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March 3, 2024

"The greatest kind of commandment in the whole Bible is broken down into two kinds and into two commands: Love the God who loves you, and cherish the person who meets you."

–Fredrick Bruner

IN THIS EMAIL

Shout Out: Savvy Young Parents

Try This: The Magic of Mentoring

Party Tricks: Matthew by the numbers

Cheat Sheet: How Jesus Navigates Hot-Button Issues

SHOUT OUT

Everyday heroes at DCC

If parenting is so important, why didn't these kids come with a user manual?

Kori VanderYacht (second from the left) and her husband Jake (not pictured) have three energetic kids and lead a DCC life group for young families (pictured).


Like all parents, they're looking for anything to help them out.

This semester, they've set aside their normal plans and reached out to seasoned parents (Shane Adams, center) to visit and share their best tips. We think mentorship is an awesome idea! Way to go guys!

TRY THIS

Fresh ideas for spiritual growth

What is mentorship?

Mentoring is an intentional learning relationship and it's one of the the main ways Christians obey Jesus' command to "make disciples."


Mentorship has deep roots in the Christian tradition. Back in the second century, Gregory (AD 213-270) wrote of his mentor Origen, "Where I was blind, he guided me...It was like a spark dropping into my inmost soul and catching fire there."


When is a good time for mentorship?

It's never too late to find a mentor.

Mentorship is powerful for people of any age and stage of life. Is God nudging you to find a mentor? 


Here are two questions to help you get started.

1. What kind of person do I want to become in two years? Ten years? Thirty years?

Try to get crystal clear on who you want to become. What would it look like to be a joyful, competent and God-honoring single person, spouse or manager (or whatever situation God has placed you in)?


2, Do I know anyone who exemplifies that set of characteristics?

Look around. Chances are, God has already put someone in your life who exemplifies some of those characteristics who can help you get there.

PARTY TRICKS

Stuff your pastor paid big bucks to learn in Bible school

Matthew Math 

Our teaching series is out of the gospel of Matthew, which scholars think was likely written by the tax-collector-turned-disciple mentioned in Matthew 10:3. In honor of accountants everywhere, here's Matthew by the numbers.


Matthew takes less than 90 minutes to read. It has 28 chapters, 1,071 verses and 18,346 words, making it the third longest book in the New Testament (behind Luke and Acts). 


Matthew is arranged into five main sections, reflecting the five-part structure of Moses’ writings (Genesis-Deuteronomy).


Matthew is the definitive case that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah. He quotes the Old Testament 261 times, specifically referring to how Jesus fulfilled Hebrew prophecies about 60 times.


Matthew begins with a painstakingly researched genealogical record going back 42 generations that proves Jesus is the rightful heir to David’s throne.


Although Matthew is a biography of Jesus’ life, only 4% of it describes His childhood while 25% of it is dedicated to His last seven days!


The earliest manuscript fragment we have of Matthew dates back to around A.D. 150. It’s about the size of a credit card and is held at a library in Oxford, UK. 


Matthew’s first edition was already in circulation within 30 years of Jesus’ resurrection.


Matthew is the most quoted gospel by the earliest leaders of the church.


The phrase, “kingdom of heaven” appears 32 times in Matthew and zero times in the rest of the Bible.


The title “Son of David” occurs more in Matthew than all the other gospels combined.


While Mark records Jesus calling God "father" six times, Matthew records it 53 times!


Matthew contains 23 of Jesus’ parables, 11 of which aren't found anywhere else in the Bible.

LEADER CHEAT SHEET

Get more out of the message

JESUS IN UNEXPECTED PLACES

Jesus in Debate | Matthew 25:15-40

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As we count down to Easter, we're following Jesus through passion week to learn how to find Him in the unexpected places in our lives.


WATCH: YouTube or Website

Download Cheat Sheet pdf.

The Big Idea of Matthew 25:15-40

Every culture has it's "hot topics" and Jesus' time was no different. 

In this passage Jesus navigates political, theological and ethical debates. Like it or not, Christians have to know how to navigate thorny issues too. 


But how?

This passage shows us exactly how Jesus dealt with the "hot topics" of His day. Jesus stunned people with His wisdom. Where did He get that? God didn't "download it" automatically into His super-brain. He learned the old fashioned way. He did His homework until He knew His Bible better than anyone. 


While you and I will never know our Bible like Jesus does, the encouraging truth is that we can all start growing today!


Good to Know

Pharisee disciples and Herodians (vs. 16) Who are these guys? Basically, they were politically-charged groups who joined forces to get Jesus in hot water by outing Him as one of those "zealots" that wanted to overthrow the Roman occupation. Jesus didn't bite.


Taxes to Caesar (vs. 17) was a hot-button issue for Jewish people. Not only were taxes ridiculously high (some estimates say around 50%), but Caesar was a flagrant pagan using the money to fund evil oppressive acts throughout the empire.


Sadducees (vs. 23) were Jewish people who wanted to blend in with culture. They were embarrassed by most of the Bible and denied anything that might sound weird to the philosophically-minded Greeks around them (like the resurrection and angels).


They gathered together (vs. 34) is an exact replica of the phrase in Psalm 2 that describes the kings of the earth "gathering together" against God and His Messiah.


When Jesus answered the greatest command question (vs. 36) He doesn't say anything new. He simply quotes Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.


Need help thinking Biblically about key cultural issues? Check out the podcast Think Biblically with Sean McDowell. 


Group Guide

Following the series with your group? 

  1. Start with some icebreaker questions.
  2. Read the passage together before you dive in. 
  3. Share any insights from the message. Use the questions below to get your conversation started.


Conversation Starters

  1. Look at your Bible's footnotes and cross references in this passage. How many Old Testament passages does Jesus draw from in His conversations? Spend some time reading through them to get a sense of how Jesus put His knowledge of Scripture to work.
  2. The first debate is about politics, the second is about theology and the third is about ethics. What are some political, theological and ethical questions people might debate with Jesus about today?
  3. Where do you want to grow in order to think more Biblically about some of the hot topics you're facing?


Prayer Prompts

Pray that God would fill His church with a hunger to grow in our ability to think Biblically.

COMING UP

March 7, 14 & 21 | Evangelism Class – REGISTER

March 9 | Kingdom Justice Summit

March 10 | Jamie/David (NSM only) – Jesus on the Judge's Bench

March 17 | David – Jesus Comes to Dinner

March 24 | David – Jesus on a Donkey

March 29 | Good Friday

March 31 | Easter

ONE MORE THING

DOOR CREEK CHURCH | GROUPS | GROUP COVENANT

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