Matthew 4

"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil … the tempter came to Him, he said, ‘If You are the Son of God, …’...."

"[After moving to Capernaum,] Jesus began to preach, "Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near." One day as Jesus was..."

"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very..."

"[Continuing the temptations,] the devil took [Jesus] to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, "If you are the Son of..."

"[Continuing the temptations,] the devil took [Jesus] to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory...."

"[Jesus' going to Capernaum] fulfilled what God said through the prophet Isaiah: "In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali, beside the sea, beyond..."

Where did Jesus find his followers? Our Christian life is lived out in our workplace much more than in our church attendance!

"A little farther up the shore [after calling Peter and Andrew, Jesus] saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father,..."

"Jesus called out to them, ‘Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!’ And they left their nets at once and followed him."

""I will give it all to you," he [the devil] said [to Jesus], "if you will kneel down and worship me." "Get out of here, Satan," Jesus told him. "For....."

"When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he left Judea and returned to Galilee. He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to..."

Can you sway without breaking or falling? Mike Barres reminds us that we need to be like trees: flexible, rooted, connected, and built on the rock.

"News about [Jesus] spread as far as Syria, and people soon began bringing to him all who were sick. And whatever their sickness or disease, or if they..."

"[After his baptism,] Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil."

"[After his baptism,] Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil."

"Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'""

"Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind....."

"A holy character does not avert temptation-Jesus was tempted. When Satan tempts us, his sparks fall upon tinder; but in Christ's case, it was like..."

"[After the temptations,] the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus."

"Large crowds followed [Jesus] wherever he went — people from Galilee, the Ten Towns, Jerusalem, from all over Judea, and from east of the Jordan..."

Inspirational illustration of Matthew 4:16 -- the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.

Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. - Matthew 4:19

Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. - Matthew 4:4

"Dear Believer, Somewhere along the way, My light shown into your heart and changed you. More than just the light from the bright star that guided the..."

What position are you trying to play in life's big game? Rick Brown talks about teaching a Bulgarian friend how to play softball and it reminds him that many followers, disciples, of Jesus need to be given a job description.

Because he knew the true and living God, the heart behind the Scriptures, he could recognize the forger, the fraud — Satan — who tried to distort and misuse truth and Scripture. James Nored and Phil Ware discuss the temptations and trials of Jesus and why they are important to us and what they have to say to us as people who are part of God's story.

Why are we so prone to a tug-of-war on important issues? Phil Ware talks about tug-of-war and how we so often get into them in the Christian community and whether or not it is more important to do service trips or mission evangelism trips.

Is the Word of God alive in your life? We need to be more diligent in reading the Word of God.

Does the connection show up in our ministry? All too frequently people claiming to follow Jesus separate proclamation from compassion, evangelism from service, but if we have a DNA connection with Jesus, both must be present.

One of the important areas of our focus for our shared hour of prayer is the healing and health of our world and the people in our world. Phil Ware shares Scriptures, stories, and ideas to help us prepare for the hour of worldwide unified prayer for our broken world, especially focused on healing and health for our broken world.

Can you find that light that chases away the shadows? Phil Ware continues his series on When Spirit Becomes Flesh and talks about Jesus as heaven's light.

Saved every way a person can be saved Phil Ware continues his series on Out of the Box and focusing on the big Four primal fears that Jesus helps us address and he reminds us that salvation involves a from, for, and to component and shouldn't be simply elevator theology.

Why do we often emphasize one, but forget the other? Phil Ware writes about the grace of God to save us from sin and for holy living.

It's not a Sunday morning deal we make with God! Brian McCutchen talks about worship and how it must be a daily part of our lives or it is not real worship like the early Christians shared and lived.

Have you been trusting in the wrong things? It is so easy to be deceived by the evil one, but the Scriptures can help us like they helped Jesus overcome temptation.

What's standing in the way of us really finding health care? Patrick Odum reminds us of the heart of Jesus for those who are sick and broken.

Will we hold a miracle in our hands? My experience says, “Yes!” Phil Ware continues his series on 'I Doubt it' focusing this week on Jesus' challenge to the apostles to feed the five thousand.

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.

If an event is epoch-changing, part of the dynamic that makes the event so transformational is the timing. Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware combine to bless us with a powerful message on the timing of Jesus' coming and death as well as a virtual worship service focused on our right on time Savior.

How is faith an answer to prayer? Ann Voskamp reminds us that faith and prayer are a two street and the both are intertwined with each other and when this happens, grace, joy, and healing flow into Shalom, peace, wholeness and fullness of life.