A Walk Through the Book of Matthew
Youth Style
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Chapter 3 Thirsting for Righteousness Introduction:
One of my favorite times of the day is lunch time. Not because we take a break from our busy and hectic schedule to sit down for a few minutes. It’s not even because we get to pray to God to bless the food, because we should pray to God all day long. The reason why lunch is my favorite time of day is because I get to eat food! I love pizza, sandwiches, French fries, you name it and I’ll eat it. In fact, my mouth starts to water hours in advance just thinking about the great tasting food that will soon follow.
Scripture:
Matthew 5:1-9
Let’s pay close attention to verse 6. The Bible says that this type of hunger that I have for a lunch is the same hunger we should have for righteousness. We should want to please God and follow him so much that we can’t help but do it. We should continually try to please him in everything we do.
In your daily life you should be constantly looking forward to the moments when you can honor God and follow his commands. If this is what you are focusing on, God can use you to reach others in his name and can keep you focused on him and not on the things of the world.
Reflect:
Are you doing all that Christ wants you to do? Are you showing mercy to others and trying to be a peacemaker? What is your true hunger for?
This week examine where your priorities are and what you hunger for. Pray that Jesus gives you a true hunger for righteousness and allows you to have a desire for all the things he lays out in this passage.
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Book Details
About the Book
As a Christian, one of the most enjoyable things is walking with Christ daily. One of the best ways to walk with Christ is through a daily devotion. However, sometimes the scriptures aren’t black and white. It is my prayer that through this easy to read book, you will be able to understand a little more about Christ and the example that he has set for us.
For those of you who like to read and go further in your walk with Christ, but aren’t really ready to set down and read a 1000 page novel, this book may be for you. As a youth pastor, the majority of my time is spent with youth groups and others like me, so I try to keep my lessons and ideas short. This book is laid out in such a way that the chapters are short enough to cover a chapter a day. I like to think that I have a decent sense of humor, which usually means most of my jokes are corny, so maybe you can get a chuckle or two out of it as well. I’ve also tried to organize each chapter in such a way that they could be used as devotional lessons to use with a youth group when you need a five minute lesson during a pizza party.
So with the promises of a daily devotion, short chapters, a little humor, why wouldn’t you love this book? But seriously, I pray that this book will bless you as much as writing it has blessed me. So let’s jump right into our journey through Matthew.
About the Author
I’m 31 years old and a father of a five year old and a nine month old. My wife and I have been married for almost 9 years. I have been the youth pastor of Forest Hill Baptist Church for over three years. Recently I have finished my Masters in Ministry, with a focus on Biblical Studies from Covington Theological Seminary. As well as being a youth pastor, I have started working with other local churches and our local Christian School to lead their spiritual retreats and be a guest speaker.
I never saw myself as a youth pastor, but as an interim to bridge the gap and hold a group together until the Lord brought the next shepherd along. He changed my mind while I was acting as the interim youth pastor a second time at our home church of Memorial Baptist. Once we voted in a youth pastor full time, I went home thinking that I would have some time off. It was that afternoon that the phone rang. The pastor of another local church, Forest Hill Baptist, called to ask if I would consider applying as their youth pastor.
What has happened since is nothing but a miracle. When God called me to Forest Hill three years ago, the youth group had one teacher and four students. During the last three years I have been able to watch God work in teenagers hearts and grow our group to between thirty and thirty five with six volunteer teachers and leaders. It is truly amazing to be able to watch God work and to be used by God. I pray that he will allow me to continue to be used for many years to come.