New Beginnings Church  Hayden, Alabama Journal

Matthew 15:21-39 Jesus went away from there and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon. And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, "Have mercy on me, Lord, son of David. My daughter is severely demon-possessed." But he did not answer her, even with a word. And his disciples came up and urged him, saying, "Send her away because she keeps shouting at us." But he answered and said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

Matthew 15:1-20 Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread?" And he answered and said to them, "Why do you yourselves also break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, 'Honor your father and mother,' and 'the one who speaks evil of father or mother is to be put to death.' But you say, 'Whoever says to his fath

We Title This Story Wrong For those of us who know this story, we know it by the title Peter Walking on the Water . However, this is a misleading title because the climax of this story, of this passage, is not Peter walking on the water. It’s Jesus saving Peter from drowning in the water. ​ And how we title this story shows us something about all of us: that we really like to put on our rose-colored glasses when we tell ourselves the stories of our lives. Because most of the

​Two feasts, two kings (Matthew 14:1–21) If you’ll flip with me to Matthew chapter 14, starting in verse 1. In this passage, Matthew places two meals—two feasts—side by side: Herod’s feast and Jesus’ feast. ​And when you hold them next to each other, you start to see the difference between activity and alignment—between looking like a king and actually living under the King. Herod’s feast: reputation that leads to death Matthew tells us Herod the tetrarch heard about Jesus

Treasure worth everything If you want to turn with me to Matthew chapter 13, verse 44. ​Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field—so valuable that when a man finds it, he goes and sells everything he has (and he does it with joy ) so he can buy the field.​Then Jesus says the kingdom is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and when he finds one pearl of great value, he sells everything and buys it. ​ That’s the heart of the message: seeing the king

Wheat among weeds (Matthew 13:24–30) Jesus tells a parable: a man sows good seed in his field, but while people sleep, an enemy sows weeds among the wheat. When both grow up, the servants ask if they should pull the weeds, but the master says no, because uprooting the weeds could uproot the wheat too—and he commands them to let both grow together until the harvest.​At harvest time, the weeds will be gathered first and burned, and the wheat will be gathered into the barn. This

Have you ever felt stuck—like life is just the same day on repeat? Jesus says the seed is good, but the soil matters, and the good news is you’re not trapped in one condition forever.

Anyone can sweep the floors and tidy up their life, but Jesus warns that an empty house is still dangerous. The real question isn’t whether your life looks “in order”—it’s what (or who) is filling the house.​

Part 1: What defines your day? How do you judge your day… really? Not the “How’s your day?” “Good.” answer. But the honest one—when you’re lying in bed at night, replaying everything. Is it what you accomplished? The people you talked to? The things you experienced? Maybe a little bit of all of it. For me, most definitely, it’s: what did I check off my to-do list? I like getting things done. It feels good to feel like you accomplished something. But when the day doesn’t go my

Jesus is showing us He’s not only greater than the Sabbath and greater than the temple—He has authority over them. And He’s pointing to something bigger: God is doing something new, and God’s mission has always been to reconcile heaven and earth—God and humanity, and humanity to each other.