Jesus (the Messiah) was born a descendant of King David, in Bethlehem, as had been predicted in the Old Testament. Jesus fulfilled prophecies that he had no control over, this is just one way God has shown His sovereignty in His plan for this world.

Mary was called by God to give birth to the messiah as a virgin. Mary walked by faith and trust toward God knowing that this was a chance for her to serve the Lord. She went through rejection and suffering in order to serve God, and now we see the great impact she had on our world because she was willing to trust in God.

Three wise men came to Bethlehem to look for a newborn king because they saw a star in the night sky. These men stepped out in faith to seek God through God's revelation to them. Herrod on the other hand sought to kill the newborn king because he wanted to be the king of Israel and he wanted to stop God's plan. God is sovereign and His plan will come to fruition.

John the Baptist was a "type" of Elijah the prophet who prepared the way for Jesus Christ. John the Baptist baptized people in water; this was symbolic of their need for forgiveness. John baptized Jesus, and when he did, God the Father sent the Holy Spirit to affirm that Jesus was the son of God.

Jesus chose personal discipleship as his teaching methodology to pass on the message of the Christian faith. Teaching in the context of deep personal relationships allows us to pass truth down in teaching and in action. Jesus sent his disciples to go out and practice this same method of teaching the Christian message.

Jesus started the Sermon on the Mount by explaining what living a joyful and fruitful life looks like. He explained that hiding from pain and suffering is not helpful in finding peace; living a simple and humble life is good; personal relationships are the venue for sharing God's love; and we should be rooted in the truths God has given us. Finally he urges us to trust and follow the Lord.

Jesus calls Christians to be the salt of the Earth, he wants us to share God's message through our lives and how we interact in our world. Many Christians today look to protect themselves from the evils of the world. God calls us to share His message to the watching world, and not box ourselves in to protect ourselves from sinful people.

Jesus made it clear to the Pharisees that their interpretation of the Law fell way short of God's. The Law wasn't meant to show people the path to righteousness, but to show people their sin and that they need God's grace. God's Law isn't something we can bend to fit our moral inclinations, but a strong moral law that shows people their moral inadequacy compared to God's perfect moral standard.

Jesus called people to trust God with their needs. God has taken care of the birds of the sky, how much more will He take care of his people? This doesn't mean we should be undisciplined with what God has given us, but it does mean that God has put enough on our plate for today and we should take security in the Lord. We are called to be stewards and givers of the things that God has blessed us with.

Jesus performed many miracles in his day, often he would heal the sick. Many people doubt the reality of the supernatural, but if you believe that God created the laws of nature then wouldn't He have authority over nature? God has revealed His truth and power through the Bible.

There is a spiritual war in our world between God and His angels, and Satan and his demons. Satan and his demons try to deceive and distract the people of this world, but God is the ultimate spiritual authority in the universe and is greater than his opponent. Jesus had the power to forgive sins, and he demonstrated his spiritual authority as God to the watching world.

Jesus showed compassion and love to the despised and sinful people of his day. Jesus partied with Matthew, a despised tax collector, and invited him to become a disciple. Jesus came to heal the sinners, rather than saving those who thought they were righteous.

John's disciples question Jesus about why he and his disciples do not hold to the Rabbinic traditions, like fasting. Jesus' response about wineskins contrasts the old covenant, which emphasizes faithfulness to God and ethical behavior, and the new covenant, which emphasizes relational union and sharing God's love with others. God's emphasis is inward and spiritual, not outward and institutional. According to Jesus, what matters is not the wineskin (man-made rules and structures) but the wine itself (what God is doing.) The problem is, humans tend to focus on and value the skin rather than the wine. We should be open to change if it means cooperating with what God's doing, instead of hindering or forfeiting God's work in favor of our traditions.\r\n

God elects to work through humans. In this chapter, Jesus sends his twelve disciples on a special mission. This passage reveals ten principles of Christian ministry: 1) in most cases, God calls us to work together, not alone; 2) we should prioritize ministry; 3) we offer the power of God, not our own power; 4) the Lord's work, done the Lord's way, will receive the Lord's provision; 5) we should find responsive people and focus on them; 6) we should be sensitive and alert, but never compromise; 7) serving God is not popular; 8) truth is divisive and exclusive; 9) those who live their lives for themselves will end up empty and dissatisfied, but those who give their lives to Christ will find a full and satisfying life; and 10) what we are here to do is extremely important.\r\n

God purposefully kept the identity of the predicted Messiah hidden from Satan, His enemy, in three different ways. First, none of the Old Testament predictions of the Suffering Servant ever clearly name him as the Messiah. Second, the Old Testament presents the Messiah's first and second comings as though one follows the other immediately. Third, the Old Testament never explicitly states that there will be two separate comings of the Messiah. The mystery was fully revealed in Christ's first coming; Jesus was the predicted Messiah. The mystery unveiled proves God's sovereignty and unconditional love for the world and allows us to freely approach Him in confidence through faith.\r\n

Jesus spoke in parables in order to keep the truth about God's kingdom concealed from those who were not really interested in the truth. The parable of the soils is one such parable. In each part of this story, the message is the same and the messenger is the same, but the outcomes are different because the hearts of the hearers are different. God knows our hearts perfectly; better than we know them ourselves. If we reject God's Word, we harden our hearts against Him. Eventually, after several rounds of hardening, we lose our ability to hear Him at all. So then, our freedom of choice is real, but it is also finite. We can choose which type of soil we want to be, but we should choose wisely and immediately.\r\n

The parable of the wheat and the tares describes how on Judgment Day, two groups of people will be separated from one another; those who believed in Jesus and will go to heaven to be with God for eternity, and those who did not believe in Jesus and will go to hell to be apart from God for eternity. This parable teaches against the self-ghettoization of Christians and warns against counterfeit Christianity. It, like the other kingdom parables, also describes a kingdom reality that was much different than what the Jews expected. They expected a kingdom of uniformity, but pluralism was God's plan. Similarly, the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast describe a kingdom that would grow gradually from the smallest beginning, rather than the sudden and total takeover expected by the Jews. Each person should be ready for Christ's return; the first and most important step is to accept Jesus' free offer of forgiveness.

Jesus calls his disciples to meet the needs of people. The ultimate need of all people is to have their relationship with God reconciled through Christ. Through the feeding of the five thousand and Jesus' interaction with his disciples we see how we too can take part in his ministry. Like the disciples, we need to be available to God and what He is already doing. We also need to be committed to becoming equipped and working alongside others.

Jesus called Peter to walk on water towards him amidst a storm. Through Peter's experience we learn a very valuable lesson about walking victoriously in the Christian life. We must keep our eyes focused on Christ and foster an eternal perspective.

Peter, James, and John were witnesses to the transfiguration. They got to see a miraculous event where Jesus stood before them in His true glory alongside God's prophets Moses and Elijah. This experience was so powerful and tangible that it helped lead them throughout their life. God too can open our hearts and eyes to experiencing Him in powerful ways. We must be careful not to allow the experiences God gives us to be the goal. We must welcome God's experiences but not idolize them.

Dennis McCallum teaches on God's design for marriage and contrasts it against diverging modern trends. He shares secular research on the effects of divorce and cohabitation to make a compelling case for biblical marriage. While divorce and cohabitation offer perceived freedom from the bonds of marriage, research indicates that the costs ultimately outweigh the benefits?with children in these homes paying the highest price.

Marriage was created by God and made to be God-centered, but our culture has replaced this Biblical model for a self-centered model. It's no surprise that marriages fail when self-gratification becomes the main priority. Furthermore, many have bought into the myth of falling in love: eros love. While eros is good, it is insufficient as a foundation for marriage. Dennis McCallum warns against the devastation of divorce and teaches on what it takes to build a good marriage according to God.

Jesus use the parable of the workers in the field to illustrate the mystery of God's grace. The parable reveals that anyone who wants to experience God's grace has to come with empty hands, knowing that they can do nothing to earn it. It also illustrates that an attitude of pride and self-righteousness that blocks people from accepting this free gift.\r\n

This passage shows the contrast between human leadership and Jesus' leadership. Jesus' leadership involves laying down his life for others and service while human leadership involves getting power for ourselves. Two central issues are raised: 1) We should be willing to follow Christ's leadership, and 2) We should learn to imitate Jesus in our leadership roles.\r\n

What is the difference between secular love and biblical love? Biblical love is so beautiful, we should be wary of hardening our hearts by saying no to God too many times. For those striving to love God, there are two key components: knowing God and loving His people. How these two elements fit together in God's law of love are explained.

Dennis McCallum defines false religion as a man-centered twisting of Christianity, in which people care more about looking good in front of other people than what is pleasing to God. God rejects the self-righteousness and hypocrisy involved with false religion and calls us to focus on what matters most to Him: justice, mercy, and faith. McCallum teaches on ways to recognize legalism and offers a healthier alternative to growing spiritually.

Focusing on prophecies and descriptions of the end times, there's a sense of urgency on what it means to be ready for Christ's return. No one knows when the last day will be, but in the same vein, no one knows when their personal last day will be. Because of this, all people are encouraged to investigate biblical Christianity. There are dangers of nominal Christianity for both Christians and non-Christians alike.

Jesus, on the Mount of Olives, discusses the end of the age and his second coming with his disciples. Jesus warns them not to be misled. He gives them many prophetic signs so that they will know when the end is near. These prophetic signs include ecological, technological, sociological, political, and theological signs.

One prophetic sign of the end times is an increased population, famine, and pollution. All these signs that are laid out in scripture are associated with the final war and the second coming of Christ. Scientific data is pointing more and more towards increased world population that is leading to an unpleasant future for the world's resources.

Plagues and pestilence is one of the signs of the last days. Studies in the last ten years point more and more towards God's prophetic words on the end times. Scientific research is telling us that more diseases and common bacterial infections are becoming less likely to be cured by common antibiotics. It is safe to say that the reality of a future of pestilence is probable, like the Lord declared.

There are many prophecies that God declares must be fulfilled before the end times. One prophecy that God declared will occur is the regathering of the nation of Israel. In 1947, this prediction occurred. God also says that a one world government will come about before He returns. The threads we see today leading to the reality of a one world government includes: international entertainment; global business; global monetary markets; the information revolution; and increased weapons technology.

Jesus predicts what will occur at the end of human history, mentioning specific political signs that will signal this time period. With supporting passages from Daniel and Revelation, we see that there will be a great eastern power, a unified Europe, and the emergence of the antichrist. Our changing world today points to the plausibility of this type of political scenario taking place in the future.

Jesus' words on the end times reflects all over scripture. There will be a man who comes called the antichrist who will perform the abomination of desolation. He will carry out horrific acts and the whole world will worship him. Our world today is and is becoming the world we see described in scripture that sets the stage for the end. It is crucial that all people make a choice and enter into a relationship with Jesus. It should be our goal to share His love with everyone.

Within the scriptures we can piece together the timeline for the end times. There will be a rapture, the great tribulation, the second coming of Christ, the millennial kingdom, and finally God's great white throne of judgement. The description of the last days sounds terrifying because the moral standards of the world become completely subjective. Anything goes. This will have a huge impact on our ability to experience relationships.

In Jesus' parable of the talents we are given God's perspective on stewardship and reward. All people have been given stewardship responsibility over what God has revealed and gifted them. All people have a choice in how they respond to God's gifts.

Jesus in His last night celebrates the Passover with His disciples. The Passover was a prophetic picture of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. He asks them to continue on in communion with one another to remember what He has done for salvation.

Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss and Peter denied Jesus to His face. Each failure brought about a response that teaches us God's way to deal with failure. Peter's failure led him to Godly sorrow, resulting in repentance and God's forgiveness. Judas' failure led him to worldly sorrow, resulting in self-pity and condemnation.

Matthew gives record of Jesus' crucifixion on the cross, an event that is impossible to be over-emphasized. The cross was a horrendous type of physical torment that Christ endured, but Christ also endured the pain of bearing human sin. Not only can we learn a lot from Jesus' example, but we can also gain eternal life through this sacrificial act, by asking for our own certificate of debt to be paid in full.

While there were many onlookers in the events leading up to Jesus' death on the cross, the reactions of those present for these events varied considerably. Pilate, King Herod, the thieves that hung next to Christ on the cross, and the soldiers present at the scene all had different responses to Jesus. Some were indecisive about choosing for or against Christ, some mocked Jesus, while others changed their mind and repented, coming to faith. We are called to consider how we personally will respond to the cross. \r\n

The claim that Jesus literally rose from the dead after his death on the cross is the center of Christianity. Without this completed resurrection, our faith in Jesus and justification by his blood would be empty. There are numerous negative implications if the resurrection did not occur, each with serious consequences. The evidence shows, however, that this bodily resurrection did occur, and there are many positive implications following this truth, including that we can have a personal relationship and eternal life with the risen Christ.

After Jesus' death and resurrection, Jesus gives his disciples the Great Commission, a call to go and make disciples of all the nations. We see that Christianity is not exclusive, and we are called to share God's offer of forgiveness with others, because Christ died for all sin. This begins a new chapter in God's eternal plan: knowledge of him was harbored amongst the nation of Israel, but now explodes outward to all people. When a church takes hold and actively participates in this mission, growth and excitement follow.