Matt Bradner

2018 Session 6: The Great Commission by Matt Bradner

Matt Bradner discussed the prioritization of doing good: making disciples. The Great Commission tells us everything the basics of what we need to know about making disciples. Here it is in Matthew 28:18-20:

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Jesus tells us why, tells us what, and tells us why again. Why #1: all authority has been given to Jesus. What: Discipleship. Why #2: Jesus gives the promise of his presence. But that’s not all. There’s another why in verses 16-17:

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.

The same message is for those who doubt and those who worship.

2018 Session 5: A Force for Good by Matt Bradner

[note this talk’s first portion was corrupted and only the 2nd half is online]

Matt Bradner discussed different aims that we all have: do good, do bad, or do nothing. And doing nothing is not necessarily better than doing bad. God calls us to do good, to be a force for good in every area of your life for the rest of your life. Titus 3:4-8 says:

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.

God says to devote themselves to good works, not just abstain from evil. Matt expressed the importance of doing good with everything you are: your mouth, your eyes, your hands, your heart and more. Be a force for good not to get salvation but because you have it.

2018 Session 4: God's Rightful and Delightful Authority by Matt Bradner

Matt Bradner, the second speaker at NYC, started off his time talking about how there are things in our lives that are holding us back from accepting Jesus and following him. Even those of us who have said that we want to follow Jesus, there are still things that get in the way of our walk with him. Jesus encountered 3 different people who some of us can relate to in Luke 9:57-62:

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." And Jesus said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Yet another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

Matt goes through each of these situations and describes each specific circumstance these people who approached Jesus were in at the time.