Gospel of Matthew Reading Plan begins 8/21

Our next Bible reading plan at Asbury will be through the Gospel of Matthew; we begin Monday, August 21 and will conclude the Friday before Christmas.

Like the rest of the Bible, Matthew’s Gospel can only be understood through repeated, attentive reading. Accordingly, I’ve parceled out the readings at a slow pace; each particular day’s passage is short (less than 5 minutes!) and very manageable and it is my hope therefore that you’ll have time to go back and re-read a previous day or days and see how it all connects. (The readings are assigned on weekdays only—all the more reason to take your time and read and re-read on the weekends.)

The Shape of Matthew’s Gospel

Matthew can best be understood as being made up of three main sections:

Part 1 – Preparation for Jesus the Messiah [1:1-4:16];
Part 2 – Proclamation of Jesus the Messiah to Israel [4:17-16:20];
Part 3 – Passion and Resurrection of Jesus the Messiah [16:21-28:20].

Our reading plan will be divided up into three books; in Part 1 we will read about both the origins of Jesus—his genealogy and his infancy—and the events that lead up to the launch of his public ministry—the ministry of John the Baptism and the baptism and temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. Part 1 begins on Monday, August 21. Part 2 begins on Monday, September 11; Part 3 on Monday, October 30.

[I’m indebted to David Bauer for this insight about the shape of Matthew, and recommend his book, The Gospel of the Son of God: An Introduction to Matthew.]

How to Get a Matthew Book (Pictured Above)

Asburians can pick up Matthew books all week, and we will be have them for pickup next Sunday, too.

Live out of town but want a book?

Email Sandie Tomlinson ASAP and she’ll mail you however many copies you want. If you live in Dallas, please let Sandie know—we’ll arrange a central pick-up spot in the M Streets (East Dallas) for East Dallas folks.

(Want a soft-copy? Here’s the pdf of Matthew Part 1.)

My Fall Schedule

Though I’m preaching all services this coming weekend, on Friday and Saturday my wife and I will be attending The Middle School Fall Retreat at New Life Ranch—looking forward to getting to know our kids better. It’s a great event—last year I was really impressed with our Student Ministry staff and leadership. Will be a fun weekend, but I’ll be back at church Sunday morning, because:

I start a new series on the Gospel of Matthew next Sunday, August 20—The Temptation of Jesus. (Our next series will begin in September on The Sermon on the Mount.) This is gonna be fun….

Our first (of 4) Churchwide Bible Studies on Matthew will be Wednesday, 8/30, 6:30-8:00 PM. If you live in Tulsa, I’m going to stick my neck out and say that these Bible studies are DO NOT MISS events. The Lord is doing something exciting at Asbury, and the Bible studies we’ve had over the past year on Genesis and Revelation were electric. Please do whatever you can to be present.

If you live out of town, go ahead and move to Tulsa. If that won’t work, then join us on the livestream!

The other remaining Bible studies will be:

• September 13

• October 11

• November 8

I’m teaching The Daniel Project on Friday-Saturday, September 8-9. It’s a weekend seminar in which we address the FAQs of the faith. Because the Daniel Project is really tiring, I’ve learned that I need a guest preacher on those weekends. So…

Sunday, September 10 is World Missions Sunday at Asbury. I’ll be at all 3 services that day, but our guest preacher will be from Voice of the Martyrs. VOM is dedicated to speaking up for the persecuted church around the world, and the things that we’ll hear that day will make your hair stand up and your heart beat fast. That day, we’ll be encouraging folks to sign up for an international mission trip, so go ahead and get your passport application in now.

The last Sunday in October (10/29) is Vision Sunday at Asbury. We’re trying something new, which I’m really looking forward to. Here’s what you need to know.

• One service 10 AM only on 10/29;

• The service will be held in the UMAC across the street from Asbury! (The UMAC is the “Union Multipurpose Activity Center,” a 5,600 seat arena that we will be taking over for that weekend.)

• The purpose of this event is to get our whole church together under one roof and to talk about where we are headed, as well as to HAVE FUN;

• Afterwards, we’ll do a big party/Fall Festival and trunk-or-treat event on the grounds.

Lots more info to follow—this is just a save-the-date, so mark your calendars now! (I know folks will have lots of questions—trust me when I say that we’ll make sure everyone knows where to go, and that our older members will have an easy time getting in and out that day. Stay tuned.)

Every breath is proof: the Lord’s not done with us yet.

God has more for each of us.

Let’s GO.