St. Matthew Christian Church

09/04/2026

Oh How He Loves You and Me!

The High Priestly Prayer

17 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.[a] 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them[b] in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself,[c] that they also may be sanctified[d] in truth.

20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

09/02/2026

“That My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. “John 15:11

What was the joy that Jesus had? It is an insult to use the word ‘happiness’. The joy of Jesus was the absolute self-surrender and self-sacrifice of Himself to His Father, the joy of doing what the Father sent Him to do. “I delight to do Thy will.” Jesus prayed that our joy might continue to grow until it is the same joy as His.
The fullness of life is not in external happenings, not even in seeing God’s work succeed, but in the perfect understanding of God, and in the communion with Him that Jesus experienced. The first thing that will hinder this joy is the captious irritation of thinking out circumstances. The cares of this world, said Jesus, will choke out God’s word. Before we know it, we can get caught up in the show of things. All that God has done for us is the threshold; He wants to get us to the place where we will be His witnesses and proclaim Who Jesus is.
Be rightly related to God, find your joy there, and out of you will flow rivers of living water. Be a center for Jesus Christ to pour living water through. Stop being self-conscious, and live life hidden with Christ. The life that is rightly related to God is as natural as breathing wherever it goes. The lives that have been the most cherished blessing to us are those who were unconscious of it. ✝️

08/31/2026

William Carey (1761–1834) is widely celebrated as the "father of modern missions" and a pioneering minister. Though he started life as a humble shoemaker in England, he became an influential preacher, linguist, and translator.👇

Have mercy upon me, O God.”
Psalm 51:1

When Dr. Carey was suffering from a dangerous illness, the enquiry was made, “If this sickness should prove fatal, what passage would you select as the text for your funeral sermon?” He replied, “Oh, I feel that such a poor sinful creature is unworthy to have anything said about him; but if a funeral sermon must be preached, let it be from the words, ‘Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness; according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies; blot out my transgressions.’” In the same spirit of humility he directed in his will that the following inscription and nothing more should be cut on his gravestone:—

“A wretched, poor, and helpless worm
On thy kind arms I fall.”

Only on the footing of free grace can the most experienced and most honoured of the saints approach their God. The best of men are conscious above all others that they are mere men. We have need that the Lord should have mercy upon our coming in and our going out. How sweet the remembrance that inexhaustible mercy is waiting to be gracious to us, to restore us and one day, see us safely home!

08/28/2026

“Those who trust in The Lord are as Mount Zion, which can’t be moved, but remains forever.”
PSALM 125:1

Tonight’s psalm draws our hearts toward stability. In Psalm 125:1, we are reminded of unshakable trust. This scripture gives us a steady place to end the day, turning our attention away from hurry, fear, and distraction and back toward the Lord.
God meets us in His Word with truth for our minds, comfort for our hearts, and direction for our steps. Take a moment to sit with this verse from Psalm 125. Breathe out the weight of the day, and breathe in the peace of God’s presence. Let this scripture shape your thoughts tonight and lead you into rest. ✝️

08/26/2026

In English, we say,
"God loves you."

In poetry, we say,
"He carried the weight of a world that forgot Him, wore a crown not of gold but of thorns,
so love could have a face and grace could have a name."

2 Corinthians 5:21: "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

08/24/2026

The Parable of the Net

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

The Parable of the Dragnet in Matthew 13:47-50 compares the kingdom of heaven to a large net cast into the sea that gathers every kind of fish. When full, fishermen pull it ashore to sort the good fish into containers and discard the bad, symbolizing the final separation of the righteous and wicked by angels at the end of the age.

The net sweeps through the water and collects everything in its path, showing that the outward call of the gospel goes to all people without early division. Just as sorting happens inevitably once the net reaches the shore, a final moral accounting awaits humanity at the close of this age.
People do not sort themselves; angels carry out the final division between those who are justified in Christ and those who reject Him.
Are we resting in true faith? Life’s end or Christ's return brings the net to the shore. Today is the day to ensure your heart is right with God.

08/21/2026

"Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe."
— Saint Augustine

It seems that “belief” and “faith” are the same thing. And in some ways, that’s true. For faith has its basis in believing. But it is when belief becomes deeply rooted in definite truth that real, living faith takes root.
People try to get acquainted with God through their feelings. When they feel good, they think God has heard their pleas. When they don't feel particularly good, they believe He has not. Their faith is based on their feelings, while it should be based on God's Word.
Anyone can believe what they feel, hear, or see. But when it comes to spiritual things, we don't walk by sight, we walk by faith.
From Genesis to Revelation, from first light to final victory, God has made himself known to us, especially through His Son. Through time in the Word and in prayer, we develop a closer relationship with the One who loved us first. That faith, that ‘knowing’ in whom you believe, will lead you through each moment, until one day, it will lead you safely home.

For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17).

08/19/2026

Keep your Church, O Lord, by your perpetual mercy. Without you the frailty of our nature causes us to fall. Keep us from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable for our salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Psalm 121:8 ESV
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

08/17/2026

God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing.” Ephesians 2:10

You were made for a greater purpose than simply to grow, make money, retire, and pass away. You were made for a mission, and that mission gives your life meaning.
In other words, you're unique. No one else in the whole world—past, present, or future—is like you. God has made you so unique that there are certain things only you can contribute to the world. Those things make up your life mission.
The bottom line is this: God has placed us on this planet for a purpose. God’s given us a message to share; he’s given us the reason to share it….to God’s glory and the ongoing of His kingdom. What an honor to be of service to the Lord!

08/15/2026