The Branch Church

<p>“Blessed” is the first word in the Sermon on the Mount. This says so much about the heart of Jesus. We’re beginning our series in the SOTM this weekend with Matthew 5:1-16. <br><br>Did you know it’s possible for pilots, particularly fighter pilots, to be flying upside down and not know it? We do it in life, too. Some of Jesus’s teachings seems upside down to us, and yet we might be the ones flying upside down. It’s easy to do. Because much of our world is upside down.</p>

<p>How in the world do you follow Easter? Jesus answered that. This weekend we read the end of the Gospel of Matthew. Before we back up and dive into the Sermon on the Mount next weekend, we’re first going to another mount found in Matthew 28:18-20.</p>

<p>Jesus was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead. The seal that was placed over the tomb was broken on that day. What does His resurrection mean for us today?</p>

<p>You can look at cost in terms of how expensive something is or how precious something is. This weekend we’ll be in what is likely the hardest part of the story of Jesus. The story of the cross. It’s expensive. And yet, it also tells you how precious you are to Jesus.</p>

<p>Can you think of being interrupted by something or someone that you didn’t see coming, yet you wound up incredibly blessed? Or challenged? Or both? This weekend, we’ll look at three very different people whose lives were interrupted by Jesus on the way to the cross in Matthew 27. <br><br>Some interruptions can be life-changing.</p>

<p>So much of Jesus’ ministry was around a table in the context of a meal. This weekend we’ll be in Matthew 26, and His last meal with His disciples in the midst of the most difficult week of His life. It’s at this table that Jesus, Himself, interprets what His death on the cross will mean for everyone.</p>

<p>It’s rare to see the Lord “fighting mad.” But it’s just as important to understand what He’s fighting for. There are moments in our lives when the Lord “disturbs the peace” in order to make it possible for us or others to experience true, substantial peace. This weekend, in Matthew 21:1-17, we’ll look at a story that exemplifies this. There are layers to this story and multiple points of intersection for our lives.</p>

<p>Have you ever had that awkward silence with someone you love after an intense disagreement? Didn’t know how to move forward? That could be what happened with Jesus and His disciples in Matthew 17 along with two of the strangest stories in all the gospels.</p>

<p>This weekend in Matthew, we see Jesus set the foundation for His church. Josh Brake brings us the word from Matthew 16:13-28.</p>

<p>One of Chris’s favorite stories in all of Matthew is finally here! It’s the story of Jesus walking on water — and Peter, for that matter. There are layers to this story as we learn what it means to look FOR Jesus in rough water and high winds. Then to look TO Him.</p>

<p>This weekend, in Matthew Chapter 12, we see Jesus saying over and over again that, “something greater is here….” Chris also talks about the one “unforgivable” sin and the question a lot of folks ask, “Have I already done it?”</p>

<p>It’s possible to give someone a gift that they find offensive. Jesus is the greatest gift of all – and sometimes the gift can be offensive to us. Why does that matter? What does it have to do with following Jesus?</p>

<p>This weekend, Chris is back to bring us a word out of Matthew 9:35-10:39 with Jesus teaching his disciples about authority, risk, discomfort, and sacrifice.</p>

<p>This weekend we come to the calling of Matthew, the titular author himself. Hunter Wheatcraft brings the word from Matthew 9:9-13 to the Farmers Branch campus.</p>

<p>This weekend we come to the calling of Matthew, the titular author himself. Josh Brake is bringing this message to the Vista Ridge campus this weekend.</p>

<p>This weekend we’re taking a tour through a few stories, back-to-back in Matthew 8-9:7. These stories share a common thread or theme that runs through them all. <br><br>And, in case you’re thinking, “Hey, wait a second! We just finished Matthew 4 this past weekend? What about 5-7? What about the Sermon on the Mount?” We’ll circle back around to that after Easter. Stay tuned for more on that later.</p>

<p>We’ve been hearing the phrase “unprecedented times” a lot recently, and while these are turbulent times, they are not unprecedented. “…the people living in darkness have seen a great light, on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” - Matthew 4:16</p>

<p>Have you ever been in the middle of a fight and didn’t know it? How about a war? In Matthew 4, we walk through a story which none of us would ever know about were it not for Jesus telling His disciples. Because no one was there when it happened. No one except for Jesus. Satan. And a few angels. But He wanted us to know about it. But why?</p>

<p>The story of Jesus’ baptism is actually a perfect setup for a new year! But to get there, we have to go through a man named John the Baptist who dresses like a Star Wars character and eats like a reality TV show contestant.</p>

<p>The King has come, but how do we live beyond Christmas? What does it mean to respond to the coming of Jesus?</p>

<p>The responses to the coming of Jesus are quite varied, and are embodied in the part of the real Christmas story found in Matthew 2:1-12. People talk about “being in the Christmas spirit.” But which one?</p>

<p>Kicking off our journey in the Gospel of Matthew, Chris brings up the front and back of Christmas trees, “coffin apartments,” and what in the world those things have to do with Matthew 1!</p>

<p>This weekend is the final (and possibly the most important) message of our series on the Holy Spirit. The thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians is often used to speak into marriages, but it’s not really about marriage. It’s about life with the Spirit!</p>

<p>This weekend, we find out what the Holy Spirit has to do with “body-building.” We also explore how the spirits of inferiority and superiority so often get in the way of us growing together in the ways and work of the Holy Spirit.</p>

<p>Do you have a Christmas gift list? Did you know there’s such a thing as a Spirit gift list? And did you know you can ask for the gifts on the list?<br><br>We’re spending some time in 1 Corinthians 12-14 over the next couple of weekends. We’re called to be more than open to the ways the Holy Spirit operates in our lives. We’re called to eagerly desire and pursue such things by the grace of God. Let’s grow together!</p>