It is one of the darkest scenes in the early life of Christ.
A new King has been born in Bethlehem.
But the throne in Jerusalem is already occupied.
Today on Scandia Bible Church Podcast,
Pastor Monty Simao continues our study in the Gospel of Matthew,
where we see the kingdom of man collide
with the kingdom of God.
For on that throne sits
a ruler hardened by power,
a king consumed by fear,
and a man determined to destroy
anything that threatens his crown.
That man is Herod the Great.
And when word reaches him
that a child has been born
who is called “King of the Jews”—
he rages.
A family flees into Egypt
under the cover of night.
Soldiers march into Bethlehem.
Doors are forced open.
Mothers cry out.
And children are murdered.
It’s a scene filled with sorrow,
exile,
and loss.
And yet, even here,
God is not absent.
The Child is preserved. The Scriptures are fulfilled. And redemption advances exactly as promised.
Because even when the kingdom of man rages against heaven —
Have you ever noticed how pressure reveals what’s really inside a person?
Put someone in a crisis… Put someone in a moment of decision… Put someone face-to-face with authority…
And the heart is exposed.
Today on Scandia Bible Church Podcast, Pastor Monty Simao continues our study in the Gospel of Matthew in which we enter a courtroom.
Not a courtroom of marble columns and wooden benches —
but a courtroom in Bethlehem.
The King has been born.
And now the witnesses step forward:
The Magi travel from the nations to worship.
Herod plots to destroy.
Jerusalem trembles.
And the religious leaders quote Scripture —
yet never move an inch toward Christ.
We’ve all heard it before…
It’s the Christmas story.
But this passage goes far beyond
a familiar wintertime scene.
It’s a revelation.
A revelation in which the King of Kings is revealed…
and the human heart is exposed.
A virgin conceives. A righteous man trembles. An angel speaks. And everything changes.
Today on Scandia Bible Church Podcast, Pastor Monty Simao continues our study through the Gospel of Matthew — where we are pressed to consider whether the greatest problem we face is not our circumstances… but our guilt before a holy God.
We try to close the gap with effort, education, religion, and a clean reputation.
But Matthew declares that none of this reaches heaven.
The only bridge across this chasm comes from God Himself:
Jesus — conceived by the Holy Spirit, named because He will save His people from their sins, …and called Immanuel — because He — God — is with us.
The King has come —
to cross the chasm
we never could.
What if the most “boring” part of your Bible is actually a blazing announcement that the King has come for people just like you?
Today on Scandia Bible Church Podcast,
Pastor Monty Simao begins a new study
through the Gospel of Matthew —
a disciple’s journey through
the Gospel of the Kingdom.
Matthew doesn’t open with angels.
Shepherds.
Or a manger.
He opens with a list of names.
A genealogy.
A family tree filled with kings and cowards,
outsiders and adulterers,
faith-keepers and failures.
This is the line of Abraham.
The throne of David.
The road through exile.
And this — Matthew tells us —
is the family the Son of God chose to enter.
In the first seventeen verses,
Jesus is revealed as the Christ,
the Son of David,
the Son of Abraham —
the promised King who fulfills every covenant, steps into our crooked history, and brings a kingdom big enough for sinners and bold enough for the nations.
As this Gospel begins,
we are invited to bow before the King,
to trust His sovereign grace,
and to follow Him into the story He is writing.
Sermon Archives
Given New Life
in SBC Classic Edition
We’re in the process of digging through the colossal SBC Sermon Archive Library to bring forth the rich and timeless Biblical Truths found within the hundreds and hundreds of sermon cassettes from yesteryear, in our Tape to Podcast Project.
Currently on the workbench:
The Jim Allen Gospel of John Study (1997-1998) is now complete and in our SBC Classic Edition collection!
Watch our Steeple Study grow! … Great for a listen-study through a book or series.
Our Find-A-Sermon resource page helps you find what you’re looking for.
With the increased release of sermons from our archives, SBC Classic Edition is now podcasting on its own dedicated feed, separate from our current Sunday sermons.
Sermon Notes
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