A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the unfortunate frogs they would never get out. The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead.
Nearly two thousand years ago the Lord promised to build His church (Matthew 16:16-18). In AD 30 the church of Christ, the promised church, was established in Jerusalem on the first Pentecost following the resurrection of Christ (Acts 2). Jesus purchased this church with His blood (Acts 20:28). The first-century church was united under the one Head – Christ, followed the same rule – the New Testament, and were of the same mind and practice. The first-century church was united in doctrine, worship, and organization.
Have you ever been manipulated by someone to such a degree that when the entire thing is over you feel like an old bath towel that has been hung out to dry, just kind of waving back and forth in the wind? I know that I have, and I don’t really care to relive those experiences or recount them. They are quite embarrassing to recall and usually emotionally painful as well. Perhaps, however, one of the biggest manipulations in our culture and society is the philosophies of postmodernism. Whether we realize it or not, and most do not, the way that we think in our society and culture is influenced. Television, advertisements, the evening news, sitcoms, buying products at the grocery store, video games, movies, restaurants, theme parks, religious services even our closest friends are influenced.
A few years back, the Washington Post printed an article that pondered the reluctance of Americans to read the instructions that come with new products. Too often, consumers struggle with (or even end up returning) items they can’t figure out how to use, or that they assume don’t work because they’re using the product incorrectly. Companies’ customer service lines are tied up by people asking routine questions about their purchases, and phone calls that could be avoided if people would take the time to read the manual.
Being God’s Son, that is, God’s chosen King, Jesus made many speeches to help people know what the kingdom of heaven would be like (Matt. 3:17; Ps. 2:7; Heb. 1:5). Matthew in particular details these speeches to help his Jewish audience know about the King and His kingdom. Each speech section ends with: “When He finished these sayings…” (Matt. 7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1). Notice characteristics of what Jesus emphasized about the kingdom of