40 DAY GOSPEL CHALLENGE | PREPARE THE WAY
"Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for Him."
Here we go! We're going to spend the next 40 days walking through the Gospels, together. Together, we'll journey with Jesus our Savior and King. We'll hear his life-changing lessons, witness His astounding miracles unfold, and my prayer - grow in our relationship with God with each chapter and each day.
The Gospel of Matthew is written by Matthew (also known as Lei). Before Jesus called him to be one of the twelve apostles, he was a tax collector. The book he writes was written at a time in which early Christians were struggling to make sense of the relationship of their new beliefs to the Jewish faith. Like Matthew, the Jewish people were one way and now here comes Jesus calling them to a brand new way - The Way. And, that's the purpose behind his gospel record - to demonstrate that Jesus is the Messiah and to help new Christians understand how to walk alongside each other.
After reading of Jesus' own ancestry and His birth, we come to chapter three. Jesus' cousin, John the Baptizer, was out in the wilderness preaching and getting people ready to experience the coming Messiah. Matthew throws down some more history by going to Isaiah 40:3:
“He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!
Clear the road for him!’"
John's mission on earth was to get everyone ready to come into relationship with God's Son, God's Anointed, God's Messenger. John was to prepare. And, preparation is hard work. To be the one who prepares the way for someone else's travel but doesn't get to go down that road, well, that is even tougher. To live all your life so someone else can find the spotlight is toughest of all. But to lose your life in John's cause goes beyond words. John spent his life for one purpose: to prepare people to know Jesus as God's Son, the Christ. Can OUR purpose in life be any less?
What would happen if we decided to begin each day with the commitment that we would live, talk, act, and care for people with the overwhelming purpose that their hearts become prepared to acknowledge Jesus as Lord? So let's find out, together. Let's commit to this 40 day challenge and commit to making relationships matter, so we can prepare people for the relationship that matters most.
Jared LeCrone | COMMUNICATIONS PASTOR
Here we go! We're going to spend the next 40 days walking through the Gospels, together. Together, we'll journey with Jesus our Savior and King. We'll hear his life-changing lessons, witness His astounding miracles unfold, and my prayer - grow in our relationship with God with each chapter and each day.
The Gospel of Matthew is written by Matthew (also known as Lei). Before Jesus called him to be one of the twelve apostles, he was a tax collector. The book he writes was written at a time in which early Christians were struggling to make sense of the relationship of their new beliefs to the Jewish faith. Like Matthew, the Jewish people were one way and now here comes Jesus calling them to a brand new way - The Way. And, that's the purpose behind his gospel record - to demonstrate that Jesus is the Messiah and to help new Christians understand how to walk alongside each other.
After reading of Jesus' own ancestry and His birth, we come to chapter three. Jesus' cousin, John the Baptizer, was out in the wilderness preaching and getting people ready to experience the coming Messiah. Matthew throws down some more history by going to Isaiah 40:3:
“He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!
Clear the road for him!’"
John's mission on earth was to get everyone ready to come into relationship with God's Son, God's Anointed, God's Messenger. John was to prepare. And, preparation is hard work. To be the one who prepares the way for someone else's travel but doesn't get to go down that road, well, that is even tougher. To live all your life so someone else can find the spotlight is toughest of all. But to lose your life in John's cause goes beyond words. John spent his life for one purpose: to prepare people to know Jesus as God's Son, the Christ. Can OUR purpose in life be any less?
What would happen if we decided to begin each day with the commitment that we would live, talk, act, and care for people with the overwhelming purpose that their hearts become prepared to acknowledge Jesus as Lord? So let's find out, together. Let's commit to this 40 day challenge and commit to making relationships matter, so we can prepare people for the relationship that matters most.
Jared LeCrone | COMMUNICATIONS PASTOR
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John the great communicator heralding the arrival of Jesus