In Matthew 12, Jesus is healing, restoring, and lifting up the bruised and burned out—exactly the kind of ministry Isaiah said would characterize God’s Servant. But the religious leaders have become so hardened that they look at the work of God and call it evil.
This raises a sobering question: What kind of person are we becoming?
We are always being formed. Our hearts can become more attentive to the presence and activity of God—or more resistant, defensive, and unable to recognize what God is doing right in front of us.
In this message from our Ears to Hear series, we explore a simple question that can help us discern the direction our hearts are moving:
Am I trying to build up—or am I trying to puff up?
Jesus does not break bruised reeds or extinguish smoldering wicks. He restores, heals, tells the truth in love, and forms people into new life. And we can intentionally participate with the Spirit in becoming people who increasingly recognize and reflect that same love.
A simple practice for the week:
Start looking.
Start asking.
Start listening.
And when you think you may be hearing from God, ask:
Is it clearly contrary to Scripture and the way of Jesus?
Is it leading me to puff up myself or my tribe—or to build someone up in the love of Jesus?
28 Sept 2026
Rest in God's Goodness
In Matthew 12:1–14, Jesus confronts a way of reading God’s commandments that had become disconnected from God’s heart.
The Sabbath was never meant to make people smaller, hungrier, more burdened, or more afraid. In Exodus, Sabbath reminds us that God is our Creator. In Deuteronomy, it reminds Israel that God brought them out of slavery. Rest is built into God’s law because God is good, and his commands are meant to lead us into life.
But in this passage, the Pharisees have turned Sabbath into condemnation: hungry disciples are criticized for eating, a hurting man becomes a test case, and eventually they begin plotting Jesus’ death. Jesus responds with mercy, healing, and life.
This message asks a deeper question:
Do you actually believe that God is good?
Not merely that God exists. Not merely that his commands are true. But that his way really is the way of life.
Jesus says, “Come to me…and I will give you rest.” His desire for our obedience is not at odds with our desire for joy. The problem is that we so often trust other ways to give us life.
The sermon ends with an invitation to bring whatever has caused us to doubt God’s goodness into the presence of Jesus, to reject the lies that distort his character, and to receive again the goodness, grace, and rest of God in Christ.
13 Sept 2026
Getting Goldilocks Right
In Matthew 11:16–19, Jesus compares his generation to children who refuse to dance when the flute is played and refuse to mourn when the dirge is sung. John the Baptist was too strict for them. Jesus was too loose. Somehow, they could always find a reason not to listen.
In this message, we talk about “Goldilocks’ Lie”—the idea that life, faith, and even Jesus should always fit our personal preferences and feel juuuust right. But growth requires appropriate tension. That is true physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
If Jesus never challenges us, stretches us, or makes us uncomfortable, we may not be listening to all of Jesus.
The invitation is simple: slow down, listen honestly, and pay special attention to the parts of Jesus’ teaching that rub against your preferences. Those uncomfortable places may be exactly where the Spirit wants to grow you.
Suggested passages for further reflection: Matthew 5–7, Romans 12:9–21, or James 1:19–25.
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