Recognition

July 19, 2017

Daily Reading
Matthew 13:10-17
Psalm 142
This week’s sermon text: Matthew 11:28-30

Field Notes
Scholar N.T. Wright says about Jesus in his book, “John for Everyone”:

“He and His father are giving evidence that He is the Messiah; but if this is so, He is bringing the light that they cannot escape. As He has come to realize, at the heart of Israel of His day there was a single great problem: they had forgotten who their God really was. Their behavior, their attitudes, and their ambitions indicated that they didn’t know the one Jesus called ‘father’, and that was why they couldn’t recognize Him as coming from the one true God.”

How often do we get in our own way? Are we able to recognize the truth of Jesus in our own lives, or have we forgotten who Jesus is?

Questions for the Field

• Do I ever find myself running from the light? Why?
• Do I ever see myself in the same shoes as the Pharisees?

Family Field Talk

• In what ways is Jesus similar to God the Father?

Prayer Guide
Lord, forgive us when we forget You. Forgive us when we act like Pharisees. Forgive us especially when we run from the light and into the darkness. In Your name, amen.