'Gospels' Tagged Posts
IT’S ADVENT! EAT UP!
Advent is a season of preparation as we remember Christ’s first coming in lowliness and look forward to His second coming in glory. The preparation may take the form of reading a chapter or two in the Bible each day, perhaps the opening chapters of each of the four Gospels. But in the hurry and pressure of the season, we might see it as one more time-bandit on our to-do list. It can all become something we are doing…
THE GREAT SIMPLIFIER
People sometimes complain that the Bible is too difficult, that they can’t understand it. Certainly, like anything else, you get out of it what you put into it. It does take faithful Bible reading habits to connect some of the dots, to see sinful man and a sinless Christ in the ceremonies and sacrifices of Leviticus, to get a handle on the numerous kings of Judah and Israel and the warnings and comfort to be found there, to use the…
WHAT IS A “CONFESSIONAL” LUTHERAN?
The Gospels record how Peter boldly confessed His faith in Jesus as the promised Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God. The word for “confess” in the language of the Bible literally means “to say the same thing.” When we “confess” our sins, we are “saying the same thing” God says about us. We are agreeing with what God tells us about ourselves. We are admitting that we are sinners in need of Christ’s forgiveness. When we…
GOOD HABITS
Luke tells us that Jesus “went to Nazareth where He had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day He went into the synagogue, as was His custom…” We find similar statements throughout the four Gospels. Each worship day, Jesus could be found in some synagogue or at the temple in Jerusalem. Christ did not stand aloof from the family of believers, gathering only with the strong in faith. He did not think it beneath Him to keep company…
“OOH….AAH”
To only two people did Jesus ever say: “Great is thy faith.” One of them was a Gentile solider who beseeched Jesus on behalf of his sick servant. The other was a Canaanite woman who chased after Jesus, begging only for the crumbs from the Master’s table Why should a foreign soldier, who had no Jewish roots, believe in a Messiah who was rejected by His own countrymen who should have recognized their Savior? Why should a Gentile woman understand…
DAILY BREAD
Some years ago the First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City went to some unusual lengths to ensure a big turnout. The 1500 seats were nearly filled on “No Excuse Sunday” as the church provided an answer for about 15 of the congregation’s most well-worn excuses for not attending worship. For instance: For those who would rather fish than think about the wages of sin, fish were stocked in the church fountain. Rods and reels were provided. The preacher showed a…
THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES
2014 is the year in which we are marking the 125th anniversary of our congregation. We will observe this milestone of God’s grace in connection with our annual Harvest-Mission Festival on Sunday, September 28, 2014. It seems appropriate in this anniversary year to take in our hands the story of the Christian Church when it was young. The Acts of the Apostles, often called simply the book of Acts, serves as a sequel to the four Gospels. Specifically, it is…