Matthew 5 (résumé): The Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 5 to 7 contains the Sermon on the Mount which is a collection of Jesus' teachings to his disciples. Initially come the famous beatitudes: "The poor in spirit inherit the kingdom of heaven... those who mourn will be comforted... the meek will inherit the earth... those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled... the merciful will be shown mercy... the pure in heart will see God... the peacemakers will be called sons of God... those persecuted because of righteousness will inherit the kingdom of heaven". Jesus then goes on to say that Christian disciples are the salt of the earth influencing society for good... and they are the light of the world shining for God through what they do. Then Jesus says that he has not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it and stresses that true righteousness must exceed superficial external obedience as practiced by the Pharisees. 

Jesus then goes on to specific topics of Christian ethics starting with murder which he of course condemns, but not just physically but he condemns the anger and hatred in the heart which is its root cause. So too Jesus condemns adultery which stems from lust in the heart. Jesus next values marriage but admits divorce in the case of "marital unfaithfulness". Jesus then clearly teaches that Christians should always be truthful and "let your yes be yes, and your no be no", without needing to swear by oaths. Jesus replaces "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" with "if someone strikes you on the right cheek, give him the other one also". Jesus also teaches "love your enemies and pray for persecutors... be perfect, as your Father is perfect".

Matthew 4 (résumé): The temptation of Jesus & the beginning of his ministry

 Straight after Jesus' baptism "Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil" and he fasted for a long period. So the devil suggested that Jesus turn stone in to bread to eat, but Jesus rebuked him saying man doesn't live by bread alone. Then the devil dared Jesus to jump off a high point and trust God, but Jesus told him not to put God to the test. Finally the devil offered a vast panorama of place if Jesus would worship him and Jesus again rebuked him saying only God should be worshipped! Then Jesus went and lived in Capernaum and started preaching publicly saying "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near". Jesus then called the first disciples to follow him: Peter and his brother Andrew, followed by James and his brother John. All 4 were fishermen, but Jesus said he would "make them fishers of men". Then Jesus started healing the sick from a wide variety of diseases, and large crowds started following him. 

Grace

"My grace is sufficient for you" (2 Corinthians 12:9) was a key phrase in last night's Men's Fellowship meeting. Schoolteacher Claudivan led the meeting, Philip led the praise and I led the Bible study on 'When God says no". It was a beautiful meeting really blessed of God. 🙌

Please pray for our 54-year-old deacon Ricardo of the Patos church who has heart problems and nearly had a heart attack yesterday. He has been taken to João Pessoa for treatment and is in hospital there.

Matthew 3 (résumé): John the Baptist prepares the way

Matthew 3 introduces John the Baptist's public ministry preparing "the way of the Lord" (Isaiah 40:3). He wore "clothes made of camel's hair" and he ate "locusts and wild honey". Faced by his preaching people confessed their sins and he baptized them in the River Jordan, but he called the Pharisees and Sadducees a "brood of vipers!"  John however announced that he was preparing the way for someone "whose sandals I am not fit to carry". He also said that the coming one "is more powerful than I and will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire". Then Jesus came to be baptized by John who felt he was unworthy to do it, but Jesus insisted. Then the heaven opened, the Spirit of God descended on Jesus "like a dove" and God the Father confirmed that Jesus was his son whom he loved and was pleased with. 

Matthew 2 (résumé): The early life of Jesus

 Matthew 2 starts telling about the coming of 3 Wise Men from the east who came to worship Jesus having seen "his star in the east". When King Herod heard about this "he was disturbed" and enquired from "the priests and teachers of the law" as to where it was prophesied that the Messiah would be born and they informed him that it was "in Bethlehem in Judea", and they quoted Micah 5:2 in support of this. So Herod told the Magi to report back to him when they had found Jesus. They then located Jesus and worshipped him and gave him gifts, but they avoided further contact with Herod. Then an angel told Joseph and Mary to flee to Egypt with Jesus as Herod was hunting him, and Hosea 11:1 was quoted in support of this. When Herod realized he had been outwitted he carried out an awful slaughter of young babies and todlers in the area. However after Herod's death Jesus returned with his parents and lived in Nazareth in Galilee.

54 Years

54 years ago yesterday I arrived in Brazil for the first time, landing at Recife airport and then being driven to Patos at night by Pastor Frank Dyer in a Rural Wyllis truck together with my wife Liz and baby Deborah. The road trip from Recife to Patos seemed endless!

This blog started 22 years ago this month. It started on UOL where it continued for 10 years before switching to Google Blogspot where it has been for the past 12 years. So you youngsters who talk about "bloggers" should realize I started doing this before hardly anyone had even heard of what a blog was! 😃

Old Testament completed

I am thrilled to announce that I have completed writing résumés or summaries chapter by chapter, book by book, of all the Old Testament. This means I have finished writing 39 books, 929 chapters, and 78% of the Bible. Everything has been posted here in my blog and then published in organized fashion, on the EAB website. Now it's on to the New Testament and its 260 chapters written in 27 books. 

Last night I led the communion service in Patos and Pastor Rafael preached. Philip brought a short word, prayed for the children and sang a solo. It was a lovely service. Pastor Murilo preached in Imaculada. 

Brother Sid Wilder went to be with the Lord this morning at Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, aged 93. Sid was a long-term supporter of EAB having supported the work since our first visit to the Harold Hill church in 1972 before we first came to Brazil. Please pray for the family at this time. 🙏