Scripture referenced 21 passages
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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Psalm 107 opening call to worship, God satisfies the longing and hungry soul
1 Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed by Yahweh say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the adversary,
3 And gathered out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
4 They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way. They found no city to live in.
5 Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
6 Then they cried to Yahweh in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses,
7 he led them also by a straight way, that they might go to a city to live in.
8 Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
9 For he satisfies the longing soul. He fills the hungry soul with good.
10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron,
11 because they rebelled against the words of God, and condemned the counsel of the Most High.
12 Therefore he brought down their heart with labor. They fell down, and there was no one to help.
13 Then they cried to Yahweh in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke away their chains.
15 Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
16 For he has broken the gates of brass, and cut through bars of iron.
17 Fools are afflicted because of their disobedience, and because of their iniquities.
18 Their soul abhors all kinds of food. They draw near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cry to Yahweh in their trouble, he saves them out of their distresses.
20 He sends his word, and heals them, and delivers them from their graves.
21 Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men!
22 Let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his deeds with singing.
23 Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business in great waters;
24 These see Yahweh’s deeds, and his wonders in the deep.
25 For he commands, and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up its waves.
26 They mount up to the sky; they go down again to the depths. Their soul melts away because of trouble.
27 They reel back and forth, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cry to Yahweh in their trouble, and he brings them out of their distress.
29 He makes the storm a calm, so that its waves are still.
30 Then they are glad because it is calm, so he brings them to their desired haven.
31 Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds for the children of men!
32 Let them exalt him also in the assembly of the people, and praise him in the seat of the elders.
33 He turns rivers into a desert, water springs into a thirsty ground,
34 and a fruitful land into a salt waste, for the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
35 He turns a desert into a pool of water, and a dry land into water springs.
36 There he makes the hungry live, that they may prepare a city to live in,
37 sow fields, plant vineyards, and reap the fruits of increase.
38 He blesses them also, so that they are multiplied greatly. He doesn’t allow their livestock to decrease.
39 Again, they are diminished and bowed down through oppression, trouble, and sorrow.
40 He pours contempt on princes, and causes them to wander in a trackless waste.
41 Yet he lifts the needy out of their affliction, and increases their families like a flock.
42 The upright will see it, and be glad. All the wicked will shut their mouths.
43 Whoever is wise will pay attention to these things. They will consider the loving kindnesses of Yahweh.
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Keep this verse
Psalm 23
even through the darkest valley, God's presence and comfort
1 Yahweh is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in Yahweh’s house forever.
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1 Corinthians 15:3-4
Christ died for our sins, was buried, and raised on the third day
3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
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Matthew 18
main sermon text, lessons on responsibility to others
1 In that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”
2 Jesus called a little child to himself, and set him in the middle of them,
3 and said, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you turn, and become as little children, you will in no way enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
4 Whoever therefore humbles himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
5 Whoever receives one such little child in my name receives me,
6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him that a huge millstone should be hung around his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depths of the sea.
7 “Woe to the world because of occasions of stumbling! For it must be that the occasions come, but woe to that person through whom the occasion comes!
8 If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life maimed or crippled, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the eternal fire.
9 If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the Gehenna of fire.
10 See that you don’t despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.
11 For the Son of Man came to save that which was lost.
12 “What do you think? If a man has one hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine, go to the mountains, and seek that which has gone astray?
13 If he finds it, most certainly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.
14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
15 “If your brother sins against you, go, show him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained back your brother.
16 But if he doesn’t listen, take one or two more with you, that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembly. If he refuses to hear the assembly also, let him be to you as a Gentile or a tax collector.
18 Most certainly I tell you, whatever things you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever things you release on earth will have been released in heaven.
19 Again, assuredly I tell you, that if two of you will agree on earth concerning anything that they will ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven.
20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the middle of them.”
21 Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?”
22 Jesus said to him, “I don’t tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven.
23 Therefore the Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who wanted to reconcile accounts with his servants.
24 When he had begun to reconcile, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
25 But because he couldn’t pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, with his wife, his children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26 The servant therefore fell down and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will repay you all!’
27 The lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
28 “But that servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, who owed him one hundred denarii, and he grabbed him, and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’
29 “So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will repay you!’
30 He would not, but went and cast him into prison, until he should pay back that which was due.
31 So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were exceedingly sorry, and came and told their lord all that was done.
32 Then his lord called him in, and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt, because you begged me.
33 Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you?’
34 His lord was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors, until he should pay all that was due to him.
35 So my heavenly Father will also do to you, if you don’t each forgive your brother from your hearts for his misdeeds.”
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Matthew 18:1-4
disciples ask who is greatest, Jesus calls a child and teaches humility
1 In that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”
2 Jesus called a little child to himself, and set him in the middle of them,
3 and said, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you turn, and become as little children, you will in no way enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
4 Whoever therefore humbles himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
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Matthew 18:6
whoever causes a little one to sin, better a millstone around his neck
6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him that a huge millstone should be hung around his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depths of the sea.
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Matthew 18:7
woe to the world because of stumbling blocks, scandalon
7 “Woe to the world because of occasions of stumbling! For it must be that the occasions come, but woe to that person through whom the occasion comes!
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Matthew 18:8-9
if hand, foot, or eye causes you to sin, cut it off
8 If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life maimed or crippled, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the eternal fire.
9 If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the Gehenna of fire.
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Matthew 5:29-30
parallel passage on eye and hand causing sin, specifically about lust
29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.
30 If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.
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Matthew 18:10
do not look down on little ones, their angels see the Father's face
10 See that you don’t despise one of these little ones, for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.
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Matthew 18:12-14
parable of the shepherd leaving 99 to find one lost sheep
12 “What do you think? If a man has one hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine, go to the mountains, and seek that which has gone astray?
13 If he finds it, most certainly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.
14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
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Matthew 18:15-17
if your brother sins, go to him privately, then with witnesses, then the church
15 “If your brother sins against you, go, show him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained back your brother.
16 But if he doesn’t listen, take one or two more with you, that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembly. If he refuses to hear the assembly also, let him be to you as a Gentile or a tax collector.
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Deuteronomy 19:15
on the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter shall be confirmed
15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sins. At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established.
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Matthew 18:18
whatever you bind or loose on earth shall be bound or loosed in heaven
18 Most certainly I tell you, whatever things you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever things you release on earth will have been released in heaven.
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Matthew 18:19-20
if two or three agree in prayer, it shall be done; where two or three gather in my name, I am there
19 Again, assuredly I tell you, that if two of you will agree on earth concerning anything that they will ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven.
20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the middle of them.”
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Matthew 18:21-22
Peter asks how many times to forgive, Jesus says seventy-seven times
21 Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?”
22 Jesus said to him, “I don’t tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven.
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Matthew 18:23-35
parable of the unforgiving servant forgiven much but who choked his fellow slave
23 Therefore the Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who wanted to reconcile accounts with his servants.
24 When he had begun to reconcile, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
25 But because he couldn’t pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, with his wife, his children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26 The servant therefore fell down and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, have patience with me, and I will repay you all!’
27 The lord of that servant, being moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
28 “But that servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, who owed him one hundred denarii, and he grabbed him, and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’
29 “So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will repay you!’
30 He would not, but went and cast him into prison, until he should pay back that which was due.
31 So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were exceedingly sorry, and came and told their lord all that was done.
32 Then his lord called him in, and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt, because you begged me.
33 Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, even as I had mercy on you?’
34 His lord was angry, and delivered him to the tormentors, until he should pay all that was due to him.
35 So my heavenly Father will also do to you, if you don’t each forgive your brother from your hearts for his misdeeds.”
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Romans 12:18
if possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people
18 If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with all men.
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Isaiah 66
quoted by Mark, their worm does not die and the fire is not extinguished
1 Yahweh says, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build to me? Where will I rest?
2 For my hand has made all these things, and so all these things came to be,” says Yahweh: “but to this man will I look, even to he who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at my word.
3 He who kills an ox is as he who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, as he who breaks a dog’s neck; he who offers an offering, as he who offers pig’s blood; he who burns frankincense, as he who blesses an idol. Yes, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations:
4 I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears on them; because when I called, no one answered; when I spoke, they didn’t listen; but they did that which was evil in my eyes, and chose that in which I didn’t delight.”
5 Hear Yahweh’s word, you who tremble at his word: “Your brothers who hate you, who cast you out for my name’s sake, have said, ‘Let Yahweh be glorified, that we may see your joy;’ but it is those who shall be disappointed.
6 A voice of tumult from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of Yahweh that repays his enemies what they deserve.
7 “Before she travailed, she gave birth. Before her pain came, she delivered a son.
8 Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion travailed, she gave birth to her children.
9 Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to be delivered?” says Yahweh. “Shall I who cause to give birth shut the womb?” says your God.
10 “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her. Rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn over her;
11 that you may nurse and be satisfied at the comforting breasts; that you may drink deeply, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.”
12 For Yahweh says, “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you will nurse. You will be carried on her side, and will be dandled on her knees.
13 As one whom his mother comforts, so will I comfort you. You will be comforted in Jerusalem.”
14 You will see it, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones will flourish like the tender grass. Yahweh’s hand will be known among his servants; and he will have indignation against his enemies.
15 For, behold, Yahweh will come with fire, and his chariots will be like the whirlwind; to render his anger with fierceness, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For Yahweh will execute judgment by fire and by his sword on all flesh; and those slain by Yahweh will be many.
17 “Those who sanctify themselves and purify themselves to go to the gardens, behind one in the middle, eating pig’s meat, abominable things, and the mouse, they shall come to an end together,” says Yahweh.
18 “For I know their works and their thoughts. The time comes that I will gather all nations and languages, and they will come, and will see my glory.
19 “I will set a sign among them, and I will send those who escape of them to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to far-away islands, who have not heard my fame, nor have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations.
20 They shall bring all your brothers out of all the nations for an offering to Yahweh, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on camels, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says Yahweh, as the children of Israel bring their offering in a clean vessel into Yahweh’s house.
21 Of them I will also select priests and Levites,” says Yahweh.
22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me,” says Yahweh, “so your offspring and your name shall remain.
23 It shall happen that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh will come to worship before me,” says Yahweh.
24 “They will go out, and look at the dead bodies of the men who have transgressed against me; for their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.”
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Matthew 17:24-27
temple tax story, fish with a stater coin in its mouth to pay Peter and Jesus's tax
24 When they had come to Capernaum, those who collected the didrachma coins came to Peter, and said, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the didrachma?”
25 He said, “Yes.” When he came into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth receive toll or tribute? From their children, or from strangers?”
26 Peter said to him, “From strangers.” Jesus said to him, “Therefore the children are exempt.
27 But, lest we cause them to stumble, go to the sea, cast a hook, and take up the first fish that comes up. When you have opened its mouth, you will find a stater coin. Take that, and give it to them for me and you.”
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John 13:34-35
closing benediction, love one another as I have loved you, by this all will know you are my disciples
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also love one another.
35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
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Recap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
Pastor Graham preached through a cluster of passages from Matthew 18, tracing what Scripture says about how believers are responsible for one another. He worked through five or six connected teachings that are usually read in isolation, showing that when you put them together they all press toward the same point: we owe something to the people around us, and that debt shapes everything from how we correct each other to how we forgive each other.
What was said
He opened where the disciples opened, asking Jesus who is greatest in the kingdom. Jesus pulled a child into the middle of the group and said the answer is whoever humbles himself like that. Pastor Graham tied this directly to the volunteers pouring into kids through Awana and the youth group, and to Monique's testimony about serving past her limit that morning. Greatness, Jesus said, looks like service, not rank.
From there the teaching turned darker. Jesus warned that causing a younger or weaker believer to stumble is a serious thing, using language about millstones and drowning. Pastor Graham noted that the word Jesus used for stumbling block is the root of our word "scandal," and that scandal around believers has always existed. The call is not to pretend otherwise but to refuse to be the source of it.
The hand-foot-eye passage followed, and Pastor Graham read it as hyperbole about whatever specific thing is pulling a person toward sin. He told the congregation about a piece of rust that got lodged in his eye while pulling an engine on Friday, the pain that kept him up through the night, and the doctor's warning that the numbing drops help in the moment but stop healing. That became the frame: numbing a besetting sin feels like relief but it prevents the cure. He also admitted, with some plainness, that the pain made him snap at his wife over a bunny cage, and that as he was studying the text that week he recognized what had just happened.
The sermon then moved to the Matthew 18 process for addressing a brother or sister who has fallen into sin. Pastor Graham was careful to set the scope: this is not a license to scrutinize the world at large, but a responsibility toward a fellow believer you can see drifting into either legalism or license. The goal of the whole process, at every stage, is to gain your brother back. He said the binding and loosing language and the "two or three gathered" promise belong in this same context, and that the church's unity in humility is its best witness and its disunity is its worst.
Peter's question about forgiveness opened the parable of the two slaves. Pastor Graham walked through it carefully, noting that the word the fellow slave used when begging for patience was identical to what the first slave had said to the master. The first slave had received compassion but refused to pass it on, and that refusal is what the master found unforgivable. The Lord's prayer phrase "forgive us our debts as we forgive" was offered as the plain summary: the way we are forgiven is tied to the way we forgive.
He closed by circling back to the brief fish-and-coin story from just before Matthew 18. Jesus did not owe the temple tax, it was his Father's house, and he said so plainly to Peter. But he paid it anyway so as not to cause offense or become a stumbling block. Pastor Graham offered that as a picture of what runs through all of these teachings: there will be moments when you are not technically obligated to do something, and you do it anyway, because keeping the body whole matters more than being right. He finished with Jesus' words in John 13, that everyone will know his disciples by their love for one another, not by their divisions.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Pastor Graham talked about the disciples arguing over who was the greatest, and Jesus pointing to a child as the model for humility. Where do you see the drive to be 'the greatest' showing up in your own life, and what does it look like practically to trade that for a posture of serving?
- Pastor Graham shared the story of getting metal in his eye, and the doctor telling him that the numbing drops help for now but inhibit healing. Are there pains or struggles in your life that you have been numbing rather than letting heal? What does it look like to stop numbing and let God do the harder work?
and 3 more questions in the guide
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