lover of God, During My earthly ministry, I was asked: "which commandment is the greatest?" (Matthew 22:36). Quoting Old Testament Scriptures,....."

Jesus wasn't calling us to keep a list of do's and don'ts; he was challenging us to obey the Father from our hearts, in love. James Nored and Phil Ware remind us of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and that he was not giving us a list of do's and don't do's, but was calling us to put into practice the way of God from the heart.

What are we to do with such great human need and such great risk? Phillip Morrison is back as our conscience asking us about how we sort through the refugee crisis in Syria and what are we going to do about it.

Before Jesus, the word 'agape' didn't mean anything special. It was a sloppy word for 'love' pretty much like our English word 'love' as we use it today. Phil Ware reminds us where the word 'agape' really gets its meaning, in what God did for us in Jesus and that we must love God first if we are to love others properly.

Becoming like God in His most known virtue! Phil Ware continues his series on what is core and focuses on love and what it is and how Jesus and God demonstrate it.

God alone had earned the right to speak truth into their lives, compassion into their hearts, and righteousness into their behaviors. James Nored and Phil Ware remind us of the importance of the 10 Commandments and the two divine principles of God and Jesus and call us to live them in our daily lives.

Core to following Jesus is becoming like God in offering love, first. Phil Ware continues his series on what is core and focuses on love and what it is and how Jesus and God demonstrate it.

When you look in the mirror, what do you see? Phil Ware challenges us to look beyond the cosmetic image we see in the mirror and view ourselves as God does.

The Golden Rule is a fundamental principle in our life with others. Jesus lived this principle, and we have chosen to follow the example of our Savior. Phil Ware and Demetrius Collins lead us into worship through songs, Communion, and the Word God, inviting us to realize that in Jesus, we have the power to break every chain of bondage in our relationships and in our lives.

See how sharing your birthday can make a big difference. Sharing your birthday could change the life of a child forever.

Rather than taking God's lavish grace for granted, we choose to offer ourselves to God and walk away from sin. Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to remind us of all that we have received from God through grace and how we must say no to sin because we have been so blessed!

Can we build a culture of honor in a world that has a different set of values? Phil Ware begins a series on building a culture of honor using Romans 12 as the basis and foundation of the study.

What can this old story powerfully say to our geopolitical messes of today? Phil Ware shares his series for December 2015 on welcoming Jesus and focuses on the Magi from the gospel of Matthew and lets that story remind us our need to reach out to the lost and foreigner and alien and refugee among us.

So how do we get real about the church? Phil Ware continues his series from Matthew on God's presence in Jesus and this week talks about church as family, not community.