Podcasts about finally jesus

Some versions of John 8 omits the earlier verses. There can be little doubt that they should be included in the record. A woman was brought to the Lord caught in the very act of adultery. Where was the man? It was a set up designed to trap Jesus. The Law of Moses made it very clear that adultery was punishable by stoning. As they persist in goading Jesus he said, “Let the one without sin cast the first stone”. And he stoops down and writes on the earth- most likely he wrote their names in fulfilment of Jeremiah 17 verse 13. One by one they left beginning at the eldest. Finally, the woman was left alone with the Lord and although he condemned her not, she was told to go and sin no more. A discussion follows about Jesus being the light of the world- one of the many Messianic titles that John used. This led on to a discussion regarding origins – our Lord was from God they were murderous liars and in no way children of Abraham. Only truth could set them free. Finally Jesus astounds them with a claim for him to be the entire focus of God's purpose. Abraham understood this and rejoiced in that knowledge.

Some versions of John 8 omits the earlier verses. There can be little doubt that they should be included in the record. A woman was brought to the Lord caught in the very act of adultery. Where was the man? It was a set up designed to trap Jesus. The Law of Moses made it very clear that adultery was punishable by stoning. As they persist in goading Jesus he said, “Let the one without sin cast the first stone”. And he stoops down and writes on the earth- most likely he wrote their names in fulfilment of Jeremiah 17 verse 13. One by one they left beginning at the eldest. Finally, the woman was left alone with the Lord and although he condemned her not, she was told to go and sin no more. A discussion follows about Jesus being the light of the world- one of the many Messianic titles that John used. This led on to a discussion regarding origins – our Lord was from God they were murderous liars and in no way children of Abraham. Only truth could set them free. Finally Jesus astounds them with a claim for him to be the entire focus of God's purpose. Abraham understood this and rejoiced in that knowledge.

In this Palm Sunday message, Beccy Pitts compares two contrasting kings. Firstly King Xerxes mentioned in the book of Esther would have been the kind of king that the Jewish people would have had in mind when King Jesus rode triumphantly into Jerusalem. Although Jesus and Xerxes were similar in their ultimate authority, ownership and responsibility, they were very different. Jesus was humble whereas Xerxes grand, Jesus was perfect whereas Xerxes was flawed, and Jesus was approachable whereas Xerxes was not. Finally Jesus is an eternal King whereas Xerxes was only finite. The question Beccy poses in this message is an important one, is Jesus your king? Secondly, is he king in every area of your life? -------- For more information about Breathe New Life Church or if you'd like to make a decision to follow Jesus, visit our website here: https://breathenewlife.church/becomeachristian

This Christmas series aims to deepen our appreciation of the Christmas story by illuminating Jesus' identity through His genealogy.May we all gain a fresh perspective on the story of Jesus, recognizing that God sets people apart for His purpose!Join us for our last series of the year — Finally.

Matthew 1:1-17

1 Chronicles 17:1-12

Matthew 1:1-6

This Christmas series aims to deepen our appreciation of the Christmas story by illuminating Jesus' identitythrough His genealogy.May we all gain a fresh perspective on the story of Jesus, recognizing that God sets people apart for His purpose!

This Christmas series aims to deepen our appreciation of the Christmas story by illuminating Jesus' identitythrough His genealogy.May we all gain a fresh perspective on the story of Jesus, recognizing that God sets people apart for His purpose!Join us for our last series of the year — Finally.

Hey, neighbor! The Peaches and The Ninja have been together longer than they were "single." They've gone by many names over the years... But why does Uncle David call John "Scooter?" (Settle in, while Scooter unloads his coffee-related trauma.) Then: HAPPY TRANS VISIBILITY DAY! We actually know people--in real life--who have swallowed that Kool-Aid. AND: Our Comedy Clique has been talking about Foot-Washing Ceremonies. Some good questions have been raised in the last few days! What message is the Pope sending when he washes the feet of 12 female prisoners? Is there a better way to demonstrate "servanthood' to a modern culture? Finally: Jesus taught that being a servant makes you the GREATER in the Kingdom of Heaven. Many Christians are uncomfortable with the way they are elevated to places of Authority, while they keep trying to be perpetual doormats. How do we deal with the reality that our acts of service give us more responsibility and "power?" Contact the Comedian's family, nextdoor@johnbranyan.com

Hey, neighbor! The Peaches and The Ninja have been together longer than they were "single." They've gone by many names over the years... But why does Uncle David call John "Scooter?" (Settle in, while Scooter unloads his coffee-related trauma.) Then: HAPPY TRANS VISIBILITY DAY! We actually know people--in real life--who have swallowed that Kool-Aid. AND: Our Comedy Clique has been talking about Foot-Washing Ceremonies. Some good questions have been raised in the last few days! What message is the Pope sending when he washes the feet of 12 female prisoners? Is there a better way to demonstrate "servanthood' to a modern culture? Finally: Jesus taught that being a servant makes you the GREATER in the Kingdom of Heaven. Many Christians are uncomfortable with the way they are elevated to places of Authority, while they keep trying to be perpetual doormats. How do we deal with the reality that our acts of service give us more responsibility and "power?" Contact the Comedian's family, nextdoor@johnbranyan.com

Hey, neighbor! The Peaches and The Ninja have been together longer than they were "single." They've gone by many names over the years... But why does Uncle David call John "Scooter?" (Settle in, while Scooter unloads his coffee-related trauma.) Then: HAPPY TRANS VISIBILITY DAY! We actually know people--in real life--who have swallowed that Kool-Aid. AND: Our Comedy Clique has been talking about Foot-Washing Ceremonies. Some good questions have been raised in the last few days! What message is the Pope sending when he washes the feet of 12 female prisoners? Is there a better way to demonstrate "servanthood' to a modern culture? Finally: Jesus taught that being a servant makes you the GREATER in the Kingdom of Heaven. Many Christians are uncomfortable with the way they are elevated to places of Authority, while they keep trying to be perpetual doormats. How do we deal with the reality that our acts of service give us more responsibility and "power?" Contact the Comedian's family, nextdoor@johnbranyan.com

Hey, neighbor! The Peaches and The Ninja have been together longer than they were "single." They've gone by many names over the years... But why does Uncle David call John "Scooter?" (Settle in, while Scooter unloads his coffee-related trauma.) Then: HAPPY TRANS VISIBILITY DAY! We actually know people--in real life--who have swallowed that Kool-Aid. AND: Our Comedy Clique has been talking about Foot-Washing Ceremonies. Some good questions have been raised in the last few days! What message is the Pope sending when he washes the feet of 12 female prisoners? Is there a better way to demonstrate "servanthood' to a modern culture? Finally: Jesus taught that being a servant makes you the GREATER in the Kingdom of Heaven. Many Christians are uncomfortable with the way they are elevated to places of Authority, while they keep trying to be perpetual doormats. How do we deal with the reality that our acts of service give us more responsibility and "power?" Contact the Comedian's family, nextdoor@johnbranyan.com

Here's how I landed on that title for our Christmas series - Finally Jesus. Jesus was not plan B in God's way of thinking. He didn't have a plan A, the garden and then something went wrong and he had to think of another plan. “Oh, I know, I'll send Jesus and see if that works". Jesus was not some additive in a string of historical events. We have creation, then fall, then Israel, then exile, then, Jesus, then… Jesus is the finality of all things. He was the plan all along. Finally Jesus means, finally, God's plan is coming to a close, a climax, an earth shattering conclusion. Everything God was planning for culminates in the arrival of Jesus, vis-a-vis, Christmas. Christmas is the culmination of God's entire plan for His creation for all times. God wanted his creation to be a perfect kingdom, a fairy tale kingdom where everything alive lives in perfect symbiotic relationship with everything else and with its creator - a Bambi kind of kingdom where Babmi's mom doesn't die (sorry to ruin it for you) and Bambi doesn't get hunted down by some horrible meat lover. True story, tangent alert. My dad was a big hunter. So he'd make a venison dish he called Bambi balls. He'd take venison and roll the ground meat into balls and sauce them in wine sauce, current jelly, port, and sherry and serve them in the sauce over noodles. Amazingly good. OK, back to my point. And so this perfect kingdom, only one thing was missing. The final piece was placed in thee puzzles that brings the entire puzzle into full perspective as it was intended. Are you with me? Is this too surreal? The one thing missing in God's kingdom was a king. Jesus was born as king of God's kingdom. At the exact moment of his birth, a new era was dawning. It was the finality of God's plans to inaugurate his kingdom on a fallen earth. Ok. So what? So what? So... you play a role in that kingdom if you acknowledge Jesus as king. And if you don't? Then you are free willed to be your own king over your own universe. Remember what happened to Israel when they refused to acknowledge God as their king? Jesus is King means you are not. And many of us just need to come to that place before we can play a role in God's kingdom.

Some years ago, I took my second trip on behalf of a youth ministry to South Africa. On the first trip, I remember how very lost I felt when I got to the airport. I'd been on an airplane for 18 wonderful hours. I got there late at night, I had no car, no directions. I didn't know anything about anywhere in the nation of South Africa. Well, I'm glad to report to you that someone met me there at the airport. They didn't just leave me saying, "Hey, listen, if you can get out to where we are we'll take care of you once you get there." That's a good thing. They'd have never seen me. I went as far as I could go, and they met me there. I know someone who does that for people all the time. And if you understand how He works, well you might just be willing to risk the trip. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Why Failure Doesn't Have to Be Final." Now, our word for today from the Word of God is found in John 21, and I'll begin reading at verse 15. Let me put this in context: Jesus has risen from the dead. Not long before, Peter had said to Him, "Lord, I will follow you to prison and to the death." You remember that Jesus said, "No, you'll betray Me three times." And sure enough he did. He denied the Lord three times. He even said, "I never knew Him." What an embarrassment now. He's about to face the Lord, knowing he has failed Him. Well, Jesus meets Peter as he's out on a fishing trip. It looks like Peter's about to go back to that same old mediocrity. He's returning to fishing, it appears, but Jesus says, "I want to meet you privately." And you can imagine Peter. I don't know, maybe he thinks, "Oh-oh. Are we going to talk about that night?" Here's what Jesus said, "When they finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon, son of John, do you truly love Me more than these?' 'Yes, Lord, he said, You know that I love You.' Jesus said, 'Feed my lambs.' Again Jesus said, 'Simon, son of John, do you truly love me?' He answered, 'Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.' Jesus said, 'Take care of my sheep.' The third time He said to him, 'Simon, son of John, do you love me?' Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, 'Do you love me?' But he said, 'Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you.'" Now, with the backdrop of a major failure, all Jesus wants to know is, "Peter, do you love me?" Maybe you have failed Him recently. Do you know what He wants to know? "Do you love me?" Now, there are two very different love words used here. Phileo, which is a friendship kind of love, and agapao which is "I will love you, no strings attached." The first two times Jesus says, "Do you love me, no strings attached?" Peter says, "Yes, Lord, I phileo - I friendship love you." Finally Jesus says, "Okay, Peter, do you phileo - do you friendship love me?" And Peter says, "I do love you." Do you know what's interesting here? Jesus meets Peter where he is. He wants to do the same with you. He says, "Let's start with the little love that you have - let's start with the little faith that you have. You can get back to Me. You can begin again." And one day Peter will die for Christ. But right now He's just got that little, but growing love. So, would you bring Jesus the little love you have, but would you bring Him all you have? You can begin again. You don't have to get all the way there, because Jesus...He's the Savior who's waiting to meet you where you are.

Hello everybody and welcome to a new episode of the Podcast. Today I will talk about two short stories, the first one is about how Jesus healed a woman who had been sick for twelve years and the second is about how Jesus woke up a little girl and gave joy to her parents to have her alive again. Vocabulary: Jairus (Jairo) / Ye-res Woman (mujer) / Wo-men Towards (hacia) / Toords Overcome (superar) / Ou-ver-com Knee down (arrodillarse) / ni-daun disciples (discipulos) / di-sai-pols Story: One day, a man named Jairus came to see Jesus. He cried, «Jesus! Please come heal my daughter. She is dying». “If you would just touch my daughter,” Jairus said, “she would be healed.” So Jesus and his disciples went with Jairus. A large crowd followed Jesus as he walked to Jairus's house. Just then, a woman pushed through the crowd toward Jesus. She had been sick for twelve years. The doctors could not heal her. The woman believed that Jesus could heal her. She thought, I know if I just touch his clothes, I will be healed. As the woman got closer to Jesus, she reached out and touched him. She was healed at that moment! Jesus stopped and turned around. “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. “I felt power go out of me.” The woman knelt before Jesus and said, “I am the one who touched you.” Jesus said, “Your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” Finally Jesus arrived at Jairus's house. The people said it was too late. His daughter had already died. Jesus said, “Jairus, trust me. Your daughter is not dead. She is sleeping.” Jesus told everyone to leave the house. Then Jairus and his wife went with Jesus into the girl's bedroom. Jesus knelt down beside her and said, “Wake up, my child.” Right away she opened her eyes and climbed out of bed! Jairus and his wife were overcome with joy. Thats All! Thanks for listening! Visit teacherisaac.com -Isaac --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/teacherisaac/message

Our inadequacy release God's sufficiency Don't know what you don't know But when you realize you don't know… and allow yourself to be taught There is a 28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. It's time Finally Jesus arrives at Jerusalem… Palm Sunday… it's been a long time…

 Audio recordingSermon manuscript:What should the Christian life look like? That's a pretty fundamental and important question. Here are some options for how the Christian life could be pictured: We could think of being a Christian as a matter getting better and better. Maybe you start out bad, inexperienced, what-have-you, but you keep working at it until you become a master. Or being a Christian could be a matter of staying the same.  Usually the Word of God isn't taken very seriously when the Christian life is just a matter of staying the same. It's as though Christianity is just a matter of identity—you were baptized Lutheran, just as you were born in Iowa. Or it's a habit or a hobby. Something that you do on Sundays that runs alongside your real life. Your real life, Monday through Saturday, is where your treasure is. Your business, your family, your recreation, your memory making—that's the good stuff. Finally the Christian life could be understood as fighting against your sinful flesh—sometimes more strongly, sometimes less. Stumbling, falling, getting back up again. To the extent that your first love dies down your Old Adam gets stronger. You get tired of the fight. The conscience gets calloused, less sensitive to sin. The fire is going out if it hasn't already. Hopefully—God be gracious and make it so—hopefully the Word of God is brought to you to make you repent of your sins and to renew your belief in the forgiveness of your sins. Hopefully, I say, because without this there is no possibility of true goodness, growth or eternal life. With the Word of God continuing to correct, admonish and encourage you, you can go on fighting, stumbling, falling, getting back up again. It is this last understanding of the Christian life which is the true Biblical understanding. This is borne out by our Gospel reading today, which we will get into. But before we do that I'd like to address what you might be thinking. This fighting, stumbling, falling, getting back up again Christian life might not sound all that appealing. The alternative understandings I mentioned before might sound better, and, I have to admit, why shouldn't they? Both of them are vastly easier. Both the triumphant Christian life and the Christian life as a hobby models basically do away with temptation, suffering, sadness and trouble. With the Christian life being a meteoric, inevitable rise to glory you can get good enough to the point where you can essentially retire, resting on your laurels. When you look at Christianity as being a sidelight of your life, you don't have to fight or repent. Why put any energy into that at all? It's not important enough. You just coast along. Put in your time at church, however little that time might be, and go on caring about what you really care about. It is only with the true understanding of the Christian life as fighting, stumbling, getting back up again, where temptation is taken seriously for what it is and engaged. This is not fun or glorious. There's no mastering of it so that you can be done with it. We remain beggars, as Luther supposedly said as his last words. He said, “We are beggars, this is true.” I don't know of anybody who wants to be a beggar. But life isn't a choose-your-own-adventure book. The devil's real. Temptations are deadly. But the death and resurrection of Jesus is real too. Now let's turn to Jesus's altogether realistic view of the Christian life in our Gospel reading. We see what has been described as the Christian life right away. Jesus says, “Temptations to sin are sure to come.” Allow me render the Greek a little more literally: “It is impossible for deadly temptations not to come.” It is impossible for there not to be deadly temptations. These deadly temptations cannot be ignored or brushed aside. You cannot assume that you are such an advanced Christian that you're immune. You cannot assume that temptations are no big deal because you still have your job, and that's what's really important. You'll always be a Christian because that's what you choose to be. No, temptation is deadly. Temptations can bring about sin through which faith may be lost. When faith is lost it is not within your own power to come back to faith. If God doesn't go out searching for you with his Word, you will remain lost, even if you should physically attend church week after week. Temptation is so serious that Jesus gives us a vivid picture to turn us away from ever helping temptation along: If, by our words or actions, somebody else is turned to the devil, then it would be better if a huge millstone weighing hundreds of pounds were hung around our neck and for us to be dumped into the sea. If temptation or sin or faith were no big deal then such a drastic terrifying action would be out of place and unneeded. This shows that the Christian life is not a steady march of progress—onward and upward Christian soldiers—or something that can be shunted off to the side of your life. Next Jesus says, “If your brother sins, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him. Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to you and says, ‘I repent,' forgive him.” These words are the way you should understand this congregation. The reason why we are a congregation is to help one another get to heaven. We are not a social club or even a bunch of do-gooders who are trying to make the world a better place. Instead, we watch over one another's souls. If one of us falls into sin, please, let us love one another enough to rebuke the sin. Love is needed very badly, because without love we won't care enough to open our mouths. We'll just let the poor, dumb sinner sink under the weight of his sin. It's his or her problem. To hell with them. Or, on the other hand, if we open our mouths without love it may be for the purpose of harming the sinner even more. Maybe we want to embarrass the person or hurt the person. It is very different to rebuke a person in a Christian way, as you can see from Jesus's own words. Christian rebukes are aiming towards the forgiveness of sins. In fact, Jesus seems to be going a little over the top with his forgiveness. We are to forgive even seven times in a single day. Seven is a number of completion in the Bible. So the meaning is that we should forgive our neighbor over and over, whenever he or she repents. Living in forgiveness is the goal. Again, this is very important for our understanding of ourselves as a Christian congregation. The ultimate goal is never for people to be shamed or even for anyone to hate himself or herself. Now, it may well be, and it is probably inevitable, that before folks get to the ultimate goal they end up being ashamed or hating themselves. Such are the terrible fruits of sin! But what we want for people is for them to be at peace in the forgiveness of sins for Jesus's sake. We are not a bunch of warriors, spiritual big shots, who are looking for weaklings we can beat up. Each and every one of us is a forgiven sinner. It is only as a forgiven sinner that we may properly rebuke other sinners. We should know from personal experience how deadly and seductive temptation and sin is when we call somebody else to account. And the hope is never for anybody, no matter what their sin might be, to continue to abide in shame and despair. That is the devil's goal. That's how things are in hell. The devil wants people to be ashamed and miserable eternally. Jesus, on the other hand, is the physician who heals those who are diseased. Jesus, through the word that Christians speak to others, searches out the lost, binds up the injured, lifts those who have fallen. To get back to the text, perhaps in response to what Jesus said about forgiving seven times, the apostles ask Jesus: “Increase our faith.” Amen to that. That's what we need. Jesus responded: “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you could tell this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.'” There is no record in the New Testament of any of the apostles uprooting or planting any vegetation with their faith. I guess their faith wasn't even as big as a mustard seed. And that's alright. It is not the strength of our faith that saves, but whether we believe in Christ. I'm not fond of hearing Christians brag about how much faith they have. I don't like hearing people say that they could never fall. They're super strong. They're a prayer warrior. Such talk reminds me of Peter telling Jesus on the night when he was betrayed: “Even if everybody else falls away, I will never fall away. Even if I have to die for you, I'll do it.” And you know what happened to Peter just a few hours later. He fell. The Christian life is lived in weakness, Christ says to Paul, “when we are weak, then we are strong.” When we are weak and beggarly we won't be admiring ourselves or our faith or the miracles we can perform as though in a mirror. We'll be looking to Jesus, the source of our faith. Finally Jesus says, “Which one of you who has a servant plowing or taking care of sheep will say to him when he comes in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at the table'? Won't the master tell him instead, ‘Prepare my supper, and after you are properly dressed, serve me while I eat and drink. After that you may eat and drink'? He does not thank the servant because he did what he was commanded to do, does he? So also you, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have only done what we were supposed to do.'” Perhaps more than anything else we've talked about today, this last part of our reading shows that we can be so easily mistaken about what the Christian life is supposed to look like. You do not see any talk of being a master here, a virtuoso, who has harnessed and cultivated mighty spiritual powers. The talk is the opposite—a slave whose work never seems to be finished. You also don't hear about people sitting in an air-conditioned building one hour a week, not knowing what they are saying while they are singing and praying, not paying attention and repenting, but nevertheless are fine Christians. This slave doesn't have the luxury of making Christianity into a hobby or a sidelight for his life. This slave's Christianity is his life, and it entails fighting, stumbling, falling, and getting back up again to fight another day. Because the Christian life is this way Jesus has taught us to pray, “Hallowed be Thy Name, Thy Kingdom Come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We need help in this pilgrim life. We are beggars; this is true. And some might say, “If Christianity is like that, then I don't want to have anything to do with it.” I can understand that. I'm not going to twist your arm. There are a lot of preachers who fill the world with their preaching. I'm sure you can find one that suits your fancies. But remember this: Life is not a choose-your-own-adventure book. Just because you like the sound of some lie doesn't make the lie true. Here's the truth: The devil's real. Your sins are real. Judgement is coming. But know this too: Jesus said, “I have not come into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through me.” The Christian life is not easy, but it is good. We will not be a slave forever. We will not have to fight forever. One day we will happily be delivered from this sinful flesh.

Shawna's best friend Latrece knows the good, bad, and ugly about Shawna, and loves her. And if Latrece a human loves Shawna that much, think how much the beautiful, perfect Son of God loves us! Then, we all need at least one friend who knows the worst about us, yet still loves us, a friend who can help us carry the load of shame and regret. For Perry that's his friend the Doc. Next, every moment of your life is being transformed into beauty by Jesus, even your greatest failures. Then, Shawna admits she wasn't one of the cool kids in school, wasn't one of first to be chosen on the playground. It's a conversation about our longing to be seen, known, loved, chosen, and how that longing is satisfied. Finally Jesus has rescued us to make us just like him. As CS Lewis says, “He will one day make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a god or goddess”. But the path to that destiny “will be long and in parts very painful.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is one of the most powerful and sad moments in scripture.  Finally the disciples are seeing Jesus cheered as the Messiah.  Finally Jesus is making a statement about who he is.  Jesus comes into the city of Jerusalem to fan fare.  The reality was that this was a sad time for Jesus because he knows what awaits him in Jerusalem.  While we celebrate, Jesus is preparing for the most difficult time of his life and ministry. 

Finally Jesus proclaims that He is THE good shepherd. But what makes Him good? FB @caregivingisaministry; httsp://anchor.fm/Greta-Bennett/messages

A recap of the Marlins one game visit to Fenway as well as a preview of the Marlins Rockies series. Could this be the day we finally see Jesus Sanchez? Why Braxton Garrett could get the nod as well and his impressive last start in AAA.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you'll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.Fully Loaded ChewFully Loaded Chew is offering LOCKED ON “TEAM” listeners a special offer – Rightnow you can try a can for just $1. Go to www.fullyloadedchew.com and use promo code: “LockedOn”StatHeroStatHero, the FIRST Ever Daily Fantasy Sportsbook that gives the PLAYER the ADVANTAGE. Go to StatHero.com/LockedOn for 300% back on your first play.Lucy.CoGo to Lucy.co and use Promo Code LOCKEDONMLB to get 20% off all products on your first order, including gum or lozenges! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A recap of the Marlins one game visit to Fenway as well as a preview of the Marlins Rockies series. Could this be the day we finally see Jesus Sanchez? Why Braxton Garrett could get the nod as well and his impressive last start in AAA. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built Bar Built Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you'll get 15% off your next order. BetOnline AG There is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus. Rock Auto Amazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Fully Loaded Chew Fully Loaded Chew is offering LOCKED ON “TEAM” listeners a special offer – Right now you can try a can for just $1. Go to www.fullyloadedchew.com and use promo code: “LockedOn” StatHero StatHero, the FIRST Ever Daily Fantasy Sportsbook that gives the PLAYER the ADVANTAGE. Go to StatHero.com/LockedOn for 300% back on your first play. Lucy.Co Go to Lucy.co and use Promo Code LOCKEDONMLB to get 20% off all products on your first order, including gum or lozenges! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week Jesus and Jerry share a few funny road stories. Also they check on fellow comedian and x intern Raul for the boringest call ever. Finally Jesus talks about his Miami trip and how he's feels about the hot men he left behind.

Wow! It is the final message concering the book of Job! I hope that you have explained this study as much as i have because it is just truly amazing watching what God is doing at ABC of Faith. In this finale Rev. Simba just goes into detail and explains things that are just not taught in the Church. In this teaching there is just so much revelation and truth that you just have to listen to it to even understand what I am talking about. Rev. Simba even explains a secret from the Kingdom of Heaven that is in Job that the church need to know in order to grow in their purpose and destiny. i hope you are ready and excited to believe and receive the word of the Lord today! Get a pen and paper, and prepare your hearts and minds for this awesome and glorious teaching today!

 Audio recordingSermon manuscript:Our Gospel reading today has two parts. The first part deals with the events that we are familiar with concerning Palm Sunday. Jesus was entering into Jerusalem to celebrate the upcoming festival of Passover that was happening that week. There were more people than usual in Jerusalem because they were doing the same thing that Jesus and his disciples were doing. Interest in Jesus was quite keen because of what he had done just days before. He had raised Mary and Martha’s brother, Lazarus, from the dead, even though he had been dead for four days. This is why the crowd is large, and why they are praying to Jesus: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” The second part of our reading tells us some other things that happened that day. These are lesser known happenings connected with Palm Sunday. It is this second part of the Gospel reading that I’d like to focus on today. The second part is different from the first part. In the first part of the reading there is a joyous, spontaneous parade (which are always the best kind of parades). In this second part the topic is quite different. Jesus speaks about his soul being troubled, about hating one’s life, about death, about being lifted up on the cross. Here on Palm Sunday, even while the crowd was singing and smiling, Jesus came to understand that his hour had come. How did that happen? John says that there were some Greeks there who came to Jesus’s disciples. They said, “We want to see Jesus.” So the disciples went to Jesus and told him about it. Immediately Jesus said, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” This is what made Jesus understand that his death was quickly approaching: Some Greeks came to see him. So why should this make such an impact? For us Christians it is easy to forget that salvation is really a Jewish, an Israelite prerogative. The people whom God chose out of all the nations of the earth were the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Greek people are from an entirely different branch of the human race. They aren’t even distantly related to Abraham, like some of the other people in the Middle East were. When Jesus came he did not disrupt or overturn this basic structure. He was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. When he sent his disciples out, they visited their fellow Jews. Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well that salvation comes from the Jews. Now, as it turns out, there were non-Jews who came to believe in Jesus. The Samaritan woman believes in him. Then her whole village came to believe in him. There is one outstanding male example of faith and one outstanding female example of faith. Both of them are non-Jewish. The man who is said to have great faith is a Roman Centurion. The woman who is said to have great faith is the Canaanite woman, whom we heard about four weeks ago. On the other hand, while there certainly were Jews who believed in Jesus, most did not. After his first sermon in his hometown of Nazareth the men of the synagogue want to throw him off a cliff. The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem are especially hostile to him. They believe that he is a dangerous heretic who is leading the people astray. So already before Palm Sunday you see that the Jews, the people who should have received Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, were resisting him. These are the nobles of the human race, who, if anybody has a claim to the King’s Son’s wedding banquet, they do. But they are unwilling to come. On the other hand, people who don’t belong at the wedding banquet—the non-Jews—are being compelled to come in. This is not by accident. It is all there in the Old Testament. God threatens to punish all who break his commandments, and the worst punishment that God can inflict upon a person is hardness of heart. When his people, who have had his promises and commandments, who have been visited by him and know his will, do not repent, then God will harden their hearts and move on. Thus in many geographical areas where in the Word of God was richly and powerfully proclaimed previously in history, there is now no Word of God. Instead people go after other gods, which actually are demons. So God warned his people in the Old Testament that he would not put up with their disobedience forever. The Old Testament also has many prophesies about how the non-Jews, the Gentiles, will come streaming into Zion, the city of God, the city of salvation, in the end times. This is what is especially relevant to what we heard today. This seems to trigger Jesus’s understanding of the end coming. The Gentiles are starting to trickle in with this group of Greeks who are seeking him. Soon that will turn into a flood. And so it is that even today the number of Gentiles who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world, is vastly larger than the number of Jews who believe that Jesus is the Christ. But this is not a popularity contest. Neither is it a matter of people’s picking and choosing—as though it were up to the Jews or the Gentiles to choose wisely, and one failed while the other succeeded. Rather it is a matter of God’s grace. At the end of our reading Jesus says, “When I am lifted up on the cross, I will draw all people to myself.” It was Jesus’s own death that drew in and continues to draw in the Gentiles, as the Old Testament prophets foresaw. The Gentiles were once far off, alienated from God, stupidly worshipping demons because they had no other choice. Now they have been brought near by the blood of Christ that cleanses them from sin. So when a group of Greeks came, Jesus knew that they would have to be cleansed. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to die, so that we might live. Notice how Jesus speaks about his death. He speaks of it as being glorious. He says, “Now the time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” Later he says, “Father, glorify your name!” And the Father says, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” This is a linking up of two things that we wouldn’t otherwise bring together: glory and death—at least not a death like Jesus’s death. Sometimes it can be glorious to die: The soldier dying for his comrades, the police officer dying in the line of duty. But Jesus’s death was not like that. He died alone—all his disciples forsook him. He died as a heretic and a criminal, having been found guilty by both the Sanhedrin and by Pontius Pilate. He died as a fool. His enemies beat him and spit on him. The soldiers mocked him. All of this is what Jesus is referring to when he says, “Now the time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” Jesus was glorified when he was poor, weak, alone, a fool, a criminal, a curse. What is so glorious about that, you might ask? Jesus tells us in our reading when he says, “Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be thrown out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” This world is judged. Fathers who abandon their children are judged. Mothers who smother their children are judged. Children who curse their parents are judged. Adulterers who break up marriages are judged. Fornicators who blaspheme the act of procreation are judged. Corrupt politicians are judged. Swindlers, also known as businessmen, as judged. Kidnappers who defile and murder children are judged. People who sell sex and violence are judged. Scientists who experiment on the disabled and poor are judged. Those who live for just one more drink are judged. Those who masturbate to pornography are judged. We live an incredibly disordered existence. And it comes right down into our homes and families. It haunts our daily life. The wounds and after-effects and pollution linger on and on and only serve to create more filth and dread and sadness. And we all have done our own part in contributing to it. Praise God that this world is judged! It is in sore need of judgment. And the ruler of this world is judged. The devil is judged. The one who holds the purse strings. The one who opens the doors to advancement and shuts the doors to advancement. The one who keeps people blind to the true God and his love by filling them with lies about what life is really about. The one who teaches children that fame and fortune is the real name of the game. The one who tempts and irritates and saddens and lies and murders and brings into despair. Praise God that this one is judged, and, furthermore, thrown out! Good riddance you great bewitcher of souls! There has never been glory like Jesus’s. There has never been glory like this, where the evil poison is drawn out of our wounds and out of our existence. It is judged, condemned, and done away with. And the way that it is done is by Jesus being lifted up on the cross. The way that he does away with all the evil is by absorbing it all into himself and bearing God’s righteous wrath against it, fulfilling the immutable Law of God. But there is yet one more dimension to how the Son of God is glorious. The world is judged. The ruler of this world is judged and thrown out. Finally Jesus says, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.” What does this mean, “I will draw all people to myself?” Well, what does Jesus do? In contrast to all the evil things that we spoke about, Jesus is the opposite. He is good. He is kind. He is patient. He forgives. He makes people righteous, setting them on the right path, making them wholesome and loving. He takes away the power of past sins to infiltrate and continue to pervert our lives. He introduces us to a new childhood—better and more healthy than the one we had—where he is our brother, and God is our Father, and Mary is our mother. Perhaps we could sum up all these things that happen when Jesus draws us to himself by the word “peace.” Jesus says to his disciples on the night when he was betrayed: “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” The world’s peace, in contrast to Jesus’s peace, is where everything is going your way. You’re on your way to being rich and famous. You have good health. Everybody thinks you’re a jolly good fellow. You’re on the top of the heap, or at least on your way to the top. Jesus’s peace is his complete self, his entire divine life, everything he is and everything he has he shares in common with us. Mercy and truth and met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. The divine life that Jesus shares is more than enough for anyone, and if you find that it is not enough, you can ask him for some more and he will give it to you. Together with this peace, Jesus also wishes to glorify you. He would have you be glorious, just as he is glorious. That is to say, he wishes to bless us by making us fall into the ground like a grain of wheat and die, thereby producing much fruit of love. We suffer because we testify to the world that its works are evil. We suffer as we absorb the insults, the pain, the sin. Though we are reviled, we do not revile in return. Thus we appear poor, weak, alone, a fool, a criminal, a curse. These things are not shameful. They are the most beautiful things there are, because they are a reflection and reverberation of the most beautiful one there ever was.   These glorious ones are easy to miss. They don’t promote themselves. They do not lift up their voice in the street. But quietly the Holy Spirit is at work in their lives. They take up their station in life and love those whom God has put in their life. They follow Jesus. This is a good life. It is the life of divine love. It is open to all who want it, regardless of past sins—regardless of the sins you are ashamed of, the sins of last week, or the sins of last night. Jesus draws all people to himself. The sin that has polluted your life is cleaned up with Jesus’s holy, precious blood. Jesus says, “Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”

Today’s message is part three of a three message series looking at portraits of Jesus in the book of Revelation. The title is “Jesus Our Champion” from Revelation 19:11-16. These portraits are meaningful to all Christians in times of distress revealing and reminding us of Jesus our Protector, Jesus Worthy Lamb and Finally Jesus our Champion.

Today’s message title is, “Jesus Among the Lampstands” and is the beginning of a three week series where we look at three portraits of Jesus from the book of Revelation. These portraits are meaningful to all Christians in times of distress revealing and reminding us of Jesus our Protector, Jesus Worthy Lamb and Finally Jesus the Warrior King.

An exposition of Johns gospel chapter 19. Jesus trial before Pontius Pilate continues. The Roman governor is convinced that Jesus has done nothing wrong and desires to realise Him. But he is out manoeuvred by the religious authorities. So, he orders that Jesus should be crucified. John records Jesus words on the cross, His death and the way the Roman guard proved He was dead. Finally Jesus was buried in a garden tomb. The post The Gospel of John – Part 27 appeared first on Community Life Church.

To support the ministry and get access to exclusive content, go to: http://patreon.com/logicalbiblestudy Matthew 19: 16-22 - 'If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own.' Catechism of the Catholic Church Paragraphs: - 2052-2053 (in 'Teacher, what must I do?') - "Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?" To the young man who asked this question, Jesus answers first by invoking the necessity to recognize God as the "One there is who is good," as the supreme Good and the source of all good. Then Jesus tells him: "If you would enter life, keep the commandments." and he cites for his questioner the precepts that concern love of neighbor: "You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother." Finally Jesus sums up these commandments positively: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself. To this first reply Jesus adds a second: "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." This reply does not do away with the first: following Jesus Christ involves keeping the Commandments. the Law has not been abolished, but rather man is invited to rediscover it in the person of his Master who is its perfect fulfillment. In the three synoptic Gospels, Jesus' call to the rich young man to follow him, in the obedience of a disciple and in the observance of the Commandments, is joined to the call to poverty and chastity. The evangelical counsels are inseparable from the Commandments. - 2075 (in 'The Ten Commandments') - "What good deed must I do, to have eternal life?" - "If you would enter into life, keep the commandments." Got a Bible question? Send an email to logicalbiblestudy@gmail.com, and it will be answered in an upcoming episode! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-gospel-exegesis/message

After resurrection, Jesus remains on earth for a symbolic 40 days. 40 has powerful symbolism in scripture, beginning with the story of Noah and the 40 days and nights of rain that cleanses of the past and prepares for the future. When Moses leaves Egypt he spends 40 years in Midian becoming a shepherd. Jesus begins his ministry with 40 days and nights in the wilderness in a time of cleansing and preparation. The 40 days between the resurrection and Jesus' ascension into heaven are no less symbolic. Jesus' ascension is about his authority as King of the universe (Daniel 7). His ascension also paves the way for a new season on earth with the Holy Spirit about to be poured out on Christ followers. Finally Jesus' ascension points to His return, for in Acts 1:10-11, the angels present promise that He will turn in the same way He left. As the angels said, "Why are you just standing there looking at the sky?" They are also asking us, "Why are you just sitting there looking at a screen?" He is coming, and there are many to tell of His love before He gets here. 

During the last few months at home we’ve exhausted our collection of recipes, of both favorite home-cooked meals and quick and easy dinners.  We have certainly missed the luxury of eating out, not only for the uniqueness of the food but also for the break from the work in the kitchen.  When we finally decided to get carry-out from one of our favorite local restaurants, we excitedly looked over the menu with so many of our favorite items and chose carefully from the long list.  Whereas before we would just pick whatever struck us in the mood of the minute, we now went over and over the choices, no longer taking the choice for granted.  With carryout boxes open on our kitchen table we enjoyed the indulgence of these much missed treats, savoring every bite.  We relished in the savory foods until, a couple of hours later, they sat sour on our stomachs.  Cooking at home for weeks and weeks, our bodies weren’t accustomed to digesting these rich foods and they labored to process them as we felt tired, a little sick and disappointed.  The good news of the gospel today sits on my stomach like too-rich food that I’m not accustomed to digesting and I struggle to process it.  I’m tempted, because of my discomfort, if -- like the carryout food -- I can just avoid it.  Today Jesus continues his instructions to the twelve disciples that we began last week as he prepares them to go out into the world, bringing healing and wholeness.  They have been instructed to take nothing but themselves and are to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit.  Today Jesus speaks directly to the growing unease in the pits of the disciples stomachs, as he acknowledges the reality of the risk, danger and discomfort of discipleship.  The Pharisees have accused Jesus of healing in the name of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, and yet the disciples are to proclaim Jesus’ message from the housetops!  Jesus’ message will put the disciples' very lives at risk and he simply offers God’s favor and overflowing love as comfort for the journey.  Finally Jesus predicts unrest through broken relationships within communities, families and households.  We are left with the unsettling words “Whoever finds his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Mt 10:39)  Today’s gospel message strips away illusions of comfort and sits sour in my stomach while I continue to digest it.  It is speaking to us, as Christians, about the reality of living as Christian disciples, a reality that we might prefer to avoid.            Both the reading from Romans and the Gospel turn us toward knowing our self, our true identity, knowing who we really are.  Paul writes to the Romans about the gift of baptism and the assurance that “We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.” (Rom 6:6)  Our baptism is symbolic of our alignment with Christ, our participation in God’s work, our choice to continually turn toward God.  Our baptism reminds us that God chooses us, God shares God’s power with us, to participate in bringing justice, peace and wholeness into the world.  Our baptism gives us the persistence we need, not to avoid our discomfort, but to do the work to process Jesus’ message.  So what is this old self that Paul mentions?  I think our old self is the part of our self that resists Christ’s presence, turning us away from God and God’s call to us.  For me, my old self is the part of me that persists in doubting that I can stand before you today and share my thoughts on this gospel.  My old self tells me that I’m too small and can’t possibly make a difference on big issues like racial justice, equality and LGBTQ inclusion.  My old self tells me that keeping the illusion of peace, avoiding the discomfort of change, and sacrificing my true self to not upset others, are top priorities.  Remembering my baptism reminds me that this old self, along with all of its toxic messages, “was crucified”, Christ has destroyed my old self and set my true self free to live and love abundantly in Christ.  My baptism is my inauguration into discipleship. Today in Matthew’s gospel Jesus continues to encourage us to let go of the toxic messages of our old self and live as Christian disciples.  He says don’t be afraid, I’m with you, let’s do this together!  Honestly, when Jesus tells us to have no fear I always cringe a bit because I know it’s going to be a rough ride.  I know he usually tells me to not be afraid when he asks me to do something scary.  Today’s lesson is like a white water rafting tour just after the spring thaw with swollen rapids and icy cold water that pierces through our fog of complacency.  But, we can do this, let’s hold on tight, join together in solidarity, and let the icy water awaken us to Christ’s call. First Jesus warns us that in doing the work of discipleship we are likely to be accused of aligning with demons, Beelzebul.  We should expect people in power to go to great lengths to maintain systems that deny the power of our baptism and perpetuate toxic messages that keep us complacent.  This complacency lives into the continuing oppression for the poor, marginalized and sick in society, the very people Jesus calls into wholeness.  The United States is not above oppressive systems of power as we have seen recently in the news of COVID-19 spread, racial injustice and LGBTQ rights.  We are called to wake up and act as a disciple of Christ against oppressive systems, a potentially dangerous task and surely one that is outside our comfort zone.  And yet, Jesus says have no fear, all will be revealed.  Jesus encourages us to wear our baptism on our sleeve, don’t whisper and stay quiet about it, proclaim it on the housetops!  Even those in power who can bring bodily harm we should not fear because we have been claimed by God.  Jesus’ difficult message continues as he declares that he isn’t here to bring peace, but a sword, and discipleship may turn family members against each other.  I wish that Jesus had refined his message a bit, smoothed out the rough edges and steep drops, and assured us that surely he doesn’t intend for us to put our lives on the line along our journey of discipleship.  I wish that Jesus placated our desire for polite kindness in our relationships in his call to us, more like a calm kayak through warm, still waters.  But he didn’t, he gave us the turbulent, breath-catching, sometimes dangerous, freezing rapids.  And that’s hard to face.  Looking back in history at people I would consider disciples, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King Jr, and Malcolm X, I see that discipleship is jagged, icy, rough, and costs everything.  In the book study I’m leading now on Dear Church by disciple Lenny Duncan, he states “The gospel is always a call for liberation.  It infects the hearts of those it has been presented to like wildfire that scorches away hatred.  When did we become so damn afraid of it?  Dear Church, we are cowards.” (p.5)  Are we cowards?  Can I respond to this challenging call that Jesus describes today and live into my baptism as a Christian disciple?  I don’t know, but I think that the problem is my old self.  The problem takes me back to Paul’s letter to the Romans.  The problem is the “I can’t” messages that my old self perpetuates.  The problem is the politeness that our culture and society value over real change, true justice, and actual wholeness.  The problem is that I don’t always live like my old self has been crucified and buried, it keeps coming back to me.  The problem is that this old self takes my courage, renews my fear, and leaves me passive, complacent and waiting.  I need Jesus’ white water rapids, icy cold rafting trip to pierce through my fog.  And really, I need you, this community of faith, to hold on tight and go with me where I’m scared to go, to remind me of my baptism, when I don’t remember it myself.            Jesus leaves us today with instructions to take up our cross, lose our life and find freedom in Christ.  Man it’s hard!  Sometimes I wish to avoid taking up my cross like that heavy carry-out food, and sometimes I do.  And the crazy, confusing, wonderful thing is that I’ve found incredible joy in taking up my cross too.  A couple of weeks ago many of us stood together on our front lawn here in solidarity for racial justice.  Many of us, when thinking about participating, wrestled with our old self and eventually committed to come for an hour or two.  Many of us stayed much, much longer because we found joy in the connection we made with one another and with the community.  We were encouraged by the overwhelming show of support from neighbors, drivers, walkers, bikers, and many others who passed by.  Our enthusiasm was fueled by the support of two community members who unexpectedly came and stood with us, joining us in sharing this message for justice.  We were touched by the generous hearts of others who shared cold drinks, balloons and many thanks.  We experienced so much joy in discipleship!  And, still some people weren’t happy about us bringing the message of racial justice out into our front yard and proclaiming it from the housetops.  Some people were set against us as we witnessed disproving hand gestures and received a disgruntled voicemail.  As a community we strengthen one another and will not allow this adversity to renew our old self or dissuade us from living into our call to discipleship.  We won’t let it.            As we continue to navigate our path as disciples, we sit with an uncomfortable and heavy, yet unavoidable message from Jesus today.  Our fog of complacency is pierced by the ice cold waters of our baptism.  We are reminded that our old self, along with its toxic messages, has been crucified.  We live together, in Christ, and have been called to break down systems of injustice and promote healing and wholeness for the oppressed.  This call to discipleship is challenging and overwhelming and that is why we have one another, to walk together, encourage each other, and remember the significance of our baptism.  Do not be afraid, you are infinitely valuable to God.  Amen.

200510 Easter 5 Drive in Service (audio)200510 Easter 5 Order of ServiceSermon manuscript:Our Gospel reading this morning is one of the most important and relevant portions of Scripture for us as Christians. It speaks to what we are about as Christians and what we do. This is always a very important thing to understand for anybody. A farmer, for example, needs to know what he is about and what he is supposed to do. If he didn’t know what to do, how could the crops get planted, tended, or harvested? Or what if he planted his seed six feet deep, or planted it in the fall or planted it in a lake? Such a farmer who does not know what he is about or what he is supposed to do would be a very poor farmer indeed. Likewise, it is important for us to know what it is to be a Christian, and what the Christian Church is to be about. Our Gospel reading answers that very clearly for us this morning, for it speaks about the work of the Holy Spirit.We don’t speak as much about the Holy Spirit as we do about the other two persons of our Triune God, the Father and the Son. But that does not mean that the Holy Spirit is unimportant. In fact, the Holy Spirit is vital for us during this time. When Jesus ascended, ten days later the Holy Spirit descended, on Pentecost. By the power of the Holy Spirit Peter preached on Pentecost to the wicked men who had conspired to crucify Jesus. He did this in spite of much danger to himself, and he spoke surprisingly gracious words to them. He told them that although they had despised and hated Jesus, Jesus had loved them. By his death and resurrection he had worked forgiveness of all their sins. Therefore, even though they had killed Jesus, salvation was to be theirs in Jesus’s name. Many, by the power of the Holy Spirit, believed and were baptized, but there were also some who, by the power of their sinful flesh and the devil, maintained that the apostles were fools and quite possibly drunk. Regardless, the apostles continued to preach that Jesus Christ is the only saving hope of all people. Apart from him there is no forgiveness. Apart from faith in him people will get what they deserve for the sinful life they have led—namely, death and eternal punishment in hell. But through faith in Christ people are received as children of God, holy and blameless, because of the powerful blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all our sins. The apostles continued to preach this Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit is always in this proclamation. When and where it pleases the Holy Spirit he creates faith in those who hear this message, just as it happened at Pentecost. And so it is to this very day and this very hour. The Holy Christian Church, made up of all believers in Christ, is a creation of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is in and with the Word of the Gospel that is preached. He is in and with the sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. He is the Counselor who will teach and preach and bring about saving faith until he has converted the very last person whom God has chosen for salvation. Then the end will come. Jesus will return on the clouds with power and great glory. The dead shall be raised. All people will be judged. And the Holy Spirit will give eternal life to you and to all believers in Christ. Then you will live under Christ in his kingdom and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as he is risen from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.And so we, as Christians, are all about the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit does not do his gracious work among us, then nothing truly good can happen. It is also very important and beneficial to know what the work of the Holy Spirit is—as Jesus teaches us in our Gospel reading today—for there are many false teachers who would like to teach you all kinds of things about the Holy Spirit. There are misguided Christians who crave spectacles and unusual signs, and they want the Holy Spirit to perform these for them. To be sure, the Holy Spirit could perform these signs if he wanted to, but you do not hear of these things from Jesus’s words today. Spectacles, being slain in the Spirit, speaking in tongues, performing miracles—these things do not save. They did not even save at the time of the apostles. Only faith in Christ saves the sinner from the punishment that he or she deserves. This is precisely the thing that Jesus does talk about as the Holy Spirit’s work in our reading today. Those who pay no mind to the forgiveness of sins that comes through faith in Christ, or who take this for granted, don’t know what it means to be a Christian or what they are to be about. They are like a farmer who plants his corn six feet deep, or plows snow banks, or harvests in the spring instead of the fall. All their labor is for nothing. So let’s learn what the Christian Church is all about from our Gospel reading today, for Jesus teaches us what the work of the Holy Spirit is.There are three things that Jesus says the Holy Spirit will do. He says that he will convict the world concerning sin, concerning righteousness, and concerning judgment. Now Jesus speaks here in a way that sounds a little strange to our ears. It would sound a lot better to our ears if Jesus would say that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of having sin, of lacking righteousness, and as being under judgment. When we speak about sin, righteousness, and judgment we speak of them very specifically, with pin-point accuracy. When Jesus defines the Holy Spirit’s work he keeps thing more broad. The Holy Spirit will convict the world about sin, about righteousness, and about judgment.Why is that? By speaking this way Jesus is saying that the world and our unbelieving flesh have a bigger problem than just this specific thing or that specific thing. Not only do we sin, but we don’t even know what sin is. Not only do we lack righteousness, but we don’t even know what righteousness is. Not only are we under judgment, but we don’t even know what should be judged as good or bad, right or wrong.This is borne out by the explanation that Jesus gives for these three things that the Holy Spirit does. The world cannot make heads or tails of how Jesus explains these things, for the world has very different definitions for them. Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will convict the world about sin, because the world does not believe in him. The Holy Spirit will convict the world about righteousness, because Jesus goes to the Father and we will see him no longer. He will convict the world about judgment, because the ruler of this world, the devil, is judged.If you asked somebody what sin is, you would not get the answer Jesus gives unless that person had been taught by the Holy Spirit. Instead you would get answers like murder, lying, adultery, stealing, and so on. If you asked somebody off the street whether it was a sin to not believe in Jesus, I’m not sure that they would say that it is—and even if it is a sin, to most people it is a pretty minor sin. It certainly is nothing compared to child abuse or some other dreadful crime. But the world doesn’t know what it’s talking about. Outside of Christ all things are unclean, rebellious, selfish, and foul. The fall into sin has affected us so deeply that all that we are and do is tainted. It is only by being born again by the water and the Spirit that we can see the kingdom of God. It is only through faith in Christ that we can be anything other than sin. However, through faith in Christ we are no longer sin. Jesus has atoned for our sins on the cross. The forgiveness of sins has been worked for the whole world—including murderers, liars, adulterers, thieves, and child abusers—that is to say, forgiveness of sins has been worked for you. Because Jesus was judged and punished in your place for your sins, God no longer judges you according to your thoughts, words, and deeds, but according to the righteousness of Jesus that is given to you through the faith in him that is worked by the Holy Spirit.This brings us to the second thing the Holy Spirit will do. He will convict the world about righteousness. If you asked somebody off the street what righteousness is, he would tell you pretty much the opposite of what he said about sin. Somebody who is righteous doesn’t commit sin. Plus they do good works. This is a definition of righteousness that works quite well for our earthly life, but it does not pass muster before God. Jesus says that righteousness is him going to the Father and you not seeing him any longer. Now what does Jesus mean by this? Well, why does Jesus go sit at the right hand of God the Father? Is it not because he has done all things well? Is it not because his work of redemption is complete? Indeed, this is why. And so when Jesus says that righteousness is because he goes to the Father, included in all that is all that Jesus has done for our salvation. Righteousness is by how he became incarnate in the womb of the Virgin Mary, by being born and laid in a manger, by his baptism, fasting, and temptation, by his agony and bloody sweat, by his cross and passion, by his precious death and burial, by his glorious resurrection and ascension, and by the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. Jesus’s righteousness is a superabundant and wonderful righteousness that is well pleasing to the Father, and it is given to you through faith in Jesus.This is what Jesus is referring to when he says, “because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer.” We see Jesus no longer, but we believe in him. Through our faith in him we are righteous even though we otherwise would not be judged as righteous. Jesus said to Thomas after he invited him to touch his hands, feet, and side: “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet believed.” Therefore righteousness is not how the world would define it, which is based on one’s own works. Righteousness is all that Jesus is and does. Those who believe in him are righteous.Finally Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of judgment because the ruler of this world is judged. The ruler, the prince of this world, is the devil. We gave ourselves to him by our fall into sin in the garden. He rules over all hearts and minds unless they be buried and die together with Christ in the waters of baptism and born again. When Jesus says that the devil is judged, to be sure he is saying that the lying, murdering, perverted devil is judged. The devil loves misery, putrid, rotting flesh, and all that is dark and evil. Even the guy off the street knows that it is good that such a wicked creature be condemned. But it is not just the devil that is black as coal that is judged and condemned, it is also the devil who dresses himself up as an angel of light. The devil is also behind all those high and mighty philosophies that say that what life is all about is making the world a better place, or building another tower of babel with our technology and advancements, or even just being the best person that you can be. These are noble sentiments. People would applaud you if you said them on television. But even if you applied your whole heart, soul, and mind to accomplishing them, you would still eventually die and your body would decompose. The good life is the one where we are reconciled to our Creator through the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. What does it profit a man to be the noblest, most beautiful, most accomplished person on earth, but to have despised Jesus—the crown jewel, the best thing that has ever happened to this earth, and who gives us eternal life?And so it is that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of having very poor judgment. They don’t know what is good or what is bad. They don’t know what promotes life and what destroys life. They are like that stupid farmer who doesn’t know how to tend his field. All the running around and high speeches and great institutions are all for nothing in the end. The one who should like to have eternal life must eat Jesus’s flesh and drink Jesus’s blood, as Jesus says in John 6. That is, you must believe in him. Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though he dies. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” The one who listens to Jesus’s words and thinks that Jesus has good judgment—that he knows what’s what and how life is—that is someone who has been blessed by the work of the Holy Spirit.And so let us give thanks today. The Holy Spirit is still among us. He is teaching us. He forgives our sins and gives us Jesus’s righteousness. He makes us wise unto salvation. The knowledge that you have heard from Jesus today is not a dime a dozen. You won’t hear it very often, even from Christians, because it conflicts so severely with the wisdom of the world. But these words are true and reliable. Believe in Jesus and you are removed from the devil’s kingdom and will be blessed forever as a beloved child of God.

Song: The Son of God goes Forth to WarPassage: Psalm 118:19-29Hello everyone and Welcome to episode #9 of the Anno Domini Podcast. A podcast dedicated to the supremacy of Christ over all things including our days, weeks, and months.Join me as we explore how Christ is revealed through the cyclical life of the church calendar year. We’ll discover how this calendar once structured culture and how it can again. We’ll also discuss practical ways to observe and celebrate these holy days in our quest to glorify God and live the good life in the midst of all good He has given us. Welcome back friends. My name is Joe Stout and my wife Elizabeth and I and our 8 children live in the wet and occasionally sunny Pacific Northwest. For those of you who may be new, this podcast, Anno Domini which literally means “In the Year of our Lord”, this podcast explores the year of the Lord as it has been traditionally marked on the Church Calendar. Our first episode started at the beginning of the Church New Year which this year fell on December 1st. Unlike our modern tradition of marking January 1st as the new beginning, the Church calendar marks the first Sunday of Advent, or the coming of Christ unto a dark world, as the perpetual new beginning. We begin by celebrating the coming of Christ in His various ways. Since the dates are different each year, this cycle was from December 1st through December 23rd. After Advent of course we celebrate Christmastide or Christmastime with Christmas Eve, and then all 12 days of Christmas. We then move into the period of Epiphany, the revealing of Christ unto a broken world which falls from January 6th through February 25th this season. Ash Wednesday, which this year fell on February 26th marks the beginning of the Season of Lent, the season in which we find ourselves now. As I remarked in the last episode, “the time of lent precedes the victory of Christ on the cross…Jesus was tempted for 40 days … was humbled to the point of death on a cross and during all of this faithfully obeyed His Father in Heaven. Because He was faithful in this, God raised Him up to glory and Christ calls us to follow the same path.”As we enter Holy Week, the culmination of Lent, let us remember the promise of God found James 4:10, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” PracticalAs I pointed out in the last episode, The period from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday is 40 days not including the Lord’s Day each week. This means that Palm Sunday is a unique holy day in that it falls within the Lenten Season but being that it is on a Sunday, any fasting would be abstained from since the Lord’s Day is meant to be celebrated with feasting and rest. Palm Sunday kicks off Holy Week which is the big finale of the Lenten season and concludes on Easter morning.Since part of the Anno Domini podcast centers around how we are to practically celebrate these holy days, I ought to give an account of the current events surrounding Palm Sunday 2020. As of the recording of this episode we are watching a local, national, and global historical event unfold. I’m of course speaking of the Chinese Virus that began in Wuhan China in December of 2019 and has spread around the globe. This virus is causing governments, gripped by fear, to self immolate entire economies, isolate people to their homes and hospital beds, and most egregious of all, forbid the gathering of people anywhere and everywhere for any reason at all. This means that for the last several weeks, showing up for the Lord’s Day service has been impossible for nearly everyone. Because technology often is a blessing when used rightly, many churches, ours included, have offered a live-stream of a Sunday morning sermon. This is nice and helps stave off feelings of isolation but a sermon is certainly not church. The gathering of a family to hear a sermon falls far short of our needed weekly gatherings. On Ash Wednesday, nearly a month before the madness began, I shared a hymn written by G.K. Chesterton that included the phrase, ”take not thy thunder from us, but take away our pride.” Never in my life have I seen a prayer answered on such a large scale in such a short time. As I said on Ash Wednesday, “…our rulers here on earth are faltering failures and we as a people are drifting and dying because our walls, made of gold in our prosperity, are actually entombing us. Scorn is a weapon to divide brother against brother. We are asking God not to spare His wrath or His thunder against us but instead to take away the one thing that is causing all of this mess…our pride.”One of the many things the global pandemic fear has exposed is the frailty of our reality. We think the things we know, the things that are familiar to us will last. The good times will never end is an easy lie to believe. Our walls of gold, as enduring as a the morning mist were entombing us into the false sense of security. Now as we shelter in place at the beginning of what is likely to be an unnecessary but very large economic depression we can take joy. God has heard our prayers, instead of allowing the walls of gold to entomb us forever, He is stripping away the pride of life that has caused such rebellion in our hearts. What an exciting time to be alive. I cannot stress enough what a blessing this chastisement has the potential to accomplish. If we humble ourselves before God during this time of suffering He promises to lift us up and strengthen the hands which hang down and the feeble knees. With the unknown comes a temptation to great fear. In fact this is the natural response. Those without the blessing of Christ’s covering will respond with fear because that is the only way the natural man knows. But we are Christians and we believe that the providence of God can be waited on expectantly to provide for us our daily bread. We also can now trust God to provide for us a life stripped of those things which prevent us from trusting Him. We also can trust God during this time to send His Spirit to awaken in us a devotion to Him that often proves impossible during times of plenty. As someone amusingly said in reference to the paralyzing fear surrounding this virus, “I wasn’t quite ready to give up this much for Lent.” Of course we know that lent is not about “giving things up” it’s about begging God to do whatever it takes, to take whatever it takes, to trust, follow, and obey Him in all that He commands. So let us receive this discipline from the Lord joyfully knowing that he scourges every son He receives. So practically speaking, what can we do this Palm Sunday since we won’t be allowed to actually worship as the Body of Christ? Well the things that have been helpful for the Stout family has been to treat Sunday morning as much like a Lord’s Day morning as possible. We get up, we get dressed, we eat breakfast, and then we gather together to worship together the King of Glory. We try not to treat our Sunday morning worship too casually. This is already a temptation for modern Christians and it only gets worse when you can’t leave your home. Therefore there is no watching the sermon in pajamas just as you shouldn’t go to church in your pajamas. Our church actually provides some songs to sing “together” and we sing along heartily. We hold our kiddos to the same standards of sitting still and not talking during the sermon. This is really quite inadequate for the long haul but is better than nothing. If one had to describe the essential reason for weekly Lord’s Day worship I would argue that the sermon and praise and worship are really pointing to the pinnacle of the service which is the Lord’s Supper. We’re going to talk about this in depth for our next episode on Holy Thursday and so I will develop my argument far more there but suffice it to say that I am persuaded, and am certainly not alone, that the sermon, the singing, the confession of sin, it is all leading us toward one major event, and that event is to eat a meal of Peace with our King. We were alienated from God and were His enemies but by the death and resurrection of Christ, we have been brought near to Him. This weekly meal represents this. It represents the fact that we are no longer at war with God but that through Christ we now have peace. It tells us that we belong to the King and that we belong at the King’s table. This unfortunately cannot truly be done at home, at least not in the way it has been instituted as overseen by the elders of your local church. Because of this, let us pray that the quarantine lockdown fears end and that we can go back to the Lord’s Table where those who have been baptized and claim Christ as King, we can go back to the table where we belong. BiblicalThere are several texts to chose from on Palm Sunday. We have readings from Isaiah, Psalms, Philippians, and the Gospel of John. If you are listening to this, it is likely you have heard the account of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a the colt of donkey. In three of the gospel accounts, we are told that as Jesus was riding into Jerusalem on the colt, the people welcomed Him with praise and received Him as a King. In fact they were spreading their clothes on the ground as well as laying down branch of trees and in John’s gospel, those branches are referred to as Palms. This is Christ coming as King unto Jerusalem and for a large number of the cities inhabitants, He was rightly received as King. However, as we know, there were other forces at work in the city and the leaders of the Jews were consumed with envy and hatred of Jesus. While the Lord’s faithful were celebrating the coming of the King, others we’re biding their time and waiting for their opportunity to strike down the King of Glory. Our lectionary reading from Psalm 118:19-29 speaks of this. Let’s read the very word of God.Psalm 118:19-29Open to me the gates of righteousness;I will go through them,And I will praise the Lord.This is the gate of the Lord,Through which the righteous shall enter.I will praise You,For You have answered me,And have become my salvation.The stone which the builders rejectedHas become the chief cornerstone.This was the Lord’s doing;It is marvelous in our eyes.This is the day the Lord has made;We will rejoice and be glad in it.Save now, I pray, O Lord;O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity.Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.God is the Lord,And He has given us light;Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.You are my God, and I will praise You;You are my God, I will exalt You.Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!For His mercy endures forever.In this Psalm we are told that the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This verse is one of the most quoted in the New Testament. It is referenced in each of the synoptic gospels as part of the culminating meaning of the Parable of the Tenants. It was told by Jesus after He had entered Jerusalem in triumph but before He was betrayed into the hands of the Jews. If you remember, Jesus tells the story of vineyard that had been planted and the care of which was entrusted to a specific group of people. In the story these tenants are the Jews. When harvest time came, the Master sent servants to collect some of the fruit. The tenants, beat and treated shamefully all of the servants the Master of the Vineyard sends. These servants represent the way in which the Jews treated God’s chosen prophets…shamefully. At his trial prior to his death Stephan speaks these divesting words to the Jewish leaders…”Which of the prophets have not your father’s persecuted?” The answer is of course none. The Jews rejected them all. Finally, in the parable, the Master of the Vineyard decides to send His only Son thinking perhaps they will respect Him. Quite the opposite in fact happens and the tenets reach the pinnacle of their wickedness and throw the son out of the vineyard and kill Him, thinking they were securing the inheritance for themselves. But instead they planted the seed of their own ruin as the Master eventually comes and destroys those tenants and gives the vineyard to others. This speaks of the way God removed the Jews from the special status as His chosen people and grafted in the Gentiles in their place. Finally Jesus finishes by quoting Psalm 118:22 applying its meaning to the nation of Israel at that time. It was at this time that we are told the “ The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them.” The reason why this matters is that Jesus is not a safe person to be around. He is the kind of Friend that is absolutely going to get you in trouble with the people in charge. The Lion of Judah is dangerous and although He is good following Him means a choosing life of exchanging your own desires for those he gives you. Desires that will mean suffering. Jesus is a conquering King and when we follow Him we are actually following Him into battle. This battle is against the desires of the flesh, the lusts of the world, the pride of life, and against Satan himself. It is a battle that we can gladly and joyfully follow our King Jesus into knowing that it will cost us our lives. HistoricalPalm Sunday as I said earlier is the beginning of Holy Week. It is the finale of Lent and during times where gathering for worship is not outlawed there can often be services every day of the week. In Protestant Christianity there usually is at the very least a Good Friday service although even those unfortunately are becoming less frequent. During Palm Sunday often the church will be decorated with branches, sometime palm branches if they are available. In those denominations that celebrate Ash Wednesday, the branches used in worship on Palm Sunday are usually kept until the following Ash Wednesday and burned and the ashes from the Palm fronds are used to mark those penitent for the beginning of Lent. This is used to help Christians understand and realized the cyclical life of the Church and that God gives us patterns to follow faithfully. MusicalDuring our section on the biblical text for Palm Sunday, the theme of warfare came up frequently. The fact that Christ comes riding on the branches of trees is not a coincidental occurrence. In fact in two places the Old Testament records an event that bears certain similarities.In both 1 Chronicles 14 and 2 Samuel 5 we read this story.13And the Philistines yet again made a raid in the valley. 14And when David again inquired of God, God said to him, “You shall not go up after them; go around and come against them opposite the balsam trees. 15And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then go out to battle, for God has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” 16And David did as God commanded him, and they struck down the Philistine army from Gibeon to Gezer. 17And the fame of David went out into all lands, and the LORD brought the fear of him upon all nations.”As Jesus comes into Jerusalem riding on the tops of the trees just as He had done against the Philistines, we are told in the various gospel accounts of His actions. He curses the fig tree symbolizing the nation of Israel the curse being that they would be cut off for their unbelief and bear fruit no longer. He then weeps over Jerusalem because He knows of its coming destruction in just a few short decades. He then goes and makes war on those who would turn His Father’s house into a den of thieves. These are the actions of a King going forth to war. The only gospel that doesn’t mention this fact is the Gospel of John who chooses instead to focus on the imagery of a seed dying to bring forth a harvest. During His triumphal entry Jesus had one thing on His mind. Going to war. He was going to wage war against the domain of darkness in a way that not even Satan could have seen coming. He was going to die for the sins of His people. All of that is an entrance of sorts into the hymn we will be exploring today which was written in 1812 by Reginald Heber called the Son of God goes Forth to War. This song is a wonderful encouragement for the Church Militant, those of us in the body of Christ who are still here on earth doing battle for the King. Let’s take a look at the words.The Son of God goes forth to war:A kingly crown to gain;His blood-red banner streams afar:Who follows in His train?Who best can drink his cup of woe,Triumphant over pain,Who patient bears his cross below,He follows in His train.2The martyr first, whose eagle eyeCould pierce beyond the grave,Who saw his Master in the sky,And called to Him to save:Like Him, with pardon on his tongue,In midst of mortal pain,He prayed for them that did the wrong:Who follows in his train?3A glorious band, the chosen fewOn whom the Spirit came,Twelve valiant saints, their hope they knew,And mocked the cross and flame.They met the tyrant’s brandished steel,The lion’s gory mane,They bowed their necks, the death to feel:Who follows in their train?4A noble army, men and boys,The matron and the maid,Around the Savior’s throne rejoice,In robes of light arrayed.They climbed the steep ascent of heaven Through peril, toil, and pain:O God, to us may grace be givenTo follow in their train.We have in this hymn Christ setting the example by being the first to go to war and gain His crown of glory. He of course accomplished this upon the cross which is why Paul tells us that He is seated in power, reigning right now at the right hand of God. He will continue to reign Paul assures us until all enemies have been vanquished, the world has been converted to Christ and only the last enemy remains, death itself. Then Christ will return vanquish the final enemy, unite heaven and earth in glorious renewal and the dead will be raised again to glory for the final judgement. The hymn writer continually asks “Who will follow in His train?” or this is another way of asking who will follow after the King? In verse one, those who are able to follow in His train are those who are ready drink His cup of woe and to be patient and bear the cross of Christ in this temporal life.Verse 2 tells the story of the first hero of the faith. Stephan who could see “beyond the grave” or through the temporal things that so often distract us to what really matter. Christ beckoned to Stephan as he was being stoned and Stephan like his Master asked God to forgive those who did the wrong even while he was in the pain of death. Who will follow his example?Verse 3 tells the story of the 12 apostles who were valiant men upon whom was the Spirit of Christ. These 12 men, unlike any men before or after, were chosen by Christ and we’re given immense suffering to endure for the cross. Some were fed to lions, some slain with the sword. We are told they bowed their necks their death to feel. In other word’s they were not afraid to die nor were they going to run away from the Great Commission. They remembered that Christ had charged them with that of going into all the world and baptizing the nations. As Peter famously said with his life on the line…”We must obey God rather than men.”Verse 4 speaks of the multitudes that have given their lives for Christ in humble and faithful obedience to Him. We are told men, boys, women, girls, anyone claimed by Christ through baptism that has gone before us and is with Him in paradise are now rejoicing around the throne of Christ in glorious garments. We are also told how they got there, through a steep climb toward eternity during their earthly life experiencing peril, toil, and pain during the journey. The hymn concludes by asking God to give us, the Church Militant, the grace to follow in their train. With that I will play this hymn and look forward to seeing you for our next episode exploring Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday. I hope that Christ fills you with encouragement as you worship Him this Lord’s Day in your homes and that we will soon find ourselves worshipping together once more in the beauty of holiness.

Sometimes the Bible calls us to look to our past to find our hope. We behold stories from the Old Testament, babies in mangers, a savior on a cross, and an empty tomb. There are also places where the Bible calls us to behold the future and the things that are still to come. In the final words of the Bible, John tells us that we should have hope for the new creation that is to come because there, God makes ALL things new. Finally Jesus closes with the words intended to sustain us in suffering and motivate us to action- "Behold, I am coming soon."

2SAMUEL 20:Yesterday we heard the story of how David sent out his army under three commanders, Joab, Abishai, and Ittai. He gave them orders to deal gently with Absalom. Joab— who was always pragmatic, didn't do this. Along with Absalom, 20,000 men died in the civil war. Joab stopped David’s mourning for his son and ordered him to go out to encourage his troops. And finally the people decided to bring David back as their king. PSALM 118a:This is one of the antiphonal psalms. Imagine a leader and all the congregation saying the refrain. One of the most often quoted verses about the Messiah is found in verse 22. And I have quoted verse 23 at the beginning of a number of podcasts. JOHN 2:John uses simple words, such as light, word, lamb, and door. But the concepts he deals with are anything but simple. The meaning goes deep— so deep that you could spend a lifetime studying the prologue in chapter one alone and never get to the bottom of it. Note also that John very artistically makes use of double meaning— using a word with two meanings simultaneously. Note how Jesus (and the writer, John) artfully hint at the story of Jacob. Jesus calls Nathanael a true son of Israel. Israel is one of Jacob’s name, and Jacob’s name means ‘cheater’. And then Jesus paradoxically calls Nathanael a man of complete integrity. Finally Jesus didn’t need to make it obvious to his hearers and John didn’t need to explain to his readers that Jesus was quoting from the Jacob’s Ladder story. Just a few words and the previous hint were plenty to imply this: Jesus is claiming to be the Way/Ladder to the Father. The way, the truth, and the life. NLT Translation note:Ps. 118:7 Yes, the LORD is [on my side//for me]; he will help me.I will look in triumph at those who hate me.====John 2:24 But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew [all people//human nature].[I believe that John is telling us something miraculous about Jesus here. He wasn’t just a good student of ‘human nature’! He actually knew everyone, just like he knew the Samaritan woman whom we will hear about. ]25 No one needed to tell him what [anyone was//mankind is] really like.

2SAMUEL 20:Yesterday we heard the story of how David sent out his army under three commanders, Joab, Abishai, and Ittai. He gave them orders to deal gently with Absalom. Joab— who was always pragmatic, didn't do this. Along with Absalom, 20,000 men died in the civil war. Joab stopped David’s mourning for his son and ordered him to go out to encourage his troops. And finally the people decided to bring David back as their king. PSALM 118a:This is one of the antiphonal psalms. Imagine a leader and all the congregation saying the refrain. One of the most often quoted verses about the Messiah is found in verse 22. And I have quoted verse 23 at the beginning of a number of podcasts. JOHN 2:John uses simple words, such as light, word, lamb, and door. But the concepts he deals with are anything but simple. The meaning goes deep— so deep that you could spend a lifetime studying the prologue in chapter one alone and never get to the bottom of it. Note also that John very artistically makes use of double meaning— using a word with two meanings simultaneously.   Note how Jesus (and the writer, John) artfully hint at the story of Jacob. Jesus calls Nathanael a true son of Israel. Israel is one of Jacob’s name, and Jacob’s name means ‘cheater’. And then Jesus paradoxically calls Nathanael a man of complete integrity. Finally Jesus didn’t need to make it obvious to his hearers and John didn’t need to explain to his readers that Jesus was quoting from the Jacob’s Ladder story. Just a few words and the previous hint were plenty to imply this: Jesus is claiming to be the Way/Ladder to the Father. The way, the truth, and the life.

In this series we take a look at the famous last words. Jesus had little time remaining when He said "Father Forgive Them". Forgiveness was a big deal to Jesus. We see three key points. First Jesus was fulfilling prophecy. Jesus was modeling the forgiveness we should walk in. Finally Jesus was revealing mans greatest need. Check out this message to find out more. 

In the Gospel reading today, taken from the Gospel of Matthew chapter 15, we encounter a gentile woman from the area of Canaan. She approaches Jesus and asks that he heal her daughter who is “extremely” demon possessed. At first Jesus doesn't answer. Then after a few moments, realizing that she wasn't backing down, Jesus explains that he came for the Jewish people and not for the Gentiles. The woman, upon hearing this, pleads with Jesus, by worshiping him and saying, “Lord, help me.” But Jesus answered by way of a metaphor and said, “It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” She in turn provides a surprising rebuttal: “Yes, even the little dogs eat the crumbs from their master's table,” showing Jesus how great her faith was. Finally Jesus healed the woman's daughter at that very moment.

This week the Rob & Chris meet up with Jesus again! But this time he's rolling into town with his Apostles and ruins a poker tournament run by a bunch of Jew Wizards. Meanwhile back in Rome, Tiberius kills a bunch of people and runs off the island of "Kid" Capri, where he sings to his "Minnows" on a boat looking at his "Mermaids"... But he dies and so does Jesus. Caligula in now in charge and becomes a spider. In doing so bangs his sisters, elects his horse governor of Rome and lays eggs inside people as punishment...only one of those is fake. Finally Jesus comes back from the dead and sends a doubtful Thomas to India. While in India Thomas does magic for good ole' Gondophernes and turns him into a gentile. Also there are wizards everywhere. TLDR: Smoke bomb!

Last week we learned several things from the life of our savior about how to live under pressure. None of us live a life without some pressure. Most of it unwanted and some of it unwarranted, but nonetheless, we will all experience it. The pressure we experience is part of building our character. Jesus’ life, especially at the end, was fraught with pressure. He showed us how to live when things happen that out of our control but that are part of our destiny. The principles that we live by are the principles that keep us when we live under pressure. Last week, Bro. Hughes drew several principles from Jesus’ life to illustrate how to live under pressure. Jesus moved with purpose, not by problems. During pressure that is beyond what any of us could imagine, Jesus prayed. Jesus commanded infinite power, but He chose not to use that power to free him from the situation. As he willingly walked toward His destiny, He sang a song of praise. This week, Bro. Hughes continues his study with more observations from our text. We have to stay focused in the present, not distracted by the present. No matter what is happening, we cannot let it divert us from the purpose God has for our life. Distractions are all around us. That is what gets all of us in trouble. Everything in our world is trying to make our lives as dysfunctional as the rest of the world. Pressure is painful. There is no way for God to extract the pain from life. Pain is an indication of the healing process. If we don’t hurt, there is no way of knowing that we are healing. It is important when under pressure, to maintain an attitude of forgiveness. When we are under pressure, there are hurts and offenses that will come. Most of the time, those committing the offense will not even know they are hurting us. It is important to maintain an attitude of forgiveness. When under pressure and stress, we have to remain sensitive and not be hardened by the things that are against us. Finally Jesus taught us to live by faith and not by fear. Fear cannot decide our peace or our future. How many mistakes do we make because we are reacting to life, rather than walking by faith. Life will try to frighten us and under pressure it is easy to lose sight of our destiny. But if we look to the life of Jesus and especially the last weeks of HIs life, we find a shining example of how to live when living under pressure.

Have you ever dealt with disappointment? Has God ever not done what you wanted Him to do, when you wanted Him to do it? Mary and Martha were in that place. This Message is from John 11. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were siblings. It's likely that their parents were dead and Lazarus was the caretaker for his sisters. All three were close friends of Jesus. And he was very sick. Mary and Martha send word to Jesus that he was sick. That message basically says "please come and heal our brother." Mary and Martha thought, “If Jesus loves us and He has power to heal then he will certainly come and heal our brother.” Yet when he heard the news, Jesus stayed where he was for two more days. Lazarus, His friend, is extremely sick, possibly in agony. Lazarus' sisters were probably saying “don’t worry, we sent a message to Jesus. He’s coming” And Jesus didn't come. Now, Lazarus has been in the tomb 4 days. Put yourself in Mary and Martha’s place. They see him suffer and die and they hear nothing from Jesus. Finally Jesus comes and Martha sas “if you had been here my brother would not have died.” We can make the mistake that Martha did and form our expectations about what God should do and how He should do. God can heal me so He needs to do it now. God can provide for me, so He needs to do it well. And when our expectations aren’t met then we deal with disappointment. We struggle with disappointment because God didn’t act the way we thought He should and it becomes an attack on our faith. But God is good and He does good. Jesus said “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will never die." He got to the point of her disappointment which was her faith. She believed He was the Christ but not the resurrection. Just like that, sometimes our disappointment makes us put a lid on our faith. When he saw them weeping he was deeply moved and troubled. And Jesus wept. Why? Because he was deeply moved and troubled. He was deeply moved. He feels compassion. He knew they were hurting. But He was also troubled by their unbelief. You may be hearing this and you're in church and even serving but because of something that has happened in your life - something that happened when God didn’t do what you thought He should do - you’ve put a lid on your faith. And you have to take action. Jesus asked THEM to take away the stone. Jesus may not have preformed the miracle if they didn’t take away the stone. Then He raised Lazarus from the dead. If you've put a lid on your faith, it's time to roll away the stone. And once you do, you'll find God moving in your life in a way He never has before! ~~~ Get more sermons and tons of free resources at RiversChurch.org!

It's hard to get to know someone on a real level. In a world where people are more connected than ever before, getting a picture of who someone really is is harder than ever before. In our series, Jesus Is ________, we are going to look at three attributes of Jesus that will help us discover who Jesus really is. When we understand who Jesus really is, we'll be able to see how he feels about us and what he desires for us.   Tonight is Baptism night at the ROCK! It's one of the best nights of the year on its own, but we're also talking about how Jesus is alive. This is significant on baptism night because we are not talking about how students put their faith in a savior that only died but one that rose from the dead and is alive. The fact that Jesus is alive changes everything for those of us who follow him. Jesus' resurrection proved that he was God because only God could beat death. It proved that we could be forgiven of our sins. Finally Jesus being alive means that we can now really live… not in our sin, but in the righteousness that God has given to us through Jesus.

Finally - Jesus gives us a reason to be happy you were the middle child! Join us for Luke 15 - where Jesus invites a bunch of stuffy folks to the party, and we consider a dishonorable God. Lo-Fi Lectionary: A Bible story podcast for the Religiously Burned-Out and the Spiritually Curious! Please rate and review us on iTunes, Facebook, and Google Play! Join the conversation on Facebook @ "Lo-Fi Lectionary" kevinlester.net  

Education is a key to success in life. The older we get, the wiser we realize our teachers were. All of us can recall a teacher that influenced our lives in a dramatic way. The most effective ingredient in any child's education is the teacher. A great teacher is one that understands that the heart of a child is as important as the mind. If we cannot reach our children's heart, we cannot reach the child. Teaching is the process to inspire and encourage the student to find potential. There is a transformative power of a teacher that can pull out of a child more than they even knew was inside. Jesus was called teacher. Of all the "students" that Jesus encountered, perhaps the most challenging was Simon Peter. He was crude, rough and outspoken. Peter was one that would cause most teachers to shy away. Jesus however saw something below the rough, crude exterior to pull out of Peter what was inside him. Our text was the beginning of a journey. It was not an overnight success; nothing is. The Lord never stopped trying. It would have been easy many times to abandon the cause and move on to someone else. However, it takes time to see the true worth of the effort. Over time Peter transformed from a foul mouthed, brash and abrasive man into someone who was at the forefront of the Church. Jesus never gave up. There were many challenges in this teaching. The first was Peter's personality. He would say the wrong thing, at the wrong time. He blundered into many things in life. He was quick tempered. But the Lord understands personalities. None of us can let personality be the reason that we give up. The second thing Jesus had to deal with was Simon's lineage. He was the son of Jonas. Peter had a history, but Jesus did not let that determine the future. Our past and family background does not matter to God, He wants to bring us into HIS family and make use one of HIS children. The good news is that no matter our family background there is a teacher that can use us in HIs purpose. Finally Jesus had to deal with Peter's environment. We may have come from a background that has everything written against us, but if He is for us, what can be against us? Peter was a man who had many things against him, but Jesus prophesies great things for him. There were times that Peter fell flat on his face, but the Lord came along side and continued the education. The promise of "when you are converted" told Peter that Jesus never gave up. No matter what the situation is now, Peter you WILL be converted. The promise to Peter is the same to us. Jesus will never walk away from our education.

One of the greatest struggles we face is the difference between what we are and what we know we are capable of being. Peter had made a mess of his life. He had denied Christ and even cursed in doing so. He was no doubt down cast about his failure of his master. The interval between the denial and the episode in our text was likely one of the lowest portions of Peter's life. The mixture of regret, worry and fear must have played over and over again in his mind. Like many of us, Peter must have wished that he could go back and do it all again. How would life would be different if we could go back. Life does not work that way. There are no do-overs. Bro. Hughes asks what do you do when you have failed so publicly and totally? Peter busied himself with the familiar. He went back to being a fisherman. He toiled all night fishing but caught nothing. In the morning, they hear a familiar voice asking if they had any fish. This was a scene that had played out before. It dawns on Peter who was asking and, ever the impetuous one, he jumps from the boat and makes his way to shore. Jesus extends wonderful grace to Peter. He did not greet him with anger or disappointment. Many bible scholars agree that Jesus ask three times to atone for the three denials. Bro. Hughes points out however, that this is out of character for Jesus. This exchange was not about reminding Peter of his failure. Jesus was likely trying to revive something that had died. It was for Peter's sake, to awaken something in him. God's grace brought Peter back from where he was to where he needed to be. Jesus starts by calling Peter by his old name: Simon. Jesus was reminding Peter of his beginnings. Using that name, Jesus took Peter back to where he had first recognized his potential. God's grace reminds us of our potential. Despite our failure, the grace of God reconnects us to potential. Peter's failure did not void the potential and it does not void what God has planned for our life. Using the name Simon reminded Peter that his failure was because he was acting like the old man that he was, now what he had become. If we are to realize the plan God has for our life, we must leave that old man behind. Too many want to keep remnants of the old man to hold on to. The saving power of God's amazing grace reaches out to a broken man and brings him back to his potential. Jesus' questions to Peter reminds him that unless he loved Jesus, he would never be able to love others, to minister to the lost or reach the world in the way the he would. Finally Jesus asks Peter "do you love me more than these? With this question Jesus frames the order or priorities. If Jesus is first, then all the other priories fall into place. The first two times, the word in the Greek that Jesus used was the agape love, but Peter responded with philía love. On the third question, Jesus comes down to Peter's level and uses philía. Grace was willing to start where Peter was, so Jesus came down to his level. From there, grace can build us up. Our failure does not void our potential. Grace reaches out to restore us to the place where we can get us back to where we need to be. Grace has amazing power.

Finally Jesus identifies the traitor for Peter and John. This is part 1 of 2 where Judas actions are predicted, he is identified, and then dismissed. An exposition of John 13:21-30.

Jesus, at the close of the Sermon on the Mount, speaks some of the most frightening words in all of Scripture.  He draws a clean distinction between those who are saved and those who are deceived in thinking they are saved.He begins by explaining the narrow way to life and the broad way that leads to destruction (Matt. 7:13-14).  And many, He says, go the way of destruction.He then tells us we will know those who are deceived by the lack of fruit in their lives.  Spiritual fruit is the only evidence, according to Jesus, of true salvation (Matt. 7:15-20).Finally Jesus tells us many will be deceived on the Day of Judgment and be cast from the Lord's presence.  Why?  Because they "practiced lawlessness" (Matt. 7:21-23).Incredibly sobering words.  Want to hear more?  Then keep listening.The following is a study on True Salvation.