On this episode of Preaching the Text, John Hoyum and Steve Paulson examine a number of topics brought up by Jesus in Matthew 18.

As Christians, we rest in the finished work of Christ on the cross, and we yearn for our neighbor to be reconciled to God, to know the peace that we are resting in.

What kind of shepherd does God provide? The answer, of course, starts and ends with Christ.

Salvation is not simply transactional; it is fundamentally relational. Not anemic, but full-blooded. Not disembodied, but bodied.

God is coloring over your sin and making you fragrant; he is making you righteous in his sight. The old is gone, forever covered over by this new work.

In the quiet of your own uptown, where your own sins bear down on you and create a troubled conscience before the world, before others, and before God, your Lord reaches across the chasm of brokenness to take your hand.

Nuance, listening, patience, dialogue. These things seem missing as we analyze our problems in America! We get to speak with a former police officer and current pastor, Tim Barkett, to hear his take from the perspective of those who serve. Great interview.

God doesn't help those who help themselves. He saves those who can't do anything for themselves.

Our brokenness cuts deeper than just the times when we recognize it needs to be fixed.

We were lost. We didn’t know where we were going or which way to turn. We had been driving around in circles for hours with nothing to show for it. And now we weren’t sure how to find our way home - and losing hope by the minute.