What we have said about needs, our deepest needs, is that Jesus meets them completely and proved it by His Cross and Resurrection. We needed a relationship of perfect trust and He offered it. We needed to recognize how imperfect we are, humble our pride, confess it and He embraced us. We needed to look at Him for forgiveness and He gave it. We needed to know how to love others and He demonstrated it. We needed balance of mind, heart and spirit and He became our peace within. In all five He… Continue

When Jesus rose from the dead the impact of that event reversed the way human beings assessed themselves. Instead of a fractured self-appraisal, a depressed resignation to surviving the present and facing an uncertain future, there was not only a new hope but a vision of a reality never seen before. What the human heart most needed appeared and was made available to everyone.



What was the change, the reversal, the new hope? First, there was the certainty of life after death, of a way… Continue

For many people waking up in the morning is greeted by incessant calls from within…You need to look younger, reflects the mirror… You need to have what they have, says my coveting the larger house in the nicer neighborhood I happen to pass by, you need more money, shouts my limited budget… I need to change my eating habit and lose weight, says weak will power …I need to be better at what I’m doing, says that sense of self-dissatisfaction… I need someone to give me a break, says my tendency to… Continue

All of Paul’s letters are the result of the effect Jesus had on Him. The Gospels are about Him. Revelation is about Him. Again, the whole Old Testament is about Jesus. The miracles of Jesus are about Him and from Him. The teachings are from His heart and are given to point to Him. He is the centrality of all the stories, the proverbs, the parables, the future, the past, and the present.



Now there are two tracks, two paths, two roads always open to us. One is God’s and the other is… Continue

In this time when we have just celebrated the Resurrection of Jesus we really need to get down to the business of communicating our faith. Why is the Resurrection so important? What does it mean for the world? What does it mean for me? It’s a lot more personal than we think and a lot less to do with religion. It’s got everything to do with who we are, why we are here and what living is all about.



In order to really answer the ‘why’ and ‘what’ questions we have to look at our… Continue

When Jesus declared on the Cross -‘It is finished (Jn.19:30)’- He was declaring that everything He came to do was completed, done, accomplished. The Resurrection is the proof. Everything from His birth, all through His life and into His death had been fulfilled. Every thought behind every action, every motivation in every next moment, had pleased His Father. He lived to do His Father’s will and died for Him. “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work… Continue

 

Here's the teaching outline from Tuesday morning Bible Study as requested.

 

The Lord’s Supper



Matt. 26:17-30 Mark 14:12-26 Luke 22:7-23 John 13:1-30 1Cor.11:20-26



The Context of the Lord’s Supper

The Passover Exodus 12

Ex.24:8 Lev.17:11 Heb.10:1-14



The Centrality of the Lord’s Supper

1Cor.11 Paul sees it as the central act when believers come together.

Jesus’ teaching is done in the context of Passover in John.



The…

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“Then Jesus came to them. He said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. So you must go and make disciples of all nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And you can be sure that I am always with you, to the very end (Matthew 28:18-20)."



In all recorded history no person, personality or persona real or fictional has had more of an effect on human civilization and… Continue

Have you ever felt the need to atone for something you’ve done? What atone means is to make up for something that shouldn’t have been done, something that has brought with it a sense of guilt. We want to atone, make up, for past mistakes. This mistake prone nature we have is due to sin and its inevitable consequence, guilt, which we inherited from the initial act of disobedience Adam and Eve committed. It is not unusual to hear someone say they feel guilty even though they don’t know why. It’s… Continue

Here are the spiritual gifts lists to start the knowing part of your spiritual gifts endowment. The Lord’s gifts’ statement is the prompt, “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! (Matt.7:9-11).”





Romans 12:6-8

We have different gifts,… Continue

“Don’t ask me to lead or to speak.  They make me uncomfortable.  But if you have something you would like to get done I will be glad to help.”  That particular attitude can be the result of a lack of confidence, a lack of faith or it may be a true reflection of a gift that is necessary to get a job done.  The gift of helps (1Cor.12:28) emerges when someone in the Body is anxious to serve the Lord and just appears whenever a project starts.  They don’t want to be noticed, praised or…

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7But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it…11 some to be evangelists…(Eph.4).”



“I don’t do street corners or push my ideas on others. Religion is a private thing. I know I’m not an evangelist. I leave all ‘that’ to the ‘Billy Graham’ types.” I bet you’ve heard ‘that’ too or maybe even felt that way when asked to be part of a team visiting newcomers or being in the midst of others who are talking about what it means to be a Christian. Did you ever consider… Continue

“Sounds like gibberish to me” “What kind of noise is that?”  “That’s weird” And you’ve heard those before I’m sure.  So just what is ‘speaking in tongues?’  This opens the door to one of the most sensitive spiritual issues among Christians today.  It has been the source of division in many denominations.  In fact several denominations have been founded on the need for acceptance of this gift as a central tenet of faith.  ‘Pentecostal’ and ‘charismatic’ are terms usually used to describe the…

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‘Everything has to go her way’ ‘He has a controlling spirit’ ‘Something’s wrong here. I can feel it in my bones’ ‘The hair rose up on my neck’ “That was the eeriest thing I’ve ever seen.’ These and many other expressions indicate something real is happening, you just can’t see it. There is a discernment of some dominating force motivating an action, a reaction or a simple observation. Paul nails it when he says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against… Continue

‘It’s a miracle!’  You’ve heard and said that phrase many times I’m sure.  When miracles are discussed they invite both cynical speculation and joyous affirmation.  There is usually no middle ground.  It’s one or the other.  Just what is a miracle?  Do they really happen?  How do we approach the subject? 

 

For those who follow Jesus as the source of truth, Scripture points the way.  There the bottom line always is where God leads us to, through and by faith.  Scripture begins…

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