During the 40 days between His resurrection and His ascention into Heaven, Jesus appeared to many and taught them.
Of all the things Jesus could focus upon in His teachings to His followers and the apostles – He focused upon the Kingdom of God!
Continue reading
Throughout scripture we are encouraged to hunger and thirst for God. Some of the miracles God did for Israel were intended to illustrate these points… the mana, the water from the rock…etc.
Jesus became the embodiment of these types and shadows. He was the TRUE “bread from heaven” as is recorded in John 6.
Today we investigate the connection between communion, dying with Christ, rising with Christ as well as hungering and thirsting for Him!
Continue reading
Our belief in Jesus’ death and resurrection is based upon the fulfilled prophecies of the Old Testament and the eye-witness accounts of those who saw Him after His resurrection.
His resurrection impacts us when we enter into His death with Him.
There are three deaths and three resurrections – spirit, soul and body and they cannot be experienced in any other order.
Continue reading
As I have often taught on Palm Sunday the so-called ‘Triumphant Entry’ of Jesus into Jerusalem was anything but! They preconceived ideas and selfish-ambitions blinded them to Messiah and they missed their day of Visitation.
This year we’ve focused more on NOT repeated their mistakes by honoring Jesus as our Messiah, God & King through sincere love OF Him, a deep and abiding reverence FOR Him, unwavering trust IN Him followed by absolute obedience TO Him!
Continue reading
Just before Paul begins to instruct the Ephesian believers about their conduct in Christ and the external proofs of their union with Christ, he reminds them of his imprisonment in Rome. Paul was under Roman house arrest due, among othe things, his preaching of the Gospel especially to the Gentiles and his developing doctrinal understanding regarding the necessity of circumcision for anyone – not just the Gentiles.
Paul did not want these gentile believers to become dishearted over his persecutions for having preached the gospel to them. In addtion to this he did not want them to forsake Christ to avoid persecutions themselves.
There was much of this which was “understood” and was therefore not detailed in this letter. I therefore took the time in this message to address some of the backstory behind Paul’s imprisonment a the reason for their glory in his sufferings. This was a dividing point in the early church which worked itself out, but in the beginning of the gospel being opened up to the Gentiles it was a tenuous and hot topic for which Paul was placed under much scrutiny and opposition.
Continue reading