Podcasts about first century

This line from a popular Buffalo Springfield song sums up well the life of King Herod the Great. His insecurity and fear drove him to rule with a cruel hand, killing members of his own family and slaughtering the innocents in Bethlehem. This is not just First Century history; it is also a tale of our times. The worrisome rise of uncertainty and paranoia is causing many to look for scapegoats (anti-Semitism) and to demand an immediate fix for our problems. But it's the expanding rule and reign of King Jesus that is the best response to such recklessness, which, if left unchecked, will bring disaster upon us all.

A very Jewish Christmas pt 3 - why not in the first century?

THE HEADQUARTERS ON MOUNT ZION Colleague James Tabor. Tabor describes excavations on Mount Zion, identifying a first-century house foundation as the "upper room" and headquarters of the early movement. He visualizes Mary as the matriarch in this courtyard, welcoming pilgrims and apostles like Paul, and establishes James as the leader of this house synagogue. NUMBER 5

PREVIEW:  This audio excerpt features an interview with Professor Barry Strauss regarding his book, which chronicles the Jewish rebellion against Roman authority during the first century. The discussion focuses on the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD, led by Titus, the son of Emperor Vespasian. Although the Jewish resistance considered their capital an impregnable fortress due to its geographic defenses and abundant resources, the city remained vulnerable along its northern wall. Internal leadership struggles and incomplete fortifications ultimately hampered the rebels' ability to withstand the Roman military onslaught. This historical account highlights the intense defiance of the Judean people as they faced a concentrated effort by the Roman Empire to suppress their revolt. MORE LATER.

Today on Nephilim Death Squad, we're joined again by Jamie Dyer—researcher, author, and co-host of Jay's Analysis—for a deep dive into the Cults of the First Century and how ancient goddess worship, mystery religions, Rome, Babylon, and early Christian persecution mirror exactly what we're seeing in culture today.We cover:

IMMANUEL: Why the INCARNATION Makes Sense w/ Brian J. Crawford ✨

Pastor Kris Duerksen | Christmas (Part 1) | The Christmas Story from a First Century Perspective

The Early Church Headquarters on Mount Zion: Colleague James Tabor discusses archaeology on Mount Zion revealing a first-century foundation beneath a medieval church, likely the headquarters of the early movement, describing this as the home where James led the church and Mary hosted pilgrims, with Mary possibly living long enough to witness James's martyrdom. 1950 BEERSHEBA

Send us a textIn this episode of The Way of Valor, Angie Taylor sits down with Dr. Ward Sanford biblical historian, longtime scientist, and author of the historical novel series Cry for Jerusalem. With today's global focus on Israel and the Middle East, Dr. Sanford offers a timely and captivating look at the real first-century history that shaped Christianity, the Roman world, and the fall of Jerusalem.Drawing from decades of scientific research, deep historical study, and extensive work with the writings of Josephus, Dr. Sanford reveals:Why historical fiction can help us understand both history and faith more deeplyThe surprising real events that led to the Jewish revolt and the destruction of the TempleThe distinctions between Israel as a land, Judaism as a faith, and the Jewish people as a heritageHow early Christians, Jews, and Romans interacted in ways that bring the New Testament world to lifeWhat critics of the New Testament often get wrong and what the historical record actually showsHow his series intertwines real historical figures, fictional companions, and dramatic events to make history accessible for teens and adults alikeDr. Sanford also shares how his research strengthened his personal faith and gives a glimpse into his current work exploring the layout of Herod's Temple and the archaeology behind it.If you love history, biblical context, or stories that illuminate faith in fresh ways, this episode will draw you in and leave you wanting to learn more.Check out Dr. Ward Sanford's book series: cryforjerusalem.com/Connect with Angie Taylor on:IG: https://www.instagram.com/mrsangietaylor/?hl=enFB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090424997350

Chapter 6 in Hebrews today highlights the example of Abraham and his faith in God.  The events of his life illustrate the need for patience in waiting for God to fulfil his promises – and so we read, “Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise” [Ch. 6 v.15]. The account in Genesis shows how he and his wife Sarah's faith was tested to the limit before God's promise was fulfilled and Sarah herself gave birth to a son. This illustrates the ways of God in dealing with those he has called to serve him.  His purpose will be fulfilled in His time. This world is now so evil it offers us no future, not that it ever did.   Today's world has virtually nothing of any spiritual value; we see an ever more chaotic state of affairs in so many countries, political conflict is increasing in democratic countries.      Against this background, how true are the words we read in Hebrews about the certainty of the promise of God that “we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.  We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor” [Ch. 6 v.18,19]. Maybe we have not sensed (as yet) that we “have fled for refuge”?  Will we feel motivated for such action when the situation reaches that stage?We thought of this in contrast to the mariners in the ship with Jonah as we read today of their desperation when “there was a mighty tempest of the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up” [Ch.1 v.4], just as this world threatens to break up with the nations becoming more disunited than ever – within themselves and between one another.In the New Testament Jesus makes a strange statement in response to “the scribes and Pharisees … he answered them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah” [Matt.12 v.38,39] ; he states  that just as Jonah was in the “belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” [v.40].How few still believe that sign – and that Jesus died and rose again?  Yet the history of the rest of the First Century and thereafter defies explanation if that did not really happen.  This fact is “a sure and steadfast anchor” as to the reality of the foundation of our faith as the tempests of this world grow ever greater.

Custom Mary I wish I had a dollar for every time I've heard someone say, "It's just man's tradition. It's just a custom." At its worst misunderstanding, the tradition or custom is seen adversarial to Torah obedience and as evil. As a simply uninformed understanding, it's a lack of research or direction into how Yeshua taught and lived customs and traditions...of men.   For instance, the letter of the Torah does not say to go to a synagogue every Shabbat. But how should one "hear" the Word, which is a commandment? Synagogues were an answer to that question. The Torah was read every Shabbat, so Scripture tells us that Yeshua went to synagogue every Shabbat:   • And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. (Lk 4:16)   Yeshua wouldn't do something evil, so this was a good custom even if the Torah does not say, "Thou shalt enter the synagogue every Sabbath." How to differentiate among the direct mitzvah (commandment), the custom or tradition that helps one to do the mitzvah, and an outright tare? The answer comes from knowing that the Word is the seed from which we grow fruit and that the heart's intent is a vital indicator of the fruit grown from it. My offer to help with a Biblically sound way to look at customs and traditions for believers was to write the booklet: Truth, Tradition, or Tare: Growing in the Word.   This brings us back to our topic of hospitality over the last several weeks. Hospitality is how we invite the very Presence of Adonai into our homes, towns, and gatherings. In the following account of hospitality, the hostess is a woman named Martha, and she had a sister named Mary (Miriam). Custom dictated that a host or hostess like Abraham and Sarah provide a safe refuge, water for washing, and food and drink for their guests. It was customary. Traditional. Martha busied herself providing these customary things for Yeshua and his disciples, but Mary was more, well, I'm going to say it...not Custom Mary:   • Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” (Lk 10:38-42)   Martha was missing something in her hospitality, just as we can miss it in any custom or tradition we practice: why do we do it? To strengthen our relationship to the Holy One and His Word? Or to earn righteousness or the esteem of others through our own efforts?   Yeshua gently pointed out to Martha the important aspect of customary hospitality: it is to strengthen the relationship between the ministry of the Word and the recipients of the Word. To make it come alive. In this case, the Word was literally alive in Martha's home!   In fact, Yeshua would have greeted the home with peace when he entered, just as he instructed his disciples to do. Instead of receiving the peace, Martha remained in a state of worry and bother. She did not receive the blessing. Mary, however, was eating and drinking it in, getting to know what the Living Word should be in her life. The custom of hospitality is to enable Kingdom ministry, to provide a temporary little Temple sanctuary for the minister.   Martha was not wrong if she wanted to continue preparing food to serve the disciples, but she was wrong if it became contentious and destroyed the very relationships she should be strengthening with other believers. Yeshua was well able to perform a miracle of bread, oil, wine, fish, or any other meal she was serving. He'd certainly done it for others who offered what little they had, and so had Elijah. And I'm sure he was prepared to wait if her meal took longer. After all, he was there to grace her with his Presence, not to grade or promote her on culinary skills. He wanted her to drink him in!   To Martha, however, the customary, traditional way a woman of the First Century was viewed as valuable was in her domestic skills. To Yeshua, his custom was to invite all to sit and learn at his feet. Male, female, Jew, non-Jew, slave, free...all could learn and grow in the ministry of the Word. It was the better part of hospitality. It didn't negate the need to feed and house the visiting ministers, the other part, but it was the better part of the whole equation. Perhaps, Yeshua is saying, the point of the serving is forging peace with people and Heaven. Hospitality is the designated vehicle for it.   Yeshua didn't pick Martha's home so she could become righteous through serving; he picked her because she believed in him; she already was righteous. She just needed some extra training like he had to correct his other disciples on things like fighting over higher positions, water-walking, and poor demon management.   A righteous guest seeks a righteous home for hospitality, and he/she has the authority to bless that sanctuary home with peace:   • “Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, or a bag for your journey, or even two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support. And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city. As you enter the house, give it your greeting. If the house* is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet.” (Mt 10:9-15)      *”The House” is a euphemism for The Temple    Yeshua clarified hospitality: it is receiving by 1) providing refuge, food and drink, and water for washing as well as 2) receiving his Word. Yeshua had to remind Martha to receive the Word, too. The heart of the Temple was in the hidden place of the ark, the Word of the Torah emplaced between the two cheruvim where the Voice would speak. Out loud.   Hospitality is how the average person enters the holy Sanctuary to experience the Voice and Presence of Adonai through His designated ministers of the Word.   • “You shall keep My sabbaths and revere My sanctuary; I am the LORD.” (Le 19:30)   What did First Century Jews understand about this commandment? And why did Yeshua instruct his disciples so specifically about hospitality as they ministered in his name and authority?   Rashi explains it in his comments to Vayikra (Leviticus) 19:30:   • “'And revere my Sanctuary.' He should not enter the grounds of the Temple neither with his staff, nor with shoes on his feet, nor with his moneybelt, nor with the dust that is on his feet, i.e., he should not enter with dirty feet. And although I enjoin you to have reverence with regard to the Beit HaMikdash [Temple], nonetheless, ‘you shall observe my Sabbaths; the construction of the Beit HaMikdash does not override the Sabbath.”    Contextually, Rashi's point is that Sabbath will occur in every place for all time, and so commandments specific to the Temple services will be overridden by commands specific to Shabbat. As Yeshua understood about the magificent Temple, it would not long endure. Instead, the righteous of the earth would have to function as little sanctuaries in the nations where they lived and were sent. He would continue to build the Temple through them and to send the Presence, the Ruach HaKodesh.   In practice, Yeshua sent his disciples to continue his work; in order to do that work, they would need holy homes to provide Temple hospitality. For this, the home would need to be a “worthy” one. The family would need to conduct its daily life toward the preservation of holiness of Shabbat.    Such a family was fit for Kingdom ministers, and those minister-guests were obligated to treat it with the same courtesies as they would enter the Temple itself. Yeshua's requirements were identical to the customary Temple protocols for entry. A home that provided water to wash the feet was a prepared holy temple. As the repentant sinful woman washed Yeshua's feet with her tears, receiving his forgiveness, so a righteous home signaled receiving the guest with physical water as well as receiving the Word of shalom he or she brought to the house...and House.   The reverence of Shabbat is linked to entering the Temple itself, placing that home in a very high spiritual status, worthy of blessing for its hospitality.   The disciples would bless the homes of Custom Marys the same as they would proclaim blessings in the Temple, for the host was standing in to bless them as the priests would bless the tribes coming up to worship, and all, even those "night watcher" servants of exile from among the nations, offered blessings to YHVH.

Turkeys and Eagles, Part 5: Following Jesus Changes Everything in Our Families MESSAGE SUMMARY:    Series Overview: This Series has been looking at Paul's letter to the Ephesians to point out “Turkeyisms” – those things of our culture and some worldviews by which we may have been duped into beliefs inconsistent with the Gospel of Jesus or behaving in a manner that is not what Christianity is all about. This Series has pointed out some changes in our thinking needed to be like “Eagles” so that we can be the people that God wants and expects us to be. Today's Sermon: A look into Ephesians 5 provides a perspective on many “Turkeyisms”; however, the focus today is just on one: Turkey Thinking – “My Christianity has no effect on my family relationships, but my upbringing does”; but Eagle Thinking – My Christianity places me in the Kingdom of God with a radically different view of family relationships”. Being in the Kingdom of God Changes everything for those that follow Jesus. Marriage in America is having a rough time, and we can't say that Christian marriage is different. Too many of us, who say that we follow Jesus today, don't let Christianity follow us through the front door as we live our secular lives. In the First Century of the Ephesians, both Jewish and Greek laws greatly diminished the roles, respect for, and value of women. In the Roman world, of the same period, women and children were just passed around – women had many husbands. It was into this world of Judaism and Greco Roman culture that Jesus walked in; and we found Jesus respecting and honoring women. Jesus raised the status of women – Jesus brought a whole new way of thinking about family, marriage, children, and divorce into First Century culture that has provided an ethical context for two thousand years. In the same period and culture, Paul came along; and he set up churches. He wrote letters, which were written in the culture of this period, to the Christians in churches like the church in Ephesus. These early Christians were a part of the Kingdom of God – the blessed followers of Jesus – they were called to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to be imitators of Jesus. Therefore, followers of Jesus were to be vessels of His light to the world. Followers of Jesus were to be different from this culture of the period. By being different in their families, followers of Jesus would transform the culture (which, eventually, they did!!!). From Ephesians 5:21, we are to “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ”. “Submitting” is treating others like you wish to be treated. In Ephesians 5, Paul applies this principle of Christianity to the family (i.e. wives, husbands, and children) and to the workplace (i.e. employees). The Kingdom of God calls us to loving family relationships; therefore we, as followers of Jesus, are called to be different and not a part of the culture.   TODAY'S PRAYER: Lord, Sabbath rest is truly an unbelievable gift! Thank you that there is nothing I can do to earn your love; it comes without any strings attached. As I close my eyes for these few minutes before you, all I can say is, thank you! In Jesus' name, amen.    Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 133). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT. If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! Luke 11:13 SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV):  Ephesians 5:21-33, 6:1-4; John 4:25-28; Mark 10:6-10; Proverbs 31:10-31; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13.; Psalms 73a:1-14. SCRIPTURE REFERENCE SEARCH: www.AWFTL.org/bible-search/ WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH'S DAILY DEVOTIONAL – “For Jesus Followers, Fasting, with Food, Will Symbolize a Victory Over Oneself and Solidify a Personal Relationship with God”: https://awordfromthelord.org/devotional/ A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

Turkeys and Eagles, Part 5: Following Jesus Changes Everything in Our Families MESSAGE SUMMARY:    Series Overview: This Series has been looking at Paul's letter to the Ephesians to point out “Turkeyisms” – those things of our culture and some worldviews by which we may have been duped into beliefs inconsistent with the Gospel of Jesus or behaving in a manner that is not what Christianity is all about. This Series has pointed out some changes in our thinking needed to be like “Eagles” so that we can be the people that God wants and expects us to be. Today's Sermon: A look into Ephesians 5 provides a perspective on many “Turkeyisms”; however, the focus today is just on one: Turkey Thinking – “My Christianity has no effect on my family relationships, but my upbringing does”; but Eagle Thinking – My Christianity places me in the Kingdom of God with a radically different view of family relationships”. Being in the Kingdom of God Changes everything for those that follow Jesus. Marriage in America is having a rough time, and we can't say that Christian marriage is different. Too many of us, who say that we follow Jesus today, don't let Christianity follow us through the front door as we live our secular lives. In the First Century of the Ephesians, both Jewish and Greek laws greatly diminished the roles, respect for, and value of women. In the Roman world, of the same period, women and children were just passed around – women had many husbands. It was into this world of Judaism and Greco Roman culture that Jesus walked in; and we found Jesus respecting and honoring women. Jesus raised the status of women – Jesus brought a whole new way of thinking about family, marriage, children, and divorce into First Century culture that has provided an ethical context for two thousand years. In the same period and culture, Paul came along; and he set up churches. He wrote letters, which were written in the culture of this period, to the Christians in churches like the church in Ephesus. These early Christians were a part of the Kingdom of God – the blessed followers of Jesus – they were called to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to be imitators of Jesus. Therefore, followers of Jesus were to be vessels of His light to the world. Followers of Jesus were to be different from this culture of the period. By being different in their families, followers of Jesus would transform the culture (which, eventually, they did!!!). From Ephesians 5:21, we are to “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ”. “Submitting” is treating others like you wish to be treated. In Ephesians 5, Paul applies this principle of Christianity to the family (i.e. wives, husbands, and children) and to the workplace (i.e. employees). The Kingdom of God calls us to loving family relationships; therefore we, as followers of Jesus, are called to be different and not a part of the culture.   TODAY'S PRAYER: Lord, Sabbath rest is truly an unbelievable gift! Thank you that there is nothing I can do to earn your love; it comes without any strings attached. As I close my eyes for these few minutes before you, all I can say is, thank you! In Jesus' name, amen.    Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 133). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT. If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! Luke 11:13 SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV):  Ephesians 5:21-33, 6:1-4; John 4:25-28; Mark 10:6-10; Proverbs 31:10-31; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13.; Psalms 73a:1-14. SCRIPTURE REFERENCE SEARCH: www.AWFTL.org/bible-search/ WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH'S DAILY DEVOTIONAL – “For Jesus Followers, Fasting, with Food, Will Symbolize a Victory Over Oneself and Solidify a Personal Relationship with God”: https://awordfromthelord.org/devotional/ A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

PREVIEW Barry Strauss on Jews Versus Rome and the Siege of Jerusalem. Professor Barry Strauss discusses his new book, Jews Versus Rome, chronicling the rebellion of the Jews and their extreme defiance of Roman power in the first century. The core event is the siege of Jerusalem in 69 to 70 AD, when Titus, the son of Vespasian, was charged with defeating the city after his father departed to become emperor. Jerusalem was the religious center and a formidable fortress, impregnable on three sides, yet possessed a critical weakness: its northern wall. Despite the difficult siege ahead, the rebels believed they could withstand it, having laid up supplies, amassed considerable food stores, and secured access to a natural water source. Guest: Professor Barry Strauss. Retry

In this riveting discussion, Jeff talks to David Blease, Director of the Center for Israel at Gateway Church in Texas. They explore how Christianity, although entirely a Jewish sect in the First Century, became a separate religion that has largely lost its connection to Judaism. David Blease is an American pastor, Christian influencer, and podcast host. He is the Teaching Pastor at “Gateway Center for Israel” and a host for the “Covenant & Conflict” podcast series. David graduated from The King's University in 2016 with a degree in Christian Studies.In 2012, David attended the Gateway Conference, where he learned the Jewish context of scripture which significantly reshaped his understanding of the Bible. This newfound understanding helped deepen David's relationship with God, his passion for Israel, and his love for the Jewish people. He now dedicates much of his time to teaching the Church how to develop and foster a sincere love for Israel and the Jewish people. David Blease and his wife (Mikayla Blease) have three children and live in Dallas/Fort Worth.You can learn more about Center for Israel here: https://centerforisrael.com https://gatewaypeople.com/ Support the showIf you enjoy our podcast, please consider supporting the show HERE so that our Bible-based message about Israel can continue. God blesses those who bless Israel! We agree with God's Word that He will bless you richly in return! First Century Foundations is a Charity that supports ministries in Jerusalem and many other parts of the country of Israel. Our mission is to turn hearts around the world toward the land, people and God of Israel. LEARN MORE ABOUT US HERE. You can watch this entire episode on OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL! Make sure you subscribe so you can be notified of First Century Foundations' regular uploads!

A Sermon for the Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity Ephesians 6:10-20 by William Klock If you haven't noticed, we have a mouse problem.  Usually the mice stay to the attic or the crawlspace, but for some reason, this year, they've decided to go everywhere.  For the last six weeks I've been plugging holes and setting traps and experimenting with bait: everything from peanut butter to dog treats to Veronica and Meredith's maple fudge.  All to no avail.  They don't touch the traps, but they poop right next to them as if to say, “Do you really think we're that stupid?”  And Friday, Friday was the last straw.  The last while has seemed like a steady stream of setbacks and disappointments.  This week I was working on my book on preaching while sending feedback to a couple of guys I've been advising on preaching.  I've been really struggling with that book and this week, chatting with these two guys, I finally kind of identified the obstacle I've been running up against and I don't really know how to get around it, and that's left me frustrated and discouraged.  And the City of Courtenay.  They won't clear the leaves in their little “conservation” area anymore, so I cleared the sidewalks, but then Thursday's storm blew the leaves back even deeper, so Friday morning I was using a snow shovel to move them out as far away as I could from the church so the wind wouldn't blow them back and in the process I strained something in my leg.  And then the news coming out daily this week from ACNA and about bishops not doing what bishops are supposed to do and bishops allegedly doing things that bishops aren't supposed to do.  I was really, really discouraged on Friday.  I'm rarely tempted to give up, but Friday I was close.  And then I heard a noise, and I turned and saw a mouse dart across the room and into the storage cubicle in the Sunday School.  So I got up to see where the mouse went.  I didn't find it, but I did find the nest.  In the seasonal banners.  It was gross.  The mice had peed and pooped and chewed holes in them.  And that was it.  Stick a fork in me.  I'm done.  I packed up my things and went home.  I tried the Elijah therapy.  I had a snack and a nap.  It didn't really work. I came back yesterday morning to clean up the mouse mess.  I checked the traps first.  I wanted revenge.  But alas—nothing—as usual.  So I started sweeping and mopping and vacuuming and while I was doing that I was praying—mostly for the death of the mice.  But somewhere between the mopping and the vacuuming it hit me.  Of all the things wrong with the world and wrong with the church, it wasn't the mice.  People sin, bishops sin, I sin—but not the mice.  The mice, as annoying as they are, the mice are doing exactly what God created them to do.  They're upstairs peeing and pooping and chewing on the banners, because that's what God made them to do and in doing it they give him glory.  And while I was discouraged and tempted to just give up, they were happily doing their thing, not caring at all that I'm out to get them—laughing their little mouse laughs at me as they poop right next to my traps.  Looking for a new place to build a nest after I kicked them out of the last one.  And as I vacuumed up their poop St. Paul's words from our Epistle kept running around my head like a mouse on a wheel: Stand firm! I—we—need to be like the mice.  We need to be what Jesus has made us to be and in that we will give God glory.  And, of course, in doing that, we'll catch the attention of the enemy, who will do his best to oppose us, to discourage us, to persuade us to throw in the towel.  Our Epistle today is from Ephesians 6—just about at the end of the letter.  The first part of the letter is about who we are—or, better, who Jesus has made us through his death and resurrection.  In Chapter 2 Paul writes that if we belong to the Messiah—if we have put our faith, our trust, our allegiance in him—then we are already “seated with him in the heavenly places”.  If by faith we are in the Messiah, then that's who we are: we're part of God's new creation, seated with our king in glory.  But of course, this is one of those “already, but not yet” things.  It's begun, but it's not yet finished.  Think about it.  When he rose from death, Jesus won the decisive battle over sin and death.  But that doesn't mean the war is over.  Sin and death, the principalities and powers of the old evil age still, nevertheless, continue to fight on even though they've already lost.  It won't be over until the gospel and the Spirit have gone out to bring God's new creation to the ends of the earth—until the knowledge of his glory covers the earth as the waters cover the sea.  And here's the point that Paul is trying to make here at the end of Ephesians: Because we've been united with Jesus the Messiah, because what's true of him is true of us, because we are seated with him in the heavenlies, that means that we've been recruited to take part in this great messianic battle to carry the gospel and God's glory to the ends of the earth—to proclaim the victory Jesus won on the cross to the people who haven't yet heard that good news, who haven't yet heard that he's the world's true lord. And if we do this, we will face opposition.  That's why, when you make it clear for example, that your church isn't in the business of playing musical chairs with other churches, but about going out to proclaim and live the gospel to bring people to Jesus, the devils will fight you.  That's why, when you make it clear that you're not going to compromise with the philosophies, with the politics, with the systems of the world, the devils will fight you.  That's why, when you make it clear that you're going to live out new creation and make the glory of God known here and now, the devils will fight you.  They will fight you.  They will throw hurdles in your path.  They will go for the weakest link and they will cause your leaders to stumble and fall.  They will do whatever they can to discourage you and tempt you to throw in the towel. And so Paul writes to the Ephesian Christians and he says, “The one thing left to say is this: Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.”  Don't be strong in yourself.  That won't cut it.  Be strong in the Lord, because he's the one who has won the victory.  “Put on God's complete armour,” he says.  “Then you'll be able to stand firm against the devil's schemes.”  And, to be clear, it's the devil's schemes.  “The warfare we're engaged in, you see, isn't against flesh and blood.  It's against the principalities, against the powers, against the cosmic powers that rule the world in this dark age, against the wicked spiritual elements in the heavenly places.” I expect this took some time to sink in with Paul's original audience—especially his fellow Judeans.  It's not that they didn't believe there are unseen forces in the world.  That's a problem unique to people today with all of our post-enlightenment materialistic thinking.  If we can't see it, it doesn't exist.  People in the First Century knew better than us.  They knew there are spiritual powers we can't see.  The issue is that when we think of enemies, we almost always think of people.  It's the guy on the city council who wants to take away the tax exempt status of churches.  It's the people in the wrong political party.  It's the people in that foreign country that hate us.  It's the Communists or it's the Muslims or the alphabet people or the pronouns people.  Paul's people thought the same way.  Judeans thought it was the pagans.  Their enemies were the Greeks who tried to stamp out their way of life back in the Second Century B.C.  It was the Romans who presently ruled them and whose grip was getting tighter and tighter.  Paul knew that as persecution came to the churches at the hands of unbelieving Jews and pagan Greeks and Romans Christians would be tempted to start thinking the same way about them. And Paul's wanting them to understand here that none of those people is the real enemy.  Maybe they once were, but when Jesus died on the cross and rose again, he redefined the battle.  Jesus didn't go to the cross to defeat the Greeks or the Romans or the Communists or the Muslims.  He went to the cross to defeat sin and death and the powers of evil—those powers that, since the serpent tempted Eve, have infiltrated God's good creation and corrupted it, that have caused us to worship idols instead of God, that have caused us to forsake our vocation as the stewards of his creation and priests of his temple, that have caused us to turn on each other instead of loving each other as God loves us.  Jesus came like a new Adam to defeat not us, but the powers of evil, and in the process to forgive us for our rebellion and treason and to restore us to our old vocation, to do the job he created us for in the first place.  That's what it means to bear his image. And Paul knew that this meant Jesus has called us to fight at his side.  Not to fight the Greeks or the Romans or the Communists or the Muslims, but to fight the powers of evil, the principalities and powers and spiritual forces that have infiltrated creation and brought darkness where there should be light.  Again, at the cross he won the decisive victory, now he calls us into his gospel army to proclaim that good news.  To announce to the world that Jesus is Lord, that there is forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God through him if we will only come in faith and give him our allegiance.  The Greeks and the Romans, the Communists and the Muslims aren't the enemy.  It's the dark powers behind them.  And never forget that those dark powers were once working in us, too.  And they're often much closer to home—even doing their work of corruption in our own house—if you've followed the ACNA news the past couple of weeks.  But the good news is that Jesus can deliver those people, just as he delivered us. This, by the way, is why Jesus hasn't just done the war all at once.  Because God is patient, loving, and gracious he's chosen to fight this war over the long term, giving the whole world the opportunity to hear and respond to the good news about Jesus.  Giving time for the gospel and the Spirit to infiltrate the systems and powers and people of this old evil age to undo what sin and death have done. So, Paul writes, stand firm and be prepared to fight—the real enemy.  And for that he says we need to take up the whole armour of God.  That's verse 13.  And this is really telling.  If you were paying attention when we read the Old Testament lesson this morning—the one from Isaiah 59—what Paul says here should sound familiar.  Through Isaiah the Lord promised that he would send a redeemer to set the world to rights.  Our Old Testament lesson is a promise of the coming Messiah, of Jesus.  Here's what we read: “‘The Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him. He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak. According to their deeds, so will he repay, wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies; to the coastlands he will render repayment…And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,' declares the Lord.” Jesus was the first one to put on this armour and now, because we're united with him, because he's made us part of his new creation, and because he's called us to enter the battle and to stand firm against the darkness, he shares his armour with us—otherwise we wouldn't be able to stand at all.  And here's the armour as Paul describes it in Ephesians, starting again at 6:13: “For this reason you must take up the whole armour of God.  Then, when wickedness grabs the moment, you'll be able to withstand, to do what needs to be done, and still be on your feet when it's over.  So stand firm!  Put the belt of truth around your waist; put on justice/righteousness as your breastplate; for shoes on your feet, ready for battle, take the good news of peace.  With it all take the shield of faith; if you've got that, you'll be able to quench the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is God's word.” It starts with truth.  A Roman soldier's belt or girdle was sort of the thing that everything else attached to or hung from.  Put on truth as your belt.  Everything else depends on that.  In Isaiah's vision the Messiah was to come to set this broken world to rights and that begins with the truth.  The reason the world is in the mess it's in is because we believed the serpent's lie—that we could be like God.  Brother and Sisters, the truth is that that's idolatry.  Every other sin cascades from that.  The great lie that permeates the world is that we can do and be whatever we want.  That we can make our own reality and define goodness for ourselves.  But Jesus has come to remind us of the truth—the truth of the original creation and the truth of God's new creation.  And so before we go to battle evil, we've got to tie that truth around us.  The gospel isn't about our feelings; it's not what we make it; it's not about what we think might offend or not offend people; it's about the truth, the reality of God's goodness and his good creation and his purpose to set it and us to rights revealed in the good news about Jesus.  Tie that on and the rest follows naturally. Second, as a breastplate, put on God's justice or righteousness—remember in Greek they're the same word.  It's a reminder that at the heart of the gospel is God's plan to set this broken world to rights—to undo everything that's wrong, to undo all the sad things, to wipe away all the tears—ultimately and eventually to wipe every last bit of evil and sin and darkness from creation and even death itself.  And it's a reminder that when God raised Jesus from death, he overturned the world's false verdict against him and declared him to be in the right—and that if we are united with him, then we share in that verdict, in his vindication. And then for our shoes: peace.  “How beautiful are the feet of the one who announces peace…who says to Zion, Your God reigns.”  This is the place where Paul changes that Old Testament image from Isaiah.  Instead of vengeance, he calls us to put on peace.  The Jews wanted vengeance on their enemies, but Paul's reminding us that the Messiah, through his death, has reconciled us to God.  He's given us peace.  And that peace isn't just for us; it's for everyone.  And it's on our feet.  We stand on it.  The enemy will try to knock us down by making us think we're in this for vengeance—that we need to go after the Greeks or the Romans or the Communists or the Muslims, but if we stand on peace, on reconciliation with God, we will stand firm and remember that our fight is not with flesh and blood, but with the devil. The fourth bit of armour is the shield of faith.  In the ancient world an enemy might shoot flaming arrows at you, so you soaked your wooden shield in water.  We soak our shield in faith.  That means in the faithfulness of Jesus the Messiah and in our own responding faith—remembering that he's won the victory and trusting that he will empower us to stand firm in this gospel battle and win in the end.  And that goes with the helmet of salvation—like a gospel thinking cap, it reminds us Jesus has rescued the captives.  You and I no longer belong to sin and death, but to the Messiah.  It reminds us, too, why we're waging this battle: to free the men and women still captive, still slaves to sin and death. So far this armour is all for defence.  The Christian has only one offensive weapon and that should remind us about the nature of this battle.  It's not against flesh and blood, but against the unseen forces of evil that infiltrate the systems and institutions of the world.  Our sword, the weapon by which we advance the kingdom of God is the word.  In Isaiah 11:4 the Messiah smites the earth with the rod of his mouth and slays the wicked with the breath of his lips.  It's a wonderful illustration of the power of God's word and God's Spirit—not violence, but his creative and life-giving word—to free and to transform and to set the broken world right as it confronts the great lie with God's truth. But our Epistle doesn't quite end there.  Truth and justice, peace and faith, salvation and the word are all essential if we are going to stand firm.  To take up these things is to be the people that Jesus has made us through our union with him.  But union is about more than putting these things on, it's about real, literal union—or communion—with him.  We need to talk with our commander.  And so, in verses 18-20 Paul writes: “Pray on every occasion in the Spirit, with every type of prayer and intercession.  You'll need to keep awake and alert for this, with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.  And also for me.  Pray that God will give me his words to speak when I open my mouth, so that I can make known, loud and clear, the secret truth of the gospel.  That after all, is why I'm a chained-up ambassador.  Pray that I may announce it boldly; that's what I'm duty-bound to do.” Paul was in prison because of his preaching, because he'd put on the armour of God and because he'd proclaimed God's truth.  But he knew that prison could not stop the march of the gospel and so he asked his brothers and sisters to pray for him—and not only for him, but live prayer, because that's what it means to be united to Jesus and to be baptised in God's Spirit—to be in constant communion with God.  It's not just about formal prayer—like when you sit down with your Prayer Book and your Bible and you prayer the prayers and pray the Psalms.  It's a life saturated with the presence of God and with communion with him. I don't know how it works.  I don't think anyone does.  I've read books and books on prayer and it remains a mystery, but the best ones all conclude: I don't know how it works, but I know it works.  Prayer doesn't change God—as if somehow hearing from me causes him to realise that my ideas and my plans are better than his.  But prayer changes things and it changes me and it changes us and things—kingdom things, grace things, glory things—happen when we pray and live in that communion with God. Brothers and Sisters, to pray is to act on and to live out the reality of Jesus' cross and of the new creation he's made us.  It's to know that, through Jesus and the Spirit, we can now walk with God the way Adam and Eve once did.  That we live in his presence and in his grace and in his love.  It's to know that he is our strength.  And so to pray, is to be what he has made us, it's to consciously reject our rebellion and sin, and to be his new creation.  The mice—they know nothing of sin, nothing of rebellion.  Mice have always been what God made them in the beginning.  And, like I said, because of that, mice give him glory even when they're just doing the ordinary things mice do.  We, on the other hand, rejected that life.  Jesus has given it back, but it's a struggle.  That's why Paul urges us to put on God's truth and justice, his righteousness and peace.  And it's why he urges us to pray without ceasing.  Because reliance on God is the only way we'll put to rest our old nature and be able to live into the new one he's given.  To pray is to look back to the cross in gratitude and to look forward in hope to God's new world, and find our life and our strength and everything else that matters in him—so that we can stand firm and so that we can glorify him. So, Brothers and Sisters, stand firm.  Stand firm and be the new creation that Jesus has made us.  Remember that we stand with our king in the battle, but that this battle is not against flesh and blood.  It's against the dark powers that corrupt flesh and blood, that make us hate and that make us enemies of one another.  Stand firm in God's truth and justice, stand firm in his peace and his salvation.  And confront the world with the good news of Jesus, crucified and risen.  And pray, pray, pray, remembering that he is with us and that he is our strength and our hope. Let's pray: Merciful Lord, grant to your faithful people pardon and peace; that we may be cleansed from all our sins, and serve you with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

These days you can go online and find review of almost everything - from hotels and restaurants to barbershops, and even churches. Those types of reviews can be helpful, but they are highly subjective. But, what if there was a definitive review of specific churches given not by religious consumers, but by Jesus Himself? That is, in fact, what we find in the seven letters Jesus wrote to the seven churches of Asia Minor in the First Century. While these letters were written to specific churches in a specific time and place, they have enduring relevance for every church in every time and place. We begin with the church in Ephesus - a church with much to commend…and one glaring weakness.https://midtownchurch.com/

Jesus said that we're not blessed when we get, but when we give. This Sunday we're talking about generosity: of our time, our talent, our treasure.We'll see how giving reflects God's heart, builds our faith, and straight up blesses people. Choosing generosity isn't about ROI, but a shift of the heart and mind. It's a choice to trust God and join Him in blessing those who can't pay us back.If you've been stuck in scarcity thinking, this message will help you breathe again. You'll find freedom in learning to give generously. You'll discover the irrational joy found in open-handed living.Series: Making ChangeSpeaker: Jeremy NortonScripture: Acts 20:32–38Timestamps:00:00 - Think about the last time you opened a gift.03:44 - Generosity if a struggle for most people.05:19 - Let's jump back into Acts 20.08:05 - Coming back to Scripture, many Biblical texts reinforce the call to generosity.12:46 - Okay, so we've established a lot of Scriptural evidence, but how does generosity play out in the local church?15:38 - Now, Paul's writing to the First Century church. (What about today?)19:08 - Application steps22:34 - Prayer23:10 - Updates#jesus #lord #makingchange #giving #time #talent #treasureSupport the show

John 9:1-12As [Jesus] walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man's eyes, saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.' Then I went and washed and received my sight.” They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.” [I chose this morning's Gospel, not because I'm going to spend a lot of time unpacking it, directly, in response to today's question. I chose it – with the notion of Science and Scripture in mind – to simply show the gulf that exists between the life and times of Jesus in the First Century, and our own day and age. And how differently we are invited to understand Scripture because of that.The short of the long – and the obvious expression of this – is to see how the people around Jesus believed that that man's blindness was the result of divine judgment for his sins – or for the sins of his parents – and how he was cast-out and ostracized because of it. We know so much more than that now – and so did Jesus, it seems. Which is why his healing – and the point of the story – wasn't about a health problem or a physical defect.Just like those First Century onlookers, we want to pretend this story is about sickness or science, when really it's all about the forgiveness of sins and showing how wide and merciful God's love and forgiveness was, is, and can be, when we share it.]Anyway, shifting gears somewhat to today's question, which came through in a variety of ways from a variety of sources: Grace Notes, some conversations, the Men's Bible Study crew, and even a second-hand text from one of our college kids by way of his mother.I had tried to address it when we kicked off our last sermon series – the one from July, about Genesis, and the primeval mythology of its first 12 chapters. I threw out the phrase “LITERAL v. LITERATE,” and throughout that series Pastor Cogan and I tried to unpack the way those stories in Genesis (Creation, The Flood, The Fall, The Tower of Babel) speak to larger, universal, cosmic Truths, even if we aren't required to receive them as historically or scientifically accurate accounts.So, here is a list of the several questions we tried to summarize and roll up into today's single query:One was a series of non-sequiturs, asking about Creation in 7 days versus Evolution and the Big Bang Theory, dinosaurs, and how people add up the life-lengths and say that is the age of the earth, …etc.There was a reference to “Talking snakes,” the Nephilim, and the plural use of God in Genesis 3:22 – where God was apparently concerned that Adam and Eve would become like “one of us.”Did God actually walk in The Garden with Adam and Eve?How do you reconcile “time” in the Bible, including the ages of people? (Like how did Abraham live to be 175 years? Or Moses 120? Or Adam 930? Or Methuselah 969?)I don't want to be too simplistic, or to dismiss the thoughtfulness and concern over these kinds of questions. But I have to say that faithful people – especially rationally-thinking, scientifically-minded faithful people – have been making more of this than is necessary for far too long. It can be fun to do, don't get me wrong. And there may even be meaning to be found in some of it.But all of the math, numerology, guess-work and mental gymnastics it takes to “make sense of” what are often nothing more than literary devices or culturally particular context clues or plain-old hyperbole reminds me of the way Swifties dissect Taylor Swift's liner notes, album covers, wardrobe changes, or even the tchotchkes on the wall behind her during that interview with the Kelce brothers a couple of weeks ago. Again, it can be fun. And every once in a while you might find an Easter egg. But you don't have to go into those weeds in order to enjoy or find meaning in the music's big picture.The short of the long – where the Bible is concerned, is – we don't need to get into those weeds, do all of that math, or believe that Moses lived to be 120. Or that Methusela died at the ripe old age of 969. Or that Noah built a boat big enough to hold two of every creature on the planet, including the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Or that God jumped off of a cloud to walk with Adam and Eve.(For the record, even though I don't believe God left actual footprints in Eden, I did have a moment once at the cemetery in Lindsay, Ohio, where my maternal grandparents are buried, to the degree that I think I know what Genesis means when it says they heard the sound of God “walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze.”)Nonetheless, we don't always have to connect all of those confusing, confounding impossible dots, either.To put it plainly, the Bible is not a science book – and it doesn't pretend or need to be. Every part of it isn't a history book, either – and it doesn't pretend or need to be. The Bible is a book of books – oral history, letters, poems, songs, stories, prophecies, and more, that never intended to be collected, assembled, and bound into a single tome. Humans did that. Male humans – with power and privilege – did that. And we should be wary of what male humans with power and privilege can do with things like science, history, and the stories of people. (That may be another sermon or another day.)But in spite of that … still … by the grace of God, the Bible is beautiful and points us toward God's love and plan for creation at every turn – or it should. And that is how I hope we are inclined and inspired to read, receive, and report what we find in God's word through the pages of Scripture.Now, bear with me, but another way I have explained this, is to tell the story of my dad's Caesar Salad. My dad makes a mean Caesar Salad. It's been a while since I've had it, but growing up it was a staple, whenever we had family or friends over for a nice dinner. The dressing is made with, among other things, a raw egg, Worcestershire sauce, a ton of garlic, lemon juice, and anchovy paste. And even though I can picture him whipping up this concoction a million times while I was growing up, I never really realized or thought about what I was eating, until I asked for the recipe, the first time I tried to impress Christa for a Valentine's Day dinner when we were just dating, 500 years ago, back in the 1900's.(See what I did there? That's the kind of hyperbole that makes a point, without needing to be historically accurate. Bible writers did that too.)Anyway, the problem was, my dad never used a recipe when he made his Caesar Salad, so his instructions, delivered by e-mail and then over the phone, were more than a little vague. There were no measuring cups or Table spoons involved. It was, “Use one egg or two depending how much lettuce you have.” It was, “Use a lot of garlic. You can't really use too much garlic.” It was, “Throw in a couple of splashes of Worcestershire sauce.” And it was, “Squeeze a line of anchovy paste into it, about the length of a couple of knuckles.”Actually, the clearest – and most meaningful – instruction I received that first time around, after giving him grief for how impossibly unclear he was, was when he said, “Mark, you know what it's supposed to look and taste like when it's finished. Just make it like that.”All of this is to say – again – in answer to the question about if and how we are able to square Science with Scripture – is that we don't have to.Martin Luther described the Bible as a cradle that merely, but meaningfully, bears the Christ child. And it is a liberating relief for me to say that we don't worship the words in a book, we worship the Word made flesh, in Jesus.We worship Jesus – and the unmitigated, radical, counter-cultural, uncomfortable love and grace he shares. The love of God in Jesus is to be the heart and soul and goal of whatever we're reading into and pulling out of Holy Scripture. We are reading the Bible faithfully – we square science and scripture (or we liberate ourselves from checking our brains at the door or from trying to cram square pegs into round holes) – when and only when, the crucified and risen Jesus, the loving and living God, is what we receive and share through our best interpretations and our most humble understandings of what we find in its pages.My dad suggested that I'd know it when I saw it, tasted it, presented it, and shared his version of a Caesar Salad with Christa. Throughout Holy Scripture we are invited to see a whole picture of God's love and grace, in Jesus. Some stories seem harsh and unforgiving. Some are packed with immeasurable grace. So many ancient tales just can't be reconciled with our modern understanding of how the world works.But when we toss them all together and when we turn them over in our minds with hearts set on God's larger story and finished product of love, mercy, forgiveness, and hope, these stories tell a story of grace for the whole wide world that can't be measured or made sense of, no matter how hard we try to do the math or crunch the numbers. It all only makes sense and measures up by grace, through faith – not because of the words in a book, but because of in the Word of love, made flesh, in Jesus Christ our Lord.Amen.

John 7:25-52,Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? 26 And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? 27 But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” 28 So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. 29 I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” 30 So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. 31 Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. 34 You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,' and, ‘Where I am you cannot come'?”37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.40 When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” 43 So there was a division among the people over him. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? 48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”It's a busy time of year! It marks the ending of one season and the beginning of another — and so there's a lot of excitement in the air! People are grateful for how God has provided in the past; they're hopeful for how God will provide in the future. And that of course is what the Feast of Booths is all about — that's what's going on here in Jerusalem in John Chapter 7.We saw the mention of “The Feast of Booths” last week in verse 2, but I want to circle back to it this week because it's vital context for our passage today.The Feast of Booths was one of the great festivals that God commanded for Israel in the Book of Leviticus. The people would build booths (temporary shelters) and live in them for a week to remember how God provided for them way back after the exodus, and how he continued to provide for them (see Lev. 23:33–43; Deut. 16:13–15).This feast would come at the end of the agricultural year — the seventh month — which is roughly September on our calendar. So for your imagination: the events of our passage today happened around this time of year.So picture this: Jerusalem is packed with people who've come from all-over for this festival; all the kids got on their new back-to-school clothes; and they're having a week-long party — except this year was different because the whole city is abuzz with talk about this man named Jesus. And we can catch the commotion here just by a simple reading — we heard about Jesus's brothers at the start of this chapter, and then we hear about “the Jews,” “the people,” “the crowds,” “some of the people of Jerusalem,” “the Pharisees,” “the chief priests,” “the officers,” “the authorities,” and finally “Nicodemus.”Now there's overlap in some of these groups, but John uses each of these different words to describe what's going on, and the impression he gives us is that there's a whole bunch of different people talking about Jesus. They all want to know who he is, and everybody's got their own opinion. So Chapter 7 is a cacophony of questions about Jesus, and he's right in the middle of it … and we are too.This is the brilliance of God's word. As the readers of this story, we know things that the characters in this story don't know. We call this dramatic irony — and John, who wrote this Gospel, is a master of it! John lets us overhear everyone's questions about Jesus, all while he's already told us the truth about Jesus — we have the fuller perspective, and John means to involve us! He draws us into this story as readers and he gives us a part — there are ways he expects us to respond. I wanna tell you three.For the sermon, I want to tell you three ways we should respond to the buzz about Jesus in Chapter 7. And here's what's at stake: if you do these three things, it will change your life. 1. Give Jesus a hearing. We're going to actually start with the ending. Everybody find verse 45. This is the last debate of the chapter, between the chief priests, the Pharisees, and the officers. We see that word “officers” a few times. Other translations call these officers the “temple guard” or even “temple police.” We should imagine them as basically temple mall cops. Their job was to keep things in order around the temple, but they didn't carry guns.And well, back in verse 32, the chief priests and Pharisees told these temple mall cops to go arrest Jesus. The Pharisees kept hearing the crowds talk about Jesus and they had enough, so they said, Go get him and bring him in. Now everybody look at verse 45: The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!”The chief priests and Pharisees did not like this answer. The mall cops came back without Jesus, and their defense for why they didn't arrest him was: This man is different! We don't know the full details here, but apparently these guys got close enough to Jesus to take him, but they were enamored by his words (which is a good first step toward faith) — but the Pharisees weren't having it. They attacked these guys. Look at verse 47: The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.”The Irony of NicodemusNow this is important — I need everybody to track with me here. In verse 47, I want you to see that the Pharisees are suggesting a contrast between themselves and the crowd — and we have to see the contrast in order to see the deep irony going on here.When the Pharisees ask if the authorities or Pharisees believed in Jesus, that's a rhetorical question (the implied answer is Of course not!).They're saying: The crowd might believe in Jesus because they don't know any better — they're a bunch of dummies! But we're smart! (That's my paraphrase.) Let me read you another paraphrase of these verses, to help us really see what's going on here. Verse 46: The police answered, “Have you heard the way he talks? We've never heard anyone speak like this man.” The Pharisees said, “Are you carried away like the rest of the rabble? You don't see any of the leaders believing in him, do you? Or any from the Pharisees? It's only this crowd, ignorant of God's Law, that is taken in by him—and damned.” (Verses 46-49, The Message)See what they're saying?That is all meant to set up verse 50. Everybody find verse 50.Okay, somebody tell me the first word in verse 50 … Nicodemus!Interesting! We know who he is! We met Nicodemus back in Chapter 3. John tells us in John 3:1,“Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.” Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a ruler, which were different. There's historical evidence that confirms that Nicodemus belonged to an extremely prominent Jewish family in the First Century. They had incredible wealth and aristocratic influence — in almost every worldly metric you could imagine. Nicodemus was a big deal.And in Chapter 3, he came to Jesus one night, in private, with a bunch of questions. And Jesus told him that you have to be born again by the Holy Spirit, and he told him that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus said that to Nicodemus, but then Nicodemus disappears from the story. We don't know how he responded … he doesn't show back up until now, in Chapter 7, verse 50. So catch this:The Pharisees say: Look, knuckleheads! You don't see any of us Pharisees believing in Jesus do you?The next verse starts, “Nicodemus …” Verse 50,Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?”This is the most reasonable sentence spoken by any of the characters in this chapter. Nicodemus says, Give him a hearing. It's that simple. Before you dig in your heels on who you think Jesus is, hear him out. See what he's about.Nicodemus is basically saying, Do what I did. The Pharisees think none of their own have believed in Jesus, but they don't know what we know! Actually, one of their best and brightest had believed, and in verse 50 he's telling them how he took that step: Give Jesus a hearing. Said for Us!And I want us to understand that Nicodemus says this for us. The Pharisees don't budge. They're that hardened. They even take a dig at Nicodemus in verse 52 by saying he's from Galilee — they know where Nicodemus was from. They're insulting him. So the Pharisees don't hear Jesus; the question is: will we?Will we hear Jesus out?We have to. You've heard me say this before about the late Tim Keller — a pastor in New York for decades. I agree with him when he said the magnitude of Jesus's claims and the magnitude of his historical impact demands every thoughtful person to hear him out. Because of what Jesus said and what he did, you can't just doubt him from a distance, you have to look closer. Keller gives the illustration: he says imagine you get a letter in the mail from one of the biggest law firms in the country and it says, “Dear [your name], Please call us as soon as possible. You are a long-lost heir of the British throne. These assets and mansions belong to you.” You might think that's ridiculous, but you're going to look into it, right? You're gonna at least make a phone call? The magnitude of the claim is too great not to hear it out.And so it is with Jesus. We must at least hear him out. That's what Nicodemus says. Give Jesus a hearing.This is the second way we should respond to this story …2. Give Jesus your thirst.Jump back to verse 37. Verses 37–39 are the high point of this chapter. It's the concluding words of Jesus in this scene, and I want you to notice something in verse 37 — Jesus didn't just reply and give an answer this time, but he stood up and “cried out” — and that same word for “cry out” in verse 37 is translated “proclaim” in verse 28. It's the exact same verb in verses 28 and 37 and it means to say something with a loud voice.So if we were to track the speaking moments of Jesus in this chapter, from the start of the chapter to its end, it goes like this … it starts in verse 6. Verse 6: “Jesus said to them”Verse 16: “Jesus answered them”Verse 21: “Jesus answered them”Verse 28: “Jesus proclaimed”Verse 37: “Jesus stood up and proclaimed”There's an escalation happening. Jesus literally gets louder until in verse 37 he stands up and gets loud. So this is the high point! All eyes are on him!And the setting, again, is important. Verse 37 starts by telling us this happened “On the last day of the feast, the great day” — What feast? What is John talking about?This is the Feast of Booths — remember verse 2? The “Feasts of Booth was at hand” — and now in verse 37 John is making a connection between that feast and what Jesus says here. So what is that? What's the connection?Pointing to HimWell, remember the Feast of Booths was about recognizing God's provision for Israel after the exodus. Israel wandered through the desert for forty years and God met their needs, and one of those big needs, we know, was water. The people were thirsty and God gave them water to drink — and part of this feast highlighted that provision! So we know that on this last day of the feast, people were thinking about water. The people were remembering and celebrating God's provision of water in the wilderness, and so with water literally on their minds, Jesus stands up in the middle of that and he cries out:“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink! Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'”Jesus is saying he's the one this feast has been pointing to this whole time. It's always been about him. He is God's true and ultimate provision for our ultimate thirst!It's amazing that Jesus did this. He caused this scene and said these words to make clear that the people's thirst is not just a thing of history, but they still thirst. He knows it. They know it. There is no modesty here. No riddles to solve. No hard sayings. Jesus is yelling. He's loud:If you're thirsty — and I know you thirst — that's why I've come!And I can almost hear the earnestness in his voice — hoarse with sincerity … heavy with seriousness … hopeful to save. He's speaking both invitation and fact. And everyone hears him, but do we hear him? Do we learn what he does?Mining Our Own ThirstImagine your own life for a minute. Something true about all of us, as human beings, is that we are glory-chasers and pleasure-seekers. This means we all want to matter and we all want to be happy. I know that about you. We all have this desire, this void, this thirst, and we can't help but try to fill it. That's what we're all doing, all the time, but the problem is that left to ourselves, we try to satisfy that thirst with everything but God. And this is not only misguided, it's evil. That's the way the Bible talks about it. The prophet Jeremiah says, Jeremiah 2:12, Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, 13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:12–13)Do you see? In our sin, we reject God, we abandon him, but then we go looking everywhere else for the satisfaction only he can provide. And we don't just do this one time, but over and over again. Every time we sin we are looking for the God we've forsaken. It's been said that when the young man rings the doorbell at a brothel he's actually looking for God. So what doorbells are you ringing? Where are you letting your thirst take you?I ask this for Christians and non-Christians. How badly do you want the approval of man? Do you crave relationships at all costs? Do you compromise conviction for thrills?Think about this, and I want you to imagine that in the middle of all of it, in the middle of everywhere you might be searching, Jesus is there and he stands up.In the noise of the crowd and the silence of your room, in the pressure of your work and the ache of your heart, in the high places of success and the low places of failure — Jesus stands up in that and he says over all those things, “If you thirst come to me. Come to me and drink.”Let's hear him. And then give him your thirst … right now. If you've never put your faith in Jesus, you can do that now. Just tell him.I don't wanna thirst anymore. I'm done with this search. Jesus, I believe in you. I rest in you. That is the invitation of our passage today. Give Jesus a hearing; give Jesus your thirst; and here is #3 — give Jesus to others. 3. Give Jesus to others. This is the verse 38. Jesus says that whoever believes in him, as the Scripture has said, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”And right away, we should just name it. This is not what we would maybe want Jesus to say. We might think something else would fit better, something like:Believe in me and live happily ever after! — wouldn't that be nice?!Believe in me and your house won't burn, your wife won't get cancer, your children won't be sick … Believe in me and you won't be condemned — and that's true, Jesus has said that — but here he says if you believe in him, it's not about what you get but what you can give. You will have living water flowing out of your heart! And John adds in verse 39 a little clue for us: Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit. Everyone who believes in Jesus will receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus will say a lot more about the Spirit in Chapter 14, but I'll go ahead and tell you one thing he says: he says the Holy Spirit is God the Father and God the Son making their home in you (John 14:13). The Holy Spirit is the love of the triune God poured into your heart — and how do you think that looks?Stagnant Pond or Flowing River?This summer my family spent a few days at my parents' house in North Carolina. They live in the country: fields, woods, paths, and ponds. And there's this big pond tucked way down out of sight. You go down this path, past an old house, deep into the woods, and then suddenly there's an opening and there it is. It's a big pond (probably called a lake in Minnesota). It's named after my great-grandfather. And it used to be the place to go. It had a sandy beach and they built a tall diving board — 50 years ago my mom and her friends would hang out there. But you'd never know that now. It's been inactive for years, and it shows. The edges of the pond is covered in green algae, the surface is spooky still, mosquitoes rule the place. The water looks dead and you've seen water like that before — now is that your heart? Is your heart more like a stagnant pond or is it like a river? …The Holy Spirit makes one kind of heart. Saved to GiveJesus says that the one who believes in him, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water! So he satisfies you and then he pours out through you into the lives of others. Now what does that mean? How does that look?How does the Spirit in us affect the way we relate to others? We know it must mean the fruit of the Spirit! The Spirit makes us people of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness , faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The Spirit produces all of those things in our hearts in our relationships with others, but really, ultimately, the Spirit in us means that we give Jesus to people. That's what we're trying to do.Jesus has given us himself to be shared. He has poured his Spirit into our lives to flow through us into the lives of others. We get more of him so that others get him through us! Don't you want to live that way?! We're just a conduit of God's grace for others!Look, God doesn't save you for yourself — he saves you for his glory and your good — and your good is realized not in your getting, but in your giving!And church, some of you need to hear that because you think you don't have anything to give. You've been fooled or discouraged into thinking your heart is a stagnant pond, but it's not. Not according to Jesus. Christian, you have the Holy Spirit. Let today be the day God stirs anew the living water in your heart. Hey, it's a busy time of year. It's the end of one season and beginning of another — and there's a lot of excitement in the air. We start school tomorrow. And church, for this new season, let's ask God for a fresh filling of his Spirit! That's what we need! For his glory and our good! Here's how we respond to the buzz about Jesus in Chapter 7: Give Jesus a hearing.Give Jesus your thirst.And by his Spirit flowing in us, give Jesus to others. And we come to this Table in that hope.The TableThis Table is about receiving — we receive Jesus and his fellowship, and remember all that he's done for us in his life, death, and resurrected life. But we don't receive him to stop here. We receive him and then overflow!

Today we start reading Paul's letters to the Corinthians. The believers there had been converted from the foolish philosophies of the Greeks who believed in a spirit after-life; also in many gods of their imagination – of whom they erected idols. We have had a parallel experience in going into Indian temples in recent years..Paul says, “The Jews demand signs and the Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and folly to the Gentiles.”  We can understand their reaction to a message built around a man who was crucified!   But that was the ‘bare bones' of the picture!What a wonderful meaning to life and of hope in the future sprang from the terrible event at Calvary that we have just read in Mark's Gospel.  The next words of Paul are, “but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” [ch.1 v.22-25]Paul then asks them to “consider your calling, brothers; not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.  But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” [v.28,29]   The scribes and the Pharisees were brought to nothing!The worldly wise indulge in another kind of boasting today – that, in the ‘wisdom' they have acquired through present human ‘scientific' deductions,  they have come to the ‘knowledge' that there is NO God!   In contrast, our wisdom is to recognise what turned the thinking in the world of the First Century upside down – as to the meaning of life; “It was not a wisdom of this age” [2 v.6] says Paul, then he stresses that, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is from God, that we might understand the things freely given to us by God.  And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom, but taught by the Spirit… [v.12,13]And God's Spirit caused Paul and the other apostles to write things down so that we can feed our minds on this spirit inspired word.  Remember how Jesus told his disciples, “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” [John 6 v.63]  Let us make sure our minds carefully and prayerfully feed on God given food every day.

Chad Bird joins Erick and Dan to discuss the first-century context of the book of Acts. Have a listen. Show Notes: Support 1517 Podcast Network 1517 Podcasts 1517 on Youtube 1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts 1517 Events Schedule 1517 Academy - Free Theological Education  What's New from 1517: Sinner Saint by Luke Kjolhaug The Impossible Prize: A Theology of Addiction by Donavan Riley Ditching the Checklist by Mark Mattes Broken Bonds: A Novel of the Reformation, Book 1 of 2 by Amy Mantravadi More from the hosts: Daniel Emery Price Erick Sorenson

In this episode of the Mutuality Matters podcast from CBE International, hosts Mimi and Charel speak with Dr. Jeannine Brown who discusses the pressing need to interpret the Biblical text of 1 Peter 3:1–7 within its first-century Greco-Roman context. Dr. Brown emphasizes the importance of understanding the cultural and historical background behind the passages on submission, particularly 1 Peter 3:1–7. She explores how Peter's household codes provide agency to often marginalized groups like wives and slaves, contrary to the hierarchical norms of the time. The conversation underscores the relevance today of recognizing and respecting context while interpreting Biblical texts—an essential factor for both scholars and modern readers.    00:00 Introduction to Mutuality Matters  00:02 Exploring the Context of Submission in 1 Peter  00:49 Welcome and Introductions  01:33 Reading and Analyzing 1 Peter 3:1-7  02:57 Cultural Background and Interpretation  03:37 Household Codes in the Greco-Roman World  07:24 Missional Moments and Divided Households  08:20 Challenges for Christian Wives in the First Century  10:03 Slavery and Moral Agency in 1 Peter  11:28 Understanding Peter's Use of Household Codes  16:50 Modern Interpretations and Misconceptions  27:46 The Role of Headings in Biblical Interpretation  30:15 Instructions for Husbands in 1 Peter 3:7  36:30 Exploring Social and Physical Vulnerability  37:19 Interpreting 'Weaker Vessel' in Context  38:02 Challenging Traditional Views on Gender Roles  40:18 Co-Heirs and Inheritance in Early Christianity  41:50 Family Metaphors in 1 Peter  43:37 Egalitarian Impulses in the New Testament  45:28 Household Codes and Their Implications  50:08 Suffering for Good and Loyalty to Jesus  52:47 Translation Challenges and Responsibilities  58:01 Applying 1 Peter in Modern Contexts  01:04:03 Conclusion and Further Resources    Guest Bio: Dr. Jeannine Brown   Jeannine Brown is professor of New Testament at Bethel Seminary and Program Director of Bethel Seminary's Online programs. Jeannine received in MA from Bethel Seminary, Saint Paul, MN. and her PhD from Luther seminary, Saint Paul, MN. Dr. Brown has taught at Bethel Seminary for over 20 years. She teaches in the areas of New Testament, Greek, hermeneutics, and integration.    Dr. Brown has focused much of her research and writing on the Gospels, hermeneutics, and interdisciplinary integration. In addition to a book on biblical hermeneutics (Scripture as Communication, now in second edition) and two books on integration, she has published three commentaries on Matthew's Gospel and one on Philippians (Tyndale NT series). She is a member of the NIV translation team and is an editor for the NIV Study Bible, revised edition (2020). Her current writing projects include a commentary 1 Peter (NICNT) and book on themes in 1 Peter. Jeannine's other published works include: Scripture as Communication (2021, 2007); The Gospels as Stories (2020); Relational Integration of Psychology and Christian Theology (2018); Becoming Whole and Holy: An Integrative Conversation about Christian Formation (2011); Embedded Genres in the New Testament: Understanding Their Impact for Interpretation and three commentaries on the Gospel of Matthew (2018, 2015, 2012). Jeannine Brown co-edited the second edition of Jesus and the Gospels (2013). She has published numerous journal articles and book essays on the Gospels of Matthew and John, 1 Peter, and topics of hermeneutics. Some of these have been published in Journal of Biblical Literature, New Testament Studies, Catholic Biblical Quarterly, and Horizons in Biblical Theology. Jeannine thoroughly enjoys teaching in churches and ministries on the topics of Bible interpretation and the New Testament. She is married to Tim Brown, singer-songwriter, and has two adult daughters.  Story Notes  Today's podcast focused on 1 Pet 3:1–7. In the NIV it reads:  "Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear. Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers."   Exploring the cultural background, Jeannine suggests that Peter is calling Christians to display behaviors that reflect Christ even as male dominance was a given. Jeannine explained that in the first century, Roman interest in well-organized households should mirror a well-organized Rome. Roman citizens were to live harmoniously within a well-organized Roman household. Where the passage makes a surprising move is in the call for husbands to have empathy for their wives with a consequence: that God will hear their prayers. Further Christian wives should view themselves beyond the cultural standard of female beauty. As the passage states: it's not the adorning of women's outer selves but their inner lives of faith in God. Doing right, and with faith that does not give into fear given God is ultimately in control. This passage is countercultural in its emphasis on Christian faith and the development of a peaceful inner life both of which acknowledge God's supremacy versus that of emperor's.     This passage calls both husbands and wives to do what is right: to be brave, to have faith in God who rules over all of Rome's emperors, verse 7, to live within a culture with very differing values that offend Christian moral life. In this passage there is a tension in negotiating life lived in a culture at odds with Christian values, supremely concerning the divinity Jesus, or that of an emperor. While Jesus died on a Roman cross, even so, the passage evokes faith and courage in Christian households. The passage is helpful to missionaries in similar circumstances. How to live with courage and faith, elevating the gospel with behavior more often than words in a culture that exploited slaves and women.     Turning to 1 Peter 3:7 that reads:  "Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers."     The Petrine texts lean into sibling language, especially that of children, which overall is very egalitarian in the cultural context of first century. Further, the language of “father” was not very much present in NT as it was in 1st century non-Christian texts. God's children in Christ were to face each other in humility and this very egalitarian impulse in relating to one another. God is father, but in Christ we're all siblings. Women and men are co-heirs is throughout NT. Leadership structure are notes but not ones in the NT.     The whole Petrine text is a significant challenge to the top-down rule from emperor as God down throughout the household structure which was central. Given what Peter is doing with family metaphors—of believers as children / siblings who are to love earnestly as family love each other, and as the elders are a group too much have wisdom but must lead by example. These impulses, leader on top, and wife below: this does simplify decisions, but this is not the texture of Peter. As he thinks of his context, and the household code, it is not a prescription but a triage—a pathway for healing top-down leadership. It's what Christians do in an emergency. Emergency advice to the Christian community so it can survive. It's about survival for the most vulnerable. The thrust of text is a call to attentiveness to the most vulnerable. In light of Tom Holland's book—Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World—in brutal detail reveals the cruelty of Rome. In thinking of our next, the advice is that even if you suffer for doing good, you are blessed. And take comfort in that truth and knowledge that even those who slanders you, remain loyal to Christ, if you suffer as Jesus did, you will also share in his glory.  In fascinating detail, Jeannine describes the history of Bible translation and the canonical review that follows. For the NIV team, on which she contributes, their voting policy requires a 75% majority in approving translation choices. Thus, the team must make a compelling case to change something, so for 1 Peter, and the NT generally, it's always wise to examine and read many translations to see differences.     In considering the backdrop in which the text arises, submission is not a new requirement. What is new for this culture is to ask that all behavior must be Christ-like. While believers are clearly frightened by opposition to Christian faith, the text calls them to act in ways that others will recognize their soul-allegiance to Christ. Win others over to Christ not out of fear but confident behavior that imitates Christ's live. Jeannine recommends entering the text with a disciplined imagination that brings implications of texts to life then and now. Idolatry is key issue underlining the concerns in this text which encourages faith and living life not with words but by example.   Jeannine points listeners to the following resources:  Nijay Gupta's book, Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught and Ministered in the Early Church.   Listen to Jeannine Brown's Hayward Lectures at Acadia Divinity College  Jeannie will resume this conversation in subsequent episodes of Women and Worlds: Exploring the Difficult Passages.    Disclaimer  The opinions expressed in CBE's Mutuality Matters' podcast are those of its hosts or guests and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of CBE International or its members or chapters worldwide. The designations employed in this podcast and the presentation of content therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of CBE concerning the legal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. 

Series: First Love Living | Restructuring Authority | August 10, 2025Before Ephesus lost their first love – they HAD a small but mighty church that was changing the world.  Ephesus was the gateway between Asia & Europe, along with being the guardian of the temple of Artemus (Diana – Wonder woman!), and hosted one of the greatest libraries of the First Century.  It was a city that had a higher percentage of literate people than almost every other city in the world.  It garnered wealth and influence and shared it through the thousands who passed through.  And even though the Christian community was small, it celebrated some of the greatest leaders and teachers of the new Christian era – Paul, Timothy, the Apostle John, Priscilla & Aquila, Apollos, and more!   Of all the churches of the first century, it's the church MANY of us pastors & leaders aspire to become. This summer, we'll dig into the Scriptures regarding Ephesus, and especially the letter Paul wrote to it, gleaning from the story how to grow and keep a “First Love Life” with God.

This program is a discussion of the evidence for infant baptism in the first century.

Series: First Love Living | Making our house a First-Love Home  | August 3, 2025Before Ephesus lost their first love – they HAD a small but mighty church that was changing the world.  Ephesus was the gateway between Asia & Europe, along with being the guardian of the temple of Artemus (Diana – Wonder woman!), and hosted one of the greatest libraries of the First Century.  It was a city that had a higher percentage of literate people than almost every other city in the world.  It garnered wealth and influence and shared it through the thousands who passed through.  And even though the Christian community was small, it celebrated some of the greatest leaders and teachers of the new Christian era – Paul, Timothy, the Apostle John, Priscilla & Aquila, Apollos, and more!   Of all the churches of the first century, it's the church MANY of us pastors & leaders aspire to become. This summer, we'll dig into the Scriptures regarding Ephesus, and especially the letter Paul wrote to it, gleaning from the story how to grow and keep a “First Love Life” with God.

We hope this message in our series "Acts - Turning The World Upside Down" is impactful and uplifting in your walk with Jesus!If you would like to dive deeper, check out the links below.Listen to the Acts Companion Podcast:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPe4iZS-2t-qwfMP9RrwHKpdDwENmO9JKStay in touch with us on Instagram | Facebook | Spotify - True Hope ChurchCheck out our Website:https://www.truehopechurch.org

Series: First Love Living | The Best Way To Love  | July 27, 2025Before Ephesus lost their first love – they HAD a small but mighty church that was changing the world.  Ephesus was the gateway between Asia & Europe, along with being the guardian of the temple of Artemus (Diana – Wonder woman!), and hosted one of the greatest libraries of the First Century.  It was a city that had a higher percentage of literate people than almost every other city in the world.  It garnered wealth and influence and shared it through the thousands who passed through.  And even though the Christian community was small, it celebrated some of the greatest leaders and teachers of the new Christian era – Paul, Timothy, the Apostle John, Priscilla & Aquila, Apollos, and more!   Of all the churches of the first century, it's the church MANY of us pastors & leaders aspire to become. This summer, we'll dig into the Scriptures regarding Ephesus, and especially the letter Paul wrote to it, gleaning from the story how to grow and keep a “First Love Life” with God.

Paul in writing to the Romans speaks about “the power of God”. What does he mean? He is not referring to physical power such as will be shown at the time Jesus returns when the greatest earthquake ever (Rev. 16 v.18) and other terrible events will occur.In today's reading in Romans, Paul writes of the gospel saying, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes “ [1 v.16].Paul's point is that the Gospel makes sense, compared to the nonsense surrounding the many gods (of human imagination) the Romans, and all except the Jews, believed in.Today, we can say it makes sense – compared to the nonsense that so many teach about evolution which more and more willingly accept as true. They think that everything that exists, sort of created itself, and there is no need for a creator God. Much of this attitude seems to be motivated by a desire to be free of the restrictions God's laws impose on their lives.A particular example of this is evident at the moment. In Ch. 1 v.26,27 Paul particularly singles out acts of homosexuality – writing “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity to the dishonouring of their bodies … “ The fact that more and more Governments are legalizing same-sex “marriages” would horrify those living a generation or two ago! But most of all – what must God think!? What action will he take?But we need to also realise that to believe a gospel about believer's having a future life in heaven is also nonsense and, as a falsehood, has no power at all. It is only the gospel God revealed to men through his son that has “power”- because it is truth.It is based on historical fact, because the events of the First Century and what followed,make sense the more we think about what is written. The conviction of many people became so strong it had the power to turn the beliefs of the pagan Roman world upside down in the 2nd & 3rd Centuries – but sadly, then the Gospel became corrupted and expressed in Man-made creeds. .We must let this gospel become a power in our lives – if we are to really live a life worth living with the wonderful prospect of eternity. We must not let ourselves be influenced by those who scoff at “the power of God.”

Series: First Love Living | Dressing up in Purity  | July 20, 2025Before Ephesus lost their first love – they HAD a small but mighty church that was changing the world.  Ephesus was the gateway between Asia & Europe, along with being the guardian of the temple of Artemus (Diana – Wonder woman!), and hosted one of the greatest libraries of the First Century.  It was a city that had a higher percentage of literate people than almost every other city in the world.  It garnered wealth and influence and shared it through the thousands who passed through.  And even though the Christian community was small, it celebrated some of the greatest leaders and teachers of the new Christian era – Paul, Timothy, the Apostle John, Priscilla & Aquila, Apollos, and more!   Of all the churches of the first century, it's the church MANY of us pastors & leaders aspire to become. This summer, we'll dig into the Scriptures regarding Ephesus, and especially the letter Paul wrote to it, gleaning from the story how to grow and keep a “First Love Life” with God.

A Sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity St. Luke 5:1-11 by William Klock Our Gospels during these first few Sundays of Trinitytide—so far—have all had us following Jesus as he made his way to Jerusalem to observe the Passover for the last time.  But today's Gospel—from the Fifth Chapter of Luke—takes us back to the beginning of Jesus' ministry—those early days when he was travelling around the region of Galilee a long way from Jerusalem.  Luke gives a series of vignettes in Chapter 4.  Every sabbath, he writes, Jesus was teaching in the synagogues.  He read from Isaiah one sabbath in his hometown synagogue in Nazareth and then he told the people, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your own hearing!”  The people were so angry that they tried to stone him and he fled from the town.  So he went to Capernaum and taught in the synagogue there.  That's where a demon-possessed man stood up and shouted at Jesus: “I know who you are.  You're God's holy one!”  And just to prove it, Jesus then cast out the demon and word went out throughout the whole region.  On another sabbath, after preaching in the synagogue, he was invited to the house of Simon Peter.  Peter's mother-in-law was sick with a high fever.  Jesus rebuked the fever and straightaway she recovered and served them lunch.  Pretty soon everyone who was sick or who had a demon showed up and Jesus healed them all.  And because of that, no matter where Jesus went, Luke writes, the crowds hunted for him.  And that's how today's Gospel begins.  One day Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret.  Finally a moment of peace.  An early morning walk on the beach.  He found a little cove.  The shores of Gennesaret (or Galilee as it's otherwise known) are full of little coves.  He watched as the fishermen dragged their boats ashore after a night of hard work.  But then someone came down the trail to the beach.  And he saw Jesus.  And he went running back up the trail out of sight shouting, “He's here!  He's here!  I've found him!”  And others began to follow the man back down the trail to the beach.  And more and more until another crowd had gathered and was pressing in on Jesus.  They had seen for themselves or they had heard the stories of the amazing things the God of Israel was doing through Jesus and they wanted to see more.  They wanted to hear more of the good news that Jesus was proclaiming. But it was no good trying to preach from the middle of the crowd.  People kept interrupting them with their problems.  Even if he could get a few words out, the crowd just couldn't hear him.  So Jesus had an idea.  Sound travels wonderfully over water and the little beach cove was a perfect amphitheatre.  So he made his way down to the water where he'd seen the two boats, and got into one of them, and standing there, he called to one of the fishermen.  Jesus recognised the man.  It was the same fellow who'd invited him to lunch after the synagogue service.  It was the same fellow whose mother-in-law he'd healed.  “Hey you!  Was it Simon or Peter or Simon Peter.  Yes, this is your boat isn't it?  Row me out a little way from the land.”  Maybe Peter felt like he owed Jesus something or maybe he was flattered that Jesus had chosen his boat and remembered him from the other day.  Whatever the case, Peter set aside his net, got in the boat, and rowed Jesus out into the middle of the cove.  And Luke says that Jesus sat down in the boat and began to teach the crowd. It was probably some version of Jesus' favourite sermon.  Luke has preserved one version of that sermon that we sometimes hear called “The Sermon on the Plain”—because Jesus preached it in a flat, open place, but mostly because it contrasts with the version preserved by Matthew, where Jesus preached from a hillside.  We call that version “The Sermon on the Mount”.  That's the sermon where Jesus preaches about the kingdom of God.  It's the sermon in which he calls the people of Israel to trust in the Lord because he never fails to provide.  He clothes the flowers of the field that wither tomorrow.  He feeds the birds so that they have no need to worry.  How much more important are you—the Lord's elect, chosen, called covenant people—than flowers and birds?  So stop worrying and trust him.  Pursue, seek his kingdom above everything else, and trust him to take care of you.  Israel had struggled for forever with idolatry—in one form or another—instead of trusting in and giving her full allegiance to the Lord.  That's what got them exiled to Babylon.  The Pharisees were right.  That idolatry and fickle faith was what kept them in a sort of in-house exile in their own time.  So, in other words, Jesus is saying to the people of Israel: Give the Lord your allegiance.  Give your all to his agenda: to holiness, to being light in the darkness, stop being so fickle.  You do that and, just as he promised, the Lord will take care of you—he'll even pour out his blessings on you. And Peter sat there right in front of Jesus, holding the oars, keeping the boat in position and Jesus facing the shore, and he listened.  The Bible doesn't tell us anything about Peter's past, but just like anyone else, he had one.  I don't think Peter was any great or notorious sinner or anything like that.  Reading between the lines, I think it's safe to conclude that he was just your ordinary, average Judean who obeyed torah as best he could, who celebrated Passover with his family every year, who went to the temple in Jerusalem as required—at least most of the time.  But he knew he wasn't perfect.  He could be impetuous at times.  He could fly off the handle.  But most of all, as Jesus preached, I think Peter was convicted of his own fickleness.  He tithed, but sometimes he did so grudgingly.  He kept the sabbath, but sometimes he worried where the money was going to come from when he took off that one day a week from fishing.  Some days, especially in the summer, sunset on Saturday just couldn't come soon enough for Peter so he could get back to work. Jesus got Peter thinking.  Did he really trust in the Lord?  Or did Peter trust in Peter?  Had he really given his full allegiance to the God of Israel or was Peter really serving Peter?  And Peter mulled on these things as Jesus finished speaking and said to him, “Put out into the deeper part, and let down your nets for a catch.”   Peter was still playing through in his head what Jesus had been saying about trusting the Lord and giving him his full allegiance.  This snapped him out of it.  No more introspection.  It's like Jesus knew what he was thinking.  Peter didn't really want to let down his nets.  He'd fished all night and they hadn't caught anything.  They certainly weren't going to catch anything in the daylight.  That's because they fished with nets made of linen.  The fish could see them in the day, but they'd swim right into them in the dark at night.  And Peter had just finished cleaning and mending his nets.  Now he'd have to clean them—and if they hit a snag, maybe mend them too—all over again.  Peter was born and bred to fishing.  He knew everything there was to know about it.  He knew the habits of fish, he knew about nets, he knew about the seasons, the time of day, and the play of light in the water.  He knew about boats.  He knew about marketing and selling fish.  He was a fisherman!  And if First Century fishermen were anything like Twenty-first Century fishermen, the last thing you'd want to do with Peter is start an argument over fishing—especially if you're not a fisherman.  And, of course, Jesus was not.  His father had taught him the carpentry and the building trade. Peter really, really didn't want to cast his net into the water again and he wouldn't have for anyone else.  But this was Jesus.  Just like everyone else, Peter wasn't quite sure exactly what to make of him, but he'd not only heard the stories; he'd seen it for himself.  His mother-in-law had been on the verge of death, but Jesus made her well—so well that virtually instantly she was up serving them lunch.  And so he says to Jesus, “Master”.  Let me pause there.  Master is okay, but it might not be the best translation.  In the Gospels people address Jesus as “teacher” or “rabbi” or even as “lord”, but unique in Luke's Gospel, people occasionally address him as epistata.  An epistates is someone in charge, someone with authority.  The ten lepers address Jesus as epistata.  The disciples, when they were in the boat being tossed around by the storm, addressed him as epistata.  That's how Peter addresses Jesus here.  “We were working hard all night and caught nothing.  But okay, Master.  You're the boss, you're calling the shots here.  So if you say so, I'll let down the nets.”   Peter sounds like he's letting down his nets grudgingly.  I wonder if that's how it really was.  He's been convicted in his own heart of how he's been half-hearted in serving the Lord.  He's just been hearing Jesus preach about God taking care of flowers and birds.  Or something along those lines, because we know Jesus liked to preach on that topic.  It was exactly what fickle, half-hearted Israel needed to hear.  So Peter probably didn't want to go through the hassle of letting down his nets again, but I think he wanted to trust that through Jesus, the God of Israel really would look after him.  Jesus might not know anything about fishing, but Peter had seen that Jesus had authority and that he took charge of things—whether demons or blindness or sickness or even the fish in the sea.  He could see, plain as day, that the God of Israel was working through Jesus.  Peter was thinking on those words: “Seek first the kingdom of God and all these thing will be added to you.” I think the main reason Luke records these words from Peter about having fished all night and caught nothing is that he wants to remind us that this is the way the Lord works.  Jesus is telling Peter to fish at the worst possible time to fish.  Jesus does this throughout the Gospels.  He hears that Lazarus is sick and near to death, but then he waits three days before going—time enough for Lazarus to be well and truly dead.  So instead of healing Lazarus from sickness, he raises him from the dead and calls him out of his tomb.  Or think of the woman who was bleeding for twelve years or the man who was blind from birth.  In that last instance Jesus had the opportunity to explain why these things happened.  The disciples with their conventional wisdom assumed that either the man or his parents were great sinners and that the Lord had punished him with blindness.  But Jesus said that, no, the man was born blind that God might reveal his glory.  Because that's how the God of Israel works and Israel is the chief example.  The Lord allowed his people to become slaves in Egypt so that he might display his glory both to them and to the watching nations.  In the events of the Exodus the God of Israel exposed the king and the gods of Egypt as frauds, totally lacking the great power and authority they claimed to have.  The God of Israel single-handedly beat the gods of Egypt at their own games and humbled mighty Pharaoh—the greatest king on earth—and drowned his army in the sea.  And at the same time, in Israel, he created a people who would forever be singing his praises and announcing his glory to the nations.  All because they had watched him do the impossible.  Every newborn baby boy was circumcised and, in that, he was given the sign of God's covenant promise.  And every year the fathers of Israel led their families as they ate the Passover meal and recalled the Lord's promises and the glory he displayed on their behalf in the Exodus. Jesus was doing the same thing.  He had come to lead the people in a new exodus and along the way, he was acting out that exodus, that divine deliverance as he did the impossible—and the more impossible the better, because the more power and authority it displayed.  Why had Peter (and James and John, his partners) why had they been skunked that night?  I don't know.  Maybe Peter said something unkind to his wife before leaving that night.  Maybe he'd shorted the Lord in his tithing that week.  Maybe he'd dallied too long with that dancing girl the day before.  Maybe Peter thought his empty nets were punishment for some sin.  But if he'd asked Jesus, “Why did I toil all night and catch nothing?  Did I sin?”  Jesus would have said, “No, Peter.  It was so that the Lord, the God of Israel, would be glorified.” And that's exactly what happens.  Luke writes, beginning at verse 6 that when they let down their nets, they caught such a huge number of fish that their nets began to break.  Usually they'd fish all night for a catch that wouldn't break their nets, but now Peter let down his net and before he could even pull it back into the boat to keep from becoming over-full of fish, the catch was so great that it strained the integrity of the net.  I assume it was just he and Jesus in the boat and he and Jesus were, themselves, straining to pull the net in.  They signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them, Luke writes.  So they came, and filled both the boats, and they began to sink.   And right there, in a sinking boat, with fish wriggling all around them, Luke writes that Peter took stock of everything that had just happened.  He fell down at Jesus' knees.  “Depart from me, Lord!” he said, “Because I'm a sinful man!”  James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon Peter's partners were just as amazed, Luke writes.  But being in the other boat, they couldn't kneel at Jesus' knees.  But Peter knelt there convicted of his sins by this amazing display of God's glory.  I found myself asking this week why Peter didn't have this same reaction when Jesus healed his mother-in-law.  Why was Peter's mother-in-law sick?  For the same reason: so that Jesus could display the glory of the God of Israel.  Presumably Peter was impressed when he saw the healing.  But it didn't impact him the way the multitude of fish did.  And maybe that's because Peter was a fisherman, not a doctor.  It highlight the fact that God gets to each of us in different ways to convict us of sin and to move us to faith.  Every one of us has a different story of how God got hold of us.  That, too, is how he works.  But one way or another, each of us has been amazed and captivated by the glory of God. Our reactions to that revelation are often different too.  Some people encountered God's glory and were moved to faith as Jesus wiped away their tears.  Peter, however, is met by that glory and is moved to tears.  He knew how the prophets had preached about the coming judgement of Israel for her sins.  He'd heard Jesus preach—not just the warm-fuzzies, but also the announcement of soon-coming judgement.  And when he saw the glory of God, when he experienced the presence of the holy, Peter found himself overwhelmed by his own sinfulness.  He knew he didn't belong in the presence of the holy.  He knew he belonged with those people who would find themselves in the outer darkness weeping and gnashing their teeth.  He responded just like Isaiah when he found himself in the presence of the holiness of God.  Remember Isaiah.  He cried out, “Woe is me!  For I am lost.  For I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.  For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5).  But it was just as Isaiah acknowledged his sinfulness that an angel flew down to touch his lips with a cleansing and holy fire.  The angel announced that his guilt had departed and that his sin had been blotted out.  And when the Lord called out, “Whom shall I send?  Who will go for us?  Who will proclaim my message to Israel?”  Isaiah cried out, “Here I am!  Send me!” And it's that scene all over again in that sinking fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee with fish wriggling all around.  Peter knelt there shaking at Jesus kneels and Jesus said, “Don't be afraid.  From now on you'll be catching men!”  Jesus is, himself, the holy fire who purifies us from our sins. Now, it doesn't come across in our English translations, but when Jesus says that Peter will be catching men, that “catching” isn't usually a word associated with fishing.  It has the sense of catching someone or something alive—like a warrior catching an enemy, but sparing his life.  There's a reason behind Jesus' odd choice of words.  What he's doing is echoing the words of Jeremiah 16.  There, through the Prophet, the Lord announced the judgement that was about to come on the people of Judea for their unfaithfulness and their idolatry.  The Babylonians would come and none would escape.  The Lord says, “I am sending for many fishers, declares the Lord, and they shall catch them…For my eyes are on their ways.  They are not hidden from me, nor is their iniquity concealed form my eyes.”  Jesus draws on the common Greek translation of the prophet.  He uses the same word: catch.  The people of Judea in those days wouldn't be killed, but neither would they escape the judgement of exile.  But now Jesus flips the imagery around.  The people of Judah are still in their long exile, still experiencing the punishment brought by their sins, but now the Lord will send fishers again, this time to catch sinners and to rescue them alive from the coming judgement.  What was in Jeremiah's day an image of the Lord's judgement on sinners, Jesus now turns into an image of God's mercy for them.  As Jesus says in John's Gospel, “God did not send the son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world could be saved by him.”  That's what Jesus has come to do.  And even though only he can go to the cross to accomplish the redemption of sinners, he's not going on this fishing trip alone.  He's calling Peter (and James and John and eventually a whole host of men and women that we call the church) to go fishing with him, to catch men and women that they—that we—might be delivered from our sins and from the coming judgement. How much of this did Peter understand that day?  Probably not much.  But what he did know is that in Jesus the God of Israel was at work.  He knew that judgement was inevitable and he knew that somehow and in some way the Lord was making deliverance possible through Jesus.  He had seen the glory of the Lord and there was no going back.  And so, Luke writes, They brought their boats to land, then they abandoned everything and followed him.   Peter walked away from all of it.  The boats, the net, the sea, the fish.  They had been his source of security.  That's what he'd trusted.  But he heard that reminder from Jesus: Seek first God's kingdom, and all these things will be added to you.  If the Lord could fill his nets to bursting just to make this point, Peter was ready to trust him with everything—to give his full allegiance to Jesus the Messiah.  If God could do this, he could do anything.  And so Peter gave his allegiance to the Lord Jesus.  And he knew hardship and he knew persecution and eventually he would even come to know martyrdom.  His faith and his love for Jesus would eventually lead him from Jerusalem all the way to Rome and all along the way he proclaimed the glory of God.  All the way he proclaimed the good news that Jesus died to forgive sins and rose to restore God's life to us and to the world, and that this Jesus is the Lord of all who shows us the glory of his Father.  Peter went out into the world to challenge the fake gods and the fake kings in whom we trust, and proclaimed the crucified and risen Lord so that everyone would know the glory of the one, true God.  Peter eventually died for that message.  But Peter knew that his risen Lord was master over death itself, just as he'd been master over all those fish that one morning years before.  And so he trusted Jesus' promise: Seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness—even if it means martyrdom—and he will take care of you. Let's pray: Father, you have called us and made us your people.  You send us out, like Simon Peter, to fish for people that they might know the life of your kingdom.  When we're tempted to protest, thinking that we are unworthy of the task, that we are too sinful, that we aren't up to it, remind us that in Jesus you have forgiven us, that you have made us holy, that you have filled us with your Spirit, and that you have given us this remarkable and irresistible story to tell the world, this story of your goodness, your love, your grace, your mercy, and your faithfulness.  Your glory.  Give us the grace to do the work of your kingdom as we trust in your faithfulness to us and to all who hear it.  Amen.

Series: First Love Living | Maturing in our Calling  | July 13, 2025Before Ephesus lost their first love – they HAD a small but mighty church that was changing the world.  Ephesus was the gateway between Asia & Europe, along with being the guardian of the temple of Artemus (Diana – Wonder woman!), and hosted one of the greatest libraries of the First Century.  It was a city that had a higher percentage of literate people than almost every other city in the world.  It garnered wealth and influence and shared it through the thousands who passed through.  And even though the Christian community was small, it celebrated some of the greatest leaders and teachers of the new Christian era – Paul, Timothy, the Apostle John, Priscilla & Aquila, Apollos, and more!   Of all the churches of the first century, it's the church MANY of us pastors & leaders aspire to become. This summer, we'll dig into the Scriptures regarding Ephesus, and especially the letter Paul wrote to it, gleaning from the story how to grow and keep a “First Love Life” with God.

Despite what many claim, we don't “lose down here.” Christ is King, and we are commanded to make disciples of all the nations (Matthew 28:18-20). His kingdom shall never cease, and it has been on the rise since the First Century. It is a ploy of our enemy to get us to think that we have no hope of victory in this season. God's Kingdom triumphs by HIs power through the gospel. In this sermon, Pastor Daniel provides a biblical strategy for advancing the Kingdom of God from generation to generation.

The Apostle Paul famously served as a tentmaker to support himself during his ministry in the First Century. What does it look like for Christians today to follow in his entrepreneurial footsteps? How can tentmaking serve Kingdom priorities in the rainy days ahead?On this episode of the Christian Emergency Podcast, Troy Albee – pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church on the South Shore of Boston – provides helpful insights from his own experience as an entrepreneur. Like Paul, Troy helped support himself while in ministry by identifying a need anddeveloping the skills to meet it. In Trent's case, he launched a successful lock and key business – South Shore Lock and Key.Side hustles provide Christians additional income, flexibility and opportunities. Small business ventures also offer unexpected spiritual insights. You may be stretched and face rejection. But you will also discover new strengths, while finding opportunities to mentor the younger believers around you and engage the lost in your midst.   Christians should not take all of this for granted. The cultural landscape is increasingly hostile. The workplace is toooften a place where Christians are targeted and pressured to compromise. That is why Christian enterprise will play a critical role in the coming days.If you find this episode helpful, please give us a positive rating and review wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Also share this episode with a friend so they too can be blessed by these insights.To learn more about resources mentioned in this episode, see the following.Pastor Troy Albee (Email): troy@gracesouthshore.orgSouth Shore Lock and Key (Website)Christian Emergency Alliance (Website)Christian Emergency Alliance (Twitter):@ChristianEmerg1Christian Emergency Alliance (Facebook):@ChristianEmergencyThe Christian Emergency Podcast is a production of the Christian Emergency Alliance.Soli Deo Gloria

In this episode, we talk with our good friend, Tahe Governor. Tahe is an amazing communicator and Bible teacher. He has conducted extensive studies on ancient texts, particularly on the topic of discipleship. Tahe is a graduate of Dr. Michael Heiser's Awakening School of Theology. He has led large ministries for college-aged students and leadership training programs, where participants dive deeply into theology. Tahe has a heart for helping people know Jesus and enjoys having fun along the way, often with a manga in one hand and a Bible in the other! Connect with Tahe!Theology: youtube.com/@MakingWholeDisciplesGaming: youtube.com/@ShonenDiscipleTahe's recommended resources for deeper study of Discipleship:-Discipleship in the Context of Judaism in Jesus' Time Part I: https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/333538-Discipleship in the Context of Judaism in Jesus' Time - Part II: https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/345018YouTube-Walking the Text, Rabbi and Disciples Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBopsNhilpsQxdk5_ZHnINOAdGwkOBqEn&si=Q4GmypezUASd4fprBooks-Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith: https://a.co/d/aUor6UB-New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus: Insights from His Jewish Context: https://a.co/d/gpdwIcm-The Jewish People in the First Century: https://a.co/d/65SS5fp-The Unseen Realm: https://a.co/d/fChDR84___________________________________________________________Connect with us! Social: Instagram.com/behindthecurtainpcYoutube.com/btcmysteriesTikTok.com/btcmysteriesEmail: behindthecurtainpc@gmail.comFair use Music in this episode: Opening & Closing track"Last Breath" by Jim Hall

Were there bishops in the early Church? What will happen to the world at the end of time? And is love truly necessary for salvation?

Episode 130: Year C In today's episode, we focus on three details, one per reading for this upcoming 5th Sunday of Easter, Year C. The detail in the first reading, which is Acts 14:21-27, relates to the objection posed by some Protestants that there were no first century rank of bishops but merely elders/presbyters. The […]

JT Thompkins Fishing has started on the second half of his 2025 season on the Elite Series. This week he just secured a top 5 fiinsh with an incredible bag of over 120 pounds for the 4 days. A tourney that saw 10 anglers achieve this feat and the all time largest bag was in jeapordy. The lake could only be the one and only Lake Fork in Texas. The show that this lake and these anglers put on may have rivaled any moment in sports over the weeked and possibly years of history on the Elite Series. It was an honor to have JT call in on his way to the nest stop on the Sabine River. We talk baits, his surrent streak, and the rest of the season with 4 events left. He has made us proud all year, and at this streak he is on he will have a hot finish and be a force to reckon with on all the bodies of water left on the schedule. Be sure to go check out all of his videos and give him a follow on all the social media platforms out there. Go Get Em JT!!!! We are here cheering loud!!www.trilogyoutdoorsmedia.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/trilogy-outdoors--5441492/support.

Did the teachings of Vatican I—like papal primacy and infallibility—suddenly appear in the 19th century, or do they have roots in the early Church? In this episode, Karlo Broussard explores whether first-century Christianity shows signs of the very authority Vatican I defined. From Peter's leadership to early documents like First Clement, we trace the continuity between apostolic Christianity and conciliar declarations, helping you respond to historical objections with clarity and confidence. Join The CA Live Club Newsletter: Click Here Invite our apologists to speak at your parish! Visit Catholicanswersspeakers.com Questions Covered: 04:59 – How can we avoid begging the question against the Catholic faith when talking to Orthodox? 12:34 – Does sitting in adoration impart grace? 18:46 – If sacrifice is the only actual worship, how is it that the offering of the Eucharist, worship of Jesus if we're offering his own body? 18:46 – If sacrifice is the only actual worship, how is it that the offering of the Eucharist, worship of Jesus if we're offering his own body? 21:26 – Why was Jesus’ death so horrific but the sacrifice of Isaac didn’t seem like it was as brutal? 31:44 – If all the angels were created in a perfect state, what inclined them to their first sin? 36:23 – I believe that being elevated as one of the greatest like Mary and John was because of their humility. What are your thoughts? 42:14 – Are the teachings of Vatican 1 apparent in the first century? 47:35 – I know that communion on the hand was allowed recently but was the intended form palm to mouth? When did picking it up with our fingers and placing it into our mouth specifically allowed? 50:52 – I'm a new convert. How does the Church view the imparting of the Holy Spirit and Pentecost?

Many Christians find it hard to see the papacy in the first-century Church. In this episode, Erick Ybarra addresses the historical and biblical foundations for the papal office. Was Peter truly the first pope? How did early Christians view his authority? And what evidence do we have from Scripture and tradition that connects the leadership of Peter to the role of today's pope? Join The CA Live Club Newsletter: Click Here Invite our apologists to speak at your parish! Visit Catholicanswersspeakers.com Questions Covered: 12:33 – I struggle with not seeing the papacy in the first century. Can you help clarify where we see it? 18:30 – How close have we ever gotten to the pope who was the minimal requirement, a male baptized Catholic? 22:32 – Regarding his debate with Ubi Petrus. Do you have clarification from one of your questions from the debate? 35:29 – How is it ok that we added the filioque to the Nicene creed? Didn’t the Nicene Creed have a clause that not one word could be changed? 42:09 – How do you think the Church balances separating itself from being too political and how it’s done that historically? 48:24 – How closely do we tie our belief in Christ to our belief in the Church? If the pope were to dogmatically declare heresy, would it invalidate the magisterium? 52:06 – What do you think about the passages in First Clement where he says the Holy Spirit is writing/speaking through him? Is this evidence of papal infallibility?

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Love God. Love people. These two commandments comprise the entirety of God's Law. The church at Ephesus was doing a lot of things right back in the First Century. This body of believers was committed to the truth of the Gospel, and they worked hard to share it with the world. But the Lord had one thing against them, and, as you'll see today, it was a pretty big problem! Stay with us now as Ron moves ahead in his teaching series, “Ready For His Return,” based on Revelation chapters 1 to 3.  

Need a simple framework to help you make disciples like Jesus? Check out The Pathway Series to learn more: https://www.intotheharvest.org/pathway Merch ► https://www.intotheharvest.org/shop/ Instagram ► https://instagram.com/intotheharvest Facebook ► https://facebook.com/intotheharvest Newsletter ► https://www.intotheharvest.org/newsletter/ Would the apostle Paul recognize your church? In this episode, John talks with Alan Ch'ng about the different expressions of the Church around the world. One thing remains constant - there needs to be authentic community and an outward-focused mission of making disciples in order to be a healthy church. A difficult combination, but certainly achievable with the help of the Holy Spirit. Alan Ch'ng is the International Vice President of The Navigators and has decades of experience leading cross-cultural missions and disciple-making efforts around the world. His leadership has shaped The Navigators' global strategy, and his heart for the church as a community of belonging resonates deeply in all of his work. In this episode: • Kingdom of God vs. Church • Church as the primary place of belonging • Church and it's cultural expressions • Final thoughts and challenges RESOURCES MENTIONED: The Pathway Series Committing to Community article Who we are at ITH Going to Church in the First Century by Robert Banks Paul's Idea of Community by Robert J. Banks The Rise of Christianity by Rodney Stark Original Release Date: 02/27/25 SUBSCRIBE to our free weekly newsletter SHOP the ITH Store ******************** Want to Help Us Grow? •  Subscribe and give us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify •  Share this episode on Facebook •  If you believe in what we're doing and want t...

Dr. Miles Smith of Hillsdale College Religion and Republic: Christian America from the Founding to the Civil War The post The Role of Religion in America's First Century – Dr. Miles Smith, 2/4/25 (0353, Encore) first appeared on Issues, Etc..