Throughout the ministry that God has entrusted me with, I have been blessed in my study and sermon preparation from studying verse by verse through books of the Bible. I am of the conviction that verse by verse exposition of Scripture is the best way to approach God’s Word, and I have endeavored to do this throughout the years I have been preaching the gospel. For the last few months, God has been dealing with me about studying and preaching through the gospel of Matthew.
By way of simple background information, the gospel account was written by Matthew, the tax collector who became a follower of Christ. When Jesus came by Matthew’s table, He simply asked him to follow Him. Without any hesitation at all, Matthew turned his back on his old life and became a lifelong disciple. Matthew’s gospel is written from a Jewish perspective with the purpose of demonstrating that Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah that Israel had been waiting for. Matthew shows how Jesus is uniquely qualified as the rightful King. Matthew quotes from the Old Testam
ent more than any of the other writers of the New Testament, and the reason for this is to show how Jesus is the fulfillment of all the law and the prophets. He also uses the phrase “Son of David” to refer to Jesus, referring to Jesus as the rightful heir to David’s throne.
In the gospel of Matthew, great emphasis is placed on the King and His kingdom. This is the focus of the book. For this reason, I have entitled our study through Matthew as “Kingdom Come.” We will closely look at the King in His beauty as portrayed by Matthew, and will study topics such as character, stewardship, prayer, discipleship, and so much more. My prayer is that our journey together through this gospel will yield rich dividends in our personal lives as well as in our Green Street faith family. I hope to see you this Sunday!
Joanne Tobey
Love expository preaching! Can’t wait to start the Matthew Bible study this Tues. night!