Jesus is a compassionate King who also calls us to serve others on behalf of Him. This is not easy because we often focus so much on our inadequacy – but He’s inviting us today to remember what He did and what He’s able to do in our lives. He is calling us to trust Him.

Jesus does all things well – He opened the door of salvation to all of us as He overwhelms us with His extravagant mercy and shows us incredible honor that we don’t deserve. Through Christ, we’re no longer outsiders, but insiders welcomed to enter the presence of God and enjoy the feast that He has prepared for us.

Jesus teaches us that what defiles us is not outside of us – it’s inside us; it’s the sin-saturated, sin-stained heart. And the only way to get a clean heart is through Jesus Christ, who offers His heart to us on the cross. Then let us receive with humility, with joy, and live to tell others about this wonderful news.

Jesus will at times send us into a storm because He loves us. He will use it to expose our weakness and reveal who He is – reminding us once again that He alone is worthy of our trust. But even still, He doesn’t leave us to weather through the storm on our own; He promises that He will be in the boat with us.

Jesus Christ is our Good Shepherd and the Bread of life. In Him, we find rest. In Him, we are embraced. In Him, we lack nothing. And in Him, we receive life. Then let us confess our needs and embrace His grace as we run to this compassionate Savior.

Following Jesus in this world can be extremely costly but the reward that awaits us cannot be compared with anything of this world – we’ll have Christ Himself. He’s the only One who can truly give them life and freedom. Then let us look to Christ and go out with urgency – proclaiming the gospel truth in love.

John 3:16 tells us of the great message of the gospel – that this holy God loves these unlovable sinners by sending His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, and that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. This is what’s at the heart of the Christian faith.

We must be born again because this is the only way we’ll get into the Kingdom of God. The good news is that we can be born again because Jesus has been lifted up. Then the invitation is available to all of us: look to Him, believe in Him, and receive life in Him.

Jesus offends people, which means that our faithfulness to Him will offend others. But despite this, Jesus continually sends us out to preach and demonstrate the Word, because this Word really is life-giving. Then relying on His power and authority, let us go out declaring that Jesus is the Savior King.

Jesus has the power to heal and revive us. He has conquered death and life could be ours if we would just come to Him. Then let us come with this desperate faith in Jesus Christ – our only hope – because He will always stop for us.

Jesus has the power to set us free from evil. He will break the chains and deliver us with His life-giving Word if we would just come to Him. Then as recipients of Jesus’ liberating grace and power, let us earnestly follow Him and passionately tell others about Him.

Jesus is the Lord of the storm – and He is inviting us not to see Him in light of our storms but to see our circumstances in light of His power and His loving commitment for us. We can ultimately do this because Jesus calmed the only storm that could truly drown us: God’s wrath and judgment against our sin.

The secret of the Kingdom of God is that Jesus Christ is the Savior King who will grow the Kingdom with His power and wisdom, and that this Kingdom will grow bigger than we could ever imagine. Then let us continue to trust the King as we faithfully sow the seed.

Jesus is the ultimate seed that came to be buried in order to bore the fruit of life for us. Then what kind of soil is your heart – the hardened, indifferent heart; the rocky, shallow heart; the thorny, divided heart; or the good, humble heart?

Jesus came to bind Satan and free us from bondage – this is who He really is. Then let us not resist Him but respond with humble submission and obedience knowing that this is the only way of responding to the Savior King.

The disciples of Jesus are those who have been called because Jesus desired to be with them, and created to be sent out to proclaim and demonstrate the power of the gospel together as a community of disciples.

Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath – the One who brings true rest to our souls. Then let us not fear from resting, let us not forget to rest because it’s an opportunity to experience His grace in our lives as we recalibrate our hearts to the One who gives life. Let us find our rest in Christ today.

Jesus is the Bridegroom who brings joy to our hearts. But embracing Him means that we cannot remain status quo – He will bring newness to our lives. Then for all of us waiting for His return, we’re called to desperately long for Him knowing that one day, our fasting will cease, and feasting will begin.

Jesus is the Great Physician. He calls sinners like you and me because He wants to heal us, free us, and dine with us. Then let us follow Him today and never look back. Let us join His table as we invite others to dine with our great Savior.

The greatest need for the paralytic wasn’t the restoration of his body, but the rebirth, revival, renewal of his heart. As the Savior King, Jesus alone makes this possible through the forgiveness of our sins. Then come to Jesus with determination because He alone is the answer to our soul’s deepest longing.