Podcasts about Caesarea Philippi

Read OnlineA Stark Contrast“Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” Matthew 16:23This scene likely unfolds in or near Caesarea Philippi, a Gentile region steeped in pagan worship. There, at the mouth of a cave long associated with the entrance to the netherworld—believed by some pagans to be the very gate of Hades—Jesus had just questioned His disciples: “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” and then more directly, “But who do you say that I am?” (cf. Matthew 16:13–15). Peter, speaking with conviction on behalf of the Twelve, boldly proclaimed, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Jesus responded by declaring him “Peter,” the rock upon which He would build His Church, promising that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”Just moments later, Jesus issues one of the strongest rebukes recorded in the Gospels: “Get behind me, Satan!” The same Peter who had just spoken divine truth now speaks human fear and shortsightedness. In trying to dissuade Jesus from His suffering and death, Peter unknowingly opposes the very mission of the Messiah. Jesus calls this mindset not merely a mistake, but a diabolical temptation—echoing the same temptation He faced in the desert, when satan sought to lure Him away from the Cross with promises of worldly glory.What a stark contrast. Peter goes from being the rock of faith to an obstacle in the Lord's path. But why was Jesus so severe in His response?Because the stakes were eternal. The Cross is not optional. It is the means of salvation—not just for Jesus, but for all who would follow Him. To think otherwise, even with good intention, is to prefer human comfort over divine wisdom. Peter's protest reflects a natural aversion to suffering, but Jesus exposes it for what it truly is: a stumbling block to the will of the Father.This dramatic Gospel scene is recorded for a reason. By calling Peter “Satan,” Jesus wanted to warn him, and us, of the real and ever-present danger of rejecting the way of the Cross. Like Peter, we can easily fall into the trap of wishful thinking and misguided compassion by saying about ourselves or those close to us, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen…” We are saying, in essence: “Lord, please make sure that neither I nor anyone I love ever has to suffer!” But such a prayer, though well-meaning, is clearly mistaken, and Jesus wants that point to be clearly understood.Peter was troubled because “Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” But all that Jesus revealed about His suffering was good—very good. Though His suffering was inflicted by the sins of others, His free and loving embrace of that suffering was the greatest act of love the world has ever known. Peter was blinded to this truth. He could not yet see beyond the horror of suffering to the divine good that would come through Jesus' sacrificial embrace of it.Reflect today on Peter's and Jesus' words: “God forbid, Lord!” and “Get behind me, Satan!” In this exchange, Jesus is also speaking to each of us, saying, “Never run from the Cross!” We must never flee from a selfless and sacrificial embrace of suffering, even when that suffering is unjust. God can and will transform all freely embraced suffering into a means of His eternal glory and our sanctification. With our Lord, reject the evil one's false empathy. Reject the lie that suffering is meaningless. Choose instead to lay down your life in love with Christ, and in doing so, you will rise with Him, victorious over every sin and diabolical lie, overcoming even the sufferings of this life through your free and faithful embrace.My compassionate Lord, Your firm rebuke of Peter was direct, powerful, and loving. Rather than offering false comfort or misleading empathy, You spoke a hard truth to awaken Peter—and all of us—to the spiritual necessity of the Cross. Grant me the grace, dear Lord, to say “Yes” to the suffering I must face. May I embrace it not with fear or resistance, but with a heart filled with Your love and unwavering courage. Jesus, I trust in You.Image: Wilfredor, CC0, via Wikimedia CommonsSource: Free RSS feed from catholic-daily-reflections.com — Copyright © 2026 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. This content is provided solely for personal, non-commercial use. Redistribution, republication, or commercial use — including use within apps with advertising — is strictly prohibited without written permission.

August 23, 2026. Fr Tyler's homily as we greet our Freshman class and welcome students back to campus on the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time. Enjoy! Gospel Matthew 16:13-20 Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"  They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.  For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.  And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.  I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.  Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."  Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO FOR THIS REFLECTIONMatthew 16:13-20Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples,"Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Then he strictly ordered his disciplesto tell no one that he was the Christ.

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20260823dev.mp3 Listen to Devotion When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:13-16 Who Is Jesus? More books have been written about Jesus Christ than any other individual in history. One website estimates the number in the tens of thousands. As one might imagine, these books contain just about every opinion imaginable. Some view Jesus as God in human flesh. Others view him as a great human teacher. And some even claim that Jesus never existed at all. What about you? What do you believe about Jesus? That was the question Jesus asked his closest followers one day. There were all kinds of rumors floating around about this amazing Rabbi named Jesus. Although there were differences of opinion, everyone agreed that there was nothing ordinary about him. In fact, Jesus' words and miracles were so amazing that many people thought he must be one of the prophets of old who had come back to life. Peter, one of the men who knew Jesus best, understood why Jesus was so amazing. Jesus was none other than God himself, who came to earth in human flesh. Jesus was the One God had been promising since Adam and Eve had first rebelled against him. Jesus was the One who would repair the relationship between God and his rebellious children. Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. He still is. Jesus is not simply a great human teacher. He is not just an interesting historical figure. He is not one religious leader among many. And he most certainly exists. He is your God. He is your Savior. He is your hope for a life beyond this one and your hope for a life of meaning and purpose here and now. Finally, it doesn’t really matter what a website says about Jesus. What matters is what you say about Jesus. Who do you say he is? Say he is your Lord and life and love—because he is. Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for revealing yourself to me as my God and my Savior from sin. May this belief be reflected in everything I do and say. Amen. Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

The good news about what's not working. A sermon for the 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time on Matthew 16:13-20 by Spencer Hathcock.

Matthew 16:13-20   When Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

What if the way we think about Jesus has been subtly, quietly wrong all along? In this message drawn from Matthew 16:13-19, we are confronted with one of the most penetrating questions ever asked: Who do you say Jesus is? Not who does culture say He is, not what label feels comfortable or convenient, but who do we actually believe Him to be at the deepest level of our lives? The message challenges us to examine whether we have unknowingly reduced Jesus to a life coach, a moral guru, or a spiritual self-help resource. When we do that, we place ourselves at the center of the story and relegate Jesus to a supporting role in our own narrative. The geography of this passage turns out to matter enormously. Jesus asks this defining question not in a synagogue or a safe religious setting, but in Caesarea Philippi, a place saturated with pagan worship, dark spiritual activity, and what ancient people believed was a literal gateway to the underworld. It is in that setting, standing before the rock face where false gods were worshipped and sacrifices were made, that Peter declares Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the living God. The location is not incidental. It is a declaration made in the teeth of darkness, and it changes everything. This message invites us to stop treating our faith as a pat Sunday school answer and start wrestling with whether we carry a genuine, living revelation of who Jesus truly is. Join us for service live every Sunday at 10am at 5600 Route 34 | Oswego, IL 60543. You can expect passionate worship and a deep love for God's Word.  Connect with us at our website www.hopeucchicago.com

Homily from the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time He gets to reveal Himself to me long before I get to have an opinion of Him. Every one of us will have our own Caesarea Philippi, our place where we must answer the question, "Who do you say that Jesus is?" Who will we say? Will we point to a Jesus who is merely our own particular version of Christ? Or will we actually know the true Jesus? Mass Readings from August 23, 2026:Isaiah 22:19-23 Psalm 138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8Romans 11:33-36 Matthew 16:13-20

Read OnlineOvercoming the Gates of hellJesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:13–16The symbolism associated with Caesarea Philippi is central to today's Gospel. Located north of Jesus' home base in Capernaum, it was a predominantly pagan city known for its shrines to false gods. One of the most prominent was Pan, after whom the region was named Panias (later Banias). Pan, a Greek god, was honored at a shrine near a large cave and spring considered the entrance to Hades. Pan was the god of nature, shepherds, flocks, wild places, fertility, and rustic music, and was often depicted as half man, half goat, with horns and hooves. He played the pan flute and was associated with lust, chaos, and sudden fear—from which we get the word panic.Additionally, the city was the site of a temple dedicated to the late emperor, Caesar Augustus, who was worshiped as a god throughout the Roman Empire. It was into this spiritually dark pagan setting that Jesus led His disciples—on what may have been a two-day journey—for what culminated in a single, monumental question.Jesus took the Twelve away from the comfort of their familiar fishing village and Jewish neighbors for a reason. He wanted them to answer His question not in the midst of the familiar and safe, but in a place marked by spiritual confusion and idolatry. Why? So that faith could be professed even there, and divine grace could confront the darkness that permeated the region.At first, He asked who the people said He was. They answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” But then He posed the question that reached the heart of His mission: “But who do you say that I am?” This was a moment of divine testing—one which Simon passed with profound faith: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus' extraordinary and consequential response has enduring significance to this day. He declared:“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:17–19).With these sacred words, Jesus founded His Church upon Peter, making him the first pope. In biblical tradition, a change of name signifies a new mission and identity. Simon, son of Jonah, was now to be called Peter—Petros in Greek and Cephas in Aramaic—meaning “rock.” Peter became the solid foundation upon which Christ's Church would be built. No pagan power, false god, or earthly ruler would ever overcome what Christ established with divine authority.Reflect today on the significance of the papacy. Even now, in the successor of Saint Peter, the words of Simon continue to echo throughout the world: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This is the pope's first and most important duty—to bear witness to Christ, the Son of God. Despite the personal weaknesses of some popes and the saintliness of others, it is Jesus who established Peter and his successors as the visible foundation of the Church. Pray for the Holy Father, and trust in the timeless witness of every pope since that first moment in Caesarea Philippi—a witness upheld not by human strength, but by Christ's own promise. To profess faith in the papacy is to profess faith in the One who instituted it and endowed it with His divine authority.My Lord, You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. With Simon, I profess this truth and place my faith in You, who established Simon, son of Jonah, as Peter—the rock and foundation of Your Church. I believe and profess that the gates of hell shall never prevail against the Church, not because of human strength or perfection, but because of Your eternal promise. I pray for our Holy Father, the pope, and for all his successors. Make them true and faithful witnesses to the confession first spoken by Saint Peter. Jesus, I trust in You.  Image: Christ handing the Keys to St Peter, by Lawrence OP, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.Source: Free RSS feed from catholic-daily-reflections.com — Copyright © 2026 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. This content is provided solely for personal, non-commercial use. Redistribution, republication, or commercial use — including use within apps with advertising — is strictly prohibited without written permission.

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then He strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that He was the Christ. (Matthew 16:13-20)

Friends, for this Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Church brings us once again, with Jesus and the disciples, to Caesarea Philippi, and to a famous question: “Who do you say that I am?” The main characters in this endlessly fascinating scene are Jesus and Peter, and whenever the focus is on Peter, we're talking about ecclesiology, the study of the Church. So we learn something very important here about both Jesus and the Church, and it has to do with the Rock upon which the former builds the latter.

What does Jesus mean when he says, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven”? In this episode, we explore why the church isn't ultimately built on Peter, a pastor, a denomination, or any other person, but on the proclamation that Jesus is the Messiah and that his forgiveness defeats sin, death, and the devil. The keys bind what binds us and loose us with Christ's promise: you are a sinner, but your sin is not the final word over you.GOSPEL Matthew 16:13-20 13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 14 And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." 17 And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." 20 Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. CARE OF SOULS: DEATHIn Care of Souls, a special mini-series podcast from Luther House of Study, Lutheran pastors and theologians come together to explore the deeply personal and pastoral task of preaching to and caring for those facing death, grief, and loss.Rooted in the theology of the cross and the Lutheran tradition of radical grace, this series offers both theological depth and practical guidance for pastors, church workers, and lay leaders.Across five episodes, the hosts tackle tough but essential questions on death:How does Lutheran theology speak uniquely to death and grief?What does faithful pastoral care look like when walking alongside those who mourn?How can pastors offer both honesty and hope in the face of tragedy and loss?What does ministry look like when death impacts the pastor as well as the congregation?Why do funerals matter, and what is God giving through them?With conversations, real-life stories, and reflections from the front lines of ministry, Care of Souls equips listeners to enter the sorrow of death not with easy answers, but with the crucified and risen Christ.Because in the end, it's not about avoiding death—it's about hearing the Gospel from the One who has passed through death and opened the way to life.Listen to Care of Souls wherever you listen to podcasts or on the Luther House website: Care of SoulsSupport the showInterested in sponsoring an episode of Scripture First?Email Sarah at sarah@lhos.org or visit our donation page: lutherhouseofstudy.org/donate

This is the climax of the summer's Matthew arc. Everything since Trinity has been building toward Peter's answer to the question Jesus finally asks him directly: “Who do you say that I am?” Today Peter answers, and the answer shapes everything that follows.* Track One begins Exodus — the birth of Moses, protected by an unlikely coalition of women who defy Pharaoh's murderous order. Psalm 124 sings the deliverance from the other side. * Track Two brings us Isaiah's call to remember the rock from which we were hewn, paired with Psalm 138's personal thanksgiving. * The Epistle turns an important corner: after eleven chapters of theological argument, Paul opens Romans 12 with “therefore” — the practical application begins. Present your bodies. One body, many members. Different gifts, all needed.For preachers continuing a series: this is the destination. The confession is what the summer has been building toward. Next week the Gospel will turn — Peter will be corrected, the way of the cross will be named — but this week we stop and let the confession stand.The ReadingsExodus 1:8–2:10First Reading (Track One) — The Midwives and the Birth of MosesSummaryA new king arises in Egypt who does not know Joseph. Threatened by the growing number of Hebrews, he enslaves them and orders the Hebrew midwives to kill every male child at birth. But the midwives — Shiphrah and Puah, named by the text against Pharaoh's namelessness — refuse. When Pharaoh escalates and orders all male children thrown into the Nile, three more women defy him: Moses's mother, who hides him and then places him in a basket on the river; his sister, who watches from the reeds; and Pharaoh's own daughter, who finds the baby and takes him as her own. Deliverance begins through the courage of women.Key Ideas for Preaching* The story of Israel's deliverance begins with women whose defiance no one wrote down until much later. An unlikely coalition forms across ethnic and class lines. Where in your congregation might God's deliverance be already beginning through people whose work no one has yet noticed?* Shiphrah and Puah are named by the text. Pharaoh, the most powerful man in the story, is not. The narrator has decided who matters. What might it mean for your congregation to notice whose names Scripture chooses to lift up?* The midwives lie — or, dissemble at the very least — to Pharaoh, and the text approves — God deals well with them. Where in your congregation has an obedience to institutional authority been quietly mistaken for faithfulness, when a deeper faithfulness would have refused?Significant Cautions* Do not idealize any of the characters. The midwives are ordinary working women doing what they can. Pharaoh's daughter defies her father but does not free the Hebrews. Their courage is real and it is also partial.* The civil disobedience reading of this text is available, but should not be pressed into any particular contemporary political program.* Say the names — Shiphrah and Puah — from the pulpit when you can. Pharaoh's namelessness is part of the text's judgment on him.Psalm 124The Psalm (Track One) — If It Had Not Been the LordSummaryA psalm of thanksgiving for deliverance, sung from the safe side. If it had not been the Lord who was on our side when enemies rose against us, when the waters would have swept us away, we would have been overwhelmed. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.Key Ideas for Preaching* The psalm is written in retrospect — thanksgiving from safety, not desperate pleading in the moment. What might it look like for your congregation to make a practice of naming past deliverances honestly, so that hope in future ones is grounded in something remembered?* Paired with today's Exodus reading, the psalm reads like a song sung generations after the midwives did their quiet work in a birthing room. What began as unnoticed courage becomes a whole people singing.Significant Cautions* Be careful not to preach this in a way that identifies contemporary political opponents as the “enemies” God delivers us from. The psalm is looking back at Egypt, not writing policy for today.Isaiah 51:1–6First Reading (Track Two) — Look to the RockSummaryA word of comfort to God's people in exile. Look to the rock from which you were hewn, the quarry from which you were dug — remember Abraham and Sarah, from whom your whole people came. God is bringing comfort to Zion, making her wilderness like Eden. Instruction will go out; justice will be a light to the peoples. The heavens will vanish like smoke and the earth wear out like a garment, but God's salvation will endure forever.Key Ideas for Preaching* The prophet asks the people to remember. Look to the rock. Remember Abraham and Sarah. Where in your congregation has the loss of memory made the current moment feel more precarious than it should?* The pairing of “the heavens will vanish like smoke” with “my salvation will be forever” is a striking piece of realism about what lasts. Where has your congregation been placing lasting trust in what will not last?* Paired with the Gospel, this text sets up the wordplay Jesus will use with Peter — “on this rock.” Isaiah's rock is Abraham and Sarah; Matthew's rock is Peter's confession. Both texts are asking about the ground beneath our feet.Significant Cautions* The imagery of Zion's restoration is specific to Israel's exile. Do not press it into a program for any modern nation.* “Look to the rock from which you were hewn” is an invitation to remember, not a mandate to romanticize the past.Psalm 138The Psalm (Track Two) — Do Not Forsake the Work of Your HandsSummaryA psalm of personal thanksgiving that expands to a global vision. The psalmist gives thanks with his whole heart and praises God's steadfast love. All the kings of the earth will one day praise God. The closing line is a prayer that God will not forsake the work of God's hands.Key Ideas for Preaching* “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me… do not forsake the work of your hands.” That is one of the most reassuring sentences in the Psalter — a prayer that trusts God is not done. Where in your congregation are people who need to hear that they are still the work of God's hands?* The psalm begins with a personal thanksgiving and ends with all the kings of the earth. What might your sermon do with a psalm whose horizon widens that quickly?Significant Cautions* “All the kings of the earth” praising God should not be read as a program for religious empire. It is a prayer for a widening praise, not a mandate.Romans 12:1–8The Epistle — A Living Sacrifice; One Body, Many MembersSummaryAfter eleven chapters of theological argument, Paul turns a corner. “I appeal to you, therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice.” Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds. Paul then turns to community life: think of yourselves with sober judgment. We are one body with many members, and no member is complete without the others. Different gifts have been given — prophecy, ministry, teaching, encouragement, giving, leading, showing mercy — and each should be exercised in the measure of faith God has given.Key Ideas for Preaching* “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice” is one of the strangest images in Paul. Sacrifices in the ancient world were dead. Living sacrifices are not a category. Paul is describing a whole life, offered without being consumed. What does it look like to preach whole-life offering in a culture that keeps splitting body from soul, work from worship?* Paul opens the practical section with an appeal for humility — think of yourself with sober judgment, not more highly than you ought. This is his first instruction for community life. Where in your congregation might humble self-assessment be the missing precondition for everything else Paul goes on to ask?* The list of gifts is illustrative, not comprehensive. Some are visible (prophecy, teaching, leading). Others are quieter (ministry, showing mercy, giving with generosity). Where in your congregation have visible gifts been overvalued and quieter gifts overlooked?Significant Cautions* “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice” has been misused to justify Christians accepting abuse or unhealthy suffering. That is not what Paul is describing. Handle the language carefully in pastoral contexts where suffering is not chosen.* The gifts list has sometimes been made into a personality test. Paul is describing what happens in a healthy community, not offering a diagnostic for individuals.Matthew 16:13–20The Gospel — Peter's Confession at Caesarea PhilippiSummaryJesus takes his disciples to Caesarea Philippi — a city built by Herod's son at the base of Mount Hermon, next to a massive rock cave that was a shrine to the Greek god Pan, and named after Caesar. In this heavily symbolic place, Jesus asks two questions. First: who do people say that the Son of Man is? The disciples report the various answers — John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, one of the prophets. Then the sharper question: who do you say that I am? Peter answers: you are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Jesus blesses him — this insight, he says, has come from God, not from human reasoning. Then comes the famous wordplay: you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.* (see excursus below) Peter is given the keys of the kingdom. And the disciples are charged to tell no one that Jesus is the Messiah.Photo by Emile Guillemot on UnsplashKey Ideas for Preaching* The setting is not accidental. Caesarea Philippi was named after Caesar and built next to a shrine to Pan. When Jesus asks “who do you say that I am?” he is asking in the shadow of empire and of another religion's holy place. What does it mean for your congregation to make Peter's confession in the shadows of the powers of our own moment?* The other answers the disciples report — John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah — are good answers. Great prophets. Faithful witnesses. But they are not enough. Where might your congregation be settling for a good answer to who Jesus is when a deeper one is being offered?* Jesus tells Peter the confession did not come from “flesh and blood” — it was given to him by God. The confession is not a reward for Peter's cleverness; it is a gift from the Father. Where in your congregation has faith been imagined as something we work out, when the text describes it as something we receive?* Whatever your tradition makes of the Petros/petra wordplay, the fundamental picture is worth preaching: the church is built on a confession. Not on our cleverness, not on our numbers, not on our building, not on our institutional strength. On a confession. What would change if your congregation actually believed that?Significant Cautions* The Petros/petra wordplay has been the site of long controversy between Catholic and Protestant traditions. Both readings have real defenders; do not preach one as the only faithful option.* “The gates of Hades will not prevail” has been used triumphally in ways Jesus's own life will complicate — he is about to head to Jerusalem and be crucified. The victory the passage promises is not the kind that avoids the cross.* The command to tell no one has puzzled readers for centuries. This is the “messianic secret” that runs through Matthew and Mark, and scholars have not settled its meaning. Do not preach a confident theory as if it were obvious.An exursus on the text: I found the following brief commentary from You.com to be helpful in my deliberation of how much to make of the difference between Petros and petra:* The Petros/Πέτρος vs. Petra/πέτρα Contrast (Matthew 16:18)Lexical and Grammatical Background* Πέτρος (Petros): Masculine, used as Simon's new name, means “rock” or “stone.” In Koine Greek, it is not used generically for “small stone”—that would be λίθος (lithos)* πέτρα (petra): Feminine, means “bedrock,” “massive rock,” or “rock formation.” Used metaphorically for a strong foundation* Gender Accommodation: The distinction is primarily grammatical—πέτρα is feminine and unsuitable as a male name, so the masculine Πέτρος is used for SimonAramaic Background* Kepha (כֵּיפָא): In Aramaic, the same word is used for both Peter's name and “rock,” with no gender distinctionJesus likely spoke Aramaic, so the Greek distinction is a translation artifact, not a theological oneMatthew 16:13–20 is a foundational passage for Christian theology and ecclesiology. The Petros/petra wordplay, rooted in Aramaic and preserved in Greek, affirms Peter's foundational role without excluding the importance of his confession or the broader apostolic witness. The passage's other key terms—ἐκκλησία, πύλαι ᾅδου, κλεῖδες τῆς βασιλείας, δήσῃς/λύσῃς, Υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος—draw deeply from Jewish, Old Testament, and Greco-Roman backgrounds, establishing the church as a new, Christ-centered community with authority, resilience, and a confession rooted in divine revelation.Thematic ConnectionsThe Gospel is the climax of the summer's Matthew arc. Since Trinity we have been reading with Peter and the disciples — call, sending, warning, welcome, feeding, walking on water, encounter with the Canaanite woman — and today the question that has been building finally gets asked directly. Peter answers, and the answer shapes everything that follows.On Track One, the Exodus reading pairs with the Gospel in a specific way. Israel's deliverance begins with midwives whose courage no one recorded until later; the church, in the Gospel, is built on a confession made by a fisherman in the shadow of a pagan shrine. Both texts insist that the beginnings of God's great works often happen in unnoticed places, through unexpected people.On Track Two, Isaiah's “look to the rock from which you were hewn” and the Gospel's “on this rock” are worth reading side by side. Isaiah asks the people to remember Abraham and Sarah as their foundation. Jesus builds the church on the foundation of Peter's confession. Both texts are asking the same question in different tenses: what is the ground beneath your feet?Romans 12 sits inside the day as the “so what.” If Peter's confession is true, something has to change about how we live. Present your bodies. Think of yourselves with sober judgment. Use your gifts for the good of the whole body. Paul is describing what a community looks like when it takes Peter's confession seriously.For preachers finishing the summer series: this is the destination. Next week the Gospel will turn — Peter will be corrected, the way of the cross will be named — but this week we stop and let the confession stand. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lectionarypro.substack.com/subscribe

This is one of the more challenging Sundays of the year, and its texts all press toward the same difficult question: who is inside God's people, and by what authority is the boundary drawn?The Gospel gives us the story of the Canaanite woman — a scene that has troubled Christian readers for centuries because Jesus appears, at first, to refuse her request and to compare her people to dogs. What she does with his answer, and what he does with hers, is one of the most striking moments in Matthew. We will handle the passage with care and honesty about how difficult it is.The Old Testament tracks lead toward the Gospel from complementary angles. Track One brings us the moment of reconciliation in Genesis — Joseph revealing himself to the brothers who sold him — paired with Psalm 133's famous celebration of kindred living together in unity. Track Two brings us Isaiah's expansive invitation to foreigners to join themselves to the Lord, paired with Psalm 67's prayer for God's blessing to reach all nations. The Epistle continues in Romans 11 with what may be Paul's clearest word against the church's later attempts to replace or displace Israel: God has not rejected his people, and the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.For preachers continuing a series: the Matthew arc is now on the threshold of Peter's great confession at Caesarea Philippi, which comes next week. But before Jesus arrives there, the Gospel takes him first through a challenging encounter with a Gentile woman who insists on being heard.The ReadingsGenesis 45:1–15First Reading (Track One) — Joseph Reveals HimselfSummaryThe Joseph story reaches its most tender turning point. Joseph has been elevated in Egypt. His brothers, driven by famine, have come to Egypt to buy grain, not knowing that the powerful Egyptian official standing in front of them is the brother they sold into slavery decades ago. Joseph has tested them, wept privately more than once, and now can hold back no longer. He sends the Egyptians away so that he can weep in private with his family. And then he tells them: I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. They are speechless with fear. He reassures them, kisses them, and weeps again.Key Ideas for Preaching* This scene has been prepared by pages of pain. The reconciliation does not happen quickly, and it does not happen because the brothers deserve it. Where in your congregation are people carrying the pain that comes before reconciliation, and how might this text steady them without pretending the timeline is short?* Joseph names what happened plainly — I am Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. He does not paper over the wrong. But he also does not turn the naming into a weapon. What does it look like to preach a reconciliation that tells the truth about what happened without weaponizing it?* Joseph's theological interpretation — that God sent him ahead of the brothers to preserve life — has been misused throughout Christian history as a formula for “God used the bad thing for good.” Read within the story, it is Joseph's hard-won meaning, offered to his brothers as a gift so they can live with what they did. Where in your congregation has “God used it for good” been forced on people prematurely, and how might Joseph's own timing correct that?* The reconciliation happens through tears, not explanation. Joseph weeps three times in this scene. How might your sermon honor the role of grief in real reconciliation — the weeping that has to happen before the family can eat together again?Significant Cautions* “God sent me before you to preserve life” is Joseph's interpretation of his own experience. It should not be handed to any suffering person as an explanation of what God is doing in their life. Joseph earned that meaning through years of hardship; no one else should have to earn a lecture on it.* The reconciliation is real but incomplete. The brothers remain afraid. Jacob will hear the news and be transformed. The years of harm have consequences that this scene does not undo. Do not preach reconciliation as if it erases the past.* The trafficking of Joseph, which we read about two weeks ago, is not made good by his elevation. Do not use his rise to soften the reality of what was done to him.Psalm 133The Psalm (Track One) — How Very Good and PleasantSummaryOne of the shortest psalms in the Bible, and one of the most quoted. How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity. The psalm reaches for two vivid images — oil running down Aaron's head onto his beard and clothing, and dew falling on the mountains — to describe what such unity is like. The psalm closes with the observation that this is where the Lord commanded blessing.Photo courtesy of the Catholic ScotKey Ideas for Preaching* The psalm's images are surprisingly bodily — oil on the head, running down the beard, falling on the collar; dew on mountains. Unity, for the psalmist, is something felt and touched, not just theorized. Where has your congregation reduced unity to an idea that can be agreed on, when the psalm imagines something more embodied?* Read alongside today's Genesis reading, the psalm's celebration of kindred in unity comes at the cost of what preceded it in Joseph's story. Unity is real, and it is also the fruit of long, painful work. How might your sermon hold both together?Significant Cautions* Do not preach unity as the suppression of difference. The psalm celebrates kindred living together, not kindred pretending to be identical.* “Kindred” can be read narrowly — only our people, only our tribe. In light of today's Isaiah and Matthew readings, the wider point of the day is that God's kindred is larger than we thought.Isaiah 56:1, 6–8First Reading (Track Two) — A House of Prayer for All PeoplesSummaryThe prophet speaks a word from God that extends the covenant beyond the boundaries of ethnic Israel. The verses selected for today focus on foreigners who have joined themselves to the Lord — they are welcomed to the holy mountain, their offerings will be accepted, and God's house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples. God declares plainly: I will gather still others besides those already gathered. (The verses between 1 and 6, not included in the reading, extend the same welcome to eunuchs — a striking expansion for its time.)Key Ideas for Preaching* The prophet is naming a widening of the people of God that many in the community would have resisted. Foreigners are welcomed. God's house is a house of prayer for all peoples. Where in your congregation is this widening still contested, and how might Isaiah's word speak to it?* The verses skipped by the lectionary include the equally striking welcome of eunuchs — people who could not have children and were, in the ancient world, excluded from full covenant standing. The wider prophetic vision includes people whose bodies and identities the community had already written off. What might it look like to name that omitted section in your sermon, so that its welcome is not left silent?* “I will gather still others besides those already gathered.” That is God's own commitment to keep expanding the people. Where has your congregation quietly assumed that the gathering is complete?Significant Cautions* Do not use this text to bless or condemn any modern political program — the prophet is speaking about God's covenant people, not about state immigration policy.* “House of prayer for all peoples” was quoted by Jesus in the temple. That connection is worth naming, but be careful not to use the connection to displace the original Jewish audience of the prophet.Psalm 67The Psalm (Track Two) — Let All the Peoples Praise YouSummaryA short psalm that opens with the language of the priestly blessing — may God be gracious to us and bless us — but extends outward almost immediately. The whole point of God's blessing on this people is that God's saving power might be known among all nations. “Let all the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.” The psalm closes with the harvest and God's blessing reaching to the ends of the earth.Key Ideas for Preaching* The blessing on this people, in this psalm, is for the sake of all peoples. God's grace does not stop with those who first receive it. Where has your congregation received God's grace as if it were for their consumption, and how might this psalm turn it outward?* The refrain “let all the peoples praise you” is repeated for emphasis. It is not a decorative flourish; it is the psalm's central conviction. What might your sermon do with the specific vision of every people praising God?Significant Cautions* Do not read “all the peoples” as a program for religious conquest. The psalm imagines every people praising God, not becoming absorbed into any one particular tradition.Romans 11:1–2a, 29–32The Epistle — The Irrevocable GiftsSummaryPaul asks the direct question: has God rejected his people, Israel? His answer is emphatic: by no means. He himself is a Jew, an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, and God has not rejected the people God foreknew. The lectionary jumps ahead to Paul's summary: the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. All — Jews and Gentiles both — have been disobedient in various ways, and God has bound all to disobedience so that God may have mercy on all.Key Ideas for Preaching* Paul, a Jew writing to Gentile Christians, is at pains to insist that God has not abandoned Israel. In a Christian tradition that has too often taught the opposite, Paul's word is worth reading slowly and letting land. What does it look like to preach this text in a way that names, and refuses, the church's long anti-Jewish history?* “The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” That is one of the most beautiful sentences Paul ever wrote. God does not take back what God has given. Where in your congregation are people afraid that God has taken back what God once gave them — a calling, a gift, an assurance — and how might Paul steady them?* “God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that God may be merciful to all.” That is a startling formulation. The mercy is the point; the disobedience is the honest naming of what has to be met by mercy. How might your sermon land the “so that God may be merciful to all” without softening or hurrying?Significant Cautions* This passage is one of the clearest arguments in Scripture against the church's later teaching that Christianity has replaced Judaism. Preach it against that teaching plainly, without softening. Paul is not saying God has moved on from Israel — he is saying explicitly the opposite.* “God has imprisoned all in disobedience” has been misread as a claim that God causes sin. Paul is describing a spiritual condition, not authoring it. Handle the language carefully.* The universal reach of God's mercy in this text — “mercy on all” — has sparked long debates. Do not try to settle those debates on the pulpit. Let Paul's language stand.Matthew 15:(10–20), 21–28The Gospel — The Canaanite WomanSummaryTwo scenes here, though many preachers focus on the second. In the first (verses 10–20, optional), Jesus teaches that what defiles a person is not what enters the body but what comes out of it — out of the heart. The teaching pushes against the ritual purity system that separated people. Then the second scene: Jesus withdraws to the region of Tyre and Sidon — Gentile territory. A Canaanite woman comes out to him, crying for mercy — her daughter is tormented. Jesus does not answer her. The disciples urge him to send her away. He says, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” She kneels before him: “Lord, help me.” He says, “It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs.” Her answer is one of the most famous lines in the Gospels: “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” Jesus responds: “Woman, great is your faith. Let it be done for you as you wish.” Her daughter is healed instantly.Key Ideas for Preaching* This is one of the hardest passages in the Gospels. Jesus's initial response to the Canaanite woman is not kind. He ignores her, then he says his mission is not to her people, then he uses language that compares her people to dogs. Preachers have handled this text in a dozen different ways over the centuries, and there is no scholarly consensus about what to make of Jesus's behavior. Be honest with your congregation about the difficulty rather than pretending it resolves neatly.* What the passage clearly does is present a Gentile woman as faithful, quick-witted, and correct. She wins the argument. Her faith is what Jesus praises. Where in your congregation has faith been imagined as something that agrees with authority quietly, and how might this woman's persistent, argumentative faith rewrite that picture?* Jesus's ministry visibly expands in this scene. Whatever the initial exchange means, the ending is that a Gentile woman's daughter is healed by the same Jesus whose ministry has, until now, focused on Israel. Something has widened. How might your sermon honor the widening without smoothing over what came before it?* The woman does not accept the terms of the exchange. She does not say, “You're right, I don't deserve it.” She reframes the metaphor and turns it back on Jesus with a wit and dignity that carry the whole scene. What might your people learn from her about the faithfulness of persistent asking — even, sometimes, of talking back?* The word “Canaanite” is Matthew's specific choice (Mark calls her Syrophoenician). Matthew is deliberately reaching back to the ancient enemies of Israel — the Canaanites — and making a point about how far God's welcome now extends. Take a moment to name this if you have space; it deepens the scene considerably.* Read alongside Isaiah 56 and Romans 11, this scene is part of a day whose whole shape is the widening of God's people. The Gospel is the hardest text of the day, but it does not stand alone. How might your sermon set it inside the day's larger movement rather than reading it in isolation?Significant Cautions* Do not paper over Jesus's initial words. He calls the woman's people, in effect, dogs — a real slur in the ancient world. Sermons that pretend the language is not shocking miss what the passage is doing.* Different faithful readers make different sense of Jesus's initial response. Some read it as testing the woman. Some read it as Jesus giving voice to the prejudice of his time so that his final answer breaks it. Some read it as Jesus's own limited understanding being challenged and changed. Do not preach as if the question has been settled. Faithful readings differ.* Whatever you make of Jesus's initial response, be clear that the woman is not being taught a lesson about her place. The passage is not endorsing Jesus's opening line. The woman's answer, and Jesus's praise of her faith, together indicate that her side of the exchange is the right side.* “Great is your faith” has sometimes been used to shame people whose prayers are not answered — as if the woman got what she asked for because she believed hard enough, and anyone who has not received healing lacks her faith. Preach against that misuse plainly.* The optional verses (10–20) about what defiles a person are worth including if you have time. They set up the second scene: Jesus has just said that ritual purity does not determine who is close to God. The Canaanite woman is the immediate test case.Thematic ConnectionsThe Gospel is the natural center for the day, and it is one of the most difficult passages the year hands us. The whole day pushes toward the same question: who is inside God's people, and by what authority is that boundary drawn?On Track One, Joseph's reconciliation with his brothers gives us a picture of unity that has been earned through long grief. The reunion is real, and it is also incomplete — the brothers remain afraid, and the years cannot be undone. Psalm 133 celebrates unity, but the Genesis story has already shown us how much labor unity actually takes. Preachers on Track One can hold the difficulty of the Gospel alongside the fact that the widening of God's family has never been quick or clean.On Track Two, the connection to the Gospel is more direct. Isaiah 56 announces that foreigners will be welcomed to the holy mountain and that God's house will be a house of prayer for all peoples. Psalm 67 celebrates the ways God's blessing on this people is for the sake of all peoples. Read alongside the Canaanite woman's story, the track prepares the ear for the widening that is happening in the Gospel scene, however uncomfortable the way in.Romans 11 sits inside the day as the most direct word for preachers who have followed the Romans arc across the summer. God has not rejected God's people. The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. God's mercy is extended to all. This is Paul's answer to the anti-Jewish readings of Romans 9–10 that have plagued Christian history. If you have preached those chapters, this is the Sunday to name plainly where Paul actually lands.For preachers continuing a series: the Matthew arc is now on the edge of Peter's great confession at Caesarea Philippi, which comes next week. But before Jesus arrives there, he has this encounter that widens his ministry beyond Israel. The Gospel is preparing us to hear Peter's confession as an answer to a question that has been growing more urgent throughout these summer weeks: who is this Jesus, and who is he for? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lectionarypro.substack.com/subscribe

Have you shrunk Jesus into someone you can use instead of a Savior you worship? Standing in Caesarea Philippi — a hillside covered in pagan idols and a marble temple to Caesar — Jesus turned to His disciples and asked the one question that still confronts us today: "Who do you say that I am?"If you've ever quietly customized Jesus into something more manageable, more transactional, more "fire truck" than Lord, this message will challenge you to stop editing Him down and start worshiping Him as He truly is.

(This podcast was previously published on September 16, 2021)   Jesus Ministries, Joan Boney  ...   God called Moses to come up to HIM and Moses was with God 40 days in the mountain, and God gave Moses commandments for the children of Israel.   All his life, God prepared for Moses to lead HIS people.  The call of God was on Moses even from his youth.  God arranged for Moses to be taken into Pharaoh's  daughter's house as a baby where he was "learned in all the ways of the Egyptians" and he was in a very high position in Egypt.   We read the following about Moses:   Acts 7   20 In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father's house three months:   21 And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.   22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.   23 And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.   24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian:   25 For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.   (We see that Moses knew even then that he would be used by God to deliver the children of Israel.)   26 And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another?   27 But he that did his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?   (In fact, God had made Moses to be a ruler and judge over the people of Israel and that would happen 40-years later when the time was right.)   28 Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday?   29 Then fled Moses at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begat two sons.   When God revealed HIMSELF to Moses when Moses was 80-years-old in the land of Midian and called Moses and charged Moses to go back to Egypt where he would deliver the children of Israel, we see the following:   Exodus 3:10-11  God said to Moses:  Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth MY people the children of Israel out of Egypt.   11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?   But 40 years earlier when Moses killed the Egyptian and freed the man of Israel, Moses knew he would be used by God to deliver the Israelites from Egypt.   In God's time, this would happen.  Moses was called by God, appointed for a work of God, and trained by God for this work.  It was not of Moses but of God.  

Matthew 16:13-17 NLT“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.”There was confusion amongst the people early on, even among his own disciples, about who Jesus truly was. Was He John the Baptist returned from the grave after his execution? Or was He one of the Old Testament prophets coming back for “round two?” Men were trying to identify Jesus as another man, when He was actually God.Is your faith your own? Do you feel you inherited it from someone or maybe felt pressure at some point in your life to believe?Listen closely once again: “Jesus … asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:13-16 NLT) Courage is making your own decision about Jesus and sticking by it. Each person must make their own choice and “own” their own faith. No one should be talked into a relationship with Jesus, so no one can talk them out of it either. As Jesus told Peter, “You didn't learn this truth from a human, but from God. He reveals the truth to hearts.”Today, for you, all that matters is who you say Jesus is, to you, for you.Let's pray: “Lord Jesus, You are who You said and say You are—the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. As above, so below. Amen.”

The Gospel picks up on the same night as last week's feeding of the five thousand. Immediately after Jesus feeds the crowd, he sends the disciples across the sea, dismisses the crowd, and goes up the mountain to pray alone. A storm rises. Some time before dawn, Jesus comes to them, walking on the water. Peter, characteristically, asks to join him — and takes a few steps before he starts to sink. It is one of the most famous scenes in the Gospels, and one of the most misused. We want to handle it with care.The Old Testament tracks reach the Gospel by very different paths. Track One begins the Joseph story — the coat, the favoritism, the brothers' plot, and the trafficking of Joseph into Egypt. Psalm 105 remembers that same descent as part of God's long providence. Track Two brings us Elijah at Horeb, exhausted and suicidal, meeting God not in the wind or earthquake or fire but in the sound of sheer silence — paired with Psalm 85's beautiful image of steadfast love and faithfulness meeting each other. The Epistle continues into Romans 10, with Paul's insistence that the word of faith is not far away but near — on our lips, in our hearts — and his celebration of the beautiful feet of those who carry good news.For preachers continuing a series: the Matthew narrative arc is picking up momentum. The identity of Jesus is being asked with increasing urgency — the disciples' confession at the end of this scene (“Truly you are the Son of God”) anticipates the great confession at Caesarea Philippi in two weeks. Something is building.The ReadingsGenesis 37:1–4, 12–28First Reading (Track One) — Joseph Sold Into SlaverySummaryThe Joseph story begins; this will become the longest narrative in the book of Genesis. Jacob favors Joseph — the son of his old age — and dresses him in the famous coat that will follow him into legend. The brothers see the favoritism, feel the sting of Joseph's dreams that place him above them, and cannot bring themselves to speak peaceably to him. When Jacob sends Joseph to check on his brothers at pasture, they see him coming from a distance and plot his death. Reuben talks them out of murder and throws him into a pit, hoping to rescue him later. Judah spots a caravan of traders and suggests selling him instead. The brothers sit down to a meal while Joseph is in the pit. Then they pull him out, sell him for twenty pieces of silver, and let him disappear into Egypt.Key Ideas for Preaching* The family in this story is genuinely dysfunctional. Parental favoritism produces jealousy; jealousy produces murderous rage; rage becomes trafficking. Genesis does not clean any of this up. What does it look like to preach honestly about the destructive patterns in a family that many of your people have inherited in their own?* Reuben tries to save Joseph without confronting the brothers. Judah calculates a middle path — profit rather than murder. Neither of these is heroism. Where in your congregation has quiet compromise passed for moral courage, and how might the text expose that?* The most chilling detail in the scene is that the brothers sit down to eat while Joseph is in the pit. Cruelty and appetite living together in the same body. Where has your congregation grown comfortable eating while others suffer, and what would it look like to notice again?* The Joseph story that begins here will end with reconciliation and rescue. But the reconciliation is decades away. What does it look like to preach the opening of a story whose good ending we know, without collapsing the pain of the beginning?Significant Cautions* The trafficking of Joseph is a real evil, not just a plot device. Do not use it as a metaphor in a way that minimizes what actually happened to him — or what still happens to trafficked people today.* “God used it for good” is where this story eventually ends up, but it does not begin there. Do not use the eventual outcome to blame the victim or to bless the brothers' cruelty in advance.* Joseph is not blameless in the family dynamic. His dreams and his coat are part of what has produced the tension. But that does not make him deserve any of what happens.* Do not preach Jacob's favoritism as a charming quirk. It is a wound the family will carry for generations.Psalm 105:1–6, 16–22, 45bThe Psalm (Track One) — Joseph in FettersSummaryThis section of the great remembering psalm now focuses on Joseph specifically. God sent a famine on the land; he sent a man before them — Joseph, sold as a slave. His feet were hurt with fetters, his neck put in a collar of iron, until his word came true and God's word tested him. Then the king sent for him and set him over his household. The psalm remembers Joseph's suffering openly, as part of God's long faithfulness.Key Ideas for Preaching* The psalm names Joseph's suffering openly — feet in fetters, neck in iron — before it names his elevation. It does not skip over the pain. What does it look like for your congregation to remember the hard chapters of God's people alongside the good ones, without pretending either did not happen?* “The word of the Lord tested him.” That is a striking phrase. Joseph's suffering is not caused by God's word, but it is what he had to endure while God's word did its slow work. Where in your congregation are people enduring something long and hard while God's promise seems to be delayed?Significant Cautions* “The word of the Lord tested him” can be misread to suggest that God causes suffering to test people. The psalm is describing the experience of waiting for God's promise, not endorsing a theology of trial.1 Kings 19:9–18First Reading (Track Two) — Elijah at HorebSummaryElijah has just fled Queen Jezebel's threat on his life after killing the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. Exhausted and suicidal — in the verses just before our reading, he asks God to take his life — he has walked forty days into the wilderness and arrived at Horeb, the mountain of Moses. He goes into a cave. The Lord's voice asks: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Elijah answers with a complaint. God tells him to stand on the mountain. Wind splits rocks; earthquake shakes; fire burns — but the Lord is in none of these. Then a sound of sheer silence — or, in older translations, a still small voice. Elijah wraps his face in his mantle. God asks the same question again. Elijah gives the same answer. God sends him back with an assignment to anoint successors, and with the correction that seven thousand others in Israel have not bowed to Baal.Key Ideas for Preaching* Elijah is not simply tired. He is suicidal. Just before our reading, he has asked God to take his life. What does it look like to preach on this text with tenderness for those in your congregation who have been that low, without preaching over their heads?* God does not lecture Elijah out of his despair. In the verses just before ours, God feeds him and lets him sleep before saying anything at all. Only then comes the question — twice — “What are you doing here?” That is pastoral care, not correction. How might your sermon model the same slowness with people in crisis?* The famous line is that the Lord was not in the wind or the earthquake or the fire, but in the sound of sheer silence. That is not a general rule about how God speaks; it is what Elijah needed to hear that day. Where in your congregation are people expecting God only in the dramatic, and how might this text open the possibility of a quieter meeting?* God's correction of Elijah's “I alone am left” is the one honest word in the whole scene. Elijah has been sure of his isolation, and he has been wrong. Seven thousand others have stayed faithful. Where in your congregation are people convinced they are alone in their faithfulness, and how might the text steady them?* God sends Elijah back to work. The vision is not the end. The next day begins. What does it look like to preach that quiet encounters lead to ordinary faithfulness, not away from it?Significant Cautions* Do not universalize “God is in the quiet.” God is in the dramatic too, elsewhere in Scripture. The text describes what Elijah needed that day, not a doctrine about how God always comes.* Do not treat Elijah's suicidal despair as a stage he had to move through to reach the still small voice. The despair is real, and any congregant hearing this text may be living it. Handle with care, and if it fits your context, name real resources for those who need them.* The seven thousand who have not bowed to Baal are named to correct Elijah's loneliness, not to diminish his suffering. Do not use this line to tell someone in real isolation that they are wrong to feel alone.* “Still small voice” is one translation choice among several. “Sound of sheer silence” is another. If you dwell on the phrase, mention that faithful translators disagree — both readings are honest attempts at a Hebrew phrase that resists a single English equivalent.Psalm 85:8–13The Psalm (Track Two) — Steadfast Love and Faithfulness MeetSummaryA short psalm of confidence. The psalmist commits to hear what God will speak — a word of peace to God's people. God's salvation is near. Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. The land will yield its increase; righteousness will go before God and prepare a way.Key Ideas for Preaching* The image at the center is remarkable: steadfast love and faithfulness meeting, righteousness and peace kissing. The qualities we sometimes hold apart — mercy and truth, justice and peace — belong together in God. Where has your congregation been forced to choose between qualities that should meet, and how might this psalm free them from the false choice?* Paired with the Gospel, the psalm's promise that God speaks peace prepares us to hear Jesus' “take heart; do not be afraid” across the water. What might it look like to let the psalm set the ear before the Gospel arrives?Significant Cautions* The kiss of righteousness and peace is a poetic image, not a policy platform. Do not press it into a specific political program on the pulpit.Romans 10:5–15The Epistle — The Word Is Near YouSummaryPaul insists that the word of faith is not far away. It is not up in heaven or down in the deep; it is near — on our lips and in our hearts. If we confess with our lips and believe in our hearts, we are saved. There is no distinction between Jew and Greek: the same Lord is Lord of all, and everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Paul closes with the chain that has echoed through Christian preaching ever since — how are they to call if they have not believed? how are they to believe if they have not heard? how are they to hear without someone to proclaim? And how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.Key Ideas for Preaching* Paul's insistence is that the word is near — not far, not hard to reach, not on the other side of a wall. The proclamation of the gospel does not require a journey to a mountain. Where has your congregation been treating the word as if it were still up in heaven, and how might Paul's nearness correct that?* “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.” The image is homely — ordinary walking feet on ordinary ground. Where in your congregation are people already walking with good news, without knowing that the walking itself is being called beautiful?* Paul's chain — how are they to hear without a proclaimer? — is not about ministerial guilt. It is a description of how the word travels. What might your congregation do differently if they saw themselves as one link in that chain, not as those who have to carry the whole load?Significant Cautions* “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” has been used narrowly, to test who is inside and outside. Paul's flow of thought here is expansive, not restrictive. The point is how widely the invitation goes, not how narrow the gate is.* The “no distinction between Jew and Greek” line has sometimes been misread to argue that Christianity has replaced Judaism. Paul, a Jew, is not saying that. He is saying that God's covenant is expanding, not being reassigned.* “How beautiful are the feet” has been used to guilt people into evangelistic performance. Paul is celebrating the goodness of the walking, not measuring how many miles you have covered.Matthew 14:22–33The Gospel — Walking on WaterSummaryImmediately after the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus makes the disciples get into the boat and cross the sea while he stays behind to dismiss the crowds. He goes up the mountain to pray, alone. The boat is far from shore, battered by the wind, when in the fourth watch of the night — sometime before dawn — Jesus comes to them, walking on the sea. They are terrified. He speaks: take heart; it is I; do not be afraid. Peter, characteristically, asks for proof — command me to come to you on the water. Jesus does. Peter walks a few steps on the water toward Jesus. Then he notices the wind, becomes afraid, and starts to sink. Lord, save me. Jesus immediately reaches out and catches him: you of little faith, why did you doubt? They climb into the boat; the wind stops. The disciples in the boat worship him: truly you are the Son of God.Key Ideas for Preaching* Notice where Jesus is when the storm starts. He is on the mountain praying, alone. Last week we watched him serve from within his grief; this week he is in the deeper solitude that grief-serving people need. What does it mean that the compassion of Christ is fed by his own solitude with the Father?* Jesus does not calm the storm before coming to the disciples. He comes across the storm, in the storm, walking on the very water that is battering them. Where in your congregation are people waiting for the storm to end before Christ arrives, when the text is showing them a Christ who comes in the middle of it?* “Take heart; it is I; do not be afraid.” The Greek behind “it is I” is ego eimi — “I am” — the same phrase used for God's name at the burning bush. Matthew is signaling that this walking figure is not just a man. What might it mean for your congregation to hear the walking Jesus as the God who once named himself I AM at Sinai?* Peter's boldness and Peter's fear are the same Peter. He asks to walk; he walks; he notices the wind; he sinks. Every reader recognizes this. Where in your congregation are people ashamed of the same mix — of the boldness that took them out onto the water and the fear that pulled them back — and what would it mean for them to hear that Peter is us?* Jesus reaches out immediately. There is no delay. There is no lecture first. There is no letting Peter sink a little longer so that he learns. Christ catches him as soon as he cries out. Where in your congregation are people afraid that Christ will let them sink, and how might this immediacy steady them?* “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” The phrasing is often preached as harsh, but the tone in the Greek is more tender — a real question, an invitation to wonder. Jesus is not shaming Peter for the doubt; he is asking him to look at it. How might your sermon receive this question the way it might have been asked — quietly, on the water, one hand still in Peter's?Significant Cautions* “You of little faith” has been used to shame doubt for centuries. The tone in Matthew is not the tone of most sermons that quote it. Handle with care.* Do not preach this as a “have more faith” sermon. Peter did not sink because his faith was too small; he sank because he took his eyes off Christ and looked at the storm. The prescription is not more effort but redirected attention.* “Walking on water” has been metaphorized in ways that empty the story of its actual claim about who Jesus is. The scene is not a self-help image; it is Matthew making a claim about the identity of Christ.* Do not use this text to blame those whose lives are storm-tossed for their lack of faith. The storm was not caused by the disciples' unfaithfulness; it was simply where they were.* The disciples' confession at the end — “truly you are the Son of God” — is the first time in Matthew a group of disciples says this out loud. Do not skip past its weight. It is the fruit of the encounter, not just a closing line.Thematic ConnectionsThe Gospel is the natural center for the day. Matthew has placed the walking on water immediately after the feeding of the five thousand — the same Christ, the same disciples, the same night. The feeding showed us what Christ does when the crowd is hungry. The walking on water shows us what he does when his own disciples are afraid. Both scenes hinge on a compassion that acts from within the situation, not at a safe distance.On Track One, Joseph's story is beginning. The opening chapter of a long saga in which God's promise is delayed by human cruelty, delivered eventually, and revealed as having been at work through the whole terrible middle. The pairing with the Gospel is more thematic than direct: Joseph, like Peter, is going to spend time sinking before he is caught. Psalm 105 gives us the tradition's own reading of Joseph's suffering — feet in fetters, neck in iron — as part of the long work of God's fidelity. Preachers can hold Joseph's descent and Peter's sinking together, both as stories of God's people going down before God's rescue comes.On Track Two, Elijah at Horeb and the Gospel share a striking feature: God comes not in the loud and dramatic but in something quieter — the sound of sheer silence for Elijah, and, for the disciples in the storm, the walking figure and the tender “take heart.” Psalm 85's promise that God speaks peace prepares the ear. The whole track invites a congregation to trust that God shows up in ways more tender than dramatic. But it can also honor the moments when the dramatic is what is needed — as it is when Peter is sinking and Jesus reaches out immediately.Romans 10 sits inside the day as the invitation. The word is near — on our lips, in our hearts. There is no distance to cross to reach God's love. The Christ who walks across the water in the Gospel is the one whose word is already inside us in Romans. And the beautiful feet of the messengers are also, quite specifically, the feet that stepped out of the boat and, briefly, walked on the water.For preachers continuing a series: the Matthew arc keeps unfolding. The identity of Jesus is being asked with more urgency each week. Peter's confession at the end of this scene (“truly you are the Son of God”) anticipates the great confession at Caesarea Philippi in two weeks. The Gospel is building toward something. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lectionarypro.substack.com/subscribe

Morning Worship Sermon with Rev. Bud Hance Scripture reference Mark 8:27-29  27 Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say that I am?” 28 So they answered “John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 29 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.”

13 And Jesus came into the quarters of Caesarea Philippi: and he asked his disciples, saying: Whom do men say that the Son of man is?Venit autem Jesus in partes Caesareae Philippi : et interrogabat discipulos suos, dicens : Quem dicunt homines esse Filium hominis? 14 But they said: Some John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets.At illi dixerunt : Alii Joannem Baptistam, alii autem Eliam, alii vero Jeremiam, aut unum ex prophetis. 15 Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am?Dicit illis Jesus : Vos autem, quem me esse dicitis? 16 Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God.Respondens Simon Petrus dixit : Tu es Christus, Filius Dei vivi. 17 And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven.Respondens autem Jesus, dixit ei : Beatus es Simon Bar Jona : quia caro et sanguis non revelavit tibi, sed Pater meus, qui in caelis est. 18 And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.Et ego dico tibi, quia tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam, et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversus eam. 19 And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.Et tibi dabo claves regni caelorum. Et quodcumque ligaveris super terram, erit ligatum et in caelis : et quodcumque solveris super terram, erit solutum et in caelis.[18] "Thou art Peter": As St. Peter, by divine revelation, here made a solemn profession of his faith of the divinity of Christ; so in recompense of this faith and profession, our Lord here declares to him the dignity to which he is pleased to raise him: viz., that he to whom he had already given the name of Peter, signifying a rock, St. John 1. 42, should be a rock indeed, of invincible strength, for the support of the building of the church; in which building he should be, next to Christ himself, the chief foundation stone, in quality of chief pastor, ruler, and governor; and should have accordingly all fulness of ecclesiastical power, signified by the keys of the kingdom of heaven.[18] "Upon this rock": The words of Christ to Peter, spoken in the vulgar language of the Jews which our Lord made use of, were the same as if he had said in English, Thou art a Rock, and upon this rock I will build my church. So that, by the plain course of the words, Peter is here declared to be the rock, upon which the church was to be built: Christ himself being both the principal foundation and founder of the same. Where also note, that Christ, by building his house, that is, his church, upon a rock, has thereby secured it against all storms and floods, like the wise builder, [Matt 7:24-25].[18] "The gates of hell": That is, the powers of darkness, and whatever Satan can do, either by himself, or his agents. For as the church is here likened to a house, or fortress, built on a rock; so the adverse powers are likened to a contrary house or fortress, the gates of which, that is, the whole strength, and all the efforts it can make, will never be able to prevail over the city or church of Christ. By this promise we are fully assured, that neither idolatry, heresy, nor any pernicious error whatsoever shall at any time prevail over the church of Christ.[19] "Loose upon earth": The loosing the bands of temporal punishments due to sins, is called an indulgence; the power of which is here granted.The Church venerates on this day in the basilica of St Peter "ad vincula" on Mount Esquiline at Rome, the chains with which the prince of the apostles was fettered.

In Matthäus Kapitel 17 wird uns von der Verklärung Jesu berichtet. Zum besseren Verständnis der Geschichte mag ein Blick in die Vorgeschichte nützlich sein. Jesus war mit seinen Jüngern in der Nähe von Caesarea Philippi. Dort hatte er sie gefragt, was die Leute von ihm denken, für wen sie ihn halten. Danach wollte er ihre […]

Dr. Brian Hill (Senior Pastor), "What We Believe About the Church", Modern Worship Praise Team (11:15 Service).       13.  When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”       14.  They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”       15.  “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”       16.  Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”       17.  Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.  18.  And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.       (Matthew 16:13-18 NIV)       23.  Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.  24.  And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,  25.  not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.       (Hebrews 10:23-25 NIV)       42.  They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.       43.  Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.  44.  All the believers were together and had everything in common.  45.  They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.         46.  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,  47.  praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.       (Acts 2:41-47 NIV)To view a video version of the Modern Worship Service please click on the following link:   https://youtu.be/67f4FVCo4VQ(The audio version of the Modern Worship Service will most likely have to be stopped from playing or else it will be heard as well as the audio track of the video version.)

Why is Bashan? It's a strange question—but it leads to one of the Bible's most surprising connections. This week we'll journey from King Og and the giants of Bashan... to Psalm 22... to Yeshua's words on the tree... to the "gates of Sheol" at Caesarea Philippi. The forces of darkness thought they had won. But they were wrong. Join us as we discover why the Kingdom of God is on the offensive—and what it means to put on the armor of God today.

Dr. Brian Hill (Senior Pastor), "What We Believe About the Church", Choir, Blended Worship Praise Team (8:45 Service).       13.  When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”       14.  They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”       15.  “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”       16.  Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”       17.  Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.  18.  And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.       (Matthew 16:13-18 NIV)       23.  Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.  24.  And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,  25.  not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.       (Hebrews 10:23-25 NIV)       42.  They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.       43.  Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.  44.  All the believers were together and had everything in common.  45.  They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.         46.  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,  47.  praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.       (Acts 2:41-47 NIV)To view a video version of the Blended Worship Service please click on the following link:   https://youtu.be/fV-taXu-ZXg(The audio version of the Blended Worship Service will most likely have to be stopped from playing or else it will be heard as well as the audio track of the video version.)

Dr. Brian Hill (Senior Pastor), "What We Believe About the Church".       13.  When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”       14.  They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”       15.  “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”       16.  Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”       17.  Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.  18.  And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.       (Matthew 16:13-18 NIV)       23.  Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.  24.  And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,  25.  not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.       (Hebrews 10:23-25 NIV)       42.  They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.       43.  Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.  44.  All the believers were together and had everything in common.  45.  They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.         46.  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,  47.  praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.       (Acts 2:41-47 NIV)To view a video version of the Sermon please click on the following link:   https://youtu.be/6WyaRmbHAUk(The audio version of the Sermon will most likely have to be stopped from playing or else it will be heard as well as the audio track of the video version.)

2026-07-16 Real Growthby Pastor Chris Berg Scripture: Mark 8:22-3022 They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” 24 He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” 25 Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don't even go into the village.” 27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” 28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” 30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. Mandeville Bible Church   "Where God's Word is Our Foundation"https://www.mandevillebiblechurch.org/Come and see that God's Word is alive and at work right here in Mandeville.. and throughout the world!All are welcome. 217 Carroll Street, Mandeville, LA 70448Church Office: (985) 626-3114Sunday Service: 9:30AMAdult Sunday School: 10:45-11:30AMNursery and Children's church available.

Giants. A divine council. Demons and the Nephilim. Michael Heiser made the Bible's strangest passages impossible to ignore and sold hundreds of thousands of books doing it. So what does one of the world's leading spiritual-warfare scholars actually think of his work? Dr. Clint Arnold joins me today to say where Heiser gets it right, and where he pushes back. CHECK OUT: Logos Bible 60 Day Free Trial (https://logos.com/mcdowell) *Get a MASTERS IN APOLOGETICS or SCIENCE AND RELIGION at BIOLA (https://bit.ly/3LdNqKf) *USE Discount Code [smdcertdisc] for 25% off the BIOLA APOLOGETICS CERTIFICATE program (https://bit.ly/3AzfPFM) *See our fully online UNDERGRAD DEGREE in Bible, Theology, and Apologetics: (https://bit.ly/448STKK) FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Twitter: https://x.com/Sean_McDowell TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sean_mcdowell?lang=en Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmcdowell/ Website: https://seanmcdowell.org CHAPTERS 00:00 – Why Heiser captivated so many 00:35 – Who is Michael Heiser? Who is Clint Arnold? 02:45 – What makes Heiser's work unique 05:59 – Where Arnold agrees with Heiser 09:35 – The premise of The Unseen Realm: recovering a supernatural worldview 11:12 – Psalm 82, Job 38, and the divine council 14:01 – What "Elohim" actually means 15:21 – Isn't this just polytheism? 18:33 – Genesis 1:26 — "Let us make man" 21:47 – The Deuteronomy 32 worldview and cosmic geography 24:01 – David, Goliath, and the gods behind the idols 26:24 – Bashan, Caesarea Philippi, and "portals" 28:58 – Paul's theology of the unseen world (Ephesians 6) 32:14 – Does this change our spiritual warfare today? 32:32 – Peter Wagner and "strategic-level" spiritual warfare 34:12 – Why Arnold rejects targeting territorial spirits 38:24 – Command vs. prayer — and reprisal in the spirit realm 40:53 – The big disagreement: where do demons come from? 42:46 – The traditional view: a primordial angelic fall 45:59 – Genesis 6 and the sons of God 48:05 – How much weight should 1 Enoch carry? 50:53 – No exorcism in the Old Testament? 53:33 – Luke 10 and "I saw Satan fall like lightning" 56:14 – Arnold's one big addition to Heiser 58:16 – Should you read Heiser? 59:04 – Spiritual warfare at Talbot Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

We continue our Road Trip With Jesus series as Jesus and his disciples travel on the road to Caesarea Philippi. Pastor Mark Morrison will help us listen in on their conversation and hear how Jesus intends to build his church.

What if the very place you've been avoiding holds the key to everything you've been searching for? In Matthew 16, Jesus asked His disciples a question that still echoes today: "Who do you say that I am?" — and Peter's bold answer became the foundation of the Church itself. This powerful message reveals that the Church isn't just a building; it's where broken lives get repaired, weak areas get strengthened, and destinies get unlocked. Watch as a DoorDash driver received a surprise $922 blessing, reminding us that the Church actively transforms communities. Don't miss this — your story could be next.Matthew 16:13  When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

What if the very place you've been avoiding holds the key to everything you've been searching for? In Matthew 16, Jesus asked His disciples a question that still echoes today: "Who do you say that I am?" — and Peter's bold answer became the foundation of the Church itself. This powerful message reveals that the Church isn't just a building; it's where broken lives get repaired, weak areas get strengthened, and destinies get unlocked. Watch as a DoorDash driver received a surprise $922 blessing, reminding us that the Church actively transforms communities. Don't miss this — your story could be next.Matthew 16:13  When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Pastor John Schachinger Sabbath Sermon July 11, 2026 Matthew 16:13-18 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition 13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist but others Elijah and still […]

 13 And Jesus came into the quarters of Caesarea Philippi: and he asked his disciples, saying: Whom do men say that the Son of man is?Venit autem Jesus in partes Caesareae Philippi : et interrogabat discipulos suos, dicens : Quem dicunt homines esse Filium hominis? 14 But they said: Some John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets.At illi dixerunt : Alii Joannem Baptistam, alii autem Eliam, alii vero Jeremiam, aut unum ex prophetis. 15 Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am?Dicit illis Jesus : Vos autem, quem me esse dicitis? 16 Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God.Respondens Simon Petrus dixit : Tu es Christus, Filius Dei vivi. 17 And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven.Respondens autem Jesus, dixit ei : Beatus es Simon Bar Jona : quia caro et sanguis non revelavit tibi, sed Pater meus, qui in caelis est. 18 And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.Et ego dico tibi, quia tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam, et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversus eam. 19 And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.Et tibi dabo claves regni caelorum. Et quodcumque ligaveris super terram, erit ligatum et in caelis : et quodcumque solveris super terram, erit solutum et in caelis.[18] "Thou art Peter": As St. Peter, by divine revelation, here made a solemn profession of his faith of the divinity of Christ; so in recompense of this faith and profession, our Lord here declares to him the dignity to which he is pleased to raise him: viz., that he to whom he had already given the name of Peter, signifying a rock, St. John 1. 42, should be a rock indeed, of invincible strength, for the support of the building of the church; in which building he should be, next to Christ himself, the chief foundation stone, in quality of chief pastor, ruler, and governor; and should have accordingly all fulness of ecclesiastical power, signified by the keys of the kingdom of heaven.[18] "Upon this rock": The words of Christ to Peter, spoken in the vulgar language of the Jews which our Lord made use of, were the same as if he had said in English, Thou art a Rock, and upon this rock I will build my church. So that, by the plain course of the words, Peter is here declared to be the rock, upon which the church was to be built: Christ himself being both the principal foundation and founder of the same. Where also note, that Christ, by building his house, that is, his church, upon a rock, has thereby secured it against all storms and floods, like the wise builder, [Matt 7:24-25].[18] "The gates of hell": That is, the powers of darkness, and whatever Satan can do, either by himself, or his agents. For as the church is here likened to a house, or fortress, built on a rock; so the adverse powers are likened to a contrary house or fortress, the gates of which, that is, the whole strength, and all the efforts it can make, will never be able to prevail over the city or church of Christ. By this promise we are fully assured, that neither idolatry, heresy, nor any pernicious error whatsoever shall at any time prevail over the church of Christ.[19] "Loose upon earth": The loosing the bands of temporal punishments due to sins, is called an indulgence; the power of which is here granted.

Join Mike Sandusky as he continues our sermon series "Book of Matthew: Reality of the Kingdom."In Matthew 16:1-20, we confront two critical questions: How do we see Jesus for who He really is? and Do we actually live like He's as powerful as He says He is?From the Pharisees demanding a sign, to the disciples forgetting the loaves, to Peter's confession at Caesarea Philippi — this passage shows us the danger of missing Jesus when He's right in front of us, and the life-changing reality when God opens our eyes.---SUBSCRIBE and get the latest messages: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVIzzCy3Z9Zsk0GwAH-yJ7g?sub_confirmation=1Watch this:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5De6-FwIKq4&t=1sTo support this ministry and help us continue to reach people click here: http://kingschurchkc.com/giveWe are a movement for all people to find and follow Jesus Christ.——Stay ConnectedWebsite: www.kingschurchkc.comKings Church Facebook: Facebook.com/kingschurchkcKings Church Instagram: Instagram.com/kingschurchkc#kingschurch #faith #Christianity #kansascity #onlinechurch #churchonline #hope #churchesinkansascity

Pastor Jared delivers a sermon on Luke chapter 9 and the call to take up one's cross daily. He discusses the historical context of Caesarea Philippi, the meaning of Peter as a 'rock,' and the necessity of denying oneself to follow Christ. The sermon concludes with a baptism.

What did the location of Peter's great confession reveal about what Jesus was claiming? In this Beyond the Notes episode, Pastor Russell Howard goes beyond his notes from Sunday's sermon on Matthew 16 to explore the geography and archaeology of Caesarea Philippi. He traces the city's history as a center of pagan worship, explains the significance of the cave known as the Gate of Hades, and unpacks the petros/petra distinction Jesus drew between Peter and the rock on which he would build his church. The geography does not complete the text. But for anyone who has ever read Matthew 16 and sensed there is more beneath the surface, this episode brings the setting into focus in a way that makes the confession of Christ land with full weight. Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026 Visit Our Website at McGregorPodcast.com New to McGregor? Plan a visit at mcgregor.net/plan-a-visit

The King Has Come "The Great Confession" (Matthew 16:13-20) The world is full of people who think well of Jesus. Every major religion has something generous to say about him. Most people in your neighborhood, given the chance, would call him a great teacher or a profound moral leader. But in Matthew 16, Jesus makes clear that a high opinion is not the same as the right answer. In this sermon, Pastor Russell Howard works through Matthew 16:13-20 from Caesarea Philippi, a city built for idolatry at the northern edge of Jesus's earthly ministry. There, surrounded by temples to false gods, Jesus asks his disciples the one question that cuts through every polite comparison: "Who do you say that I am?" Peter's answer, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," is not something he reasoned his way to. Jesus is clear: the Father revealed it. That distinction matters for every believer. Faith in Christ is not a conclusion you earned. It is a grace you received. Pastor Howard also addresses one of the most misread verses in the Gospels: "on this rock I will build my church." He traces the difference between petros (the name given to Peter, a small stone) and petra (the bedrock of the confession itself), showing that the church stands on the truth that Jesus is the Christ, not on any man. From there, the sermon moves to the certainty Jesus gives his church: that she belongs to him, that the organized forces of darkness will not prevail against her, and that she carries the responsibility of faithfully reflecting the Kingdom in how she receives and releases members. Sermon Notes June 28, 2026 Pastor Russell Howard • Lead Pastor Presented by McGregor Podcast 2026 Visit Our Website at McGregorPodcast.com New to McGregor? Plan a visit at mcgregor.net/plan-a-visit

13 And Jesus came into the quarters of Caesarea Philippi: and he asked his disciples, saying: Whom do men say that the Son of man is?Venit autem Jesus in partes Caesareae Philippi : et interrogabat discipulos suos, dicens : Quem dicunt homines esse Filium hominis? 14 But they said: Some John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets.At illi dixerunt : Alii Joannem Baptistam, alii autem Eliam, alii vero Jeremiam, aut unum ex prophetis. 15 Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am?Dicit illis Jesus : Vos autem, quem me esse dicitis? 16 Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God.Respondens Simon Petrus dixit : Tu es Christus, Filius Dei vivi. 17 And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven.Respondens autem Jesus, dixit ei : Beatus es Simon Bar Jona : quia caro et sanguis non revelavit tibi, sed Pater meus, qui in caelis est. 18 And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.Et ego dico tibi, quia tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam, et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversus eam. 19 And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.Et tibi dabo claves regni caelorum. Et quodcumque ligaveris super terram, erit ligatum et in caelis : et quodcumque solveris super terram, erit solutum et in caelis.The Apostles Peter and Paul are the two princes of the Apostles, the foundations of the Church, on which she is firmly established as on a rock. This feast is almost entirely devoted to St Peter, the Bishop of Rome, the great Apostle of the Gentiles being more specially honored on June 30. The lessons and prayers of this Mass describe how his Lord and Master Jesus Christ prepared the fervent Apostle, St Peter, for the supreme office of the Papacy.After the descent of the Holy Ghost St Peter preached the Gospel in Judea and was cast into prison by Herod Agrippa. He was miraculously delivered by an Angel and established his see first at Antioch, and then finally at Rome, where the first pope exercised for twenty-five years the Supreme Authority vested in him by Christ Himself. Then he was arrested, and like St Paul suffered martyrdom A.D. 65. This Feast marks the day of the translation of their relics.

What if some of the things Christians fight about most aren't actually the most important things?In the opening message of the new Misunderstood series, Pastor Nathan challenges us to examine how tradition, assumptions, and even good theology can sometimes distract us from the presence of God. Through Matthew 16, the confession of Peter, Caesarea Philippi, and the gates of hell, we discover that Scripture is often deeper than we realize. But this message isn't ultimately about theology debates.It's about relationship.It's about seeking God's presence instead of merely accumulating knowledge about God. It's about allowing the Holy Spirit to transform our hearts instead of simply winning arguments. Whether you've followed Jesus for years or you're wrestling with difficult questions, this message will challenge you to pursue the presence of God above everything else.For more on LifePoint Church go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lifepointaz.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out our merch store ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://lifepointaz-shop.fourthwall.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Find all our links in one easy spot ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/lifepointaz ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on Facebook ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/lifepointaz ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/lifepointchurchaz/

13 And Jesus came into the quarters of Caesarea Philippi: and he asked his disciples, saying: Whom do men say that the Son of man is?Venit autem Jesus in partes Caesareae Philippi : et interrogabat discipulos suos, dicens : Quem dicunt homines esse Filium hominis? 14 But they said: Some John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets.At illi dixerunt : Alii Joannem Baptistam, alii autem Eliam, alii vero Jeremiam, aut unum ex prophetis. 15 Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am?Dicit illis Jesus : Vos autem, quem me esse dicitis? 16 Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God.Respondens Simon Petrus dixit : Tu es Christus, Filius Dei vivi. 17 And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven.Respondens autem Jesus, dixit ei : Beatus es Simon Bar Jona : quia caro et sanguis non revelavit tibi, sed Pater meus, qui in caelis est. 18 And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.Et ego dico tibi, quia tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam, et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversus eam. 19 And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.Et tibi dabo claves regni caelorum. Et quodcumque ligaveris super terram, erit ligatum et in caelis : et quodcumque solveris super terram, erit solutum et in caelis.[18] "Thou art Peter": As St. Peter, by divine revelation, here made a solemn profession of his faith of the divinity of Christ; so in recompense of this faith and profession, our Lord here declares to him the dignity to which he is pleased to raise him: viz., that he to whom he had already given the name of Peter, signifying a rock, St. John 1. 42, should be a rock indeed, of invincible strength, for the support of the building of the church; in which building he should be, next to Christ himself, the chief foundation stone, in quality of chief pastor, ruler, and governor; and should have accordingly all fulness of ecclesiastical power, signified by the keys of the kingdom of heaven.[18] "Upon this rock": The words of Christ to Peter, spoken in the vulgar language of the Jews which our Lord made use of, were the same as if he had said in English, Thou art a Rock, and upon this rock I will build my church. So that, by the plain course of the words, Peter is here declared to be the rock, upon which the church was to be built: Christ himself being both the principal foundation and founder of the same. Where also note, that Christ, by building his house, that is, his church, upon a rock, has thereby secured it against all storms and floods, like the wise builder, [Matt 7:24-25].[18] "The gates of hell": That is, the powers of darkness, and whatever Satan can do, either by himself, or his agents. For as the church is here likened to a house, or fortress, built on a rock; so the adverse powers are likened to a contrary house or fortress, the gates of which, that is, the whole strength, and all the efforts it can make, will never be able to prevail over the city or church of Christ. By this promise we are fully assured, that neither idolatry, heresy, nor any pernicious error whatsoever shall at any time prevail over the church of Christ.[19] "Loose upon earth": The loosing the bands of temporal punishments due to sins, is called an indulgence; the power of which is here granted.St Silverius was exiled by order of the Empress Theodosia to the Island of Pontus, where he died, after many privations and sufferings, A.D. 538.

Many are addicted to revelation, but few are transformed by it.   In this message, The Purpose of Revelation, I dive straight into a sobering word the Lord dropped in my heart: week after week, believers position themselves to hear God's Word, yet remain completely unchanged. We look closely at the story of Peter, who carried the ultimate revelation of who Jesus was at Caesarea Philippi, but still had to go through a deep process before his character was truly transformed. True revelation is meant to be the front door to a responsible, active faith—not a spiritual high that leaves us paralyzed in our old nature.   It is time to step past the front door of simply hearing and start walking in the raw Kingdom authority that belongs to you.   Muchas gracias to House of Prayer for All Nations at Pensacola, Florida for having me!   Click here to go to the official Revival Cry YouTube channel. To see the Revival Cry podcast on another streaming service, click here.   To support Revival Cry or find out more information, go to revivalcry.org Email us at info@revivalcry.org  Follow @RevivalCryInternational on Facebook and Instagram.   Revival Cry Resources:  ⏵ Be an Evangelist or Do Evangelism ⏵ How to Become a Burning Bush ⏵ Hearing God through His Creation

Can archaeology really confirm what the Bible records? In this episode of inContext, Dr. Michael Easley sits down with archaeologist and Dallas Theological Seminary professor Dr. Paul Weaver to discuss his new book, Faith Affirming Findings: 50 Archaeological Discoveries That Validate the Historicity and Reliability of Scripture. From the fallen walls of Jericho to Hezekiah's Tunnel, the Pool of Siloam, Peter's house in Capernaum, and the famous Lachish Reliefs, Dr. Weaver explores some of the most compelling archaeological discoveries connected to the biblical world. Together, they discuss how these findings continue to challenge skepticism and strengthen confidence in the Bible's historical reliability. Whether you're interested in biblical archaeology, apologetics, Israel, or defending your faith, this conversation offers fascinating insights into how archaeology helps illuminate Scripture and its historical context. If you've ever wondered whether the Bible can be trusted, this episode is for you. Chapters 00:00 Archaeology and the Bible: Critics Proven Wrong 00:40 Introduction to Dr. Paul Weaver 03:23 Can Archaeology Validate Scripture? 03:51 Minimalists vs. Maximalists Explained 07:56 Jericho and the Fallen Walls 12:14 The Lachish Reliefs and Assyrian Evidence 17:10 Hezekiah's Tunnel and Jerusalem's Defense 21:10 The Discovery of the Pool of Siloam 22:33 Peter's House in Capernaum 26:33 The Magdala Synagogue Discovery 33:30 Caesarea Philippi and Peter's Confession 38:13 Why Archaeology Strengthens Faith 39:16 Final Encouragement for Bible Students Key Topics Covered Biblical archaeology and Christian faith Archaeological evidence for Scripture David, Belshazzar, and historical verification Jericho and Joshua's conquest The Lachish Reliefs and King Sennacherib Hezekiah's Tunnel in Jerusalem The Pool of Siloam discovery Peter's house in Capernaum The Magdala Synagogue Caesarea Philippi and Jesus' ministry Bible reliability and apologetics Israel and archaeological discoveries How archaeology responds to skepticism Faith-affirming evidence from the ancient world Links Mentioned Faith Affirming Findings by Dr. Paul Weaver More of Dr. Weaver's books Watch the highlights and full version of this interview on our Youtube channel. For more inContext interviews, click here.

Ghost and Ashe in America walk through season four episode two of The Chosen, which opens with John the Baptist appearing to Jesus in a dream with broken chains and ends with Matthew finally apologizing to Peter at the altar of Pan. In between, the disciples sit Shiva on the open road, Andrew discovers he is no longer the anxious one, and Jesus drags everyone to Caesarea Philippi where the pagans are bringing goats into the temple for purposes that are not sacrifice. The hosts unpack why he brought them to the gates of hell to give Peter his new name and why "on this rock I will build my church" comes with "get behind me, Satan" three verses later. Then the conversation gets personal. Matthew confronting Peter on the road. The principle that you apologize to repent, not to be forgiven. Turning harmony into an idol and how false decorum has gutted the Western church. The 501(c)(3) trap. Seventy times seven and how cycles of revenge end. And Ashe sharing the story of her brother's killer being released from prison this past February and the choice she has been working through ever since.

In this compelling message, Greg Bryan dives into Matthew 14-20 to explore the "surprising and costly grace" of King Jesus. Opening with a fascinating breakdown of the Hebrew letters in God's personal name (Yahweh)—which symbolically translate to "behold the hand, behold the nail"—the speaker demonstrates how the Old Testament conceals what the New Testament ultimately reveals through Christ. Throughout the study, listeners are challenged to examine their own hearts and develop a "big view of God" that transforms how they live, trust, and forgive.Key Themes & Facets of Grace: Grace Multiplies Our Little: Looking at the feeding of the 5,000, we learn that when we surrender our inadequate resources to Jesus, His authoritative hands multiply them into more than enough. This miracle reveals Him as the true shepherd and the bread of life. Grace Meets Us in the Storm: Through the story of Jesus walking on water, it becomes clear that grace isn't the absence of trouble, but rather the very presence of Christ stepping into our chaos to save us when we sink. Grace Transcends Barriers: Jesus's encounter with the Canaanite woman proves that His mercy shatters ethnic, gender, and religious boundaries, overflowing to anyone who approaches Him with desperate, humble faith. Grace Redeems Our Identity: Following Peter's bold confession at Caesarea Philippi, we see that our truest identity is not found in our past failures, occupations, or cultural labels, but strictly in our union with the Son of the Living God. Grace Calls Us to Die: True discipleship means abandoning self-preservation to take up our cross, as grace redeems us by crucifying our old, self-centered identities and conforming us to Christ. Grace Demands Radical Forgiveness: The parable of the unmerciful servant illustrates that because God has forgiven our unpayable sin debt, we are called to freely and radically forgive others. Grace Offends Human Fairness: Through the parable of the vineyard workers, we are reminded that salvation is a generous gift from God, operating on an entirely different economy than human merit, entitlement, or comparison.Conclusion: The session wraps up with a poignant reflection question for the audience: "What is your view of God right now?" A small view of God leads us to trust ourselves, judge others, and seek comfort, whereas a big view of God empowers us to live boldly by faith, expect trials, and generously extend grace to others.

There are moments in Scripture that feel bigger than history. The plagues of Egypt, the Tower of Babel, Mount Hermon, and the words of Jesus at Caesarea Philippi all point to a spiritual conflict that goes far beyond what most people realize. Egypt's gods were not powerless myths carved from stone but entities tied to darkness, rebellion, and deception. Every plague in Exodus became a public judgment against those powers, revealing the supremacy of God over every throne, principality, and false authority worshiped by man.From the Tower of Babel to Mount Hermon, mountains throughout Scripture became places connected with rebellion, false worship, and attempts to access supernatural power apart from God. Caesarea Philippi stood as one of the clearest declarations that hell itself would not overcome the Church of Jesus Christ.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today, Pastor Jeff helps us explore an important question Jesus asked His disciples: "Who do you say I am?" We'll discover that Jesus is far more than just a good teacher — He is God's Promised Son who came to rescue us from sin and restore our relationship with God. Matthew 16:13  When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 

13 And Jesus came into the quarters of Caesarea Philippi: and he asked his disciples, saying: Whom do men say that the Son of man is?Venit autem Jesus in partes Caesareae Philippi : et interrogabat discipulos suos, dicens : Quem dicunt homines esse Filium hominis? 14 But they said: Some John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets.At illi dixerunt : Alii Joannem Baptistam, alii autem Eliam, alii vero Jeremiam, aut unum ex prophetis. 15 Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am?Dicit illis Jesus : Vos autem, quem me esse dicitis? 16 Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God.Respondens Simon Petrus dixit : Tu es Christus, Filius Dei vivi. 17 And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven.Respondens autem Jesus, dixit ei : Beatus es Simon Bar Jona : quia caro et sanguis non revelavit tibi, sed Pater meus, qui in caelis est. 18 And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.Et ego dico tibi, quia tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam, et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversus eam. 19 And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.Et tibi dabo claves regni caelorum. Et quodcumque ligaveris super terram, erit ligatum et in caelis : et quodcumque solveris super terram, erit solutum et in caelis.[18] "Thou art Peter": As St. Peter, by divine revelation, here made a solemn profession of his faith of the divinity of Christ; so in recompense of this faith and profession, our Lord here declares to him the dignity to which he is pleased to raise him: viz., that he to whom he had already given the name of Peter, signifying a rock, St. John 1. 42, should be a rock indeed, of invincible strength, for the support of the building of the church; in which building he should be, next to Christ himself, the chief foundation stone, in quality of chief pastor, ruler, and governor; and should have accordingly all fulness of ecclesiastical power, signified by the keys of the kingdom of heaven.[18] "Upon this rock": The words of Christ to Peter, spoken in the vulgar language of the Jews which our Lord made use of, were the same as if he had said in English, Thou art a Rock, and upon this rock I will build my church. So that, by the plain course of the words, Peter is here declared to be the rock, upon which the church was to be built: Christ himself being both the principal foundation and founder of the same. Where also note, that Christ, by building his house, that is, his church, upon a rock, has thereby secured it against all storms and floods, like the wise builder, [Matt 7:24-25].[18] "The gates of hell": That is, the powers of darkness, and whatever Satan can do, either by himself, or his agents. For as the church is here likened to a house, or fortress, built on a rock; so the adverse powers are likened to a contrary house or fortress, the gates of which, that is, the whole strength, and all the efforts it can make, will never be able to prevail over the city or church of Christ. By this promise we are fully assured, that neither idolatry, heresy, nor any pernicious error whatsoever shall at any time prevail over the church of Christ.[19] "Loose upon earth": The loosing the bands of temporal punishments due to sins, is called an indulgence; the power of which is here granted.St Peter founded a branch of the Benedictine Order: the Celestines. Dragged forth from the solitude he loved, he was made Supreme Pontiff: he resigned the papacy in order to continue his hermit life. He died A.D. 1296.

Mark 8:22-30 22 And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. 23 And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” 24 And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” 25 Then Jesus[c] laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.” 27 And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” 30 And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him. The Trap of "Snake Oil" and False Promises The history of "snake oil" reveals a pattern where human desperation for healing leads to exploitation by those promising instant, miraculous cures. Unlike these false promises, faith in Jesus is not a "magic tonic" for immediate relief of all earthly problems, but a commitment to a deeper restorative work. The Significance of the Two-Stage Miracle (Mark 8:22-26) In an unusual account, Jesus heals a blind man in stages, first restoring partial, blurry vision before providing total clarity. This intentional "two-stage" healing serves as a physical parable, illustrating that spiritual understanding and healing often happen gradually rather than all at once. Jesus Will Heal You, and His Timing is Better Jesus offers ultimate physical, emotional, and spiritual healing, yet He maintains authority over the timing and the journey. While we may desire instant transformation, the biblical concept of being "saved" refers both to our immediate forgiveness as well as a progressive process of growing in holiness and becoming more like Him over time. Living as a "Work in Progress" True spiritual growth requires admitting that we still have healing to do in our hearts and our misunderstandings of God. Because every believer is in a different stage of this process, we must extend the same patience and grace to others—and to ourselves—that Jesus showed His disciples. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Icebreaker Jeremy talked about the history of "snake oil" and other fake cures. What is the most "too good to be true" product or health trend you have ever seen advertised or perhaps even tried yourself? Discussion Questions In the account from Mark 8:22-26, Jesus heals a blind man in two distinct stages rather than all at once. Why do you think Jesus might choose a gradual, progressive process for healing or spiritual growth in our lives today instead of providing an instant "fix"? The healing of the blind man suggests the disciples had "blurry" spiritual vision—requiring a long time together before Peter eventually realized He was the Christ. In what areas of your own faith do you feel like you are still moving from "blurry" vision to clarity? The sermon mentioned that while Jesus will heal us, "His timing is best". How can we maintain our trust in His goodness when we face a "no" to our prayers for immediate relief, similar to Paul's experience with his "thorn in the flesh"? Reflection Questions "Do you believe you still have some healing to do?". How does admitting that you are still a "work in progress" help you remain open to God's ongoing transformation in your heart? If a church is made up of hundreds of people who are all in different stages of a "messy" healing process, how should that reality change the way we extend grace and patience to one another during disagreements or personal failures? Sometimes we are hardest on ourselves, believing that areas of our lives that seem slow to heal are a sign that Jesus has forgotten us or abandoned us. When healing is slower than we'd like, how can we give ourselves grace?

Ghost and Ashe in America kick off the season three finale by tracing the slow-burn arc between Gaius and Simon across episodes four through seven. A broken cistern, a few tied knots, a bad piece of marriage advice, and one drunken stumble into the Roman quarter later, you've got two men from opposite sides of a wall doing the work of building a bridge. The hosts dig into what makes this dynamic land: shared manual labor, real disagreement, and the slow conversion of the heart that happens when Gaius finally confesses to Simon about his illegitimate son and a sick little boy he can no longer pretend isn't his. Along the way: why the disciples can't stop tying themselves into knots when Jesus steps out of the room, why Judas is the only one who never gets his ego death scene (and why that makes the betrayal hit harder), Atticus humiliating the Pharisees in the temple courtyard, and Caesarea Philippi foreshadowing. Plus a bracing detour into the difference between the People of the Book and the People of the Way, and why a Colorado governor candidate could not answer what Tina Peters was actually convicted of.

In this opener of our new series, “Church Unbranded,” Lead Pastor Jason Britt introduces a powerful "grounding technique" for the soul. In a world defined by noise pollution, political division, and constant distraction, we often lose sight of the bigness and beauty of what we are a part of. Using the Lord's Prayer as our guide, we discover that the Kingdom of God is not a spiritual metaphor or a "someday" hope—it is a reality happening in the here and now. As citizens of this Kingdom, we are called to be an "outpost of hope" in the middle of a broken world.

In this final meditation of our Lenten series, I AM: A Lenten Journey with Jesus, we turn to a question Jesus asks His disciples in Matthew 16:13–17: “Who do you say that I am?” Throughout this series, we have listened to Jesus declare who He is. He is the Bread of Life.He is the Light of the World.He is the Gate.He is the Good Shepherd.He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.He is the True Vine.He is the Resurrection and the Life.And before Abraham was, He declares, “I AM.” But in this passage, Jesus turns the question toward His disciples—and toward us. “Who do you say that I am?” People around Jesus had many answers. Some believed He was a prophet. Others thought He was Elijah or John the Baptist. But Peter answers with clarity: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” In this guided Scripture meditation, you are invited to reflect on this same question in your own life. Through several slow readings of Matthew 16:13–17, you will have space to consider who others say Jesus is—and who you believe Him to be. As we conclude this Lenten journey, we are reminded that knowing who Jesus truly is changes everything. He is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, the One who reveals the Father and invites us into life with Him. Here are some additional helpful links: Download your FREE Lent Companion Journal Here I AM: A Lenten Journey with Jesus This journal includes:• Each week’s Scripture passage• Reflection prompts from the meditations• Space to journal, pray, and notice what God is revealing Here are some additional helpful links: Learn more about Jodie:http://www.jodieniznik.com Follow on Instagram:@jodieniznik Follow on Facebook:@JodieGNiznik Join the Monday email newsletter for new meditations, HERE Explore other faith-centered podcasts from LifeAudio: https://www.lifeaudio.com Today’s Scripture Matthew 16:13-17 13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.