“The Authority of Jesus”

Merry Christmas, CrossPointe! I hope you’ve had an enjoyable holiday. As we conclude 2019 and look ahead to 2020, I want to turn our attention to Matthew 8:5–13. It’s the story of a man who knows all about authority—a Roman centurion in charge of 100 men—approaching Jesus to request his help. His servant is experiencing incredible suffering, but the centurion knows that only Jesus can save him.

My prayer is that we’ll all be strengthened by the good news of Jesus’ authority this Sunday. You can expect all kinds of ups and downs in 2020—personal, national, global—but there’s nothing like the authority of Jesus to level mountains and fill valleys, and I hope Sunday’s text equips us for that.

A request: Read the text once or twice, put on your new sweater, and come to church with the expectation of hearing from the Lord this Sunday. And, even if you’ve got antsy children, bring your kids with you! I think Sunday’s sermon will have particular relevance to them as well as the adults in the room. (PLUS, we’ve set up Classroom A with a live feed from the sanctuary if things really get out of hand.)