Teaching & News From Eastgate PCB

Rob Woodrum & Others
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Teachings from Eastgate Christian Fellowship in Panama City Beach Florida

  1. May 24

    Matthew #51 Faithfully Waiting

    Matthew #51: Faithfully Waiting (Matthew 24:36-51) Rob Woodrum (5/24/26) Download My wife and oldest daughter were in Chicago once, trying to navigate our way to my son’s house on the city’s train service. This was back before it became much easier and all on your phone – at that time we had to buy metro cards and load them with the proper amount for our trip. My daughter had gotten hers in order and had gone through the turnstiles, but my wife and I encountered a problem and the cards wouldn’t work. “Wait for us on that side, we’ll be there soon!” we shouted to her above the noise on the busy platform. We finally got things squared away, paying more than we probably needed to, inserted our cards and moved through the turnstiles to look for my daughter. She was nowhere to be found. We looked around, confused and feeling a bit panicked, when we heard a shout from behind us. There she was, back from where we had just come, on the other side of the turnstiles, smiling sheepishly. “I got tired of waiting and came to see if I could help.” she offered. Happily, she got through and we made it to our train…but just barely. It can be a frustrating thing when we’ve asked someone to wait for us, and they don’t do it or befuddle a plan by doing something extra. It can be a devastating thing if we fail to wait faithfully for Jesus when he told us to. This Sunday we’ll be reading Matthew 24:36-51 in our study of that Gospel. In our text, Jesus makes it as explicit as he can that nobody will know just when Jesus will return. It’s astonishing how many ignore that bit of Scripture. Jesus will use a few picture to emphasize the point. It will be like the days of Noah – everything going along as it always had until it doesn’t. Some will be swept away in judgement, others will remain behind in safety. The only difference, apparently, is their faithfulness in waiting. Then Jesus tells a parable to explain what faithful waiting looks like. What was the faithful servant doing when the landowner returned? How does that contrast with the unfaithful servant – what parts are common denominators in both their descriptions? What do you think we learn about the nature of faithfully waiting for Jesus to return? What might it entail in a real-life scenario? Hopefully we’ll be challenged and grow from our exploration of this text. We’ll have a missions update from Suzy Zechman about In Deed and Truth ministries as well! Hope you can join us! Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

    31 min

  2. May 17

    Matthew #50: Wise Living In A Troubled World

    Matthew #50: Wise Living In A Troubled World (Matthew 24:15-35) Rob & Janelle (5/17/26) Download This Sunday we’ll be continuing our trek through Matthew 24, reading v15-35. Much of what Jesus predicts in this section deals with the upcoming siege of Jerusalem, a prediction that was fulfilled in 70 AD. As we did last week, we’ll focus on the instructions we receive from Jesus concerning how we respond and live in light of the temporal nature of this world’s systems. As  you read through the passage, pay attention to the places where Jesus gives specific instructions to his disciples and consider how those instructions would apply to our lives in this present world. While so much of our modern Church’s interest is in the speculations about when, what and who of these predictions, Jesus seems to focus on more pragmatic issues. What can that tell us about how we, as the Church, should respond to these words? This will, hopefully, be an encouraging study – I hope you can join us this Sunday at 10 AM. Click here for a PDF of the teaching slideshow.

    48 min

  3. May 13

    Matthew #49: Living In A Fading World

    Matthew #49: Living In A Fading World (Matthew 24:1-14) Rob Woodrum (5/10/26) Download This Sunday we’ll be starting chapter 24 of Matthew’s gospel this Sunday reading the first 14 verses. End time predictions are almost a cottage industry in the Church over the years…needless to say, we won’t be adding to those. What we’ll learn from Jesus is that there is a presupposition of the world’s ending. It’s how we live in the time we have that’s truly important. v1-3 give us the overall heading of this section. Jesus predicts the end of something – what is it? The disciples ask him when this will happen, and what sign to look for to signal his coming. Do you find that odd? He’s right in front of them – why are they asking about his coming? They didn’t expect him to leave – what were they talking about? The word “coming” in the Greek is “parousia” – the arrival of a king. They are asking when he’ll be revealed as King and bring the present, broken world to it’s conclusion. They don’t realize it, but they are asking two different questions. What then, are the two subjects in view in this section? Jesus describes things that sound like current events to us and could be alarming – except for what Jesus says in v6. What are these events, in his view? Instead of giving his disciples a straight forward answer about when these things would happen – what does Jesus say to his disciples as instruction? (hint: v4, v6, v13) Before things really end, what is happening according to v14? What is our mission then, in light of the end? Does knowing when the end may come have any bearing on what our mission is? Does it change? If not, what does that tell us? We may not all agree on how to view eschatology (views on the “end times”), but that should never be a reason to divide us. Let’s approach this text as objectively as we can and see what we may learn by God’s Spirit. See you this Sunday! Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

    41 min

  4. May 3

    Matthew #48: Bad Religion

    Matthew #48: Bad Religion (Matthew 23:1-39) Janelle Greene (5/3/26) Download Join us as we continue our study of the book of Matthew. In this passage, Jesus pronounces woes upon the religious leaders. Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

    45 min

  5. Apr 26

    Matthew #47: God's Redemptive Plan

    Matthew #47: God's Redemptive Plan (Matthew 22:15-46) Janelle Greene (4/26/26) Download This Sunday we’ll be reading through a string of confrontations Jesus experiences in Matthew 22:15-46 as we continue our study in that Gospel. It’s delightful to me how Jesus is able, not only to gracefully answer his accusers, but to weave clues into his answers that reveal an overview of what God is up to. The section we’ll be covering breaks down into four sections – v15-22, where Jesus is asked if it’s lawful to pay a poll tax to Rome. It was an extremely loaded (even dangerous) question. His answer reveals that Jesus wasn’t a political crusader – he was loyal to only One. In what way do you think we bear the image of God the way a coin bore the image of Caesar? In v23-33 Jesus is approached by the Sadducees who rejected the notion of a resurrection at the end of the age (we’ll go into why on Sunday). They pose a riddle meant, in their minds, to highlight the absurdity of resurrection. V 32 sums up Jesus’ unassailable response. What do you think his point is, that God is the God of the living, not the dead? The famous confrontation about the greatest commandment is found in v33-40. Why do you think Jesus said that the entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on the two commandments to love God and our neighbor as ourself? How would love be the main component of all that the law of Moses required? Finally, Jesus turns the tables and asks them a question in v41-46, about the existential nature of the Messiah. We’ll go into what Jesus was getting at, and we’ll see how it actually brackets the whole section by subtly pointing back to the image of Caesar on the coin. I think this will be an encouraging section to dig into. I hope you can join us this Sunday as we do! Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

    45 min

  6. Apr 19

    Matthew #46: An Invitation From The King

    Matthew #46: An Invitation From The King (Matthew 22:1-14) Janelle Greene (4/19/26) Download What is the biggest, most elaborate party you’ve ever been invited to? Did you enjoy yourself or was it challenging to be there? No matter how big the party was that you attended, I can guarantee it didn’t hold a candle to ancient royal feasts. They were known to last up to 10 days. Even into the medieval period, England and France threw a joint party that lasted for 17 days in a huge field, where everyone was given coats woven with silk and gold. This Sunday we’ll read a story told by Jesus about a party thrown by a king who gets snubbed. It’s a curious story, not without its critics. We’ll be reading Matthew 22:1-14. Who do you believe the king is in this story? Who is the son? Who do you believe the people snubbing the invitation represent? Who do you think the replacement invitees are? If you said, respectively, “God, Jesus, the Religious Leaders, the church”, you would be in the company of the majority of those who interpret this parable. I agree with them too. There are other views about who is representing whom, but they aren’t as convincing to me, given the context and theme that has been rolling along since chapter 21 began. Jesus compares the kingdom of God to an elaborate party. How does that fit within your pictures of what God’s kingdom is like? How does it match up with images of people with wings sitting on clouds and playing harps? Which is more appealing to you? How would you interpret the last part of the story – the guy who is under-dressed and gets tied up and thrown out? What do you suppose this metaphor is representing to us about our invitation to God’s party? How might Galatians 3:27 help you imagine what this part means? Just some stuff to ponder. Hope to see you Sunday at 10:00 AM! Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

    42 min

  7. Apr 12

    Matthew #45: The Great Power Grab

    Matthew #45: The Great Power Grab (Matthew 21:33-46) Rob Woodrum (4/12/26) Download Has someone ever taken something that belonged to you – or at least you felt belonged to you? How did that make you feel? Have you ever been in charge of something and someone else starts stepping all over your authority? What do you want to do in a situation like that? We’re going to be thinking about that theme this Sunday as we continue our study in Matthew, reading chapter 21:33-46. Jesus tells a parable that traditionally is referred to as “the parable of the wicked tenants”…but it could be more accurately called “the story of the renters from hell”. Read the parable over.  Who do you think the sharecroppers, who are renting the property, represent?  Who would they represent as we try to apply this parable to our own lives and church context? Who does the Landowner represent?  What do we learn from about Him from His responses to the growing tensions? What was the last straw in this stand-off?  What drove the Landowner to action?  What can we learn from this story about our own lives and the choices and responses we have? Jesus perpetually challenged the religious system – and this Sunday will be no different. I hope you can join us! Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

    37 min

  8. Mar 29

    Matthew #44: A Fruitless Religion

    Matthew #44: A Fruitless Religion (Matthew 21:18-23) Rob Woodrum (3/29/26) Download Many years ago I was with my dad at the home of family friends. At one point, he reached out for an apple that was in a fruit bowl as the centerpiece for the table where we were sitting. Our friends gasped in horror as he quickly put it to his mouth and bit down hard…only to find it was plastic. I have to give it to the old man, his teeth were in great shape because he bit right through the plastic shell. We all had a good laugh (at least I did), but my dad didn’t seem to find it as humorous as the rest of us. I suppose it’s pretty disappointing to find an imitation meant only for display when you have your heart set on a tasty apple. This Sunday we’ll be returning to our study in the book of Matthew, reading chapter 21:18-32, and we’ll be considering that theme of religion for display purposes only. In v18-22, we see Jesus do the only destructive miracle in the entirety of the gospels. Do you think this fruitless tree was just something that irritated Jesus and he lashed out…or do you think there was something else being communicated in this? If this were a living parable being acted out for his disciples – what do you think the message is, given Jesus’ actions in the last section, where he condemned the temple? The following account actually gives examples of what the message of the fig tree was. Jesus has yet another conflict with religious leaders – albeit, the chief priest is now involved. This is a first in an escalating opposition to Jesus. The question of authority is posed – “who do you think you are Jesus, emptying out the temple like that?”. There is no answer Jesus can give that won’t put him in immediate danger.  Jesus pulls a Bugs Bunny (“Duck season, Wabbit season…”) by posing a question that is impossible for them to answer. Who were the religious leaders afraid of when it came to answering the question? What does that tell us about the motive for their spirituality? The parable of the two sons spells it out in a pretty straightforward way. If you were to sum up the lesson of the parable, how would you word it? Looking forward to examining this passage together! Hope to see you Sunday! Click here for a pdf of the teaching slideshow.

    45 min
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Teachings from Eastgate Christian Fellowship in Panama City Beach Florida

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