Easter Sunday is one of the biggest highlights in the life of the church as we celebrate the resurrection. But after all the excitement dies down, we are often left with the question in our lives of what happens next? How do we handle the magnificent news of the Gospel now that we have received it and responded to it? How do we truly live for Christ and cling to Him? To find these answers, we’ll take a look back to Jesus’ sermon on the mount to see how Jesus is the greatest treasure one could ever have, and how as a result, we must pursue Him and His Gospel each day!
Our world has been experiencing a growing crisis of hope. The future seems uncertain and the present volatile. When you feel hopeless and beaten down by life, Peter reminds us that we have a God who is merciful and sees our helpless state, who has made us alive and has given us a living hope that is anchored in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through Christ, our eternal future is secured in the vaults of heaven, where it cannot die, fade or be corrupted.
Palm Sunday is the first day of holy week or the first day of the final week before Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. It is the day we traditionally celebrate Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. As we take a closer look at Jesus’ triumphal entry, what was Jesus declaring about himself in this triumphal entry? Did the disciples and the crowds really understand what they were saying? What difference does this day make for us over 2000 years later?
In today’s message in 2 Kings 7:1-9 from missionary Ken Beckley, we learn how God uses people to advance His good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This same message resonates with us today as God calls all Christians to share the good news of the Gospel with the world!
How do we respond in suffering in a way that is healthy that deals with our emotions and is God honoring? We will take a closer look at three biblical truths of human suffering that will help us respond in suffering.
A rich young ruler seeks out Jesus to ask what more he can do to secure eternal life. No doubt hoping for a quick fix, the man’s expectations are soon flipped upside down as Jesus reveals to him that eternal life is not found through accomplishing checklist items, but rather through having a relationship with God. Further yet, the man soon learns that it’s not about what he can do to earn salvation, it’s about what only God can do to accomplish salvation, as true wealth is found in Jesus Christ alone!
Why is the resurrection of Jesus such good news for us? For us to be able to answer this question, we need to take a closer look at Jesus’ trail, death, and resurrection. We will discover the purpose and significance of His death and the evidence to what Christ’s resurrection points to.
If you are to faithfully follow Christ, you must offer unlimited forgiveness to those who have wronged you.
There seems to be much confusion when it comes to church membership. The Bible does not explicitly command church membership. Nowhere in Scripture does it say, “that you must join a local church.” However, the Bible does something far better. The Bible expands the relationship between the church and its members with a series of metaphors that shapes our identity and challenges our inclination to individualism, self-sufficiency, and pride.
As we dive into Romans chapter 5 verses 1-11, the Apostle Paul beautifully illustrates and helps us to see how our sinfulness and unworthiness has caused a great chasm that separates us from God. But through God’s grace and mercy, our Lord Jesus Christ stepped in spanning the chasm by taking upon all of our unrighteousness and unworthiness, and instead imputing His perfect righteousness upon us. As such, the Apostle Paul shows us that grace is the power by which we stand, as it’s not who we are, but whose we are that gives us our worth!
As we look to the beginning of the Bible, we are reminded of the creation, sinful rebellion, and fall of mankind leading to a flood. We are further reminded that just as things start anew again with Noah, mankind rebels once more by building a tower and leaving God to intervene. But just when all hope seems lost, the story takes a sudden shift when out of an act of pure mercy and love, God calls a man named Abram to go to a land He will show him, all while promising to bless Abram and make his name great. However, in Abram’s pursuing attempts to obey the Lord, he fails time and again. Yet, through each stumble, the Lord stays faithful in fulfilling His promises to Abram as they were based on His abilities, not Abram’s. In doing this, the Lord also reminds us today that our promise of salvation doesn’t rely on our own works or righteousness, but rather they reside in the finished saving work of Jesus Christ. We, like Abram, just need to receive this free gift and respond in faith to God!
The empty tomb and missing body of Jesus did not amount to good news for Jesus’ disciples initially, but instead left them in confusion and despair. The despair Mary felt from Jesus’ death on the cross was only compounded by the absence of His body from the tomb. Yet upon hearing her Teacher’s voice, Mary’s disposition dramatically changed. The despair that Jesus’ death had brought soon gave way to joy in hearing and seeing her risen Lord. Jesus was no longer missing, He is risen!
Jesus finds Himself in the midst of a large crowd flocking to see the one who performs the miracles of God. Through the crowd, however, a man in desperation named Jarius falls before Him to come and save his only child. As Jesus agrees, He’s soon caught off track by another person in need, a woman in desperation from a 12-year stint of a bleeding discharge. Seeing her faith Jesus heals her and does something far greater, He fully restores her relationship to God! Unfortunately for Jarius, his daughter has died in this timeframe and all hope seems lost. But Jesus stays with Jarius and reminds Him, only believe! Soon after Jesus raises Jarius’ daughter to life and shows that a healing faith is one that is placed in Him alone!
Our missionaries and church planters Max and Jennifer Kennedy from Nicaragua provide an update and message about stepping out for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
As the disciples travel at night in a boat across the sea of Galilee, they battle a vicious wind and turbulent waves. Tired and weary from their hours long journey, the disciples get the surprise of a lifetime as they see Jesus walking on the water besides them. As Peter comes to grips with the situation and seeks out the Lord by walking on water, he soon loses focus and begins to sink due to his little faith. In an amazing illustration of the Gospel, however, Jesus immediately saves Peter and meets him where he’s at, just as He does today with those who look to the cross and call upon His name!
Missionaries Rodney and Lindy Kidd from Mannheim Germany share the work the Lord has done as they planted churches that planted churches.
While King Solomon loves the Lord and mostly follows His Statues, we discover he's not setting the best example for the people of Israel to worship God. In spite of this failure, the Lord still lovingly meets with Solomon and grants a prayer request for him to receive wisdom. However, we soon discover that this noble request contains so much more then a one-time action from God, but rather a continuous knowing heart in alignment with God's will. We also discover that we too have this same continuous connection with God in Christ Jesus our Lord!