Hey Centennial,
My first summer as a counselor at summer camp, I was sitting on a wooden bench in the old sheet-metal roofed dining hall along with a couple dozen other high school boys when the Program Director, Jon Lundberg, walked into the room. I’ll never forget the sound of his voice as he shouted in this jolly yet booming, even commanding tone, “Fellas!” As though our heads were all fixed to the same long string, we swung around in unison to look at him and I thought to myself,
This guy speaks with authority.
Turns out, that is the very same thought that crowds of people would have time and again when they heard Jesus speaking and teaching, healing and helping. Forty times throughout the gospels, we hear about the noteworthy authority with which Jesus carried himself. When you think about your life of faith, you commitment to following Jesus,
Do you think of Jesus as someone with great authority?
This Sunday, Craig Blomberg is preaching and will be taking us through the rest of Matthew chapter 9. Craig has been studying and teaching about the Jesus for decades. He published his first commentary on the gospel of Matthew over thirty years ago! He speaks with authority about Jesus. And yet, he will challenge us to consider not his own authority, but the authority of Jesus. Ultimately, Craig will argue,
There is only one sensible response to Jesus’ authority.
The question is whether we will choose it.
Grace and peace,
Karl Helvig
Lead Pastor
CENTENNIAL COVENANT CHURCH