Key Verse: Matthew 8:34 “And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.” The driving out of the demons from the two demon possessed men in the region of the Gadarenes has always received a lot of comment, because it’s so spectacular. You know the story well. Jesus casts the demons into a local herd of pigs who then rush down into the Sea of Galilee and drown. But there are two things which stand out in this account. First, the response of the demoniacs was, “What do you want with us, Son of God?” You wouldn’t expect Jewish people to be...

Key Verse: Matthew 6:9 “This is how you should pray…” Jesus teaches us how to pray and I’ve often noted how simple this prayer is and how complex most of our praying seems to be in comparison. Like the pagan, Jesus says, we sometimes think we’ll be heard for our much speaking, for our babbling, for our repetitions. They use many words, as He says in verse 7; not so with Jesus. He wants us to be short with our words and direct. So He gives a prayer lesson. Just a few observations: First of all, the focus is our Father in heaven, which is the way it must always be...