Many Christians have failed to grasp that the resurrection is the polar star for the Christian faith and message. Without the resurrection, Christianity is empty. The Christian message is summarized in the “gospel”, literally, good news. Paul claims that in preaching the gospel, he was sharing “first things” — the death, burial, and resurrection of …
Continue reading “Easter: A good time to get a firmer grip on the gospel”
John paints a wonderful and amazing portrait of Jesus. Jesus comes to make possible “life.” John’s theme song is not salvation. (In fact salvation is not among the most common New Testament words. Salvation is little and infrequently used in the New Testament–rather interesting given the vocabulary of popular preachers today. Especially for John, Jesus …
Continue reading “Sunday: Knowing the Jesus who gives life [John’s Gospel]”
Do You Know My Jesus? Do you know the Jesus who came for everyone? Good questions, and foundation for understanding the Gospels of Jesus. Matthew’s portrait of Jesus is of royalty–the Jewish Messiah (Christ, Anointed One) who comes as King in the Kingdom of God, but a different kind of King, benevolent and persuasive rather …
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When I present seminars on Mark’s Gospel, I like to include a series of lessons I call, “People Jesus Touched.” Many of these lessons come from Mark 5-8. [Outline Note: Mark 1-4 answers the question, “Who is Jesus?” Mark 5:1-8:21 asks, “Who can be a follower of Jesus?” Mark 8:22-10:52, deals with the question, “What does …
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What does the Gospel of Matthew reveal about the Kingdom? How does one seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness? Matthew’s Gospel has five major discourses or teaching sections. These are clearly marked in the text by parallel concluding phrases (Mt. 7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1). One can easily identify the teaching sections …
Continue reading “Sunday: Seeking Kingdom Things [Matthew’s Discourses]”
With the selection of Pope Francis, one very clever and popular quote I hear more and more is, “Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.” The quote is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi and seems to say that proclaiming the Gospel by example is more virtuous than proclaiming it verbally. I …
As the church assembles each week across much of the United States, largely in its own self-awareness with few visitors who could be described as prospective Christians, our sermons become more and more directed to the church and focused on the needs of the body. A recent article bemoaning the decrease and virtual non-existence of …
It is told that when Tolstoy was an army officer, he saw during a march that one of his fellow officers was beating a man who was marching out of step and out of line. Tolstoy said to the other officer, “Have you not read the gospel?” to which the other officer replied, “Have you …
“Mish Maoul.” In Arabic, the phrase means unbelievable. A Spanish word I use frequently is “increible”. 1 Thess. 1:5 says, “When we told you the good news, it was with the power and assurance that come from the Holy Spirit, and not simply with words.” The unbelievable was made believable through preaching and testimony empowered …
Acts 28:31 ESV says, “…proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.” There it is! The last word of the last verse of the last chapter of Acts. A Greek word which I translate “unhinderedly.” The ESV gets the flavor and significance of the Greek …
