Podcasts about Capernaum

What do you do when you've prayed… and nothing's changed? When heaven feels silent, the pain is real, and all you have left is a word from Jesus?In John 4, a royal official with power, money, and influence faces the one thing he can't control, his dying child. Desperation drives him 20 miles uphill to find Jesus. And in one sentence, “Go; your son lives,” Jesus teaches him, and us, what faith really looks like when you're standing between pain and promise.This is the story of the Holy Gap: the sacred space between what God said and what you see. It's where faith must walk before it ever sees. It's where obedience becomes your worship, and waiting becomes your witness.In this teaching, you'll discover:How pain becomes the doorway that brings you to Jesus.Why faith matures in the hallway between the Word and the wonder.What it means to believe before you see, and how obedience activates the unseen miracle.The difference between crisis faith, confident faith, and contagious faith.How to walk through your own “Cana to Capernaum”, trusting the Word while waiting for the breakthrough.Faith isn't pretending the pain doesn't hurt, it's trusting that His Word still holds. Because when Jesus speaks, the miracle is already in motion.Come learn how to walk, worship, and wait well in the Holy Gap, between “Go” and “It is done.”

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After Jesus had completed his long teaching intensive, Luke records that he returned to Capernaum where His ministry had previously been well received. There, according to Luke 7:1-10, He was approached by the Jews on behalf of a Roman centurion – a man who had power at his fingertips, but no power to deal with […]

Garth Heckman The David Alliance TDAgiantSlayer@Gmail.com    Matthew 17:27   Payment of the Temple Tax 24 On their arrival in Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and asked him, “Doesn't your teacher pay the Temple tax?” 25 “Yes, he does,” Peter replied. Then he went into the house. But before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered?” 26 “They tax the people they have conquered,” Peter replied. “Well, then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are free! 27 However, we don't want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.”   The little things:   But Jesus said ONE FISH is all you need!  …one crumb is all you need. Matthew 15:21 2 Kings 4 “a little oil” A few fish A couple pieces of bread Jn. 6:9   A mustard seed Mtt. 17:20    The widows mite She gave out of total obedience and complete trust Small things done in total obedience and trust ARE GREAT THINGS IN THE EYES OF GOD.   Its the little things - like the rock in your shoe!    Hebrews 12:15 Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.     **Don't miss the underlying application… Roots start with a seed. A small thing.    The fruit in your life is bitterness… your family is raised on bitterness.    We must be aware of the small things in life.    We tend to look for the meaning in life in the  - - - -    - Grand Gestures   - The Massive achievements -  The Headline Moments -    - Accomplishments due to great personal sacrifice      THERE IS AN AURORA AROUND PEOPLE WHO HAVE LEARNED TO LIVE IN BIG OBEDIENCE!  BUT HOW DID THEY LEARN IT?      Question? Can you give .10 out of a dollar? Can you give $100,000.00 out of a million?    IM NOT TALKING ABOUT MONEY OR PROSPERITY!   Does God want you prosperous? -… I have a problem with that prosperity gospel.    Ok, does God want you generous?  How you gonna be generous with what you don't have?   GOD WANTS YOU OBEDIENT GOD WANTS YOU GENEROUS GOD WANTS YOU! 

Garth Heckman The David Alliance TDAgiantSlayer@Gmail.com    Matthew 17:27   Payment of the Temple Tax 24 On their arrival in Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and asked him, “Doesn't your teacher pay the Temple tax?” 25 “Yes, he does,” Peter replied. Then he went into the house. But before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered?” 26 “They tax the people they have conquered,” Peter replied. “Well, then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are free! 27 However, we don't want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.”       Two other thoughts God takes Peters natural gifting, work and talent and does what he Can't do with them.    Jesus was with Peter and fishing and when Jesus had him fish Peter would catch a lot of fish… but not this time. Jesus says… the first fish you catch - look in its mouth. See if you fish you know that sometimes they are hitting in certain areas of the lake… when you find that spot - its lights out. But if they are not hitting there you move. If Peter was operating in the natural he would have cast his net… caught one fish and thought… nope, not here and moved on. God supplied it, but Peter still had to fish! He still had to do the work! He still had to obey.      Willy and the deck piece that he retired on.      JN. 2 - Christ first miracle.   Wine without planting, seasons, watering, weeding, fertilizing, getting the people to do the work, picking, stomping, bottling, aging and finally pouring…. He skips it all and goes straight to the blessing/answer.    One small act of obedience - Fill the pots with water… And he skips steps 1-20

7:1 Now when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum. 7:2 And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. 7:3 And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. 7:4 And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: 7:5 For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. 7:6 Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: 7:7 Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. 7:8 For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 7:9 When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 7:10 And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick. 7:11 And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. 7:12 Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. 7:13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. 7:14 And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. 7:15 And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother. 7:16 And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people. 7:17 And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about.

Garth Heckman The David Alliance TDAgiantSlayer@Gmail.com    Matthew 17:27   Payment of the Temple Tax 24 On their arrival in Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and asked him, “Doesn't your teacher pay the Temple tax?” 25 “Yes, he does,” Peter replied. Then he went into the house. But before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered?” 26 “They tax the people they have conquered,” Peter replied. “Well, then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are free! 27 However, we don't want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.”   Couldn't pay my taxes my first year at my Fathers church… walked in to his office - what am I going to do? I owe $4000. The phone rang… are you still wanting to sell your boat? I will give you 4k for it.      Tax collectors are trying to catch Jesus… How much money did you give for the new sign??? I thought you loved your church and God????     JESUS HAD THE -  Freedom to not pay taxes… but wisdom to pay taxes.  Freedom without wisdom is a stumbling block to others. Any virtue in and of itself is an evil. Aristotle    On this occasion Jesus chooses to not offend… but later he will flip tables in the temple.    There is an intimacy that one requires in order to know which one you choose? LESSON: I no longer question someones motives or actions if I know they are intimate with God.      Graceful compromise… Early on in our Marriage going to her relatives dinner… THE RIDE HOME. Why did you not say anything???   Invited to your spouses family dinner. They are all raving lunatics that hate religion, faith, Trump, puppies and chocolate… You don't need to go, but you gracefully compromise so that you might have a chance to love on them… and not give them a reason to be offended.      You are dining out and trying your best to share Christ with your server… but they are subpar at best… but you tip them generously anyway because you don't want to give them a reason to be further offended at the gospel or Christians.     Someone blows up at you at work… they tell human services you get pulled in and reprimanded. You just take it, smile and ask for forgiveness… because you know righteousness is more important than you being right.  This isn't weakness - its meekness. I could, but I won't!  WE SOMETIMES PROVOKE NEEDLESS OPPOSITION TRYING TO HARD TO BE RIGHT - RATHER THAN LOVING!      When we are right morally we may in fact be wrong spiritually… We can focus on Non essentials, Captious, making mountains out of mole hills.  We attack abortion and not share Christ Love We attack Socialism and not share Christ Love We attack Transgenderism and not share Christ love  We attack their music, clothes, Political stance, their theological stance, even their religion and choices…

A Sermon for the Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity St. Matthew 9:1-8 by William Klock In our Gospel St. Matthew writes that “Jesus got into the boat and crossed back over to his own town.”  Back to Capernaum.  From the far side of the Sea of Galilee.  From that place where he'd been confronted by a man filled with demons and cast those demons into a herd of pigs.  You know the story.  The demon-possessed pigs promptly stampeded into the sea and drowned themselves.  And that left the pig farmer and the local townspeople none too pleased with Jesus.  They pleaded with him to leave.  So he and the disciples got back into their boat and sailed across the Sea of Galilee.  And now he's back home in Capernaum.  Matthew's version of this story is the shortest on details.  Mark's version implies that Jesus was tired.  He went home to get a break from the crowds and it took a few days before anyone realised that he was home.  But when they figured it out, the crowds were back.  Before he knew it, they'd let themselves into his house and he was preaching.  It was mostly just ordinary people, but there were some scribes and Pharisees there in that packed and crowded room.  They had to keep an eye—or an ear—on Jesus. And that crowd posed a problem to four friends.  They had a fifth friend who was paralysed.  When they heard Jesus was back in town, these four men went and got their friend and carried him, cot and all, to Jesus' house.  Jesus was healing everybody else.  Surely he would heal their friend.  If they could get to him.  And they couldn't.  I can imagine them trying.  Asking politely if people might get out of the way.  Looking to see if maybe they could squeeze through a back door or a window, then going back and trying to push some people aside to get to the front door—all to no avail.  There was no way they'd ever get their friend into that house.  And that's when they had an idea.  The roof!  In those days, in that place, roofs were flat—they served as extra living space when it was hot and you needed to get out into a cooling breeze—but more importantly, roofs were made of rush and palms plastered between beams.  So these men take their friend to the roof and they start jabbing at the roof with sticks and kicking at it with their heels and pulling it apart with their hands, until they'd made a hole big enough to lower their friend down to Jesus. Now imagine Jesus, in the house, preaching to the crowd while that was going on upstairs.  Loud scratching and thumping.  And pretty soon bits of plaster and rush start falling.  Before too long there's a hole in the roof and everyone sees these guys looking down—probably a little sheepishly.  I wonder what went through Jesus' mind.  He was tired.  His rest had been cut short.  The crowd was one thing, but he really didn't need some yahoos tearing up his roof.  “Great!  There goes the damage deposit,” he's thinking to himself.  But pretty quickly, as they lowered their friend to him, he saw what was going on.  And I think Jesus smiled. Why?  Because Matthew writes that Jesus saw their faith and if Jesus was anything like me and most of the other pastors I know, the exhaustion, the frustration of not having a break, the annoyance at having these guys destroy his roof, I think it all would have melted away, because seeing the faith of these men made it all worth it.  And looking down at the paralyzed man, Jesus says to him, “Have courage!”  Take heart!  In other words, “Don't be afraid.”  Because I imagine some people might be afraid if their friends just tore a hole in the Messiah's roof to get them inside.  Because even if Jesus was smiling, the people around him were looking shocked and outraged and angry.  “How dare you dig a hole in the Messiah's roof!”  And so Jesus looks at him and says, “Your sins are forgiven!” Now, that's not what we might expect Jesus to say to this man.  Judging by Jesus' other encounters, we'd expect him to say something like, “Get up and walk; your faith has made you well.”  But instead, he tells the paralysed man that his sins are forgiven.  That's nice, but he's still lying there paralysed on his cot.  So why would Jesus say, “Your sins are forgiven”?  Brothers and Sisters, Jesus found a teaching moment in everything.  He'd healed people more times than anyone could count at that point, and that was a sign that the Messiah had come and that God's kingdom was breaking into the world.  But what did that really mean?  Well, remember that everyone had their own ideas about the Messiah and about the kingdom—and, most important, how they could have a share in it.  The people needed more than just to see miracles.  They needed to know more than that the Messiah had come; they desperately needed to know what the Messiah had come to do.  Jesus saw that group of scribes there in his house that day and saw a perfect opportunity.  Maybe they were legitimately curious to hear what Jesus had to say or maybe they were there just to criticise or report back to the priests or the Pharisees, but, right on cue, they hear Jesus' words—“Your sins are forgiven”—and he can see their outrage.  He could see how they scowled as they grumbled to each other about how blasphemous this was.  “Who can forgive sins except God?” they howled in Mark's telling of the story. Just as Jesus could see the faith of the paralysed man's friends as they lowered him through the hole in his roof, he could see the opposite in the grumbling scribes.  And so he asks them, “Why are your hearts so intent on evil?”  Of course, that just made them angrier.  “We're not the evil ones!” they say back.  “You are…you…you…you blasphemer!”  But Jesus goes on with the teaching moment and says to them, “Which is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” or to say, “Get up and walk?”  But so that you may know that the son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—and now he turns back to the paralysed man—“Get up, take up your cot, and go home.” And the paralysed man got up, took up his cot, and went home.  I think there was probably a little more to it than that.  He probably stretched a bit and moved his arms and legs around and maybe jumped up and down a few times.  I think he probably laughed and yelled and gave a hug and many thanks to Jesus, but Matthew doesn't get bogged down in those sorts of details, because his point is—as usual—that when Jesus healed the man, he was healed.  There was no struggle or delay.  This was the same word God spoke in the beginning when he said, “Let there be light!” and there was light.  When Jesus told the man to get up, to take his cot, and to go home, that's exactly what the man did.  In Jesus, God's new creation had come.  And if that's all that had happened, the scribes would have had nothing to complain about. What really stuck in their craw was Jesus declaring the man's sins forgiven.  That made them mad.  Even for the Messiah, as far as they were concerned, that was too big a claim.  To heal the paralysed man?  That was good.  But if he had sins to forgive, his friends should have taken him to the temple in Jerusalem for that.  The priests there were the only ones with the authority to offer sacrifices for sin and to declare someone reconciled to God.  But the crowd understood and Matthew makes a point of saying that the crowd was afraid—afraid in the sense that they were awestruck by what had happened and knew that somehow and in some way the God of Israel was at work in and through Jesus—as if they'd just witnesses one of those great and awe-inspiring events from the Old Testament that no one in Israel had seen in a thousand years.  Matthew says they saw what had happened and that they praised God for giving such authority to men. The story is sort of the whole gospel story in a nutshell.  Jesus teaches and he heals—he does the things the Messiah was supposed to be doing.  He even foreshadows the resurrection when he tells the man to “get up”—or better to “Rise up!”  That's resurrection language.  This is what Jesus promises for everyone who trusts in him: He forgives our sins, he raises us to new life, and he invites us home—to live as his new creation in the presence of God.  But as far as the scribes and Pharisees were concerned, Jesus did all this the wrong way and that made it blasphemy. But Jesus wasn't worried about that.  You know when you're accused of something bad by someone and you just want to say, “Man, look in the mirror!”  Or that old thing your parents used to tell you when someone insulted you, “Consider the source.”  Or that line from a certain cartoon character, “Your boos mean nothing to me; I've seen what makes you cheer.”  Jesus flips around the accusation.  He exposes the wickedness in the hearts of those scribes and he does it for everyone to see.  He discredits them and their accusations.  He leaves them fuming.  You can imagine their red faces and how their mouths are moving, but they can't say anything.  And Jesus is left standing there full of authority and life and power. I wonder if this teachable moment popped into Jesus' head as the plaster rained down on him and the man was lowered through the hole.  The paralytic probably had an apologetic look on his face—like, “I'm really sorry, Jesus, for the hole in your roof.  Please forgive me and my friends.”  And Jesus realised that this was the perfect moment to say something about forgiveness—because this man and his friends and, in fact, all of Israel, that's what they really needed: forgiveness, not for making a hole in his roof, but for far more serious sins—for idolatry and for greed and for faithlessness and for all the ways they'd failed to live out their covenant with the Lord.  Israel needed a lot of things—just like the paralysed man did—but most of all she needed forgiveness.  In that, the paralysed man represents Israel and all her wrong expectations of the Messiah.  The Jews wanted the Messiah to solve all their problems.  For some that was healing sickness, for others it was casting out demons, for some it was getting everybody to keep the law better, and for others it was bashing Roman heads and destroying the pagan gentiles.  But not very many people understood that none of these things was the real problem.  The real problem was sin.  Sin is why the world is in the mess it's in.  Sin was why Israel was estranged from God.  The people had been unfaithful to the Lord.  He'd called them to be light in the darkness, but they'd hid their light under a basket.  More than anything else, they needed forgiveness, because forgiveness is the start; it's what paves the way for everything else to be set to rights.  Forgiveness is the way to new creation. I think that's the part of the story that gets most of our attention.  But notice that what Matthew puts at the heart of this story isn't the healing or the announcement of forgiveness.  The heart of the story is Jesus statement that the son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins and then the response of the people.  We miss this because we're not thinking like First Century Jews.  When Jesus calls himself the “son of man”, he's drawing on an image from Daniel 7.  The book of Daniel is about faithfulness in the midst of exile.  Israel had been defeated and the people taken off to Babylon. Worse, some like Daniel, were pressured to compromise, to bow to a pagan king and to pagan gods—to give up on the God of Israel and to give up on his promises.  And some did just that.  But Daniel stood firm and the Lord gave him a vision of those pagan kings cast down, of the God of Israel taking his throne, and the son of man “coming with the clouds of heaven…to be given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him” (Daniel 7:13-14).  And yet, when Daniel asks what the vision means, he is told that this kingship and dominion “shall be given”—not to a single person, but “to the people, the holy ones of the Most High; their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom and all dominions shall serve and obey them” (Daniel 7:27). The son of man in Daniel's vision was a symbol for the faithful remnant of God's people—for those who stood firm in their faith in the God of Israel, who remembered his covenant, and who refused to bow to pagan gods and kings.  So when Jesus referred to himself as the son of man, this is what the scribes (and everyone else) would have been thinking of.  And this is why Matthew says at the end that the people praised God that this authority has been given not to a man—Jesus—but to men, plural.  Because up to this point, Daniel's vision had yet to be fulfilled.  The Maccabees, for example, had claimed to be that faithful remnant, but their kingdom didn't last.  The people who were that faithful remnant—people like Zechariah and Elizabeth and Mary and Joseph and Simeon and Anna, although they were probably too humble to actually claim being the faithful remnant—people like them knew all too well that the Lord had yet to grant them anything like authority and dominion.  That's what Mary's song, the one we call the Magnificat, is all about.  But here Jesus identifies himself with that vision.  In him the son of man is finally being granted that authority and dominion—that kingship that everyone thought of in connection with God's kingdom and the world finally being set to rights—and Jesus isn't just saying it or claiming it.  He proves it when he tells the paralysed man to get up, take his bed, and go home.  For the people there that day, this was bigger than just the Messiah.  Jesus could claim to be the “son of man”, but the son of man wasn't just one person, the son of man represented the whole faithful remnant in Israel.  We need to grasp the enormous hope embodied in those words of Jesus about the son of man.  It's not just Jesus who will take his throne.  He will.  But that he will take his throne also means that all the faithful will be vindicated as their enemies are cast down, and that they will finally share in that God-given authority and dominion.  So the people in crowded in Jesus' house that day recognised that in Jesus the Messiah, God's kingdom had finally come and that they would be part of it—not just as subject, but as kings and queens themselves.  Or to borrow from C. S. Lewis, the day was coming when these sons of Adam and daughters of Eve would once again take their rightful place in creation set to rights. This makes sense of another passage that often confuses people.  Twice Jesus said to his disciples “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”.  The first is in Matthew 16, after Jesus praises Peter for his confession, “You are the Messiah, the son of the living God”.  Jesus says to him and the others, “I will give you the keys of heaven”.  And in Matthew 18, in that passage about what we call “church discipline” and dealing with an unrepentant person, he repeats this statement about binding and loosing.  This is all “son of man” stuff.  Jesus isn't giving special authority to Peter alone because he's going to be the first pope.  In fact, he's not giving any special authority just to the apostles.  No, this is a gospel authority given to all of the faithful remnant, to everyone who by faith identifies with the Messiah.  This is a people who are not only given dominion or kingship—to rule alongside the Messiah—but who also share in his role as prophet and priest.  That's what this binding and loosing language is about.  As prophets, Jesus' people were to speak out against the sins of Israel and to rebuke her faithlessness, and as priests they were called to mediate the saving, the forgiving message of the gospel to the nation—and eventually to the whole world. This was good news and it explains why the crowds wouldn't give Jesus a break.  Israel's scriptures were full of promises, but so many of them had yet to be fulfilled.  Promises like Daniel's vision of the son of man.  Promises of forgiveness and of restoration and of dominion and authority.  Time and again, things would happen and people would think, “Oh!  This is it!”  But it never quite happened.  The remnant returned from their Babylonian exile, but things were never as they had been.  The Maccabees defeated the Greeks and established Judah's independence.  And for a little while it looked like the Lord's promises were on track to be fulfilled.  And then it all fell apart.  But the people knew that the Lord is faithful.  Time and again he had shown his faithfulness in Israel's past and they knew he would be faithful in their future.  Every year they ate the Passover and remembered the Lord's promises and looked forward in hopeful anticipation.  And now, here was Jesus, and he was actually doing the things the Lord had promised and he was doing them like no one had before.  They had faith.  They would be forgiven, their enemies would be cast down, and the faithful remnant—who were now gathering around Jesus the Messiah—in them the people of God would be restored and made new and would be the people the Lord had promised—a people full of his life and a people for the life of the world—prophets, priests, and kings.  The sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve would be forgiven their sins and would take their thrones and all would once again be right with the world.  This was good news! And Brothers and Sisters, this is still good news for us—maybe even more than it was for the people crammed in Jesus house that day.  In Jesus we see the faithfulness of God.  They were still looking forward in anticipation, but we can look back and see the whole picture and how Jesus fulfilled the Lord's promises and that ought to strengthen our faith and ought to give us reason to look forward to our future in hope, knowing that what God has begun in Jesus he will surely finish.  The world is often dark, we can feel small and alone, sometimes it feels like we're fighting a losing battle, but we can look back and see what the Lord has done and trust that he is faithful.  He always has been and he always will be. And this is good news because it tells us who we are.  I think that too often we look at passages like this, where Jesus talks about himself as the son of man and we forget that it's not just telling us something about Jesus.  The son of man represents a whole people.  Because Jesus has fulfilled the role of the son of man, that means that we his people, through our union with him, we have been caught up in that son of man identity, too.  Jesus has been given power and authority and dominion forever, and you and I share that with him.  It's authority to live and to proclaim the good news that he has died, that he has risen, and that he has come again and that he brings forgiveness and life.  And it's also the authority to speak as prophets to the world, to call out sin, to remind the world that the Lord will come in judgement to cleanse his creation, and to call men and women to repentance.  And hand in hand with that role, we have the authority of priests.  We're not only prophets, but priests, mediating the good news of Jesus and the life of God's spirit—mediating the redemption Jesus has made at the cross—to a sick world, desperately in need of forgiveness and life. Brothers and Sisters, think about that as you come to the Lord's Table this morning.  The bread and the wine reminds us of the forgiveness and the life and the hope we find at the cross, but they should also remind us who we are in Jesus.  We are Daniel's son-of-man people.  We are prophets, priests, and kings and we have been made so for the life of the world.  Seeing the faithfulness of God revealed in Jesus ought to move us—like the people that day in Jesus' house—to give God glory and there is no better way to glorify him than to be the people he has made us in Jesus and the Spirit, a people who live and proclaim his good news so that the world might see and know his faithfulness and give him glory. Let's pray: O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts, that in his power we might be the gospel people who have made, that we might be faithful in making known your faithfulness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Key Lessons from Jesus Faith can move obstacles – The friends of the paralytic didn't let a crowd stop them from bringing him to Jesus. Jesus has authority to forgive sins – This was shocking to the religious leaders but central to His mission. Compassion over condemnation – Jesus welcomed sinners to His table. The Sabbath is for man's benefit – It's a gift, not a burden. And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. 3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk'? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” 12 And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” 13 He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. 14 And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. 15 And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” 18 Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, “Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 19 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. 21 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.” 23 One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26 how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” 27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”   Mark 2:1–28, ESV Discussion: What did Jesus say in this chapter? What did Jesus do in this chapter? What did you learn from Jesus? What surprised you about Jesus? What confused you about Jesus? What questions do you have? How can I be like Jesus this week? Leave a comment to tell me what Spiritual exercise that you tried this week.

Read Mark 1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, 3  the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,' ” 4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” 9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” 12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him. 14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” 16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him. 21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. 22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. 29 And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31 And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. 32 That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. 35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” 39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons. 40 And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43 And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 45 But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.   Mark 1:1-45, ESV What did Jesus say in this chapter? What did Jesus do in this chapter? What did you learn from Jesus? What surprised you about Jesus? What confused you about Jesus? What questions do you have? How can I be like Jesus this week? PDF Download (https://drive.google.com/file/d/15g7Hr9M4rfjdfHVTM_yoSnM1vPABuQTi/view?usp=share_link)

In this episode, from a chapel service held on Friday 22 August 2025, Mark Thompson, Principal of Moore Theological College, speaks on John 4:43-54 and Jesus' healing of the official's son at Capernaum.He reminds us that seeing is not believing: witnessing the signs that Jesus did does not necessarily lead to a person having faith in him. Instead, hearing Jesus' words and trusting in him is what true faith looks like.For more audio resources, visit the Moore College website. There, you can also make a donation to support the work of the College.Contact us and find us on socials.Find out more about the Diploma of Biblical Theology (DBT).Please note: The episode transcript provided is AI-generated and has not been checked for accuracy. If quoting, please check against the audio.

Life often pushes us to our lowest points, leaving us feeling broken and wondering if recovery is possible. The story of a paralyzed man in Capernaum illustrates this struggle - confined to a mat, isolated and hopeless. However, four faithful friends refused to give up on him, carrying him through crowds and obstacles to bring him to Jesus. When they lowered him through the roof, Jesus first addressed his spiritual needs by forgiving his sins, then commanded him to rise and walk. The man who once lay helplessly on his mat now carried it as a testimony to God's healing power. This story reminds us that God provides people to help carry our burdens when we cannot bear them alone, and calls us to be mat-carriers for others in their darkest moments. Follow and subscribe to stay updated with our latest content: Youtube  | Facebook | Instagram | Central Wired Website

Daily Dose of Hope October 13, 2025   Scripture - John 6:1-24   Prayer: Holy and Almighty Father, We come to you today with humble hearts.  We know we are broken and need you.  We are weak.  We are vulnerable to temptation.  Lord, fill us with your strength.  Give us your stamina and wisdom.  We can't do this life without you, Lord.  It's in the powerful name of Jesus we pray, Amen.   Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the New Hope Church daily Bible reading plan.  We are currently doing a deep dive into the Gospels and Acts.  Today, we begin a deep dive into John 6.    We start with John's text describing the feeding of the 5,000.  Jesus has taken his disciples away, trying to find a quiet place to rest.  That doesn't happen.  People follow them.  Jesus was probably quite a sight.  He said things people had not heard before and he did miracles.    The crowd that followed Jesus this time was quite large.  Thus, they sit down on the side of the mountain and Jesus asks Philip (mainly to test him), “Where in the world are we going to get food to feed all these people?”  Of course, Jesus already knew what he would do.  The interesting thing to me is that Jesus didn't get annoyed with the crowds, he was never exasperated.  He took it in stride and everything was a learning lesson.  Everything was a Kingdom lesson.   Jesus had tremendous compassion for the people.  If you think about Jesus' ministry, he was often interrupted, probably on his off day.  He would frequently be planning to do this one thing but pulled away in a different direction.  But it was in those interruptions, those distractions that Jesus did amazing work, that we get to see God at work in amazing, miraculous ways.  He heals the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years because she “interrupts” him on his way to the Roman official's home.  Think of the man whose friends created a hole in the roof to lower their friend in front of Jesus and “interrupt” his teaching.  He was interrupted by a demon-possessed man at the synagogue and he heals him.  I counted something like 35 “interruptions” and it was in those interruptions that Jesus healed, taught, loved, and demonstrated God's glory.    And I'm wondering if it might be the same for us.  We get so busy, so task-focused, but might it be in the interruptions that God is calling us to demonstrate HIS compassion toward others?  Sometimes, the most important things in our lives happen in the interruptions.  I think God wants us to pay attention to the interruptions because interruptions involve people who Jesus loves.  God uses individual people to bless others, to take care of the needs of others.  But let's get back to the feeding.  Exactly how it happened, we don't know.  What we know is that it happened.  Jesus took a little and turned it into a lot.  In that moment, we see God's Kingdom in all its fullness.  In God's Kingdom, there is no sickness so Jesus healed.  In God's Kingdom, there is no hunger so Jesus fed.  Most of us in here are pretty well fed but that was not the norm in first century Palestine.  People did not get enough to eat.  That's why in the Lord's Prayer we say, “give us today our daily bread” because daily bread was not a given.  Those 10-15K people that Jesus was caring for that day (the men plus their wives and children), these were peasants.  They were hungry people.  There was a huge disparity between rich and poor in the Roman Empire and some argue, quite convincingly, that was intentional.  But Jesus fed everyone until they were full (probably something they were not accustomed to at all).  And when all were fed, the leftovers were collected and there were twelve basketfuls remaining.  Amazing abundance.  Jesus demonstrated the abundance of God's Kingdom.  To these people following Jesus, there was a lack of food, so it made sense to demonstrate abundance that way.  For most of us, we typically eat until we are full so maybe that wouldn't make sense to us.  But for many of us, we still operate our lives from a SCARCITY mindset.  We've talked about this before but it's worth revisiting.  A scarcity mindset means we worry that there won't be enough, we are fearful of running out, that there won't be enough for me.  We live always thinking, “well, what if this happens or that happens?”  But if we view our lives from the lens of scarcity, then we will always be fearful and anxious.  And we will miss so many of the blessings that God has in store for us. And Jesus wants us to operate from the ABUNDANCE mindset.  He wants us to trust that he will provide all our needs and then some.  There were 12 baskets left over.  Jesus wants us to have a stewardship mentality, recognizing that all we have, God has generously put into our hands.  All our resources – they are a gift from God, our health – gift from God, our children/grandchildren/friends – all a gift from God, our time – a precious gift from God.  Just as Jesus was asking his disciples to do in this miracle, he is asking each of us to do --- look beyond what's in front of you.  Look up from this physical, earthly reality and see that there is so much more.  I've got you.  I'm here for you.  Trust me.  The world tells us to be afraid, hold on tight to whatever you have, send the people away.  But Jesus is saying, “Look beyond the world.  Look beyond what's right in front of you.  Look at my Kingdom.” One thing I like about John's Gospel is he gives us a little more detail.  He writes about how, after Jesus feeds all the people, the disciples cross the lake back to Capernaum.  The people follow him again and ask for more bread.  Afterall, they were hungry people.  But Jesus wants them to go deeper.  He knows their needs are deeper.  All of our needs are deeper.  Anyway, Jesus says to them later, in John 6:35, “I am the bread of life.”  Whoever comes to me will never go hungry…   Of course, he is no longer talking about bread.  Those places of scarcity in our soul – the fear, the anxiety, the anger, the doubts, the pain, the past trauma, the bitterness, the insecurity, the emptiness, the bondage to things of this world – Jesus takes all of that and if we let him, will fill us, heal us, strengthen us, nourish us.  Christ, the bread of life, satisfies the deepest longings of our life.  And friends, I need that.  You need that.  We have a whole community who needs it, yearns for it.  The last part of our reading is Jesus walking on water.  Keep in mind that Jesus had the ability to defy the laws of nature.  His miracles included healings but they also included the calming of the storm and walking on the Sea of Galilee.  When the disciples see him do this, they are afraid.  How often are we afraid when we see Jesus act in unexpected ways? Blessings, Pastor Vicki  

John 6 recorded signs 4 and 5 - the feeding of the 5,000 and our Lord's walking on the troubled sea. The feeding of the 5,000 took place in spring - a time of abundant green grass. It was Passover time (12 months before Jesus' crucifixion) and just after the death of John the Baptist. Jesus, in testing Philip, asks where can Jesus and his Apostles purchase sufficient bread in the wilderness for this crowd; for our Lord already knew what he was going to do. From the personal lunch of a lad - five loaves and two fish Jesus feeds 5,000 and collects 12 baskets full of fragments. Having full bellies, the multitude wants to forcibly make Jesus their king. Our Lord rapidly disperses the crowd and sends the disciples away by boat. Jesus goes into a mountain to pray. The Lord comes to the disciples walking on the water. No sooner had he joined them than they arrive at Capernaum - the city of comfort. This is a parable illustrating our vain toiling on the troubled sea of nations as we await the return of our Master. As soon as Jesus returns we will receive the peace he brings and the comforts of the kingdom age. At the synagogue in Capernaum a discussion takes place as Jesus tells them that he is the 'bread of life' - in contrast to the wilderness manna eaten by their fathers. The Son of God has been sealed in his thinking by his Father; and what they need to do was believe. Their being saved is through what the Father has done through His Son and all they can do is to accept this by believing on His Son. Isaiah 55 is a key link to this chapter and it focused on resurrection - "the sure mercies, i.e. 'chesed' of David". Note the emphasis in John 6 and how many times Jesus refers to resurrection - verses 39, 44. Verse 45 quotes from Isaiah 54 verse 13. All who believe thefaithful message of the gospel are "taught of God". Jesus found that many would-be disciples leave him being unable to cope with the challenging ideas our Lord Jesus presents. Peter's encouraging and supportive words for his Lord particularly and for every potential disciple when says in verses 68-69, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and come to know, that you are the Holy One of God". ESV Jesus though encouraged reminds Peter and the other Apostles of the rocky road ahead when he refers them to the challenges that are to come from Judas Iscariot: see verses 70-71. Let none of us trust in ourselves for the heart of mankind is "diabolos' - treacherous.

Even the disciples — the men who walked side by side with Jesus — had meltdowns. On the road to Capernaum, at the Last Supper, and everywhere in between, they argued over who was the greatest. But Jesus flipped their idea of greatness upside down: “Whoever wants to be first must be a servant to all.”

1 And entering into a boat, he passed over the water and came into his own city.Et ascendens in naviculam, transfretavit, et venit in civitatem suam. 2 And behold they brought to him one sick of the palsy lying in a bed. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the man sick of the palsy: Be of good heart, son, thy sins are forgiven thee.Et ecce offerebant ei paralyticum jacentem in lecto. Et videns Jesus fidem illorum, dixit paralytico : Confide fili, remittuntur tibi peccata tua. 3 And behold some of the scribes said within themselves: He blasphemeth.Et ecce quidam de scribis dixerunt intra se : Hic blasphemat. 4 And Jesus seeing their thoughts, said: Why do you think evil in your hearts?Et cum vidisset Jesus cogitationes eorum, dixit : Ut quid cogitatis mala in cordibus vestris? 5 Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee: or to say, Arise, and walk?Quid est facilius dicere : Dimittuntur tibi peccata tua : an dicere : Surge, et ambula? 6 But that you may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then said he to the man sick of palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go into thy house.Ut autem sciatis, quia Filius hominis habet potestatem in terra dimittendi peccata, tunc ait paralytico : Surge, tolle lectum tuum, et vade in domum tuam. 7 And he arose, and went into his house.Et surrexit, et abiit in domum suam. 8 And the multitude seeing it, feared, and glorified God that gave such power to men.Videntes autem turbae timuerunt, et glorificaverunt Deum, qui dedit potestatem talem hominibus.Healing of the sick of the palsy in Capernaum. The Priests have received power to heal souls, to pardon sinners.

Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Spirit 21 And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. 22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he […]

Jesus Heals a Paralytic 2 And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. 3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And […]

Learn about how Jesus influenced the circle around Capernaum - and how we can influence the circle around us!

Mark 2 : 1 - 12 1 And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. 2 Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. 3 Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. 4 And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." 6 And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 7 "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" 8 But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, "Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, "Arise, take up your bed and walk'? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins"--He said to the paralytic, 11 "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." 12 Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!" Glory be to God forever.

1 Chronicles 29 outlines the extensive offerings for the temple, that David in gratefulness to God had prepared. And like the Tabernacle those offerings had had come from willing hearts - verse 9 compare Exodus 25:2. David then prays for the Assembly and asks that whatever those assembled had done would be acceptable to the Almighty. Note the similarity between David's prayer and the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6. Also take notice of the deep spirit of humility in which it was offered. Solomon was anointedking for the second time and we need to consider the import of verse 23 "He sat as king upon the throne of Yahweh over Israel". Thus began the kingdom of God on earth in its first constitution. David dies and is buried and let us consider the Apostle Paul's comments on David's faithful service in Acts 13 verses 36-37. Ezekiel 38 speaks of an invasion of the recently regathered and reconstituted nation of Israel (verses 7-8). The chapter speaks of a northern confederacy headed by one termed Gogue - meaning 'roof', or 'one at the top'. Looking at a map of Eurasia we need no imagination to be able to see the nation being spoken about. The leader of this nation is called in the Hebrew tongue prince of Ros, Meshech and Tubal - the ancient names for Russia, Moscow and Tobolski as many lexicographers tell us. In a book by a notable Russian historian (George Vernadsky - he says Ezekiel 38 is the first historical reference to Russia. Note the alliances mentioned and much of this has already transpired. This Eurasian confederacy is opposed by Israel and Arabian countries (verse 13). The principal aggressor comes from the "uttermost parts of the north" (verse 16 RSV). Moscow is directly north of Jerusalem. Verses 17-23 indicate that the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY will come to the aid of His beleaguered people and there will be a great earthquake (see Zechariah 14 and Joel 3 verses 16-21). It will be occasioned by the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ standing on the Mount of Olives. This was promised by the two angels at Jesus' ascension to heaven: Acts 1:1-11 compare with Luke's other record in Luke 24 verses 50-52. John 4 deals with the incident between Jesus and the woman of Samaria in which he offers her "living water". There follows a discussion between Jesus and the woman about the site of acceptable worship - Jerusalem, or Gerazim. Jesus firstly tells her that salvation is from the Jews. Acceptance by God is dependent on two factors sincerity and truth - these have always been the focus at Shechem, and with Joseph and his brothers in Egypt (Joshua 14 verses 14-15; Judges 9 verses 14-15). The woman accepts Jesus as the Christ (Messiah) and she then has an incredible impact on helping the Samaritans to receive Jesus also. Philip would about 7 years later reap the gathering harvest now being sown. That harvest is spoken about in Acts 8. From verse 46 to the end of John chapter 4 our Lord Jesus heals the son of an official from Capernaum - this being the second of the signs recorded by John and resulting in the official and his household believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. That Nobleman is thought by some to be Herod's keeper of the larder ChuzaThanks for joining us - we pray you found these comments helpful in your appreciation of God's words, join again tomorrow

Today on Like It Matters Radio we are asking the question, “Who are my people?”. It was Dr. Martin Luther King who lived and died for the Dream; “I have a dream! That one day my 4 little children will live in a nation where they are not judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!” On April 4, 1968, as he stood on the second-floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, he was assassinated! Well less than 60 years from his death, we have assassinated his dream as well. Today we seem to be all wrapped up in color again. Racism is openly government sponsored today. All that matters is one’s skin color to determine how justice is meaded out, who gets free money, good schools and sympathy and empathy. All we did was switch colors. White used to be good, and Black was not good. Nowadays, Black is the color of a victim and white is the color of a persecutor. The only thing that has changed is the preferred color. For those who don’t ‘group’ identify, this show is for you. Who are your people? If you are not wrapped up in skin color and which bathroom someone uses, then how do you identify “your people”? Jesus addressed this in a home in Capernaum, when he said, “Who is my Mother, and who is my brother, but he or she who does the will of my Father, that is my mother and that is my brother. Today on this hour of power Mr. Black will be joined by Joel Hillary. Joel has a podcast called, “The Jesus Magnet”. Joel is a follower of the risen King, he is a New Zealander who lives and missions in Thailand- Joel is my people. Listeners will be moved as he shares the stories and the power of the people he interviews and share incredible stories. Inspiration, Education and Application- that is what is on the menu for our People, those who want to be more and use Like It Matters Radio as a source of growth and encouragement! Be sure to Like and Follow us on our facebook page!www.facebook.com/limradio Instagram @likeitmattersradioTwitter @likeitmatters Get daily inspiration from our blog www.wayofwarrior.blog Learn about our non profit work at www.givelikeitmatters.com Check out our training website www.LikeItMatters.Net Always available online at www.likeitmattersradio.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aramaic Word of the Day - ܙܥܘܪܐ (zaʿura) - Small, Little, Humble. I remember once guiding a lrage group through the ancient ruins of Capernaum, the town where Yeshua lived during much of His ministry. The basalt stones of the synagogue still rise in silent testimony, and the foundations of fishermen's homes remind us that this was not a glamorous city but a humble village on the northern shore of the Galilee. for more in depth teachings check our online courses: www.twinsbiblicalacademy.com 

Come As You Are Series - The CenturionMatthew 8:5-8 “When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.” And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed.”When asking the Lord who to talk about next in this series, the story of the centurion's servant came to mind. The story is short, so I will read it to you in case you aren't familiar with it. Matthew 8:5-13:“When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him and saying, 'Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.” And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.” The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go,' and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,' and the slave does it.” When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the centurion, Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you according to your faith.” And the servant was healed in that hour.”This story is similar to the one we previously discussed, the Canaanite Woman. What is interesting about both stories is that the faith that healed their loved ones came from people who weren't even Jewish. This is important for us to see because oftentimes we think we are not holy enough to pray for healing for our loved ones. In my family, everyone goes to my dad for prayer. Actually, it isn't even just in my family. Everyone who knows my dad will ask him for prayer, even if they aren't Catholic, and sometimes they don't even believe in God, but if they need a miracle, they will ask my dad. It seems as if my dad has a direct connection to God. He and my mom are both powerful prayer warriors. I think they go to do my dad more than my mom because he is a deacon in the church. We tend to think that priests and deacons have more clout than we do. We tend to think their prayers are heard more than ours.This story is showing us that we don't have to be super religious for God to work miracles in our lives. It shows us God is not only healing the loved ones of those who are in church every single Sunday. This story is showing us that anyone can come to God. The centurion soldiers weren't always kind to the Jewish people, and yet Jesus still healed his servant. We can come to the Lord, no matter where we are in our faith, and He will help us. We don't have to wait until we go to church every week. We don't have to wait to come to the Lord until we know exactly what we think and what we believe.This soldier knew that Jesus had authority and that if Jesus said that the servant would be healed, his servant would be healed. The Jewish people were struggling to see that Jesus had authority. They had expected the Savior to look a certain way and to do things a certain way, and Jesus was not what they had expected. The centurion and the Canaanite woman hadn't heard all the prophecies of what the Savior would look like, where he would come from, and what he would do. They didn't have expectations. They saw what Jesus was doing for others, and they wanted Him to do it for them, too.This is an important lesson for us too! What if we let go of our expectations of who we think God is, what we think we need to do, and who we think we need to be before we come to God? What if we let go of our expectations of how we think God can help us and when He will help us? What if we accept the fact that God has authority and can do anything whenever He chooses? He doesn't need us to say the right thing or to do the right thing. He doesn't need us to ask the right people to pray. We can go to Him, just as we are, and we can ask Him ourselves. We can decide to trust that if God has done it before, He will do it again. If He has done it for others, He will do it for us.We don't have to worry if our faith is enough. Jesus said we just need the faith of a mustard seed. Think about the Canaanite woman and this centurion. They did not know the Bible. They did not know Jewish law. They didn't really know anything other than what they saw Jesus do and maybe some things they heard Him say. You don't have to be a Bible scholar for God to heal your loved ones. You don't have to have all the answers to come to the Lord. He will give you the answers you seek when you come. You don't have to figure things out on your own. He is here to help with all of that. We just have to come to Him and He will do the rest.Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening. Lord, we want to come to you. We want to believe that you want us just as we are. We want to believe we don't have to do anything before we come to you. We believe, Lord, help our unbelief. Lord, please help us to come to you. Please help us to trust that you are who you say you are and that you do what you have always done. Help us to truly know that you love us as we are. We love you, Lord, and we ask all of this in accordance with Your Will and in Jesus's Holy Name, Amen!Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day!Today's Word from the Lord was received in May 2025 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today's Word from the Lord is, “When you feel tested, my little ones, and things are going wrong, without the fire or the flame of my love to put it out, you cannot go further with me. So draw closer to me.” www.findingtruenorthcoaching.comCLICK HERE TO DONATECLICK HERE to sign up for Mentoring CLICK HERE to sign up for Daily "Word from the Lord" emailsCLICK HERE to sign up for my newsletter & receive a free audio training about inviting Jesus into your daily lifeCLICK HERE to buy my book Total Trust in God's Safe Embrace

FROM TODAY'S RECAP: - James 1:13 - Isaiah 61:1-2 - 1 Kings 17:7-16 - 2 Kings 5 - Article: How Does Jesus' Temptation Link Him to Israel? - Article: The House of Peter: The Home of Jesus in Capernaum? - Article: Who Was Matthew in the Bible? - TBR Bibles Note: We provide links to specific resources; this is not an endorsement of the entire website, author, organization, etc. Their views may not represent our own. SHOW NOTES: - Follow The Bible Recap: Instagram | Facebook | TikTok | YouTube - Follow Tara-Leigh Cobble: Instagram - Read/listen on the Bible App or Dwell App - Learn more at our Start Page - Become a RECAPtain - Shop the TBR Store - Credits PARTNER MINISTRIES: D-Group International Israelux The God Shot TLC Writing & Speaking DISCLAIMER: The Bible Recap, Tara-Leigh Cobble, and affiliates are not a church, pastor, spiritual authority, or counseling service. Listeners and viewers consume this content on a voluntary basis and assume all responsibility for the resulting consequences and impact.

October 5, 2025 - Sunday AM Bible Class   In this episode Phil leads a focused, fast-paced study through the “hidden highlights” of John chapters 4–7. With limited time the teacher intentionally touches key episodes and themes: the woman at the well, Jesus' miracles in Cana, the royal official's distant-healing, the Bethesda pool miracle, the feeding and Bread of Life discourse, the loss of disciples, and Jesus' teaching style and authority. Chapter 4 revisited: after the Samaritan encounter the message moves to Cana and Capernaum. The royal official from Herod's household brings a desperate faith—his son healed from sixteen miles away—illustrating that Jesus' word is sufficient and that faith can overcome distance. Cross-references (Luke 8:3) and the way news of Jesus spread are noted as factors that moved people to seek him. Chapter 5 highlights the pool of Bethesda and a man who had lain there thirty-eight years. The speaker explores the man's faith and fading hope, the curious tradition of the angel-troubled waters, and Jesus' vital question, “Do you want to be made whole?” The three action verbs Jesus uses—rise, take, walk—become a practical motif for spiritual response, while the ensuing Sabbath controversy exposes how law-focused leaders missed the miracle of mercy. Chapter 6 touches on the feeding of the 5,000 and then centers on the Bread of Life discourse. The episode contrasts the crowd's physical expectations (food, a political king) with Jesus' spiritual offer—food that endures to eternal life. The controversial language about eating Christ's flesh and drinking his blood is examined as a turning point that split casual followers from committed disciples; many left when they could not reconcile a spiritual message with physical expectations. Chapter 7 draws attention to the manner and matter of Jesus' teaching: he spoke with unique authority and drew crowds because his teaching came from the Sender, not from rabbinical training. The speaker reflects on internal and external verification of truth, warns preachers against seeking human praise, and emphasizes the responsibility of listeners to work on their faith. Key takeaways and applications: true faith is more than a desire for signs and material benefits; it is rooted in Christ's word and requires wholehearted commitment. Practical themes—faith that trusts a word at a distance, the renewing power of hope, and the call to “rise, take, walk”—invite listeners to examine motives for following Jesus. The episode closes with the classic challenge: when confused or disappointed, will you abandon Christ, or will you echo Peter's question, “To whom shall we go?” Format: the episode blends biblical exposition, practical illustration, and application aimed at encouraging deeper faith and a renewed commitment to following Jesus wherever he leads.   Duration 43:19

A Sermon for the Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity Ephesians 3:13-21 & St. Luke 7:11-17 by William Klock “The next day,” says St. Luke in our Gospel lesson, “Jesus went to a town called Nain.”  No doubt to preach the good news that, in him, the God of Israel had finally come to his people to fulfil his promises to them.  No doubt to heal the sick or the blind or the deaf or whoever else came to him to be healed.  No doubt to cast our demons.  Not just to tell them that God's kingdom was breaking into darkness of the world, but to show them.  To make the sad things untrue, as Sam Gamgee put it so eloquently.  But I expect that Jesus was frustrated.  Sure, crowds were following him wherever he went, but they didn't get it.  They wanted their own personal miracle worker and, like the people in Nazareth, they got angry with him when he wouldn't stay.  They knew—because it was impossible to miss—that in Jesus light had come into the darkness.  They knew hope for the first time.  But their vision of God's light and life was just so, so, so small.  And then there were people like the scribes and Pharisees who were angry because, if he was the Messiah, he was doing it all wrong.  They couldn't see past their rules and boundaries.  They had no grasp of the great height and width and length and depth of the love of God.  They were thrilled to have Jesus wipe away their tears and make the sad things of their lives untrue, but they were still committed to, still doing the very things that made the sadness in the first place. Luke says here, in 7:11, that this happened on the “next day”.  It was the day before that Jesus had been met by the friends of a Roman centurion with a sick slave.  He got word that Jesus was on his way to his house to heal his slave and sent words to say, “No, don't come to my house.”  He knew that as a gentile he wasn't part of Jesus' mission.  “No, Jesus, just say the word and my slave will be healed.  I know you've got authority to do it.”  And Jesus stopped and marvelled.  He healed the centurion's slave, but he also turned and rebuked the crowd that was following him: “How is it that I've found more faith in this gentile than in you lot, in God's own people?” And now, it's the next day, and he's on his way to Nain and the crowd has followed him from Capernaum.  It's about five miles.  And all the way he's been teaching his disciples and anyone else within earshot who will listen.  I expect Jesus was trying to broaden their vision of the kingdom and what it all meant.  And then they arrived at the city gate.  Luke writes, “As he got near the gate of the city, a young man was being carried out dead.  He was the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.  There was a substantial crowd of townspeople with her.” From a distance Jesus noticed that the town gate was unusually quiet and now he sees why.  Or maybe he heard it before he could see it, because as they got to Nain they met a burial procession coming through the gate.  There was the stretcher being carried by pallbearers and on it was the body of a young man.  Following behind was his mother, crying her eyes out and wailing loudly.  I wonder if Jesus knew them.  Nain wasn't far from Capernaum or from Nazareth, so it's entirely possible that Jesus knew these people or, at least, knew who they were.  Luke knew enough about them to report that the woman was a widow and that the young man was her only son.  Her husband was dead and now so was her only son and that meant that she was destitute.  That meant that she was without hope. The whole town was gathered and they wept and they wailed loudly so that she could weep without embarrassment.  They were on their way to the burial plot outside town.  There would have been a little cave.  Sort of a family plot, with the bones of her husband's ancestors.  Some time before she'd made this trip with her son by her side as the mourners carried her husband to that little cave and laid him to rest.  Eventually, she had gone and put his bare bones in a box, leaving the burial shelf empty.  And today she would put her son there.  And then what?  Come harvest time, she'd have to join the poor, gleaning in the fields and the vineyards, collecting whatever was left behind by the harvesters.  And she prayed no one would come to seize her house and turn her out into the street. And seeing her, Jesus knew her grief.  He knew her hopelessness.  And I wonder what went through his head.  Did he recognise an opportunity here to make a point about the bigger, deeper, wider meaning of the kingdom for the crowd following him?  I suspect it occurred to him.  But I think, more than anything, Jesus saw in this woman the pain and the sorrow and the tears of this fallen and broken world and he was overcome with love—because that's who he was.  The widow and the orphan have always had a special place in God's heart.  How they were treated was always—and still is—emblematic of whether or not the people had the heart of God themselves.  And so I think it was simply the most natural thing in the world for the heart of Jesus to be overwhelmed with love and pity for this woman and he simply did what came naturally to him. Luke writes, “And when the Lord saw her, he was very sorry for her.  ‘Don't cry,' he said to her.  Then he went up and touched the stretcher and the people carrying it stood still.” That would have been bad form for anyone else, but not for Jesus.  I still expect people were shocked.  You didn't get in the way of a funeral procession then any more than you do now.  But to touch the stretcher—that would render him unclean.  So the crowd watched in surprise or shock as Jesus stopped the procession.  And they heard him say to the woman, “Don't cry.”  And I can only imagine what they were thinking when he then went to the dead boy and said, “Young man, I say to you, ‘Get up!'”  They'd seen Jesus do some amazing things.  They'd seen him heal the sick and the blind and the lame, but could he actually raise the dead?  That was kind of over the top, even for Jesus.  And yet…there were stories from the old days.  Could the things in those old stories happen again? These people were deeply steeped in the scriptures and some of them must have recognised that what Jesus was doing had echoes of the stories they knew so well.  I say that because Luke recognised the parallels and makes a point of reporting this story very deliberately so that it echoes the stories of the prophets Elijah and Elisha—particularly Elijah in 1 Kings 17. Nine hundred years before, King Ahab had ruled Israel.  He was the latest in a line of wicked kings who did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.  Ahab built an altar to the Canaanite fertility god Baal in the Lord's temple and he led the people into idolatry and all sorts of unspeakable evils.  First Kings says that Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel before him.  And so the Lord visited his people with a drought and the drought brought with it a famine.  And the Lord announced that drought and famine through the Prophet Elijah, whom he sent to the king.  Of course, that made Elijah rather unpopular with the king, so the Lord first led him to a hiding place in the wilderness, where he sent ravens to bring him bread and meat each morning and evening and where he could drink from a creek.  But when the creek dried up, the Lord sent him to the home of a widow and her only son. The widow had nothing left but enough flour and oil to make a small loaf of bread.  When Elijah met her, she was planning to bake the bread for herself and for her son as a last meal.  Then they would die.  But the Prophet told her to bake the bread for him in faith.  If she did that, he said, the Lord would keep her jars of flour and oil full as long as the famine lasted.  And so, in faith, she did as he told her and, in response, the Lord provided.  All through the famine the Lord took care of her.  Neither the flour nor the oil ran out. And then one day that poor widow's son became ill and died.  And she forgot all that the Lord had done through Elijah to keep her and her son alive and she berated the Prophet for bringing this on her.  And so Elijah took the boy and laid him on his bed, and stretching himself over the boy three times, he pleaded with the Lord to restore his life.  And the Lord heard and the boy rose up and Elijah took him to his mother.  When she saw her boy alive, she declared, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.” That, of course, wasn't the end of the story.  This was all to spare Elijah from the wrath of King Ahab and eventually the Lord would send the Prophet back to the King to announce an end to the drought.  But it wasn't quite that simple.  The Lord told Elijah to challenge Ahab's pagan priests to a showdown.  Elijah would give them a chance to build and alter, offer a sacrifice, and to pray to Baal to end the drought, before building his own altar, offering a sacrifice, and praying to the Lord.  On the mountain, Baal's priests proved their god's impotence, while the Lord visited his people: sending down fire to consume Elijah's offering and then causing it finally to rain, while his priests slaughtered the priests of Baal who had led the people of Israel into idolatry. The story of Elijah and the widow of Zeraphath, situated in that bigger story of the God of Israel and the defeat of Ahab and his false god, it was a story about the Lord's love.  About the Lord's love for his people—a love so great that he would not let an evil king lead them off forever into idolatry and evil.  It was about the Lord's love for the poor and destitute.  And it was a story of hope.  The Lord will not let his people languish forever in sin and darkness and hopelessness.  When the time is right, he will visit his people, he will deal with sin and death, he will wipe away the tears, and he will set the world to rights. And it was that vision of the love of God that the people around Jesus—most of them, at any rate—it was that great vision of the love of God and the restoration of all things that they lacked.  When the Messiah came, they struggled to see him as anything more than their personal miracle-worker.  When it came to setting things to rights, they had trouble seeing any further than their desire for the Messiah to rain down fire and brimstone on the Romans and their pagan allies.  There were all these interest groups in Israel, from the Pharisees to the Sadducees, from the Essenes to the Zealots (well, the Zealots would come a few decades later, but their spiritual fathers were there in Jesus' day).  And they all had their own vision of what the Messiah would be and what he would do and what it would look like when the Lord finally came to visit his people.  And their visions of all of that were just so incredibly small and self-centred and lacking in grace and with no real grasp of how truly deep and wide the love of God is.  The crude idolatry that Israel had known in Elijah's day was long gone from Israel, but a more subtle idolatry had taken its place and it blinded people to who Jesus really was and what God was doing through him. But this day the God of those old “fairy tales” was going to burst into the present—like King Arthur returned to rescue Britain in its darkest hour.  That day at the gate of Nain, Jesus—like Elijah and like Elisha (that's another story Luke echoes, but we don't have time for this morning)—Jesus stopped the pallbearers, put his hands on the stretcher, and said to the dead boy, “Get up!”.  And instead of uncleanness passing from the dead boy to Jesus, the life of the living God passed from Jesus to the dead boy and, Luke tells us, “The dead boy sat up and began to speak, and he gave him to his mother.”  And her tears of sorrow turned in tears of joy.  Jesus not only raised her son, but he also gave the womam back her own life.  But the bigger thing, at least for Luke, was the response of the crowd.  “Fear”—or maybe better great awe—“came over all of them.  They praised God.  ‘A great prophet has risen amongst us!' they said.  ‘God has visited his people!'  And this report went out about him in the whole of Judaea and the surrounding countryside.” Many wondered if the God of those old stories was real.  They hadn't heard a prophet speak in centuries.  The same went for the raising of the dead.  And the glory cloud, God's presence in the temple, had been gone for five hundred years—if it had ever been there at all.  But now they knew.  The God of Israel was real and alive and he was working through Jesus.  But did they really get it now?  Yes and no, I think.  Even the disciples wouldn't really and fully get it until after they'd encountered Jesus risen from death.  And even then, they wouldn't really, really get it until Pentecost and the sending of the Spirit.  But Luke does seem to be saying that the people “got it” more than they had before.  They stood in awe because they knew they were somehow and in some way either in the presence of the God of Israel or in the presence of this representative and one who had his power and authority.  They knew they had seen God at work and so they praised him.  And when they proclaimed that a great prophet had risen up amongst them and that God has visited his people, they were exuberantly proclaiming that they now knew that God had once again come into the darkness to set things to rights like he had done back in the days of Elijah, because only the living God has such power over death.  And so they cheered even if they didn't understand or even if they still had messed up ideas about what it all meant or how it would play out.  They knew that in Jesus God had come to fulfil his promises: to right the wrongs, to wipe away the tears, and I think with this latest miracle, the hope dawned in some—maybe even many—that Jesus had come to defeat even death itself. It's important that in telling the story, Luke doesn't just look backward to Elijah.  The story echoes back into Israel's past, but it also looks forward.  Because Luke also deliberate tells this story in a way that anticipates the story we know so well, the story to which all of this is leading.  We meet Jesus at the cross, where sin and death did their worst, where Mary wept as he died.  And then, three days later as Jesus burst from the tomb alive again, having conquered both sin and death; as he wipes away the tears of another Mary, who mistook him for the groundskeeper because he was there tending the garden, like Adam restored to Eden. Brothers and Sisters, it's the final story, the climax of the Gospels, the story to which all these others lead us, it's there that we're confronted once and for all by the love of God made manifest in Jesus.  God gives his son to die in order to set the world to rights, in order to defeat sin and death, and he does it for the very people who broke his creation and brought sin and death into it when they rebelled against him.  That's love—and grace and mercy and patience and so much more—but above all it's love.  And Brothers and Sisters, it's love that overwhelms absolutely everything it encounters.  It's the love that finally opened the eyes of Jesus' disciples to understand that the Messiah wasn't their personal miracle worker or that he belonged to Israel alone—to set them on the top of the heap while raining down fire and brimstone on the gentiles.  No, the love of God made manifest in the crucified and risen Jesus is the love that reveals a plan to redeem not only Israel, but the nations and even creation itself.  And a love that will spare nothing to do so.  It was that love, encountered in the risen Jesus, that opened the eyes of Paul and turned him from being a persecutor of Jesus' people to being an evangelist, an apostle, a gospeller of the gospel—proclaiming the good news of this love made manifest in the death and resurrection of Jesus to the nations. Paul knew that this love that is already in the process of setting the world to rights, is the same love that will—if we can only begin to grasp its depths—this love will set us to rights.  This love will realign our affections and purge us of our idolatries and our sins.  This love will reveal the values and systems and plans and things of this old evil age to be the worthless garbage they are and will set our hearts and minds on God and on his kingdom.  But for that to happen we have to truly encounter God's love in Jesus.  This is why Paul, in our Epistle today from Ephesians, wrote to struggling Christians to say, “This is my prayer: that [God] will lay out all the riches of his glory to give you strength and power, through his Spirit, in your inner being; that the Messiah may make his home in your hearts, through faith; that love may be your root, your firm foundation; and that you may be strong enough (with all God's saints) to grasp the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the Messiah's love—though actually it's so deep that nobody can really know it!  So may God will you with all his fullness.” Brothers and Sisters, if we are still invested in sin, if we are still invested in ourselves, if we are still invested in the things of this age, if we are still looking for philosophy or science or politics or economics to set this broken world to rights, we need instead to focus all the more on Jesus and the cross and to plumb the depths of God's love revealed there until our hearts are aligned with him and with his new creation. We need to steep ourselves in the love of God that we might know the riches of his glory—riches so great, a vision of new creation so glorious, of all the sad things of this world made untrue—that we fall in love with it and let go all our idols.  A pearl of great price so beautiful that we give up everything to have it.  But Brother and Sisters, instead we too often lose sight of that vision as we're overcome by the sadness and the pain and the darkness around us.  Our faith stumbles and we stop being the on-earth-as-in-heaven people that Jesus and the Spirit have made us.  We let the idols creep back in, and we start looking to them—to the things of this fallen world—as the way out and as our hope.  And we align ourselves with the very things that have corrupted God's creation, with the very things that hurt our relationships, and that keep us and the people around us from flourishing in God's goodness.  In the face of greater evils, we accept the lesser and we do it over and over and over until we've embraced idolatry, lost our vision of God's new creation, and forgotten the true power of the good news of God's love in Jesus. The solution, Brothers and Sisters, as St. Paul says so often, is to keep our eyes on Jesus and on his kingdom.  To daily plumb the depths of the love of God made manifest in Jesus, crucified and risen.  If you struggle with sin, if you struggle with selfishness, if you struggle with idolatry, if you struggle to keep God's new creation at the centre of your vision, if your hope is not in Jesus and Jesus alone, hear Paul's words today: let the love of God in Jesus be your root and your firm foundation. Let's pray: O Lord, let your continual pity cleanse and defend your church; and because it cannot continue in safety without your aid, protect it by your help and goodness for ever, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

What is Capernaum, and the Day of Atonement have to do with Peter's Boat and Noah???? Listen today – When did you Take Him at His Word?

9 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.” The Transfiguration2 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” 8 And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only. 9 And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. 11 And they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” 12 And he said to them, “Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? 13 But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.” Jesus Heals a Boy with an Unclean Spirit14 And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 15 And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. 16 And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” 17 And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. 18 And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” 19 And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” 20 And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21 And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can'! All things are possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” 25 And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28 And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.” Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection30 They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, 31 for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him. Who Is the Greatest?33 And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. 35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” 36 And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.” Anyone Not Against Us Is for Us38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 For the one who is not against us is for us. 41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward. Temptations to Sin42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.' 49 For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mk 9.

Your Daily Prayer

My Story  Talk 28  Activities Beyond Europe Welcome to Talk 28 in our series where I'm reflecting on God's goodness to me throughout my life. Looking back on it, I suppose I travelled fairly widely during the time we were at Mattersey. Apart from the many places in Europe we visited, I found myself on the Lord's business in America, Africa, and Asia, though never, incidentally in Australia. These visits, which cover the period from 1982 to 2004, were either in connection with the Pentecostal World Conference which later became the Pentecostal World Fellowship or preaching trips The Pentecostal World Conference My reason for attending the Pentecostal World Conference in Oslo in 1992 was that, because it was being held in Europe, the PEF presidium had decided to hold a committee meeting there at the same time. Eileen and I had visited Norway for the first time two years previously where we had enjoyed a holiday there before attending the EPTA conference in Lillehammer. This time, however, I was alone. During one of the mornings, I was sitting high up at the back of the auditorium and was surprised to hear my name mentioned at the close of the session. Dr Ray Hughes was asking me to see him on the platform during the coffee break.  I couldn't imagine why but, of course, went to see him as requested. This was not quite as easy as it sounds because to get there I had to make my way through hundreds of people who were exiting the venue and all walking in the opposite direct from me. When I finally got there, he said to me, Oh David, as you know, you've been appointed to the Advisory Committee, and we'd like you to sit on the platform with us for the rest of the conference. Well, I knew nothing about this appointment. It was a complete surprise and when a year or so later I was elected to the Presidium it was an even greater honour. The 1995 conference was particularly special because it was held in Jerusalem. And this time Eileen came with me. We had never been in Israel before and we made sure that we saw as many of the biblical sites as possible. We had booked a tour with a Christian company and travelled in a small coach with a group of Brits who were attending the conference, and it was there that we met Ivor and Jan Maddison who were pastoring the church in Ollerton, not far from Mattersey.  (We got to know Jan very well when she came to live in Brixham after Ivor had died). The tour involved a visit to Tiberias on the shore of Lake Galilee from where we visited Capernaum, took a trip across the lake in a boat like those used by Jesus' disciples and from which he calmed the storm, and had a meal on the lake shore eating ‘St. Peter's fish', so called because of the occasion where he found a coin in the fish's mouth. We went to Caesarea Philippi, a beautiful place, where Peter confessed Jesus as the Christ. We visited the place in the river Jordan where Jesus is believed to have been baptised, and further south we had a brief stop in Jericho.   We travelled up from there to Jerusalem in time for the conference and of course visited Bethlehem and all the places you would expect, many of which have been spoilt by centuries of tradition and tourism. Eileen got to see Nazareth, but I missed the trip because I had to be in a presidium meeting. Highlights in Jerusalem were the Garden of Gethsemane, and the via dolorosa. But without a doubt the visit to the garden tomb was by far the most moving. It may or may not have been the actual site of Jesus' burial and resurrection, although I like to think that it was, but it was certainly a powerful reminder of the truth – Jesus is not here, he is risen! And who could forget the visit to the Upper Room and joining with other Pentecostals in speaking in tongues as the first disciples did in Acts 2? After the conference we visited Masada, floated on the Dead Sea where it's impossible to sink, and went to the cave where the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered. It was there, I think, that we paid an Arab to let us take a photo of his camel! We also visited a museum where we saw a number of ancient seals, some dating back over three thousand years, and reminding us of Paul's teaching that after we believed we were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. So during the trip there was much to remind us of Bible times and the truth of God's word. We were glad that we went but have never had a wish to return. Eileen is now enjoying the heavenly Jerusalem and one day I will join her there. And all because of Jesus! In 1998 the conference was held in Seoul, Korea, at the vast Yoido Full Gospel Church led by David Yongghi Cho, numbering at the time some 720,000 members. We had at first thought to extend the trip and visit China and the Great Wall. Eileen had always had a great interest in China, but when it turned out that the visit was not feasible she decided not to accompany me. I had met Cho at the London world conference in 1976 when I gave him a copy of my book, Know the Truth, later to be renamed You'd Better Believe It. I was naturally interested to visit his church and to experience one of the Sunday services there. There were, I think, six services each Sunday to accommodate the vast numbers. Everything had to be organised and left little if any room for the exercise of spiritual gifts like tongues, interpretation and prophecy which we might expect in a smaller congregation. Presumably there was opportunity for such gifts to be experienced in their many home groups. The final meeting of the conference was held in the Olympic Stadium where it was estimated that over 100,000 people were in attendance. I was privileged to read from the scriptures, which I found a little difficult on this occasion as I had somehow mislaid my glasses on a visit to the Prayer Mountain and was using a pair borrowed from an English brother who was staying in the same hotel as me. During the conference it was decided to hold the next presidium meeting in Hawaii in 1999. The reasoning seemed to be that as Hawaii is in the Pacific Ocean it was not too far from either Asia or America. However, no one considered the inconvenience for anyone travelling from Europe! But as I was the only European on the presidium I could hardly object. So that is how I came to fly to Hawaii, a 24 hour journey each way, for a three-day committee meeting! The purpose was to plan for the 2001 conference which was to be held in Los Angeles. Fortunately, the meeting finished a day early and I had a day to spare before flying home. This gave me the opportunity to take a minibus tour of the island, visiting among other things Pearl Harbour and a tropical rain forest. I also experienced macadamia nuts for the first time and learnt that the name comes a Scot named Macadam who first discovered them and who also invented tarmac! Eileen was able to travel with me for the Los Angeles conference in 2001 and in the week before the conference we both enjoyed a short holiday staying with Brian and Ann Lee, old friends from Retford who had emigrated to La Verne just a few miles from L.A.  It was good to renew fellowship with them and to preach in their local AoG church. At the conference itself I had been asked to chair a theological seminar at which Roger Stronstad, a Canadian scholar whose writings I greatly admired, was to be one of the speakers. The subject was the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and at the last minute, I was asked to be the other speaker deputising for an American brother who was unable to attend. I was so grateful to the Lord for the opportunity he gave me to speak at the conference and the help he gave me to do so. The last world conference we attended was in South Africa in 2004. This conference was in many ways different from all the others. In the opening meeting the delegates were warmly welcomed by the President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeke who had been deputy president under Nelson Mandela from 1994 to 1999 and served as president from '99 to 2008. Eileen felt particularly honoured as she was seated right next to him on the front row! But much more important was the fact that so many participants were from African countries, and the meetings were marked by the freedom of expression so typical of African worship and so different from the formalism we have seen elsewhere even in some Pentecostal meetings. It was something we were to see much more of in later visits to Africa in the years that followed my retirement from Mattersey, After the conference we hired a car and travelled to the Africa School of Missions founded by Paul Alexander, my newly appointed successor at Mattersey. We broke our journey at Witbank where I preached at two services on the Sunday, travelling on to ASM on the Monday where we were warmly welcomed by the staff. They asked us if we were planning to visit the Kruger National Park, and, when we said no, one of them kindly phoned a relative who worked there and arranged for us to stay for a few nights at Skukuza, one of the safari lodges in the park. Our accommodation was in an extremely comfortable one-room apartment that looked something like a traditional African hut with a thatched roof. The restaurants served excellent food which was relatively inexpensive and offered views overlooking the wonderful wildlife. We enjoyed every moment we spent at Skukuza, especially when a company of mongooses ran across the compound in single file right in front of us. But of course it was driving outside the safari park that we saw most of the wildlife. It was early spring in the southern hemisphere, and the leaves had only just begun to appear on the trees and bushes, making it easy to spot whatever animals and birds happened to be in the area. We travelled miles each day, taking care to obey the instruction never to get out of the car except in specially designated safe places. We were also glad that the car had good air-conditioning because it was often important to ensure the windows were closed. On one occasion we stopped to watch a group of baboons in the road just ahead of us and I closed the electric windows. However, I had momentarily forgotten that, unlike our car at home, our hire car had electric windows only at the front. We only realised the back ones were still open when a large baboon leapt in onto the back seat attempting to steal our lunch! I turned round and shouted in a loud voice – Eileen later told the grandchildren that Grandad roared like a lion – and thank God, the animal obeyed! Both we and our lunch were safe. After that, we never opened the back windows again for the rest of the trip. Apart from that, the remainder of our stay there was relatively uneventful. We loved it so much that when I was back at ASM a few years later I borrowed a car and went back there. Our visit was far too short but was the highlight of our trip to South Africa. We were particularly grateful that in such a short time we had managed to see the big five – lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, and buffalo, a wonderful ending to our last Pentecostal World Conference. Preaching trips But of course my travels beyond Europe were not limited to my role in the Pentecostal World Fellowship. There were preaching trips as well. At first, these centred on the USA where I combined preaching with raising funds for our building project. An American AoG pastor named Paul Curtis had a burden for Britain came to see me on one of his trips to England and said he would like to help raise funds for our new Hall of Residence. So at Paul's invitation, in February '82 I spent ten days preaching in AoG churches in North Carolina with a view to returning in mid-May for a period of four weeks. I enjoyed the trip in February, and the Lord blessed my ministry, and about £1400 was raised towards our building fund. Hopefully the trip in May-June would be more fruitful in that respect. I was looking forward to it and had bought my flights in advance as that was more economical. But only a few weeks before the trip Paul contacted me to apologise and tell me that he had been unable to arrange a suitable itinerary for me and that he felt that the time was not right. But I had already bought non-refundable tickets for flights both ways! And I had already planned the timetable at Mattersey to enable me to be away from the college throughout that period! After praying about it I contacted John and Sara Miles who were by then living in Naperville, Illinois, and asked their advice. Sara suggested that I was in a situation like Abraham's when he set off not knowing where the Lord would lead him. So I used the air tickets to fly as far as New York and paid the extra to fly on to Chicago where John and Sara collected me from O'Hare airport on May the 18th. When I arrived they told me that they had contacted Richard Dortch, the Superintendent of the Illinois AoG, and that he was arranging an itinerary for me around Illinois where I was already known through my three visits back in the seventies. I stayed with John and Sara until 6th July preaching in churches in the Chicago area on Sundays and Wednesday evenings. These included Yorkville, Palatine, Dekalb, Naperville, and Lake Villa as well as Chicago itself. I also spent a day at Wheaton College, had lunch with John, who was now a French professor there, and with Peter Kuzmic from Yugoslavia, and saw the wardrobe made famous in C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. On Thursday the 27th I flew via Denver to San José, California, to visit Bethany Bible College. Dick Foth, who had been the pastor in Urbana where I first preached on my visit to the States in 1972, was now the President of Bethany and I had a couple of useful days with him visiting the college and comparing notes.  I had an interesting experience flying back on the Saturday. The weather was extremely hot and everyone else was dressed in shorts and T shirts. I, however, was still wearing my jacket. As I was waiting in the queue to check in, an airline official approached me and said, Excuse me, sir. I wonder if you can help me. We're overbooked in Economy Class, and as you seem to be a suitable gentleman, I wonder if you would mind travelling First Class. Would I mind! It was the first and only time I have travelled First Class and, although I could never justify the expense of doing so, I was more than happy to enjoy the experience at no extra cost to myself. On 6th June I left Naperville and flew to Urbana where I preached on the Sunday and where my old friend Jim Hall was now the pastor. The next day I flew to Springfield MO to visit two other AoG colleges, Evangel College and Central Bible College, as well as the Graduate School located in the AoG Headquarters in Boonville Avenue. When I returned to Urbana on the Friday, Jim Hall had arranged an English Evening where I talked about the spiritual state of the UK and taught the Americans how to make a proper cup of tea! On the Sunday morning, I preached in Normal, where Marvin Foulkes was the pastor. I had preached for Marvin back in '72 and '74 and was delighted to see how much the church had grown since then. In the evening, I preached in Decatur from where I flew back to Chicago ready for my return to England the next day. Looking back on it, I felt that the trip had been very worthwhile, not just because it raised about $5000 for our college, but because of the opportunity it gave me to visit and learn from other AoG colleges and expand my vision for Mattersey. I was very grateful to Richard Dortch for making it possible. A year later I met Dortch in Portugal at the opening of the new chapel in the Bible College in Fanhões, near Lisbon, and he shared with me that he was soon likely to become the Executive Vice-President at PTL, the centre of Jimmy and Tammy Bakker's ministry, and he invited me to preach for a week on their TV station. This took place in 1985 and during our stay Eileen, Jonathan, and I were treated to the luxurious accommodation of the Heritage Grand Hotel. And we came home with a significant sum of money for our building fund.  We were, of course, very grateful for their hospitality and generosity, but I confess I was not really comfortable about so much luxury. Coming to terms with the cultural differences and levels of poverty or prosperity we see around the world is by no means easy. The riches of America were in stark contrast with the poverty I was to see in India less than a year later. But I'll tell you about that next time.

Jesus offers a stern warning to the villages of Capernaum, Bethsaida, and Chorazin, reminding us that there are real consequences for the choices of our lives. (Lectionary #459) October 3, 2025 - Cathedral Rectory - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com  

Today's Topics: 1, 2, 3, 4) Joshua Charles joins Terry for Friday with the Fathers: Saint Irenaeus Gospel - Luke 10:13-16 - Jesus said to them, "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum, 'Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.' Whoever listens to you listens to Me. Whoever rejects you rejects Me. And whoever rejects Me rejects the One Who sent Me." Bishop Sheen quote of the day

Gospel Luke 10:13-16 Jesus said to them, "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum, 'Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.' Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” Reflection To watch Jesus perform miracles was thought, in most people's minds, as the major way in which Jesus changed people's lives and drew them into his teaching. But the fact is that many people witness these miracles and never, ever believed in Jesus because they didn't listen to his message. It wasn't the power he had to heal, it was his message that they had to embrace. And if one focused only on one, the other just seemed to melt away. Jesus even had a hard time going to certain places because they were there only for a miracle. And Jesus longed for his message to take root in our hearts. Closing Prayer Father, we humans have a problem with power. If you give us a great gift that everybody recognizes and we feel empowered by that, our ego just goes crazy. We end up getting caught up in something that's about our self-importance. Bless us with a consistent focus on your message. Yes, we have power to help and to heal people, but the real issue is whether we are understanding the role that you have created for us. Giving us the wisdom we have to reach whatever level you wish, and not to let our ego start running the show. And we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jesus said to them,"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!For if the mighty deeds done in your midsthad been done in Tyre and Sidon,they would long ago have repented,sitting in sackcloth and ashes.But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidonat the judgment than for you.And as for you, Capernaum, 'Will you be exalted to heaven?You will go down to the netherworld.'Whoever listens to you listens to me.Whoever rejects you rejects me.And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me."

In this Bible Story, we learn about Jesus' provision over Peter's taxes. Jesus also gives a stiff warning to those who would threaten the innocence of a child. This story is inspired by Matthew 17:24-27; Mark 9:33-41 & Luke 9:49-50; 17:1-2. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is Matthew 17:27 from the King James Version.Episode 198: It was tax season in Capernaum and Peter had no money to spare. Yet Jesus was not caught off guard. He cared for Peter and his family and told him where to go and what to do to find the money needed. The next evening around dinner Jesus called on His disciples asking them what they were arguing about earlier that day. Embarrassed, they sheepishly remained silent. While Jesus shared with them that if they truly want to be great, they must put the needs of others above themselves.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd HaberkornSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After forty days of fasting in the wilderness, Jesus faces three temptations from Satan and responds with Scripture alone. Following John's arrest, Jesus moves to Capernaum in Galilee to begin His public ministry, fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy about light dawning in darkness. He calls four fishermen to follow Him and begins teaching in synagogues, preaching the kingdom, and healing throughout the region. Matthew 4 shows Christ succeeding where Israel failed and launching the mission that would transform the world.  The Rev. Roger Mullet, pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Buffalo, WY, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Matthew 4.  To learn more about Prince of Peace, visit princeofpeacebuffalo.org. The Gospel of Matthew bridges Old and New Testaments, presenting Jesus as the promised Messiah who fulfills the Law we could never keep and establishes His kingdom of grace for all nations. Written by a tax collector transformed by pure grace, Matthew reveals Christ as the true Son of David and Emmanuel (God with us) who challenges us with the crushing demands of the Law in His Sermon on the Mount to the sweet comfort of the Gospel in His death and resurrection. From royal genealogy to glorious resurrection, this verse-by-verse study proclaims the One who conquered sin, death, and the devil for us, now delivering forgiveness, life, and salvation through Word and Sacrament as He remains with His church always, even to the end of the age.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

In John 4, Jesus "had to" travel through Samaria. There, He has a conversation with a Samaritan woman at a well, offering her living water that gives eternal life. He also reveals to her that He is the Messiah. She shares her testimony with the whole town, and many believe and are saved. Jesus returns to Cana, and an official from Capernaum travels to ask Jesus to heal his son. Jesus tells him to return home and that his son will live. The man believes Jesus, trusts His word, and returns home to find his son recovering. The fever left him at the exact hour Jesus said that his son was well. Both stories remind us that Jesus is true and trustworthy; He is the promised Messiah who satisfies for eternity, providing for us what we cannot provide for ourselves.For more information on this study, go to FeastingOnTruth.com/JohnFor recommended resources, go to FeastingOnTruth.com/ResourcesFor booking inquiries, go to FeastingOnTruth.com/Speaking 

Discover what virtually every Pre-Nicene Christian believed about the arrival of Jesus on earth in 90 seconds. And also discover why the Roman Empire tried so desperately to erase it from history."In the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar (29 A.D.), Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Jesus descended into Capernaum, a city in Galilee..." - The Gospel of The LordMarcionite Churchhttps://www.marcionitechurch.org/The Very First Bible:https://www.theveryfirstbible.orgJournal of Pre-Nicene Christian Studieshttps://journal.pre-nicene.orgThe Persecution of Diocletian: A Historical Essay: A classic historical analysis by Arthur James Mason focusing on the motivations and events of the persecution.Readings in Ancient History: Illustrative Extracts from the Sources: An edited volume by William Stearns Davis that includes primary accounts of the persecution, such as the search for Christian scriptures.

In this Bible Story, Jesus heals a man who was blind from birth. The young man who is healed is then questioned by the Pharisees, for they do not want to admit that Jesus is truly good and had the power to heal. The once blind man stands firm in declaring that no evil man could do what Jesus did. This story is inspired by John 9:1-38. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is John 9:25 from the King James Version.Episode 196: As Jesus and His disciples were passing through the streets of Capernaum, they passed by a man who had been blind since birth. The disciples, misunderstanding the man's condition, thought that his blindness was a result of sin. But Jesus proved to them that the man was not blind because of sin but rather so God could be glorified in healing him. After Jesus had healed the man he was brought in front of the Pharisees to be questioned about his newfound sight. But as they were questioning the formerly blind man, his honest answers revealed their spiritual blindness.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd HaberkornSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

9 And when Jesus passed on from hence, he saw a man sitting in the custom house, named Matthew; and he saith to him: Follow me. And he rose up and followed him.Et, cum transiret inde Jesus, vidit hominem sedentem in telonio, Matthaeum nomine. Et ait illi : Sequere me. Et surgens, secutus est eum. 10 And it came to pass as he was sitting at meat in the house, behold many publicans and sinners came, and sat down with Jesus and his disciples.Et factum est, discumbente eo in domo, ecce multi publicani et peccatores venientes, discumbebant cum Jesu, et discipulis ejus. 11 And the Pharisees seeing it, said to his disciples: Why doth your master eat with publicans and sinners?Et videntes pharisaei, dicebant discipulis ejus : Quare cum publicanis et peccatoribus manducat magister vester? 12 But Jesus hearing it, said: They that are in health need not a physician, but they that are ill.At Jesus audiens, ait : Non est opus valentibus medicus, sed male habentibus. 13 Go then and learn what this meaneth, I will have mercy and not sacrifice. For I am not come to call the just, but sinners.Euntes autem discite quid est : Misericordiam volo, et non sacrificium. Non enim veni vocare justos, sed peccatores.St Matthew was at first a publican at the toll at Capernaum. The publicans on account of their many acts of injustice and extortion, were looked upon as the greatest sinners by many of the Jews. Matthew himself by his humble confession gratefully acknowledged the gracious condescension of the Lord to sinners. At his Matser's invitation he promptly joined Him. He wrote the first Gospel and preached the good news in Palestine and Ethiopia, where he was attacked and killed while saying Mass A.D. 60.

4:14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. 4:15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. 4:17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 4:19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 4:20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 4:21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. 4:22 And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son? 4:23 And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. 4:24 And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. 4:25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; 4:26 But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. 4:27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. 4:28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, 4:29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. 4:30 But he passing through the midst of them went his way, 4:31 And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days. 4:32 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power. 4:33 And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice, 4:34 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God. 4:35 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not. 4:36 And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out. 4:37 And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about. 4:38 And he arose out of the synagogue, and entered into Simon's house. And Simon's wife's mother was taken with a great fever; and they besought him for her. 4:39 And he stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her: and immediately she arose and ministered unto them. 4:40 Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them. 4:41 And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ. 4:42 And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them. 4:43 And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent. 4:44 And he preached in the synagogues of Gali...

When Jesus stepped into the synagogue at Capernaum, everything the Pharisees thought was stable was suddenly disrupted. In this episode, we explore the clash between positional authority and spiritual authority, and how Jesus' response reframes leadership for His disciples and for us. You'll discover why Jesus silenced demons who proclaimed Him as Messiah, how His authority flowed from relationship rather than position, and why power always serves mission—not platform.This conversation will help you rethink leadership in a way that frees you from striving for influence and instead positions you to walk in Kingdom authority.Covo Multipliers:Join the Signal Group: To connect with others living the co-vocational lifestyle, share wins/challenges, and get early access to event updates: https://forms.gle/TWB6kGRQWdpgbvFu8Visit MuddyBootsLeader.com for Mark's writings mentioned in this episode

What would it be like to see Israel through the eyes of a child? From riding on the Sea of Galilee to standing in the synagogue at Capernaum, every moment brings the Bible to life. Join Jim Scudder on InGrace for this joyful adventure that shows the land of Scripture in a whole new way. Join the adventure!

Read OnlineJesus journeyed to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him. As he drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her. Luke 7:11–12Try to imagine this mother. She had been married, she and her husband had a child, they raised their child, she and her son watched her husband die, and then she watched her son die and was participating in his funeral. Since he was her only son, she was now alone.When we think about this woman, it is easy to feel compassion for her. Her heart would have been filled with a sorrow that is tangible to anyone with empathy. Her heart might also have been filled with fear. At that time, a widow would have had a very difficult time taking care of herself in a rural village. With her husband gone, she would have had to rely upon her son to provide for her as she aged. But now that he was gone, her heart would have not only felt the pain of his loss, but also fear for her future. What would become of her? Who would provide food for her year after year? Would she be reduced to begging and poverty?It is in the context of this very real sorrow and fear that Jesus enters her life. We do not know if she knew anything about Jesus. It appears she was not one of His followers and might not have even heard about Jesus since He had not been ministering publicly for very long. Jesus' encounter with her and her dead son appears to be unplanned and unexpected. What is it that moves Jesus to raise this man from the dead? It does not appear to be a response to anyone's faith within the village. It is not even done at anyone's request. Instead, it appears to be done purely out of Jesus' compassion for this mother. At least that's how it seems at first read. And though Jesus clearly acted out of compassion for her, if we consider the entire context, there might also be a secondary motive.Jesus, his disciples and a large crowd were all walking together through this village. Since Jesus' miracles were normally performed in response to people's faith, it is most likely that faith was a contributing factor to this miracle. The faith that called forth this miracle, however, could only have come from the crowds of people who were walking with Jesus from Capernaum. The day prior, these same crowds witnessed Jesus heal the servant of a centurion. They clearly believed in Jesus. As they walked with Him and encountered this funeral procession, it was not only Jesus' heart that was moved with compassion, it was also the hearts of His followers. Therefore, as Jesus' followers witnessed this mother's sorrow and then witnessed Jesus' own human sorrow and compassion for her, they would have had hope that He would do something. Their hope would have been supernatural in origin, which means that it was also united with faith. By faith, they knew Jesus would act. Thus, in a very real way, the compassion, hope and faith of the people traveling with Jesus would have called forth His almighty power to heal, and Jesus responded.There are many ways to act as mediators of God's grace. One way to do so is by growing in compassion for others and hope in God. When we witness the sufferings of others, allow ourselves to feel compassion for them, manifest hope in the power of God to heal, and then stand there, in faith, waiting for God to act, God will be compelled to act. Our holy compassion, hope and faith act as a prayer to which God always responds. The crowds accompanying Jesus through the Village of Nain appear to have acted in this manner and, inspired by their witness, we, too, must act as intercessors for others in the same way.Reflect, today, upon anyone in your life who resembles this widow of Nain. Who is it that God wants you to notice and to feel compassion for? As your empathetic heart notices those who need your compassion, open yourself, also, to the supernatural gift of hope. Have divine hope that God will heal them. As you do, allow that hope to manifest faith in God and offer that compassion, hope and faith to God as your prayer for those who are in need.Most compassionate Lord, You are always attentive to our needs and our sorrows. Your Heart is filled with compassion for all. Please give me a truly empathetic heart so that I will see those in need. As I do, fill me with hope and faith that You will pour forth Your mercy upon them so that I will become an intercessor for all. Jesus, I trust in You.  Image: Andreas F. Borchert, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, via Wikimedia CommonsSource of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

In this Bible Story, the ministry of Jesus begins to take on form. Jesus preached with authority, healed with compassion, and cast out demons with power. His fame begins to grow rapidly. This story is inspired by Matthew 4:13-17, Matthew 13:54-58, Luke 4:14-32, John 4:43-54. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.Today's Bible verse is Luke 4:21 from the King James Version.Episode 180: As Jesus was walking the streets of Cana and Galilee, an official from Capernaum came running to Jesus begging Him to heal his son. Jesus, showing both compassion and tact, tells the man his son will live. And it was so. Jesus stayed in Galilee for a while longer, then made His way to the synagogue in Capernaum. While there a man, possessed by a demon, began to make a scene, but Jesus cast the demon out and set the man free using only His words. After a few weeks of healing and teaching, Jesus came back to His hometown of Nazareth where He was met with a less-than-warm welcome.Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.This episode is sponsored by Medi-Share, an innovative health care solution for Christians to save money without sacrificing quality.Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max BardProducer: Ben GammonHosted by: Pastor Jack GrahamMusic by: Andrew Morgan SmithBible Story narration by: Todd HaberkornSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jesus' care for the possesed man in Capernaum. 

Crowds gather in Capernaum as Jesus heals, drives out demons, and proclaims the Good News of the Kingdom of God. (Lectionary #433) September 3, 2025 - Cathedral Rectory - Superior, WI Fr. Andrew Ricci - www.studyprayserve.com  

Read OnlineAfter Jesus left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon. Simon's mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever, and they interceded with him about her. He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up immediately and waited on them.  Luke 4:38–39If you wanted to share some important message with a group of people, you would first need to get their attention. This could be done through a variety of means, such as through a charismatic personality, a powerfully moving story, a heroic act of virtue, or anything else that leaves people impressed or even amazed. Once you have their complete attention, you can share the message you want to share. This is what Jesus did in today's Gospel.Jesus began His public ministry in Nazareth, but the people of his hometown rejected Him from their Synagogue. Therefore, He immediately traveled some 20 miles on foot to Capernaum, a town just north of the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus would spend much of His time. In this first visit to Capernaum, at the beginning of His public ministry, Jesus taught in their Synagogue, cast out a demon, and then went to the home of Simon (who eventually was given the name Peter) to perform His first recorded physical healing in Luke's Gospel. He cured Simon's mother-in-law, who suffered from a severe fever. Then, later that evening, many people brought to Jesus the sick and possessed, and Jesus “Laid his hands on each of them and cured them.” He certainly got their attention. And the next morning, as Jesus was preparing to leave Capernaum after this first visit during His public ministry, the people tried to convince Jesus to stay. However, Jesus said to them, “To the other towns also I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God, because for this purpose I have been sent.”Has Jesus ever gotten your complete attention? Though you most likely have never witnessed a miraculous healing first hand or seen a demon being cast out of one who was possessed, Jesus still wants your full attention. He wants you to be so amazed at Him and so impressed by Him that you find yourself seeking Him out so as to be more fully fed by His divine teaching.Some people give their full attention to our Lord after a powerful experience on a retreat. Others are struck by a powerful sermon. And there will be countless other ways by which Jesus has gotten your attention so as to fill you with a desire to listen to Him and be with Him. Such experiences lay a wonderful foundation by which we are continually invited to turn to our Lord. If this is not an experience to which you can relate, then ask yourself the question “Why?” Why haven't you been amazed by our Lord to the point that you fervently seek Him out so as to listen to His nourishing Word? Reflect, today, upon this initial way by which our Lord got the attention of the people of Capernaum. Though some would eventually turn from Him, many did become faithful followers on account of these personal experiences. Reflect upon any way that you have encountered our Lord powerfully in the past. Have you allowed that experience to become an ongoing motivation for you to seek Him out? And if you cannot point to any such experience, beg our Lord to give you an interior drive to desire more of Him and to be fed by His holy Word and divine presence. My miraculous Lord, I know that You desire my complete attention in life. And I know that I am often distracted by many things that compete with You. Give me the grace I need to become so amazed by You and by Your action in my life that I fervently seek You out so as to be continually nourished by Your holy Word and divine presence in my life. Jesus, I trust in You.Image: John Bridges, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsSource of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

Read OnlineThey were all amazed and said to one another, “What is there about his word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region. Luke 4:36–37Jesus had just encountered the wrath of many in His hometown of Nazareth, so He left there and traveled about 30 miles to Capernaum, a town just north of the Sea of Galilee. This was to become His new home during His public ministry. The reaction He received in Capernaum was much different than that which He received in Nazareth. As He taught in the Synagogue in Capernaum, a man with a demon came to Him, Jesus rebuked the demon and cast it out, and the people were amazed. Word spread about Jesus quickly. After this, Jesus performed many other miracles, and the people continued to be in awe of Him.What was it that impressed the people of Capernaum? In part it was the “authority and power” with which Jesus spoke and acted. But it was not only this, since Jesus had done so also in Nazareth where the people failed to believe in Him. In Capernaum it wasn't that Jesus was different, it seems that the people were different. Jesus won over many hearts in Capernaum because the people were open to the gift of faith. In fact, when Jesus was preparing to leave from Capernaum, the people begged Him to stay. Though eventually Jesus would also encounter resistance from the people there, their initial reaction was one of faith.Do you want Jesus to act powerfully in your life? Do you want Him to act upon you with authority and power? Many people, from time to time, can feel as though their lives are somewhat out of control. They experience weakness, confusion, a lack of direction and the like. For that reason, true spiritual “authority and power” is very welcome. What sort of authority and power do you need Jesus to exert over your life today?Think of a small child who is frightened. When this happens, the child turns to a loving parent for comfort and security. The embrace of a parent immediately helps to dispel the fear and worry of the child. So it is with us. We must see Jesus as the source of calm in our lives. He is the only one Who is capable of ordering our lives, freeing us from the attacks of the evil one, bringing peace and calm to our disordered emotions and clarity to our questions and doubts. But this will only be possible if we are open. His power never changes, but it can only enter our lives when we change and when we recognize our weakness and our need for Him to take control.Reflect, today, upon the infinite spiritual authority and power of our Lord. It is a power beyond anything else we could imagine. He wants to exercise this authority in your life out of love. What is hindering Him from taking greater control of your life? What sin or temptation does Jesus want to rebuke in your life? From what oppression does He want to set you free? Reflect upon yourself being a member of the town of Capernaum who fully welcomes Jesus, is amazed at Him and desires Him in your life. His working in your life depends upon you and your response to Him. Call on Him and let Him in.My most powerful Lord, You and You alone are able to take authority over my life and bring order and peace. Please remove any doubt and stubbornness from my heart so that I can open myself to You and Your grace. Take authority of my life, dear Lord, and lead me into Your most holy will. Jesus, I trust in You.Image: See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsSource of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.