Podcasts about Nazareth

Aaron Perry - Luke 1:26-38. The “Holy One to be born” came from seemingly suspicious origins - Egypt, Nazareth, a suspect lineage, and an unmarried mother. Why would God choose such questionable origins to usher in one who would “save his people from their sins?” What is revealed about God's character and how he interacts with humanity? Could it be that our expectations, just like Israel, have been misplaced?

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 118 Psalm 118 (Listen) His Steadfast Love Endures Forever 118   Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;    for his steadfast love endures forever! 2   Let Israel say,    “His steadfast love endures forever.”3   Let the house of Aaron say,    “His steadfast love endures forever.”4   Let those who fear the LORD say,    “His steadfast love endures forever.” 5   Out of my distress I called on the LORD;    the LORD answered me and set me free.6   The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.    What can man do to me?7   The LORD is on my side as my helper;    I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. 8   It is better to take refuge in the LORD    than to trust in man.9   It is better to take refuge in the LORD    than to trust in princes. 10   All nations surrounded me;    in the name of the LORD I cut them off!11   They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;    in the name of the LORD I cut them off!12   They surrounded me like bees;    they went out like a fire among thorns;    in the name of the LORD I cut them off!13   I was pushed hard,1 so that I was falling,    but the LORD helped me. 14   The LORD is my strength and my song;    he has become my salvation.15   Glad songs of salvation    are in the tents of the righteous:  “The right hand of the LORD does valiantly,16     the right hand of the LORD exalts,    the right hand of the LORD does valiantly!” 17   I shall not die, but I shall live,    and recount the deeds of the LORD.18   The LORD has disciplined me severely,    but he has not given me over to death. 19   Open to me the gates of righteousness,    that I may enter through them    and give thanks to the LORD.20   This is the gate of the LORD;    the righteous shall enter through it.21   I thank you that you have answered me    and have become my salvation.22   The stone that the builders rejected    has become the cornerstone.223   This is the LORD's doing;    it is marvelous in our eyes.24   This is the day that the LORD has made;    let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25   Save us, we pray, O LORD!    O LORD, we pray, give us success! 26   Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!    We bless you from the house of the LORD.27   The LORD is God,    and he has made his light to shine upon us.  Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,    up to the horns of the altar! 28   You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;    you are my God; I will extol you.29   Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;    for his steadfast love endures forever! Footnotes [1] 118:13 Hebrew You (that is, the enemy) pushed me hard [2] 118:22 Hebrew the head of the corner (ESV) Pentateuch and History: 2 Kings 25:22–30 2 Kings 25:22–30 (Listen) Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah 22 And over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, governor. 23 Now when all the captains and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite. 24 And Gedaliah swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid because of the Chaldean officials. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.” 25 But in the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down Gedaliah and put him to death along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26 Then all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces arose and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans. Jehoiachin Released from Prison 27 And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed1 Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. 28 And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king's table, 30 and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, as long as he lived. Footnotes [1] 25:27 Hebrew reign, lifted up the head of (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 21 Isaiah 21 (Listen) Fallen, Fallen Is Babylon 21 The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea.   As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on,    it comes from the wilderness,    from a terrible land.2   A stern vision is told to me;    the traitor betrays,    and the destroyer destroys.  Go up, O Elam;    lay siege, O Media;  all the sighing she has caused    I bring to an end.3   Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;    pangs have seized me,    like the pangs of a woman in labor;  I am bowed down so that I cannot hear;    I am dismayed so that I cannot see.4   My heart staggers; horror has appalled me;    the twilight I longed for    has been turned for me into trembling.5   They prepare the table,    they spread the rugs,1    they eat, they drink.  Arise, O princes;    oil the shield!6   For thus the Lord said to me:  “Go, set a watchman;    let him announce what he sees.7   When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,    riders on donkeys, riders on camels,  let him listen diligently,    very diligently.”8   Then he who saw cried out:2  “Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,    continually by day,  and at my post I am stationed    whole nights.9   And behold, here come riders,    horsemen in pairs!”  And he answered,    “Fallen, fallen is Babylon;  and all the carved images of her gods    he has shattered to the ground.”10   O my threshed and winnowed one,    what I have heard from the LORD of hosts,    the God of Israel, I announce to you. 11 The oracle concerning Dumah.   One is calling to me from Seir,    “Watchman, what time of the night?    Watchman, what time of the night?”12   The watchman says:  “Morning comes, and also the night.    If you will inquire, inquire;    come back again.” 13 The oracle concerning Arabia.   In the thickets in Arabia you will lodge,    O caravans of Dedanites.14   To the thirsty bring water;    meet the fugitive with bread,    O inhabitants of the land of Tema.15   For they have fled from the swords,    from the drawn sword,  from the bent bow,    and from the press of battle. 16 For thus the Lord said to me, “Within a year, according to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end. 17 And the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of Kedar will be few, for the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.” Footnotes [1] 21:5 Or they set the watchman [2] 21:8 Dead Sea Scroll, Syriac; Masoretic Text Then a lion cried out, or Then he cried out like a lion (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: John 18:1–27 John 18:1–27 (Listen) Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus 18 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. 2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. 3 So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4 Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” 5 They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.”1 Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 6 When Jesus2 said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” 8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.” 9 This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.” 10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant3 and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.) 11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?” Jesus Faces Annas and Caiaphas 12 So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews4 arrested Jesus and bound him. 13 First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. 14 It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people. Peter Denies Jesus 15 Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, 16 but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in. 17 The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” 18 Now the servants5 and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself. The High Priest Questions Jesus 19 The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. 20 Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. 21 Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said.” 22 When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?” 24 Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. Peter Denies Jesus Again 25 Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You also are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” 26 One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” 27 Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed. Footnotes [1] 18:5 Greek I am; also verses 6, 8 [2] 18:6 Greek he [3] 18:10 Or bondservant; twice in this verse [4] 18:12 Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time; also verses 14, 31, 36, 38 [5] 18:18 Or bondservants; also verse 26 (ESV)

Once upon a time, there was a man sitting quietly by a pool of water. He was a very sick man, and doubted that he had very long to live. While he stared into the water, something stirred the water. It was almost as though a hand had swished the water back and forth, but no one else was there. Wondering, the man reached out his own hand and swished the water back and forth. As he did so, he began to feel better. Standing, he noticed that his pain was gone and he felt stronger. As the day went forward, he realized that he simply was not sick any longer.His friends were totally surprised at his recovery, and in the natural course of events, they learned about the pool and the moving of the water. For some time after that, all kinds of sick people went down to the pool and washed in its water, but no one else was helped...until the same season the next year, when another very sick man was healed after a similar moving of the water. A lame man, touching the water just after the first man was not helped in the least. This happened again the third year. Unfortunately, only one person was healed each year, and although it was at the same season, it was not entirely predictable. It could be on any one of several days.Many years passed and then one day a man walked into the area of the pool and looked around at all the sick people there. It was the season of the year when an angel was said to stir the waters and the first person into the pool would be healed. The name of the pool was Bethesda and the man who walked in on this day was none other than Jesus of Nazareth.And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.John 5:5–9What lies behind this story is even more interesting than the incident itself. But that isn't what especially caught my interest. What I thought was fascinating about the encounter was the resemblance to a lottery. Year after year, only one person was healed, and the selection was absolutely random. A blind man might not see the moving of the water. A deaf man might not hear it. A lame man couldn't reach it fast enough. And even Jesus healing on this occasion had the same random quality to it. Maybe Jesus selected this one man for a reason, but if he did, he didn't say so. And more important, he only healed one man on this day, just as the waters might have done. That one man won the lottery. The rest did not. On the surface, it seems unfair, doesn't it? But at the same time, it is a lot like life...

Friday, 26 November 2021   “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Acts 2:36   Peter has finished his citing of Psalm 110. Based on what he presented, it is understood that the words of David were evidently not referring to David himself,   but to the coming Messiah. He is greater than David, He is sitting at the right hand of the Lord, and He is there until the Lord's enemies have been made His footstool.   With this clearly presented and now perfectly understood, Peter says, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assu redly.” The Greek word order (which is how the verse will be evaluated) reads, “Assuredly, therefore, let know all the house of Israel.” There is a strong emphasis that the matter Peter will speak of is firmly established.   The word translated as “assuredly” is one which indicates “not to totter.” Thus, it is that which is secure. Its other two uses, Mark 14:44 and Acts 16:23, both refer to someone being securely guarded. Peter indicates that the truth of the matter is secure and sure. One might say, “This is an inescapable truth.”   As such, the next word – translated as “therefore” – is then supported by the words that follow. They are words that are to be heard, understood, and (hopefully) accepted as absolute truth. Hence Peter follows with “let know.”   It is the common Greek word ginóskó, signifying “to come to know,” “to recognize,” “to perceive,” and so on. Peter is indicating that the result of the surety of the matter that he has presented is intended to “let all the house of Israel” come to understand – whether they like it or not, and whether they accept it as not – that the matter is established.   The term “house of Israel” is a way of saying “family.” Israel was the father of twelve sons. He also adopted two sons of Joseph as his own. It is this family which comprises the whole house of Israel.   Descendants from all of these tribes were gathered at the temple, they had seen the effects of the coming of the Spirit upon the apostles, and they had heard the explanation of the event. From there, they were to accept what was presented and continue to convey this message to all others in this nation – the “house of Israel.”   And what is it specifically that Israel is to hear, understand, and (hopefully) accept? Well, it is a thought that is based on what Peter had just presented right from Scripture, and which was fulfilled in the coming of Jesus. It is “that God...”   What has occurred is an act of God, and thus it stands as an eternal edict of God. What God has done is set, it is fixed, it is firm, and it is fully resolved. With this being perfectly understood from Scripture, and from the fact that God is both the Creator and the One who directs His creation, it is He who determines what will come to pass.   As such, and as His words spoke forth of the coming of the Messiah, and as His Messiah had come (just as God determined), and as His Messiah had fulfilled His will (just as God stated), then it is established that He “has made this Jesus.”   It is “this Jesus” who Peter has explicitly referred to in verse 22 and verse 32 –   “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— (Acts 2:22) & This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses (Acts 2:32)   This same Jesus of Nazareth, who was attested to Israel by God, and whom God raised up from the dead, is the One that Peter is referring to. It is also He, as Peter says to Israel, “whom you crucified.”   These words would have been like sharp arrows pointing directly at the hearts of the men standing there. What had occurred was an event that was prophesied, and it was an event that was then fulfilled. But it was an event that Israel had been responsible for.   They were the people of the Lord. They were the stewards of the Scriptures. They were to be the people of the Messiah who was prophesied to come. And yet, they were the same people who did exactly what the Scriptures foretold, meaning the things they had done. They had crucified this Man – their Messiah. But Peter had said in verse 23 that this was “by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God.”   As such, there must be hope. It is the next verse that will both show their reaction to the words, and which will reveal that they will want to know if there is anything that they can do to make things right. For now, however, Peter finishes his thought concerning “this Jesus.” It is that God has made Him “both Lord and Christ.”   The word translated as “Lord” (kurios) signifies a master. In the Greek, it can indicate the Lord (YHVH), but it does not necessarily signify that. It can simply mean one greater than another, such as the “lord” or “master” of a house. The context decides the ultimate meaning. In this case, the context is that Jesus is the “Lord” or “Master” of Israel – its Messiah – based on the decision rendered by God. This is clearly understood from the word “Christ.”   The word Christ (Greek: Christos) comes from the word chrió, signifying “to anoint by rubbing or pouring olive oil on someone to represent the flow (empowering) of the Holy Spirit. Anointing (literally) involved rubbing olive oil on the head, etc., especially to present someone as divinely-authorized (appointed by God) to serve as prophet, priest or king” (HELPS Word Studies). As such, it means “Anointed One.” Thus, it is a direct translation of the Hebrew word “Messiah.”   God has made this Jesus both the Lord of Israel and the Messiah of Israel. This is the culminating thought of what has been presented to the ears of the people by Peter as he speaks forth his words of explanation concerning the events that have occurred before them.   Life application: There is absolute surety in the words of Scripture concerning Jesus. If the New Testament is the word of God, then there is no other possibility than that Jesus is the full, final, and forever expression of what God has done in Christ. As such, there is no other way to be reconciled to God except through Him.   There are people that believe Jews can be saved through adherence to the Law of Moses. This is the set doctrine of, surprisingly, the Roman Catholic Church. This is also the heretical teaching of John Hagee and other dual-covenant “theologians.”   There are others who say that even Jews who believe in Jesus (and some add in the Gentiles) must still adhere to the Law of Moses (in part or in whole). These are also heretics. The New Testament clearly reveals that the law is annulled, obsolete, and set aside in Christ. It is nailed to the cross.   As such, to teach such things (which is exactly what Paul refers to in the book of Galatians) is, as Paul states it, anathema. It is accursed –   “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:6-9   Let us carefully heed the words of Scripture, and let us trust solely in the finished work, and thus in the merits, of Jesus Christ. It is He alone who is to receive our attention in our walk before the Lord. He alone fulfilled that which stood against us, meaning the Law of Moses.   Lord God, thank You for having done that which we could never have done. You sent Christ to accomplish the mission, to prevail over sin and death, and to rise again in order to give us a new hope and a new direction. Thank You for Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen.

Acts 10v38 - How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

Únete a la comunidad #EnDefensaPropia — tenemos contenido exclusivo: talleres, mentorías, Q&A con expertas y mucha gente bella comunidad.endefensapropia.com Todos tenemos una manera de ser, de reaccionar ante las situaciones, saber qué nos hace felices, qué nos entristece, pero ¿saben cómo se explica esto a nivel neurológico? Como ya hemos hablado en el podcast, nuestro cerebro puede generar nuevas conexiones, moldearse para responder de mejores y diferentes maneras. Solo es cuestión de entrenamiento y persistencia para aprender a sustituir hábitos, ya que el cerebro nunca olvida. Hoy hablo con la doctora Nazareth Castellanos, quien es neurocientífica y quien ha investigado los beneficios de la meditación en nuestro cerebro para aprender a modular nuestra atención, regular nuestras emociones. Además nos muestra la importancia de estar mas atentos a nuestro cuerpo que a nuestra mente. Este episodio nos da una pista de dónde están las respuestas que muchos estamos buscando

Are you quick sometimes quick to assume where and when a moment is 'special enough' for God to use? Garrett (Arrowhead Morristown) walks us through the story of Nathaniel, who was quick to assume that nothing great could ever come out of somewhere like Nazareth. Word of the Week is a series of short episodes to bring a brief pause to your week, interrupt your social media feed, and direct you back to God's Word, (prayerfully, right when you need it). As our modern world thirsts for truth only to find it in short supply, every verse of Scripture overflows with wisdom. From the first page to the very last word, the Bible is a unified story that leads us to Jesus. Each episode of Word of the Week is written and hosted by a leader from the Arrowhead Church family. If you'd like help reading your Bible, visit www.arrowhead.church/resources for tools to help you get started.

Since she was a little girl, Carissa Schumacher has always seen and spoken to dead people. She pushed all of that aside, went to Brown and got her Neuroscience Degree, tried to have a normal life and career, and then Spirit made the call and she put that down and started working as an empathic intuitive and forensic psychic medium. She led retreats in Sedona, and worked with clients around the world, including doing a lot of pro bono work on crimes. This was all well and good until October 2019, around the time when I first met her. When Carissa was little an angelic presence told her she would be a channel for Yeshua of Nazareth, which she didn't think about much at the time. She wasn't raised in a religious household, she didn't even know what it meant. But then Yeshau “birthed” in her channel. This means that while she was leading a retreat in Sedona, Yeshua took over her body, and voice, and gave a transmission, or a teaching. Yeshua, as you might've guessed, is Jesus. If it sounds wild, it is. I have been in the presence of Carissa while she's channeling Yeshua many times now. And it is unlike anything I've ever experienced before. I would say that it's incredible, but they've also been some of the most grounded moments of my life. Yeshua is funny, brilliant, kind—an ascended master like Buddha or Lao Tzu. And as he talks, you can feel the codex is of energy behind his words. The transmissions also are not particularly religious. If that makes sense, as he has remarked, he never wanted a church in his name. And the Bible is a series of stories. Some that are instructive, some that are parables, many told by people who never knew him. Last year. He asked Carissa to turn on her recorder for several days and he brought forth The Freedom Transmissions, a series of teachings about the year that we just experienced, plus how to move forward. It is a beautiful book you can open and flip to almost any page and find something of resonance and need. In today's conversation, we talk about The Freedom Transmissions, as well as other moments from Yeshua transmissions I've heard over the years, including about the one thing that humans actually own, which is time. We talk about co-creation. We talk about the true definition of atonement, and we talk about the idea of freedom and how hard it is to make the leap from the cage. As she says, she is not Yeshua, just one of his channels and a student alongside the rest of us, but she still has a brilliant mind.  EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: Connecting to consciousness to change the world…(17:10) Repentance, humility, and perfection…(38:01) Out of servitude through suffering, into servitude through joy…(47:56)  Planting seeds of faith, forgiveness, and freedom…(1:07:49) MORE FROM CARISSA: The Book's Website The Freedom Transmissions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

About the Hearing Matters Podcast The Hearing Matters Podcast discusses hearing technology (more commonly known as hearing aids), best practices, and a growing national epidemic - Hearing Loss. The show is hosted by father and son, Blaise Delfino, M.S. – HIS, and Dr. Gregory Delfino, Au.D., CCC-A, who treat patients at Audiology Services in Bethlehem, Nazareth, and East Stroudsburg, PA. On this episode, Blaise Delfino talks with Marybeth Lauderdale, chief engagement and collaboration officer at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf (WPSD) in Pittsburgh.A Focus on ChildrenMarybeth knew from the time she was in junior high school that she wanted to be a teacher. She talked to her history teacher, who had a deaf daughter, and she suggested Marybeth teach the deaf. She decided to do exactly that. She taught for many years and has been in her current position for two years. She works with the faculty and students' parents on programs at the school in Pittsburgh and throughout the state. She came from Illinois, where she was the superintendent of the School for the Deaf and Visually Impaired there.A Varied DayMarybeth loves working with children because it's so varied. About 25 percent of the students have cochlear implants, so there is a continuum of communication modes at the school. Along with American Sign Language, the school also may use spoken English or a combination of the two. Students of all AgesThere are children at WPSD as young as 5, and there are residential students, who come to school on Monday morning and leave on Friday at noon. Marybeth works with the staff to ensure the acoustics in the classroom are the best to optimize students' residual hearing. There are five speech and language pathologists, an audiologist, psychologists, and counselors. Together they work on American Sign Language, speech, and audition to maximize every type of communication there is. During COVID, students learned via Zoom. Often the parents would sit in on the Zoom classes as well. The school use spoken English, sign language and captioning to teach during that time. Only about five percent of the students' have deaf parents. The rest have hearing parents, which is a unique situation. Often the deaf child is the parents' first baby. These parents, who are usually shocked and upset, take time to grieve. They have experienced a loss. But they are told that getting intervention for their child as soon as possible will be invaluable. Parents are also strongly encouraged to learn sign language, and to include the child in family activities as a participant, not as an observer.Plans for Every StudentWPSD has a Zero to Three-Years Old program. Every baby has a Family Service Plan, and every student has an Individual Education Plan (IEP) that sets up goals. There is also a transition program for high school students to help them transition into the working world. A team works with them on soft skills, work skills and academic skills. Students go to work placements while they're in school. Eventually they go to college, get jobs and live lives like everyone else. Schools like WPSD help deaf and hard of hearing people achieve all their goals, even with hearing loss. Sign Language for AllBlaise Delfino encouraged everyone with children, whether hearing or not, to learn baby sign language. This enables parents to know what the child wants before he/she can speak. The child learns simple words like more, milk, and diaper.  Marybeth encourages everyone to learn American Sign Language. “It can only help,” she says. “It will never hurt.”

Thanks for joining us for episode ten of This Is Jesus: Season 3.We're living in the golden age of binge-worthy, documentary-style storytelling—reflected in the popularity of shows like Tiger King and The Last Dance. But, the original might be The Gospel According to Luke. It's like an ancient docu-series that seamlessly weaves together archival footage (writings), eyewitness interviews, and expert commentary to tell the story of Jesus in dozens of episodes spanning multiple seasons. It's an inside-look at the conversations and controversies surrounding his rise from humble roots in Nazareth, his crucifixion in Jerusalem, and the twist ending that created a movement that's still going strong two thousand years later.

Vibes: Surprise Frame It Why do I feel this way? James 4:13-14 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Funnel It Where should I direct it? Luke 1:26-38 In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” 34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.” 38 “I am the Lord's servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. Funnel it into serving. Luke 2 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. Funnel it into spreading the word. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. Funnel it into pondering. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. Funnel it into praise. Filter It What does the gospel say to it? Matthew 26:3-4 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, 4 and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. Matthew 28:1-10 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. 5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you.” 8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

Monday, 22 November 2021   This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Acts 2:32   The previous verse noted that David “spoke concerning the resurrection of Christ.” Peter now directly states this prophecy is fulfilled, saying, “This Jesus.” It is who he openly proclaimed in verse 2:22, after which he explained the events leading to his citing of the psalm –   “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— 23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; 24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.” Acts 2:22-24   With his subject clearly understood to be “This Jesus,” he now repeats the fact stated in verse 2:24, saying, “God has raised up.” The repetition is to demonstrate that what he had claimed is perfectly in line with the prophecy of David. And more, for emphasis, he used the verb form of the noun used in the previous verse –   Concerning the resurrection (anastasis) of the Christ God has raised (anistémi) up   The mental idea conveyed to the ears of the people would be, “David spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, and God resurrected Christ, who is JESUS.” It is of this amazing event that Peter next says, “of which we are all witnesses.”   These words certainly extend beyond the thought of that stated concerning the selection of a replacement for Judas –    “Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.” Acts 1:21, 22   The apostles' office was specifically to proclaim what they had seen, bearing witness to the events as a united group. This is noted, for example, in Acts 8:1 –   “At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.”   Because of the office, the apostles remained together while all the others were scattered. Understanding this, Peter's words now that “we are all witnesses” is most likely speaking of whatever size of group of disciples were gathered and upon whom had been poured out the Holy Spirit. As there were more than twelve languages identified by Luke, it is probable that it was a gathering of all of the disciples, and Peter is referring to all of them.   Be it twelve, one hundred and twenty, or more, the matter is legally established before the people with his words. Deuteronomy 19:15 set the standard for witnesses in any testimony concerning iniquity or sin as “two or three witnesses.” That became the standard for any testimony in Israel. Jesus noted that to the Pharisees in John 8:17 because it was a clearly accepted provision among the people.   Therefore, the matter of the resurrection is clearly established through the multiple witnesses standing before the people.   Life application: The Bible is the written record of what has occurred in redemptive history. It details God's workings in and through Christ in order to reconcile us to Himself. Is it reliable? If you are unsure, it is incumbent upon you to verify it in your own mind. Or, if you are challenged by someone as to why you believe it, can you defend your faith? Even if you cannot, if someone challenges you, the onus is on that person to make his claims for or against the word.   This was the case with Simon Greenleaf. He was a non-believer, but he was one of the greatest legal minds in history. He was a principal founder of Harvard law school. At one point, he was challenged by a student to look at the gospels from a legal standpoint.   As an intellectually honest person, he took the challenge, setting aside any presuppositions or biases. In doing so, he came to the conclusion that the gospels hold the topmost weight of legal accuracy. His basis for this was that “Every document, apparently ancient, coming from the proper repository or custody, and bearing on its face no evident marks of forgery, the law presumes to be genuine, and devolves on the opposing party the burden of proving it to be otherwise.”   His conclusion was that the gospels bore this stamp of authenticity and were, in fact, what they claimed to be. As such, he states –   “The foundation of our belief is a basis of fact - the fact of the birth, ministry, miracles, death, resurrection by the Evangelists as having actually occurred, within their own personal knowledge it was therefore impossible that they could have persisted in affirming the truths they have narrated, had not Jesus actually rose from the dead, and had they not known this fact as certainly as they knew any other fact.”   Simon Greenleaf surrendered his life to Christ, knowing that no legal case could suitably challenge the Bible's genuineness.   Be sure of your faith by being sure of what the basis for your faith is. Read this word, study this word, and cherish this word. Be ready to defend it, and also be ready to challenge those who dismiss it. Implore them to be as intellectually honest as Simon Greenleaf and to do their own evaluation of it – to the glory of God.   Thank You Lord God that our faith, the faith we possess in Jesus Christ, is ground in a word that is reliable, verifiable, and accurate in all that it contains and proclaims. Thank You that we have the surety of the truth of Jesus Christ and His gospel. He died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again – according to Scripture. Thank You, O God, for the surety we possess. Amen.

En este episodio, el sacerdote cristiano Elías Neira expone las principales características del liderazgo de Jesús, como ejemplo de liderazgo en estos tiempos.

Audio Transcript: This media has been made available by Mosaic Boston Church. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston, and our neighborhood churches, or donate to this ministry, please visit mosaicboston.com. Good morning and welcome to Mosaic. I'm Jan one of the pastors here at Mosaic, along with Pastor Shane and Pastor Andy. We're so glad that you are with us. A couple things if you're new or even if you're not, I worshiped from the front today, and I did that... I usually worship from the back, because I'm like, I'm distracting and all this. But then Raquel who's on staff here. My girl Raquel, she said, "Do you want to teach the men at the church to worship God, and start worshiping God from the front?" And then she sent me a haka dance. She's like, "That's the way you're supposed to worship God." I'll be doing that once in a while. I'll switch things up. Second thing I want to communicate is my T-shirt. I've been trying to speak from the heart and it's hard. So I'm going to wear what I want to say. I'm going to wear it on my heart, and I'm going to switch this up. If you've got a T-shirt that you're like, "Pastor Jan, this should be on your heart." Just give me that T-shirt. So this one, the Holy Spirit sent me this week. It's an astronaut and he's holding the Earth and it says love. And it's meaningful to me because Elon Musk believes that the world is so broken, that the only way to save humanity is to go to Mars. And I want to call Elon to repentance and to tithe. But repentance in particular because no, if God hasn't given up yet, then we shouldn't either. And there's power to fixing, the power is the love of God poured out through the Holy Spirit. With that said, would you please pray with me. And I wrote up prayer, a pastoral prayer. Heavenly Father we come to you in the name of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. We pray that you stir our hearts to love, and stir our hearts for good works. Make us a church that seeks to stir up one another lovingly, but courageously to live lives of absurd generosity. The kingdom of God, the Gospel work in this region of the nation. Lord, I pray that you stir up every member of this church, every Christian attender, every former member, and every former attender, anyone who loves and cares for this church, and for this spiritually dark part of the nation. Lord stir us up to be ridiculously, nonsensically, extravagantly, holistically, generous, and only your Holy Spirit can do this. And Jesus, we look to your sacrifice on our behalf. We see that you sacrificed everything in obedience to the Father to save us, to pay our debts, to give us access to the throne room of God, access to the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints. And we pray turn our theological, our theoretical generosity into true, practical, genuine, real generosity. Where we are ready to cut fat checks, where we are ready to make sizable wire transfers, where we truly go all in. Burn in sin, greed, and covetist, and selfishness, and fear of future out of our hearts, engulf our hearts with the Holy Spirit. God you are a giver. You have everything. And you have given everything to save us because you love us. So make us Godly givers who are ready to give everything to you because everything is yours to begin with. And we pray all this in the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. Amen. I've sent out a study guide. It was seven pages. I wrote it from the heart. I wrote my own commentary. I did all the exegesis. Chloe was so kind as to format it and make it look pretty. I also have a 13-page manuscript of all my thoughts and they're coherent. If you'd like the whole thing, I'll send that to you as well. And I'm just going to speak from the heart today. We'll see how it goes. I pray the Holy Spirit stirs your heart as well. My wife told me, Tanya, she came to church today, praise God. We had a little situation because I wore a T-shirt last week. But she liked this T-shirt, she liked the sermon. It was tremendous. And she said to me, "What are you preaching on?" I said, "I'm preaching on money. I'm preaching on..." She said, "Don't preach about money. So you're stirring stuff up already. Why are you preaching on?" I'm like, "It's the next text? I'm just going verse by verse." And she said, "But everyone is going to think that you're trying to get them to give you their money." And I went like this because I go like this when I'm trying to explain something. When I get really sad, and then I'm angry, and then I pray for the Holy Spirit of baptize the anger and turn it into the zeal. And when I explain it, I was like, "Tanya, do you know what opportunity cost is?" Opportunity cost is when you're 23 making 75 grand a year in 2006, and you quit everything because you came up with a crazy idea that God called you, but God called you. And then you're like, "The CIA can't win the battle for hearts and mind, so let's do it. So we are going to do it ourselves." And opportunity cost is like all the income that you give up because you go to seminary, and then you got to pay for the seminar. You got to live while you're in seminary, you can have a baby in seminary, and then you go another seminary, and then you go third seminary. Opportunity cost. The point is, I'm not doing it for the money. It doesn't pay that well. I am doing this to be faithful to the Lord. He called me and He said, "I got a word for you and I will prophesy from this word." Whatever the fallout, I care, but I don't. I care too much about what's best for you, so I don't care about ruffling just some of the feelings because no one has ever hurt your feelings. To tell you the truth I'm here to hurt some feelings. So okay, you get the point. We are in a tremendously... Oh, the other thing I was going to say, I forgot this in the first service. If you don't get anything that I say read the study guide, and read the text, and then re-listen to the sermon because I realized that I make a much better second impression. Sometimes I make a better third impression. So just listen and just hear my heart. That's the first thing. The other thing I told Tanya, I was like, "Hey Jesus, talked more about money than about hell because if you love money more than God you are going to hell." So I'm calling every one of us to repent of greed and covetness. That we're a tremendously filled, Holy Spirit filled sermon series through 2nd Corinthians, if you don't believe me go back and listen to it. It's really tremendous. I've been really blessed by Holy Spirit stirring something in my heart. And so the context of this book is, and we called it prodigal church because St Paul plants this church in court, they get saved. And they get saved miraculously. They live in a very pagan town, sexually immoral, driven by greed and money, money, money, money, money is at the center of everything. These people get saved. St. Paul leaves, and what happens is the church goes prodigal. They were in the Father's house. They were enjoying the Father's riches, His lavish grace, His lavish forgiveness, His lavish generosity. And then they decided to take God's grace, His riches, and then go live a life of sorted sin because they believe, "Well, God forgives me anyway." And they took God's genuine lavish grace, and they made it cheap grace. So St. Paul writes them and he calls them back to repentance. And he is like, "Hey, you don't understand grace. Grace isn't just a get out of hell free card, so you can sin as much as you want, live any way you want. You come back to Jesus whenever you choose." So God allows the prodigal sometimes to end up in a pig stay, to come to his senses, to run back to God. God is waiting, arms wide open. And he welcomes the guy in, His younger son into a party. So that's at the heart of everything St. Paul is saying. So he writes them again in 2nd Corinthians, and he is like, "It's time church that we grow up from being takers." Take, take, take, take, take, mooches, and turn into givers. From being prodigal children taking from the father to prodigal children, the true definition of the word giving. Giving to the work of God. My wife and I, we have four daughters. And anytime we meet anyone who has fewer than four children, we usually hear a comment like this. "Oh, they're going to be so happy when they grow up, because they're going to have each other." And it's true and I try to teach my girls, "Hey, you got to be generous with one another." Bible story last night, before we pray and go to sleep, it was this. God loves a cheerful giver. "Be cheerful givers to one another girls, because there'll be a time that mom and dad are not here. Be generous to one another." Well, the family of God is just like that. So if you are an only child, and you join this church family, we will love you like family, like siblings. You're my brother. You're my sister. You have needs. Let us help. That's what the family of God is. We're a family after all, aren't we? So that's where St. Paul starts. And he starts with the assumption that you've been saved because of Jesus Christ. He though being rich became poor so that you might become rich for his name sake, rich in every way that matters. We're going to walk through the text together verse by verse. 2nd Corinthians chapter nine, verse one. "Now it is superfluous for me to write to you about the ministry for the saints." Superfluous means redundant, means unnecessary. If you don't know what that word means, go on my Facebook or Instagram. I got a picture where I wear... In 2011 where my neck was really thin, and I used to hide it with a scarf, and they called it, and you wrap it around. They called a superfluous scarf. You don't need that. It's redundant. And he says, "I don't have to write to you about the ministry for the saints. You already know. You already know." This is what I'm trying to communicate to the church, Mosaic, you know so much. And if you're like, "I don't think I know enough." There's 10 years of sermons online where I pour my heart and soul, Pastor Shane, Pastor Andy, we pour our heart and soul into those sermons. You want to know more, go listen. That's why in the newsletter I did that sermon from Nehemiah from 2012. It blessed my heart. I was listening to it, and my daughters Sophia came downstairs and she's like, "Hey, can you put the pastor down because I'm trying to sleep?" I was like, "Sophia. Who is that?" She's like, "Oh no, dad. No. Tell me that's not you." "Yeah, that's me." I talk like this now, because that's what Boston does to you. "It's superfluous for me to write to you about the ministry for the saints." Ministry is the service. And he's talking about generosity, that's ministry. So if people are like, "Well, you're in ministry, your..." Every single one of us, every member ministry. And he's talking about for the needs of the saints, ministry for the saints. Who is he talking about? He's talking about the church in Jerusalem. The church in Jerusalem where it all started. Where the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost poured out his Holy Spirit upon the church, transformed their lives. They started selling real estate. They started selling their land. They started selling everything, and bringing it to the apostle's feet. Because they're like, "It changed my life. The world needs the Gospel. Here you go." And I'm not saying you should sell everything and bring it to the feet of Christ, but I am. Because if every single one of us, we actually sold everything that we have and pulled our money together we'd finally get the church building that we need, with a school. It's a campus now. The vision is growing in my heart. It's a campus. It's like Harvard. We just own the whole thing. And we have housing for every member. If you're a member of the church, this is just my dream, bear with me, where it's free housing for couples, for singles. But if you are a married couple and if you want to live here, well you have to adopt an orphan from the city, and you have to raise them in the Lord, and you have to disciple them, and you have to send them to our school. The MBA, Mosaic Boston Academy. That's what I call it. Where did you go? I got an MBA from MBA. It's in my heart. Imagine if we actually believed that the Gospel changes everything. You know what I was thinking of this week? If everybody became a Christian, we could fix all the problems in the world. And Christian is the only one that can do it. The only one. If you imagine any other world religion. Okay. Everybody is a member of that religion. Is that a world I want to live in? Everyone is a spirit filled Christian. So men are spirit filled, so that dad don't have to worry about you doing something to one of their daughters. My daughter Sophia was telling me about health class. And the teacher, her health teacher was teaching them about date rape drugs. Like, "Hey class, if you ever go to a party and someone gives you a drink, say no thank you, because they might have slipped a drug in it." I was like, "Sophia, get me in the class please. And I'm going to tell, "Girls, how about this? How about we don't go to parties where someone might offer you a drink with a drug to then rape you."" I used to say, I don't believe in litigating morality. I don't believe that anymore. I don't believe that anymore. Because everyone is litigating morality. I believe in litigating morality because God gave us 10 commandments to litigate everyone's morality. They're right there. They're in the Hebrew. Look it up. Exodus. I want everyone to become a Christian. That's what I want. I evangelize to absolutely everyone I meet. Everyone I call them to Jesus. Please. I'm at the point where I've been attending the Brookline town meetings on Zoom. And they were three meetings and I went to two of them. The first one, they let me speak what was on my heart. And they showed everyone in the room and I was just going and everyone is like, yeah, on the screen. So I can see the people are with me. I'm a man of the people. The second one, they blocked all of the screens, so I couldn't get that energy. The third one, they wouldn't let me speak because they can't handle the smoke. So now I'm at the point where it's like, "You know what? I think I'm going to run for the town board. I think I'm going to run for it." Because there's got to be a dad on the board who thinks like a dad and cares for the children of the town. Because the town members do not have children. They don't care about. They're making decisions that are impacting my children. So the point is, the ministry for the saints we should care about. What's the saint? What is he talking about? He's not talking about people who are absolutely holy, but the very second you become a Christian, you are a saint. It's an office. He moves you into that office on the outside door. It says you are saint, and that is your ministry. The saints need help where the Gospel actually got started. Verse two, "For I know your readiness of which I boast you to the people of Macedonia saying that Achaia has been ready since last year, and your zeal has stirred up most of them." I know your readiness. The readiness here is a military term. But you are soldiers of God. You know what the mission is. When you live like that, you begin to understand... A lot of people don't even understand Christianity because they think, "All right, I get saved. And now I have a book and I have to learn it, and I just got to be a nerd. And I got to be a scholar, a biblical scholar. That's what a Christian is." Pastor Andy, who I love with my whole heart. He called me today. Was the biggest compliment. It was kind of talking trash, but he loves me, so it was a compliment because when you really love someone, you tell them what you think. He called me a Russian Rhode Island, Guido, nerd, bro. And I used to think of Christianity, yeah, it's very nerdy. You got to be a nerd to be a Christian. You got to study the Greek and the Hebrew, you got to do all this. And then I realized nerds don't change the world. Nerds do not transform the world unless you're Elon Musk. But even he started taking testosterone. What I'm saying is, you really have to believe. For Christianity to makes sense, you really have to believe that the very second you become a Christian you get thrown into the arena as a gladiator and God gives you a sword. You're not thrown into a lecture hall. You're thrown a world where this only makes sense if you were actually doing it, if you're trying to do it and you realize how helpless you are apart from God. So your readiness of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonian. St. Paul knew their generosity, they got saved, and they were giving everything away. He goes to Macedonian plants the church there, and he tells them, "Hey, you know what happened in Corinth?" And no one could believe it because Corinth was like Boston. Whenever anyone comes to visit Mosaic from another part of the country, I always tell them, "Hey, when you go home, can you please send greetings from the saints in Boston?" And they always laugh. Because it's absurd to think of Bostonians as saints. You don't think of Bostonians as saints unless they got a gun to your head. Saint Paul is saying, "I went to Macedonia. I told everyone you're saints. I told everyone you're generous, now please make sure that you actually live up to the zeal. Your zeal has stirred up most of them." You know what zeal is. It's a fiery passion for God. You're just on fire for God. Lord I really do want to be used by you. Lord I'm all in. Lord fill me with the spirit. Lord there's no part of my life that I am holding back from you. You take it all, take it. That's zeal. And when people see someone with zeal, you know I have happens? They're like, "Oh, maybe I should actually like care a little bit." You feel the zeal, and you're like... The thing is when you feel zeal, you're not going to stir everyone. And this is fascinating. Your zeal has stirred up most of them. You're not going to stir everyone up. So this is why I say move with the movers and shake with the shakers. Jesus said that you go into a town and people reject the Gospel. He said dust off your boots and go to the next one. Don't let the haters kill your zeal. So zeal, stir each other up. That's what we're trying to do here. But I'm sending the brothers. He sends the men to go on mission, do the most dangerous work. I'm sending the brothers, so that are boasting about you may not prove empty, vain in this matter, so that you may be ready as I said you would be. And he does this in chapter eight where he talks about the brothers. And one of the brothers is Titus. One of the brothers is the brother who was famous for preaching the Gospel. Which is fascinating because St. Paul doesn't name the guy. And I think he doesn't name the guy on purpose. So the guy doesn't get a big head because he's already famous for preaching the Gospel. So he's sending these brothers to go and to pick up the generous gift from the Corinthian church. And he says, "So that it wouldn't prove empty. My boasting about you." Continues that same thought in verse four. "Otherwise if some Macedonians come with me, and find that you are not ready, not military ready, you're not ready for the mission. We would be humiliated to say nothing of you for being so confident." St. Paul thinks about humiliation, not in terms of fear of man. He thinks about humiliation in terms of, you didn't keep your promise. That's how you humiliated yourself. You promised to give and you didn't keep your promise. You broke your promise. And now because you broke your promise, people are going to suffer because you are not a man or a woman of your word. Don't humiliate me. Don't humiliate yourself. It's like when someone fathers a son or a daughter, and doesn't father them. That's humiliating. I heard of a guy who when his wife... This week his wife was pregnant with a fourth child and he just left her. And he left the children. He humiliated himself. And then he came back. He repented of a sin and he came back. St. Paul says, don't humiliate yourself by presenting yourself a facade, a mask of being a Christian when your heart is not in it. What would people think if they found out how much you give? I don't know how much anyone gives here. Would you be humiliated if people found out how much you give to the work of the Lord? That's what he's saying. So I thought at verse five, I thought it necessary to urge the brothers, urge, stir, to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised. The word gift here is blessing, evlogía in the Greek so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction. Because before they come, I want you to prepare in your hearts what you're going to give and prepare the gift. Actually set the money aside. So if it's in crypto, if it's in stocks, and if it's in whatever. That's what he's saying. When the time comes, have it ready, so that the presence of these brothers doesn't force you into generosity. Then you won't do it willingly. And it's going to feel like an exaction. And it's going to feel like you're extorting them. St. Paul says, "No, no, prepare it ahead of time." And verse six is the point is this... And I love when pastors get to the point. It took him nine and a half chapters to get to the point. But he is like, finally, I get to the point. Here's the point. This is verse six. The point is this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So he talks about, and this is fascinating. He talks about giving, not as losing. And this is so different than how the world talks about giving. You give and then it's lost. No, no. He views giving, giving by faith. He views giving as investing. And the image that he brings in is a farmer with a bag of grain, and he knows the winter is coming. And he can take the bag and eat off of it, eat well for the winter, or he can eat not as well, good enough, get by, and take the excess and invest it into his own future. So he takes the bag of grain and he goes, and it doesn't take a generous farmer, a generous planter does not penny pinch, pinch the seed. He takes a full handful, swinging arm, and just cast it, just lavishly, generously because he knows the more he sows, the more bountiful the harvest will be. Is that how you view giving? Do you view giving as like penny pinching toward God and toward people? Well, Yeshua of Nazareth was not a penny pincher. As the great rapper said, I forgot his name. Who said that Vlad? Huh? That guy. Yeah. So that's what he's saying. He's like, "Do you invest like this into relationships? Do you invest like this into brothers and sisters?" And I'm telling you, I'm trying to grow in this. I'm not naturally like this. I come from an immigrant family. My dad, he's growing in generosity, I'm growing in generosity. Because I'm good at math, and I'm good at numbers. And I'm like, "Yeah, if I give then I can't invest. And this gift of 100 bucks, isn't really 100 bucks, it's also... If I put in Shiba coin, in a year, it could be a lot more." And then I go through all of that, but the Lord is like, "But I give it to you now to give this person and meet this need." And it's not even yours Jan. That's the point. Do you give this generously? Two texts that I was thinking about today. Luke 19 you get the story of Zaccaeus. And I say this because giving doesn't get you saved. A lot of people think that if you come to the church and you cut God a check, you get God off your back. And now you can go and sin and live any way you want. And you think you have atoned for your sin. And doesn't work like that. So if someone brings in the check, and they're like, "This is to atone for my sins." Would I take the check? We'd have to pray about it. I would call the person like, "Hey, this doesn't save you. This doesn't save you. You know what saves you? Repenting of your sins and trusting in Jesus Christ. God, please forgive me of all my sins." At the very second you submit your life to God, and you believe in him. You trust in Jesus. He died on the cross for your sin. And he didn't penny pinch his blood. He didn't tie this blood. He gave all of his blood to save you. The richness of his blood, of his... He died on a cross for you. Brutal. Was executed for you. Crown of thorns instead of a crown of gold. He did that for you. When you realize that he did that, Jesus died on the cross for my sin to pay all my debts, all of my trespasses, that changes your heart. And then when you read the text, and God tells you to be generous, and you say, "How?" And He says, "As I've been generous to you." Jesus went all in and calls us to do the same. So Luke 19, I was thinking about Zaccaeus. He gets saved and after he gets saved, he was a tax collector. He extorted people, his own people. And he got exorbitantly rich. And then he finally hears the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Jesus was preaching. He was on a tree. And then he gets saved. He gets radically saved. God elects him sovereign regeneration. Zaccaeus comes down and says, "Lord, whatever I've stolen from anybody I'm going to return fourfold. And then from my wealth, I'm going to give away half." Have you ever considered giving away half to the Lord? I have. I do. You know when? When I'm having fun, when church is fun, when ministry is fun, when life is fun, I'm like, "Yeah. Give it all way. This is so much fun." Because it's more blessed to give than to receive. So like you give and God sends blessing, and you're like, "Oh, this stuff is real. Yeah, it's real." And church has been tremendously fun recently. Pastor Shane and Pastor Andy came over my house two and a half hours. I grill them five steaks ribeye black angus from Maine. I grilled them up. They come down into my man cave, and Pastor Andy brought me a bottle of wine. And the reason why he bought that particular bottle of wine is because it had a cross on it as a sign from God. So what I'm saying is, when you're having fun, you're like, "Yeah. Life is so much more bigger, more enjoyable than just stuff, than just money." Verse seven, "Each one must give as he has decided in his heart. Generosity is decided in the heart not reluctantly, not under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. God loves a cheerful giver." You want to give. And God loves when you want to give. Not under compulsion. You're not forced. Not reluctantly, like, "I don't really want to give this." Cheerful giver, because God is a cheerful giver, Jesus Christ is a cheerful giver, for the joy that was set before him, he went to the cross. All right, for God so loved the world that He, what? Let's say it together. He gave. God so loved the world that He gave his begotten son. He gave his son for us. God is loving, generous, giving God, so whosoever believes in him. If you're not a Christian, believe in him. It's just that simple. Just believe in God. He changes your heart, and our sins are forgiven. Your eternity is secure. So why wouldn't we live generously for him? God loves a cheerful giver. Here I want to pause, and I want to talk about your favorite topic, tithing. And if it's not your favorite topic, hopefully it will be after I'm done. Read Matthew 23:23, dear Christian. This is a word for Christians. If you're not a Christian, I'm not talking to you. I mean I kind of are, so you know what you're getting yourself into. But Malachi three, read Malachi three. Read about how God feels when his people do not tithe. What is tithing? He calls it, you're robbing me. You robbed me. God commands that we are to give him 10% of our income. The principle remains. It's like the principle of the Sabbath. We are to give one seventh of our time to the Lord, to devote one seventh of our time to Lord. That's why I'm giving you homework. Because I want you to take a Sabbath where you do homework and you study scripture. And that's why I'm preaching for a lot longer than you perhaps want me to preach. But I have the mic, and unless someone turns it off I'm going to keep going. But my favorite lectures in college were three hours. My favorite lecture in college was a guy named Serge Nikita Khrushchev, Serge Khrushchev, Nikita Khrushchev's son. And he taught for three hours once a week. And he assumed you did all the reading. He assumed you did all the writing. He assumed you thought. And the lecture was just him speaking from his heart. It changed my life, the way I viewed the world. So yeah, I'm calling you to do that. I'm calling you to give your time. I'm calling you to give your life, and I'm calling you dear church to give your tithes. Why? Because... And I'm speaking to Mosaic, obviously I already expect this. I believe in you. That's why. So I expect things from you. The American church on average gives 2.3% of their income to the Lord. Like how can I talk about generosity when we're not even doing the basics. The basics. Read your Bible, pray, silence, solitude, fasting, share the Gospel, give 10%. Before we talk about generosity. It's 10% of what? 10% of my take home. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. The tithe has enough thing to do with Uncle Sam. Uncle Sam is a pagan and I call him to repentance. Uncle Sam, I do. I don't trust Uncle Sam with my money. I don't trust Joe Biden with my money. I don't trust he's going to do the right thing with my money. I'd rather give it to the Lord, and see what the Lord does. So I'm saying taxes that's another conversation for another day. I'm talking about the tithe. It's all the Lords before it's FICAs. So it's 10% of what you earn. And also it's 10% of what you earn off of your real estate, off of your stocks, off of your crypto, off of your side hustles, off of your Uber, off of your everything. So if you're going to tithe, you're going to sit down and you're going to say, "Okay, how much did God give me? How much did I earn? I'm going to give 10% of that." Imagine if the whole church, United States, imagine if the whole church tithed, we would change the world, would transform absolutely everything. And imagine if the church repented of not tithing, and said, "Lord, I've been robbing you for years, and now here's everything that I robbed you of with interest and inflation. Here you go, Lord." Is he serious? Yeah, maybe, I don't know. I'm saying it would change the world. And God loves a cheerful giver. He loves cheerful giving to his work, to his ministry. So we talked about tithe. And then it's anything you give above tithe that's generosity. So I know of believers, members of the church who give to foreign missions, which is awesome. Give to foreign missions after you've given to foreign missions here, because this is a foreign mission field. The whole world is sending their children here to get brainwashed, and then we export the brainwashing to the rest of the world. Well, why don't we take Boston, and do it in such a way where we actually do impact the world. But what have you decided to give to the Lord in your heart? That's verse seven. Verse eight, "And God is able to make all grace abound to you." That's fascinating because there's grace that God is withholding from you. There's blessings that God is withholding from you because you're not ready for it. If God blesses you right now and you don't have a generous heart, if God blesses you, and you don't have a generous heart, that blessing is going to turn into a curse. So yeah, God does withhold grace from some of his children who are disobedient. God does withhold some of his power, some of his presence from you because you're not ready for it. God is able to make all the grace abound so that having all sufficiency in all things and all times. Just satisfaction in everything. You may abound in every good work. You have all sufficiency in... Can you say that right now, and dear Christian? Because sufficiency is not a number, sufficiency is a state of heart. Is your heart right now satisfied in the Lord? Is it satisfied with what he has provided to you? And I wrestle with this, because I'm rich, but I'm Boston poor. You know what I'm saying? Where it's like anywhere else I'd live, I'd have the car I want, I'd have a parking spot, I'd have a garage, but I live in Boston. So like I wrestle with the sufficiency part, and the satisfaction part. So this week I've been wrestling with this text, and I realized I am filthy rich. I am so rich. I have two washer dryers. I have two. I have not one fridge, I have two and a half. I have two full fridges. And I always thought, you know you've made it in life when you have a second full fridge. Because I go to my friend's house and they're like, "Yeah. There's a fridge in the kitchen, there's a fridge in the garage." I'm like, "You got a fridge in the garage." "Yeah." And I also have, on top of my two and a fridge, I have a freezer chock-full of black angus meat. I bought a half a cow from Maine. It's my love language. So if I love you, I'm going to give you a pound of ground beef, or whatever is at the top. I'd give you the ribeye. I'm saying this is a sphere of generosity you want to cultivate here. My community group this week, we have a lot of people who don't have family around here. We're going to have a Thanksgiving meal. I hate turkey. I just despise turkey. If you know me, I got stories about turkeys. But it's what you got to do. And I'm like, "Yeah. But there's a reason why they had a Thanksgiving turkey because they couldn't catch anything else. Yeah." We're going to have turkey, but if it were up to me, we'd have steak. What I'm saying is, this is the season to be generous. This is the season to say, "God thank you. God thank you for the people in my life. I want to bless people. I want to be generous with everything that God has given me." Verse nine, "As it is written, He has distributed freely, He has given to the poor. His righteousness endured forever." He's quoting from Psalm 112, which is... It's a song. It's a poem about a Christian philanthropist. About a person who is generous in everything that they do. Generous with their life. Generous with their children, generous with their spouse, generous with their neighbors. I met with a... Long story. I met with a realtor yesterday and she said, "We're looking for some space for a church." Long story. She said, she was talking about the neighbors, and she's like, "Ah, there's a spirit of generosity." She said. "There's a spirit of generosity in this neighborhood." And I was like, "Oh, isn't that something?" Imagine if there was a spirit of generosity in Massachusetts, the spirit of America. Imagine we could change the nation. Verse 10. "And He, God, supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the harvest of your righteousness." God supplies the seed, God supplies the bread. God will, if we're generous, if we're faithful, He will multiply your seeds for sowing, and increase the harvest of your righteousness. I pray about you all week. I pray this all week. I pray, "Lord bless the people of Mosaic. Bless them this week. Bless their souls. Bless their families. Lord provide for all of their... Provide them seed, provide than food. And Lord multiply. Lord God multiply the work of their hands. Lord God, every single bank account of every single person who goes to Mosaic, is a member, Lord multiply. I prophesy that over you. Lord multiply." And you're like, "Is this a name and claim church?" No. It's a biblical church. Come back next week. We're going to talk about church membership and church discipline. But today we're talking about generosity. I pray God blesses your investments. I pray God blesses your crypto coins. I pray God blesses your businesses, your startups, your career, everything so that you can be even more generous to the world. And that changes things. And I love verse 11. This is a promise, friends. Like you can take God up on his promises. Look at this. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way. Who doesn't want that? Do you want to be enriched in every single way? I do. Well, God promised, God says, "I want to enrich you in every single way. It starts with the Gospel. It starts with repenting of your sins." Including greed, friends. When is the last time you got on your knees and said, "God, please forgive me for greed, for being greedy, stingy."? For just mooching off of God. We are to repent. That's a sin. That's a sin. We are to repent of it. And I'm calling the church of the United States to repent. I'm calling everybody to repent. That's my job. And myself, I've had to wrestle with this. I've had to repent of all kinds of brokenness in here when it comes to the sin of being greedy, of worrying that God will not provide. And then what happens when I start worrying, I start working more. And I start working now 40, 50, 80. I start working 100 hours because it doesn't look like the Lord is providing, so I'm going to do everything I possibly can with my own efforts. And that's not really helpful. And then things shut down. What I'm saying is the Lord is bringing healing in here, and I pray that he does the same with you, so that with our hearts together we can be generous toward God. Verse 12, "For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God." This ministry is not just to meet needs, He says, but it's to bring a crescendo of an orchestra of people worshiping God, just overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. That's the point. So when we serve, when we give to God, it's not to get a thank you from people. I ask that you pray, but it's to thank God. "God, thank you." And by the way, I do want to thank you for your generosity. Or those who faithfully give, and for those who faithfully serve, praise God. I don't know how much you give, but I can tell who is giving because they care. Because when you're invested in a place, when you invest in a church, you show up, and you actually want to serve, and you want to do evangelism. You want to do... I had a couple come to me and they're like, "I'm so glad you talk about Thanksgiving dinner because we had Thanksgiving dinner yesterday." And she showed me a picture, and she said, "We had a turk, duck, chicken." It was a turkey stuffed with a duck, stuffed with a chicken. That blessed my heart. Like it's so absurd. That's how generous it is. So I'm saying, church, thank you for your generosity. "By their approval of the service, they will glorify God because of your submission." So the people that you bless glorify God because you submitted your submission. And what does the submission flow from? Flowing from your confession of the Gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for others. They're going to glorify... God is going to get more glory. God is going to get the glory he deserves if you don't just confess Jesus Christ with your mouth, but actually submit your life to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to the word of Jesus Christ. And when you submit your life to Jesus Christ, everything changes. People actually glorify God. You know why David went against Goliath. Read the text. 1st Kings, I think 17. Because for 40 days and 40 nights Goliath would get up and defame the name of God. He would just get up and mock, and curse God, just cursed and... And it's like in Boston when people using the name of Jesus Christ, it's usually to curse someone out. And then David finally, he's like, "Enough is enough. I'd rather die than this continue." And with generosity of his life, he put his life on the altar, and like, "God, all right, I got some stones, can you please direct one of them?" And God did it. This is the generosity of heart, where if you have this, if your heart is in the right place, if your heart is in it, everything changes. Verse 14, "While they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God upon you, thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift." And he ends here and this is fascinating. A sister from the church texted me yesterday and she's like, "Hey, you talked about evlogía, in the study guide it means blessing or gift, and it's used twice. Hey, what about the word at the very end? It says gift. It's a different Greek word. Why does St Paul do this? Is it just a synonym?" Well, the gift here, the blessing that gift means. Focus on the gift. Focus on the gift, don't focus on the giver because where people give God the glory, here's the gift. This one focuses on the giver. It's an inexpressible gift because the gift giver is God Himself, that's why it's inexpressible. And he's talking about the gift of Jesus Christ. He's talking about the gift of God, the Father sending His son Jesus Christ to die for our sins. It's an inexpressible gift. Jesus Christ lived the most generous life that anyone has ever lived. And on top of that, he wasn't just generous in his life, he was generous in his death. Jesus Christ allowed himself to be crucified. He allowed himself to be flogged, scourged. He allowed that crown of thorns. He allowed himself to be put on a Roman cross that he carried. Now they put him on it, and they drove nail. They hammered nails through the most sensitive parts of his hands and his feet. He allowed all of that to happen. His blood poured out, his body broken for us. And then he gets put in a grave, and we think it's all over. And then he comes back from the dead. And the reason why there's Christianity today. And if you don't believe this, I dare you to explain how Christianity grew. Other religions grew by the sword, Christianity grew despite the sword. What would make the early believers go to their death testifying to the Gospel? It's the same thing. What happened? It's the same thing that moved them to sell their real estate. It's the same thing that moved them to sell their land and bring it to the feet of the apostles. What moved them? They saw the resurrected Christ, and they felt the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. It changed absolutely everything. That's why Acts 2 is so important. Acts two says the following, Acts 2:42 through 47. "And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching." They, the early church after day Pentecost. And the breaking of bread, and the prayers, and all came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles, and all who believed were together, and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings, and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their home. They received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day. Those who were being saved. We believe in this so much, we sold everything to be together. We sold everything, get the Gospel out. And by the way, this is the craziest stuff ever, so we're having a good time. And when we're having a good time, other people want to have a good time, and that's how people got saved. I'm working on the theology of fun. I'm working on it. So just bear with me, I'm verbal processing right now. Let me know what you think. I'm working on theology of fun because I've never heard anyone write about this. And the theology of fun goes like this. Who is more fun, God or Satan? And that's the battle over your heart. And what I'm here to tell you is, sin isn't fun. It's fun for like three seconds, and then you wake up the next morning. You know what is fun? It's a lot harder, but what is fun is following Jesus. There's nothing like it. There's nothing like the Holy Spirit stirring you, just miracle day after day, after day. There's nothing more fun. So what I'm saying is the Jerusalem church did that so that the Gospel could get out, and the Gospel got where? To Corinth, and now Corinthian believers have finances that the Jerusalem church needs, and Corinth gives back to where the Gospel came from. So this is my appeal to you church, and my appeal to the church of the United States, which I do not understand. I don't understand the church in America. I don't understand the church in America because we're not thinking about the Gospel right. We're not thinking about the kingdom. We're not thinking strategically. We're not. If we were thinking strategically, and this is a global church as a whole, if we were thinking strategically about how to get the Gospel out, and how to fix the world, this is how we'd be thinking. We'd say, "As America goes, so goes the world." How does America go? America goes as Boston goes. Boston is only a decade ahead of everyone else. And the American church sends their children here to get brainwashed and then export demonic ideologies to the churches of the United States. So what I'm saying is, it's time to take the head off the beast. Why doesn't the American church pull their finances together and say, "You know what? We're actually going to take Boston the way that we should have taken Boston. And we're going to send resources, and Pastor Jan is a nut, but he's effective." And so we together, we're going to build that campus. We're going to build Harvard the way it should be with a church in the middle, and a school, and the Mosaic Boston Academy, and an orphanage. And I want a cafeteria to feed absolutely everyone. And you get free meal if you listen to a 15-minute talk by me. And then when you get saved, you start actually joining the church, and joining the community. This is my call to the church. And also, and by the way if you live here, stay here. And I am talking to all the former members of Mosaic. I'm talking to you. I know you guys listen. You text me. I know Drew. Yeah. You know. Yeah. I can call out the name. I'm calling you back. I'm calling all of you back, and I want every single the seat filled so that we're talking about third and fourth services. I'm calling you back. And if you don't come back, at least send your tithes and offerings to the church. But first give tithes to your local church, then be generous here. And then here's what I also want to... All the time when I say Boston, we're going to take this city. And people are like, "Yeah. Real state is too expensive." Don't live in Boston. I'm not talking about Boston proper, I'm talking about Boston the idea. If you ask anyone from Worcester, where are you from? And they go to Texas. Where are you from? They're not going to say Worcester. No one knows what Worcester is. No one knows how to spell it. Everyone says Boston. Where are you from? Rhode Island, Long island? No, no, no. I'm from Boston. Everyone says Boston. So if you're from Boston, New Hampshire, Maine. And Maine's only an hour away. I don't even... Just drive here. If you drive here like taking the T from the north end takes longer to get here than driving from Rhode Island. You know what I'm saying? So if you come here on a Sunday, if you can get here on a Sunday, start a commuting group wherever you at. We're taking the city. That's what I'm saying. And then if you're like, I don't have a fancy degree to live up here. Hey, do you know how to build anything? Because no one up here knows how to do anything with their hands. The only thing they do with their hands is type, that's it. So if you're a builder in the United States or from outside, if you're an immigrant, if you're from Russia, I'm calling all the builders, and we're going to rebuild the city together. I'm going to help you establish your business. I know how. And then we're going to build a family home for the church. Have I said everything on my heart? Yes. 2nd Corinthians 9:15. Oh, by the way, if you're not a Christian today, would you become a Christian? Just repent your sin. Come on. Welcome to the team already. I've been doing this for too long to be like... That's why I'm switching up my style because I realized I don't want any barriers between who I am in my life, and when I get up here. I don't want to be like the different guy. This is how I live my life. I share the Gospel. I love the Lord. I read the word. I love my wife. We get in fights. She came to church today. We forgive each other. I love my daughters. I just want everyone to be a Christian. And if you are a Christian, let's grow up together. That's what I'm saying, and haka dance to the Lord as we worship. 2nd Corinthians 9:15, "Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift." Amen. Let's pray. Lord God please pour out your holy fire upon the hearts of your people. Burn in our hearts a desire to take the head off the beast like David took Goliath's in Jesus holy name. Amen.

Jesus starts his ministry in Capernaum, and travels to Nazareth to visit family. He goes on the Sabbath to the Synagogue and he reads from a scroll handed to him. The coincidence of the scroll handed to him cannot be missed, for he was intended to read Isaiah 61, in whose volumes was the containment of his entire mission in Galilee and Judah for the next three years.VersesMatthew 4:12-25Matthew 26:47-54Mark 1:14-20Luke 4:14-28Isaiah 61Galatians 5:6Leviticus 25Show Sponsor: SteadfastGiftshttps://www.etsy.com/shop/SteadfastGiftsProduct Referenced in the Show: Iron Sharpens Iron Coin https://www.etsy.com/your/shops/SteadfastGifts/tools/listings/section:30944840,stats:true/1105988934www.messagetokings.com  

With family: 1 Chronicles 15; James 2 1 Chronicles 15 (Listen) The Ark Brought to Jerusalem 15 David1 built houses for himself in the city of David. And he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. 2 Then David said that no one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, for the LORD had chosen them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister to him forever. 3 And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the LORD to its place, which he had prepared for it. 4 And David gathered together the sons of Aaron and the Levites: 5 of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, with 120 of his brothers; 6 of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, with 220 of his brothers; 7 of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, with 130 of his brothers; 8 of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, with 200 of his brothers; 9 of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, with 80 of his brothers; 10 of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, with 112 of his brothers. 11 Then David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar, and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab, 12 and said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites. Consecrate yourselves, you and your brothers, so that you may bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place that I have prepared for it. 13 Because you did not carry it the first time, the LORD our God broke out against us, because we did not seek him according to the rule.” 14 So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel. 15 And the Levites carried the ark of God on their shoulders with the poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the LORD. 16 David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brothers as the singers who should play loudly on musical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy. 17 So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel; and of his brothers Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons of Merari, their brothers, Ethan the son of Kushaiah; 18 and with them their brothers of the second order, Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, and the gatekeepers Obed-edom and Jeiel. 19 The singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were to sound bronze cymbals; 20 Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah were to play harps according to Alamoth; 21 but Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah were to lead with lyres according to the Sheminith. 22 Chenaniah, leader of the Levites in music, should direct the music, for he understood it. 23 Berechiah and Elkanah were to be gatekeepers for the ark. 24 Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, the priests, should blow the trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-edom and Jehiah were to be gatekeepers for the ark. 25 So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the house of Obed-edom with rejoicing. 26 And because God helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams. 27 David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as also were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and the singers and Chenaniah the leader of the music of the singers. And David wore a linen ephod. 28 So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, to the sound of the horn, trumpets, and cymbals, and made loud music on harps and lyres. 29 And as the ark of the covenant of the LORD came to the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and celebrating, and she despised him in her heart. Footnotes [1] 15:1 Hebrew He (ESV) James 2 (Listen) The Sin of Partiality 2 My brothers,1 show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? 8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Faith Without Works Is Dead 14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good2 is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. Footnotes [1] 2:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 5, 14 [2] 2:16 Or benefit (ESV) In private: Amos 9; Luke 4 Amos 9 (Listen) The Destruction of Israel 9 I saw the Lord standing beside1 the altar, and he said:   “Strike the capitals until the thresholds shake,    and shatter them on the heads of all the people;2  and those who are left of them I will kill with the sword;    not one of them shall flee away;    not one of them shall escape. 2   “If they dig into Sheol,    from there shall my hand take them;  if they climb up to heaven,    from there I will bring them down.3   If they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,    from there I will search them out and take them;  and if they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea,    there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them.4   And if they go into captivity before their enemies,    there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them;  and I will fix my eyes upon them    for evil and not for good.” 5   The Lord GOD of hosts,  he who touches the earth and it melts,    and all who dwell in it mourn,  and all of it rises like the Nile,    and sinks again, like the Nile of Egypt;6   who builds his upper chambers in the heavens    and founds his vault upon the earth;  who calls for the waters of the sea    and pours them out upon the surface of the earth—  the LORD is his name. 7   “Are you not like the Cushites to me,    O people of Israel?” declares the LORD.  “Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt,    and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Syrians from Kir?8   Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom,    and I will destroy it from the surface of the ground,    except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,”      declares the LORD. 9   “For behold, I will command,    and shake the house of Israel among all the nations  as one shakes with a sieve,    but no pebble shall fall to the earth.10   All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword,    who say, ‘Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.' The Restoration of Israel 11   “In that day I will raise up    the booth of David that is fallen  and repair its breaches,    and raise up its ruins    and rebuild it as in the days of old,12   that they may possess the remnant of Edom    and all the nations who are called by my name,”3    declares the LORD who does this. 13   “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD,    “when the plowman shall overtake the reaper    and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed;  the mountains shall drip sweet wine,    and all the hills shall flow with it.14   I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,    and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;  they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,    and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.15   I will plant them on their land,    and they shall never again be uprooted    out of the land that I have given them,”      says the LORD your God. Footnotes [1] 9:1 Or on [2] 9:1 Hebrew all of them [3] 9:12 Hebrew; Septuagint (compare Acts 15:17) that the remnant of mankind and all the nations who are called by my name may seek the Lord (ESV) Luke 4 (Listen) The Temptation of Jesus 4 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.'” 5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written,   “‘You shall worship the Lord your God,    and him only shall you serve.'” 9 And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,   “‘He will command his angels concerning you,    to guard you,' 11 and   “‘On their hands they will bear you up,    lest you strike your foot against a stone.'” 12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. Jesus Begins His Ministry 14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. Jesus Rejected at Nazareth 16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 18   “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,    because he has anointed me    to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives    and recovering of sight to the blind,    to set at liberty those who are oppressed,19   to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” 20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph's son?” 23 And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘“Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.'” 24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers1 in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, he went away. Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Demon 31 And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, 32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. 33 And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Ha!2 What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36 And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37 And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region. Jesus Heals Many 38 And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. 39 And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them. 40 Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. 41 And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ. Jesus Preaches in Synagogues 42 And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, 43 but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” 44 And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.3 Footnotes [1] 4:27 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13 [2] 4:34 Or Leave us alone [3] 4:44 Some manuscripts Galilee (ESV)

Friday Free For All Rittenhouse verdict Guest during the 2nd segment Teryn Gregson fired by the PGA over vaccine mandate We the Patriots - https://wethepatriotsusa.org/ TerynGregson.com Please pray for those that have been fired over the Vaccine Mandates ------------------ Acts 10:34-43 (ESV Strong's) Gentiles Hear the Good News 34 So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), 37 you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39 And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, 41 not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. 43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” ------------------ 5 Core Values of SWAT 1. God's Word 2. Prayer 3. Evangelism 4. Discipleship 5. Community ------------------ https://swatradio.com/ SWAT - Spiritual Warriors Advancing Truth Call us Toll-Free at: +1-844-777-7928 Email Us a Question: ask@swatradio.com FIND A SWAT MEETING Woody's Bar-B-Que 226 Solano Rd Ponte Vedra, FL 10611 Wed. 6:30-7:30 am IHOP 3250 Hodges Blvd Jacksonville, FL 32224 Wed. Night 7-8 pm Salem Centre 7235 Bonneval Rd Jacksonville, FL Wed. 12:00-1:00 pm Jumping Jax House of Food 10131 San Jose Blvd #12 Jacksonville, FL Thursday 6:30-7:30 am The Village Inn 900 Ponce De Leon Blvd St. Augustine, FL Friday 9:00-10:30 am Woodmen Valley Chapel - Woodmen Heights Campus 8292 Woodman Valley View Colorado Springs CO 80908 Thursdays 8-9:15 pm

This week we are delving into possibly one of the most famous religious events in history, the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. While it isn't scientifically possible for anyone to rise from the dead after being killed, we look to see if their are other possible explanations for Jesus's miraculous "resurrection".

Doug's guest today is Galen Patrick Project Get Saved on Facebook New Dawn Outreach - https://www.newdawnoutreach.org/ White Guy with a Boat Iron Sharpens Iron ------------------ Acts 10:34-43 (ESV Strong's) Gentiles Hear the Good News 34 So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), 37 you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39 And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, 41 not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. 43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” ------------------ 5 Core Values of SWAT 1. God's Word 2. Prayer 3. Evangelism 4. Discipleship 5. Community ------------------ https://swatradio.com/ SWAT - Spiritual Warriors Advancing Truth Call us Toll-Free at: +1-844-777-7928 Email Us a Question: ask@swatradio.com FIND A SWAT MEETING Woody's Bar-B-Que 226 Solano Rd Ponte Vedra, FL 10611 Wed. 6:30-7:30 am IHOP 3250 Hodges Blvd Jacksonville, FL 32224 Wed. Night 7-8 pm Salem Centre 7235 Bonneval Rd Jacksonville, FL Wed. 12:00-1:00 pm Jumping Jax House of Food 10131 San Jose Blvd #12 Jacksonville, FL Thursday 6:30-7:30 am The Village Inn 900 Ponce De Leon Blvd St. Augustine, FL Friday 9:00-10:30 am Woodmen Valley Chapel - Woodmen Heights Campus 8292 Woodman Valley View Colorado Springs CO 80908 Thursdays 8-9:15 pm

With family: 1 Chronicles 11–12; Hebrews 13 1 Chronicles 11–12 (Listen) David Anointed King 11 Then all Israel gathered together to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, we are your bone and flesh. 2 In times past, even when Saul was king, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the LORD your God said to you, ‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over my people Israel.'” 3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD. And they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the LORD by Samuel. David Takes Jerusalem 4 And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, that is, Jebus, where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land. 5 The inhabitants of Jebus said to David, “You will not come in here.” Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David. 6 David said, “Whoever strikes the Jebusites first shall be chief and commander.” And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, so he became chief. 7 And David lived in the stronghold; therefore it was called the city of David. 8 And he built the city all around from the Millo in complete circuit, and Joab repaired the rest of the city. 9 And David became greater and greater, for the LORD of hosts was with him. David's Mighty Men 10 Now these are the chiefs of David's mighty men, who gave him strong support in his kingdom, together with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of the LORD concerning Israel. 11 This is an account of David's mighty men: Jashobeam, a Hachmonite, was chief of the three.1 He wielded his spear against 300 whom he killed at one time. 12 And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite. 13 He was with David at Pas-dammim when the Philistines were gathered there for battle. There was a plot of ground full of barley, and the men fled from the Philistines. 14 But he took his2 stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and killed the Philistines. And the LORD saved them by a great victory. 15 Three of the thirty chief men went down to the rock to David at the cave of Adullam, when the army of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. 16 David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. 17 And David said longingly, “Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” 18 Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and took it and brought it to David. But David would not drink it. He poured it out to the LORD 19 and said, “Far be it from me before my God that I should do this. Shall I drink the lifeblood of these men? For at the risk of their lives they brought it.” Therefore he would not drink it. These things did the three mighty men. 20 Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, was chief of the thirty.3 And he wielded his spear against 300 men and killed them and won a name beside the three. 21 He was the most renowned4 of the thirty5 and became their commander, but he did not attain to the three. 22 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man6 of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two heroes of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. 23 And he struck down an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits7 tall. The Egyptian had in his hand a spear like a weaver's beam, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear. 24 These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada and won a name beside the three mighty men. 25 He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard. 26 The mighty men were Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 27 Shammoth of Harod,8 Helez the Pelonite, 28 Ira the son of Ikkesh of Tekoa, Abiezer of Anathoth, 29 Sibbecai the Hushathite, Ilai the Ahohite, 30 Maharai of Netophah, Heled the son of Baanah of Netophah, 31 Ithai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the people of Benjamin, Benaiah of Pirathon, 32 Hurai of the brooks of Gaash, Abiel the Arbathite, 33 Azmaveth of Baharum, Eliahba the Shaalbonite, 34 Hashem9 the Gizonite, Jonathan the son of Shagee the Hararite, 35 Ahiam the son of Sachar the Hararite, Eliphal the son of Ur, 36 Hepher the Mecherathite, Ahijah the Pelonite, 37 Hezro of Carmel, Naarai the son of Ezbai, 38 Joel the brother of Nathan, Mibhar the son of Hagri, 39 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, 40 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, 41 Uriah the Hittite, Zabad the son of Ahlai, 42 Adina the son of Shiza the Reubenite, a leader of the Reubenites, and thirty with him, 43 Hanan the son of Maacah, and Joshaphat the Mithnite, 44 Uzzia the Ashterathite, Shama and Jeiel the sons of Hotham the Aroerite, 45 Jediael the son of Shimri, and Joha his brother, the Tizite, 46 Eliel the Mahavite, and Jeribai, and Joshaviah, the sons of Elnaam, and Ithmah the Moabite, 47 Eliel, and Obed, and Jaasiel the Mezobaite. The Mighty Men Join David 12 Now these are the men who came to David at Ziklag, while he could not move about freely because of Saul the son of Kish. And they were among the mighty men who helped him in war. 2 They were bowmen and could shoot arrows and sling stones with either the right or the left hand; they were Benjaminites, Saul's kinsmen. 3 The chief was Ahiezer, then Joash, both sons of Shemaah of Gibeah; also Jeziel and Pelet, the sons of Azmaveth; Beracah, Jehu of Anathoth, 4 Ishmaiah of Gibeon, a mighty man among the thirty and a leader over the thirty; Jeremiah,10 Jahaziel, Johanan, Jozabad of Gederah, 5 Eluzai,11 Jerimoth, Bealiah, Shemariah, Shephatiah the Haruphite; 6 Elkanah, Isshiah, Azarel, Joezer, and Jashobeam, the Korahites; 7 And Joelah and Zebadiah, the sons of Jeroham of Gedor. 8 From the Gadites there went over to David at the stronghold in the wilderness mighty and experienced warriors, expert with shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions and who were swift as gazelles upon the mountains: 9 Ezer the chief, Obadiah second, Eliab third, 10 Mishmannah fourth, Jeremiah fifth, 11 Attai sixth, Eliel seventh, 12 Johanan eighth, Elzabad ninth, 13 Jeremiah tenth, Machbannai eleventh. 14 These Gadites were officers of the army; the least was a match for a hundred men and the greatest for a thousand. 15 These are the men who crossed the Jordan in the first month, when it was overflowing all its banks, and put to flight all those in the valleys, to the east and to the west. 16 And some of the men of Benjamin and Judah came to the stronghold to David. 17 David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come to me in friendship to help me, my heart will be joined to you; but if to betray me to my adversaries, although there is no wrong in my hands, then may the God of our fathers see and rebuke you.” 18 Then the Spirit clothed Amasai, chief of the thirty, and he said,   “We are yours, O David,    and with you, O son of Jesse!  Peace, peace to you,    and peace to your helpers!    For your God helps you.” Then David received them and made them officers of his troops. 19 Some of the men of Manasseh deserted to David when he came with the Philistines for the battle against Saul. (Yet he did not help them, for the rulers of the Philistines took counsel and sent him away, saying, “At peril to our heads he will desert to his master Saul.”) 20 As he went to Ziklag, these men of Manasseh deserted to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, chiefs of thousands in Manasseh. 21 They helped David against the band of raiders, for they were all mighty men of valor and were commanders in the army. 22 For from day to day men came to David to help him, until there was a great army, like an army of God. 23 These are the numbers of the divisions of the armed troops who came to David in Hebron to turn the kingdom of Saul over to him, according to the word of the LORD. 24 The men of Judah bearing shield and spear were 6,800 armed troops. 25 Of the Simeonites, mighty men of valor for war, 7,100. 26 Of the Levites 4,600. 27 The prince Jehoiada, of the house of Aaron, and with him 3,700. 28 Zadok, a young man mighty in valor, and twenty-two commanders from his own fathers' house. 29 Of the Benjaminites, the kinsmen of Saul, 3,000, of whom the majority had to that point kept their allegiance to the house of Saul. 30 Of the Ephraimites 20,800, mighty men of valor, famous men in their fathers' houses. 31 Of the half-tribe of Manasseh 18,000, who were expressly named to come and make David king. 32 Of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, 200 chiefs, and all their kinsmen under their command. 33 Of Zebulun 50,000 seasoned troops, equipped for battle with all the weapons of war, to help David12 with singleness of purpose. 34 Of Naphtali 1,000 commanders with whom were 37,000 men armed with shield and spear. 35 Of the Danites 28,600 men equipped for battle. 36 Of Asher 40,000 seasoned troops ready for battle. 37 Of the Reubenites and Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh from beyond the Jordan, 120,000 men armed with all the weapons of war. 38 All these, men of war, arrayed in battle order, came to Hebron with a whole heart to make David king over all Israel. Likewise, all the rest of Israel were of a single mind to make David king. 39 And they were there with David for three days, eating and drinking, for their brothers had made preparation for them. 40 And also their relatives, from as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, came bringing food on donkeys and on camels and on mules and on oxen, abundant provisions of flour, cakes of figs, clusters of raisins, and wine and oil, oxen and sheep, for there was joy in Israel. Footnotes [1] 11:11 Compare 2 Samuel 23:8; Hebrew thirty, or captains [2] 11:14 Compare 2 Samuel 23:12; Hebrew they . . . their [3] 11:20 Syriac; Hebrew three [4] 11:21 Compare 2 Samuel 23:19; Hebrew more renowned among the two [5] 11:21 Syriac; Hebrew three [6] 11:22 Syriac; Hebrew the son of a valiant man [7] 11:23 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [8] 11:27 Compare 2 Samuel 23:25; Hebrew the Harorite [9] 11:34 Compare Septuagint and 2 Samuel 23:32; Hebrew the sons of Hashem [10] 12:4 Hebrew verse 5 [11] 12:5 Hebrew verse 6 [12] 12:33 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks David (ESV) Hebrews 13 (Listen) Sacrifices Pleasing to God 13 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. 4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. 5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say,   “The Lord is my helper;    I will not fear;  what can man do to me?” 7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 9 Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. 10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tent1 have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. 12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. 13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. 15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. 17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. 18 Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. 19 I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner. Benediction 20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us2 that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Final Greetings 22 I appeal to you, brothers,3 bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly. 23 You should know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon. 24 Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who come from Italy send you greetings. 25 Grace be with all of you. Footnotes [1] 13:10 Or tabernacle [2] 13:21 Some manuscripts you [3] 13:22 Or brothers and sisters (ESV) In private: Amos 7; Luke 2 Amos 7 (Listen) Warning Visions 7 This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, he was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings. 2 When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said,   “O Lord GOD, please forgive!    How can Jacob stand?    He is so small!”3   The LORD relented concerning this:    “It shall not be,” said the LORD. 4 This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, the Lord GOD was calling for a judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land. 5 Then I said,   “O Lord GOD, please cease!    How can Jacob stand?    He is so small!”6   The LORD relented concerning this:    “This also shall not be,” said the Lord GOD. 7 This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 And the LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,   “Behold, I am setting a plumb line    in the midst of my people Israel;    I will never again pass by them;9   the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,    and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,    and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.” Amos Accused 10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos has said,   “‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword,    and Israel must go into exile    away from his land.'” 12 And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there, 13 but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.” 14 Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was1 no prophet, nor a prophet's son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. 15 But the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.' 16 Now therefore hear the word of the LORD.   “You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel,    and do not preach against the house of Isaac.' 17 Therefore thus says the LORD:   “‘Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city,    and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword,    and your land shall be divided up with a measuring line;  you yourself shall die in an unclean land,    and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.'” Footnotes [1] 7:14 Or am; twice in this verse (ESV) Luke 2 (Listen) The Birth of Jesus Christ 2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when1 Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed,2 who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.3 The Shepherds and the Angels 8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14   “Glory to God in the highest,    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”4 15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. 21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. Jesus Presented at the Temple 22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, 29   “Lord, now you are letting your servant5 depart in peace,    according to your word;30   for my eyes have seen your salvation31     that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,32   a light for revelation to the Gentiles,    and for glory to your people Israel.” 33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” 36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.6 She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were w

Tips to Make Your Holiday Season Sparkle with Samantha Frack, Ep.44   Empowered By Design Podcast with Dr. Lyz: Psychology, Mental Health and Wellness, Love and Relationships, Mindset, Self-care, Self-reflection and Personal Growth Dr. Lyz: Licensed Psychologist, Wellness Entrepreneur, Life & Love Coach   Are you excited for this holiday season...we are!!  Join me as I chat with our Certified Image Consultant, Samantha Frack, who shares tips on holiday shopping on a budget, top Black Friday deals, and where to find items to create the best holiday looks! We chat about making your holidays shine and discuss the importance of creating intention to move into the holiday season with attention to your values, hopes, and personal meaning.  We share tips that help you to create and maintain balance and presence throughout the season with joy, love, and gratitude for the special moments. Subscribe to my email list to stay connected: https://www.DrLyz.com https://www.VisionistasByDesign.com -------------------   Follow Dr. Lyz on Social Media:   Instagram  https://www.instagram.com/dr_lyz/  Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/DrLyzPhD  LinkedIn https://linkedin.com/in/drlyz  YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdqnP5Us26VhHCLq5XrHqKg  Pinterest    https://www.pinterest.com/visionistasbydesign/_saved/  Clubhouse: follow @DrLyz Follow me on Insight Timer: https://insig.ht/fsvbAhoowkb?utm_source=copy_link&utm_medium=live_stream_share    ------------------- Show Notes for Episode 44: Make Your Holiday Season Sparkle with Samantha Frack, Ep.44 No need to break the bank this year on gifts!! Something so small can have so much meaning and could be the most thoughtful kinds of gifts!  For those coffee lovers a nice mug with coffee beans and a good book perhaps! Wine connoisseurs , a nice bottle of wine and two glasses!  For the woman who loves to self indulge in self care - bath salts, a candle, lotion If you want to support local restaurants and buy some gift cards! Slate Quarry Hotel, Mersin, Birthright, Red Wolf, Stefano's, & that's just a few in the Nazareth area! References: Great holiday style websites for shopping!  Vicicollection.com  Amazon.com  Inthestyle.com -- Lorna Luxe Collection    Style By Design Blog by Samantha - Coming Soon! - https://www.visionistasbydesign.com/blog    Styling your Image Vision with Samantha Arnold - https://www.drlyz.com/blog/podcast-styling-your-image-vision-samantha-arnold (Episode 14 of the Empowered By Design Podcast) 4 Looks for Styling Your Holiday Season: Style By Design with Samantha  - https://youtu.be/tZEEWOHha0o   

Programs Monday and Tuesday of next week then a Thanksgiving break till Tuesday the 30th. Jobs lost as mandates implemented. We've got what we've been moving towards Knowing who Jesus is Galen Patrick will be on with Doug tomorrow ------------------ Acts 10:34-43 (ESV Strong's) Gentiles Hear the Good News 34 So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), 37 you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39 And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, 41 not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. 43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” ------------------ 5 Core Values of SWAT 1. God's Word 2. Prayer 3. Evangelism 4. Discipleship 5. Community ------------------ https://swatradio.com/ SWAT - Spiritual Warriors Advancing Truth Call us Toll-Free at: +1-844-777-7928 Email Us a Question: ask@swatradio.com FIND A SWAT MEETING Woody's Bar-B-Que 226 Solano Rd Ponte Vedra, FL 10611 Wed. 6:30-7:30 am IHOP 3250 Hodges Blvd Jacksonville, FL 32224 Wed. Night 7-8 pm Salem Centre 7235 Bonneval Rd Jacksonville, FL Wed. 12:00-1:00 pm Jumping Jax House of Food 10131 San Jose Blvd #12 Jacksonville, FL Thursday 6:30-7:30 am The Village Inn 900 Ponce De Leon Blvd St. Augustine, FL Friday 9:00-10:30 am Woodmen Valley Chapel - Woodmen Heights Campus 8292 Woodman Valley View Colorado Springs CO 80908 Thursdays 8-9:15 pm

This episode looks at Luke 2:51, “And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.” Hearts that savor God's goodness overflow in obedience to his commands. May God give us these kinds of hearts.

Schools and Churches MSU Scholarship Rittenhouse Trial Minor Attracted People - A fancy name for a horrid sin. Prayers for The Rock Church Hypostatic Union ------------------ Acts 10:34-43 (ESV Strong's) Gentiles Hear the Good News 34 So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), 37 you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39 And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, 41 not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. 43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” ------------------ 5 Core Values of SWAT 1. God's Word 2. Prayer 3. Evangelism 4. Discipleship 5. Community ------------------ https://swatradio.com/ SWAT - Spiritual Warriors Advancing Truth Call us Toll-Free at: +1-844-777-7928 Email Us a Question: ask@swatradio.com FIND A SWAT MEETING Woody's Bar-B-Que 226 Solano Rd Ponte Vedra, FL 10611 Wed. 6:30-7:30 am IHOP 3250 Hodges Blvd Jacksonville, FL 32224 Wed. Night 7-8 pm Salem Centre 7235 Bonneval Rd Jacksonville, FL Wed. 12:00-1:00 pm Jumping Jax House of Food 10131 San Jose Blvd #12 Jacksonville, FL Thursday 6:30-7:30 am The Village Inn 900 Ponce De Leon Blvd St. Augustine, FL Friday 9:00-10:30 am Woodmen Valley Chapel - Woodmen Heights Campus 8292 Woodman Valley View Colorado Springs CO 80908 Thursdays 8-9:15 pm

With family: 1 Chronicles 7–8; Hebrews 11 1 Chronicles 7–8 (Listen) Descendants of Issachar 7 The sons1 of Issachar: Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, four. 2 The sons of Tola: Uzzi, Rephaiah, Jeriel, Jahmai, Ibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their fathers' houses, namely of Tola, mighty warriors of their generations, their number in the days of David being 22,600. 3 The son2 of Uzzi: Izrahiah. And the sons of Izrahiah: Michael, Obadiah, Joel, and Isshiah, all five of them were chief men. 4 And along with them, by their generations, according to their fathers' houses, were units of the army for war, 36,000, for they had many wives and sons. 5 Their kinsmen belonging to all the clans of Issachar were in all 87,000 mighty warriors, enrolled by genealogy. Descendants of Benjamin 6 The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, and Jediael, three. 7 The sons of Bela: Ezbon, Uzzi, Uzziel, Jerimoth, and Iri, five, heads of fathers' houses, mighty warriors. And their enrollment by genealogies was 22,034. 8 The sons of Becher: Zemirah, Joash, Eliezer, Elioenai, Omri, Jeremoth, Abijah, Anathoth, and Alemeth. All these were the sons of Becher. 9 And their enrollment by genealogies, according to their generations, as heads of their fathers' houses, mighty warriors, was 20,200. 10 The son of Jediael: Bilhan. And the sons of Bilhan: Jeush, Benjamin, Ehud, Chenaanah, Zethan, Tarshish, and Ahishahar. 11 All these were the sons of Jediael according to the heads of their fathers' houses, mighty warriors, 17,200, able to go to war. 12 And Shuppim and Huppim were the sons of Ir, Hushim the son of Aher. Descendants of Naphtali 13 The sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shallum, the descendants of Bilhah. Descendants of Manasseh 14 The sons of Manasseh: Asriel, whom his Aramean concubine bore; she bore Machir the father of Gilead. 15 And Machir took a wife for Huppim and for Shuppim. The name of his sister was Maacah. And the name of the second was Zelophehad, and Zelophehad had daughters. 16 And Maacah the wife of Machir bore a son, and she called his name Peresh; and the name of his brother was Sheresh; and his sons were Ulam and Rakem. 17 The son of Ulam: Bedan. These were the sons of Gilead the son of Machir, son of Manasseh. 18 And his sister Hammolecheth bore Ishhod, Abiezer, and Mahlah. 19 The sons of Shemida were Ahian, Shechem, Likhi, and Aniam. Descendants of Ephraim 20 The sons of Ephraim: Shuthelah, and Bered his son, Tahath his son, Eleadah his son, Tahath his son, 21 Zabad his son, Shuthelah his son, and Ezer and Elead, whom the men of Gath who were born in the land killed, because they came down to raid their livestock. 22 And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brothers came to comfort him. 23 And Ephraim went in to his wife, and she conceived and bore a son. And he called his name Beriah, because disaster had befallen his house.3 24 His daughter was Sheerah, who built both Lower and Upper Beth-horon, and Uzzen-sheerah. 25 Rephah was his son, Resheph his son, Telah his son, Tahan his son, 26 Ladan his son, Ammihud his son, Elishama his son, 27 Nun4 his son, Joshua his son. 28 Their possessions and settlements were Bethel and its towns, and to the east Naaran, and to the west Gezer and its towns, Shechem and its towns, and Ayyah and its towns; 29 also in possession of the Manassites, Beth-shean and its towns, Taanach and its towns, Megiddo and its towns, Dor and its towns. In these lived the sons of Joseph the son of Israel. Descendants of Asher 30 The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah. 31 The sons of Beriah: Heber, and Malchiel, who fathered Birzaith. 32 Heber fathered Japhlet, Shomer, Hotham, and their sister Shua. 33 The sons of Japhlet: Pasach, Bimhal, and Ashvath. These are the sons of Japhlet. 34 The sons of Shemer his brother: Rohgah, Jehubbah, and Aram. 35 The sons of Helem his brother: Zophah, Imna, Shelesh, and Amal. 36 The sons of Zophah: Suah, Harnepher, Shual, Beri, Imrah. 37 Bezer, Hod, Shamma, Shilshah, Ithran, and Beera. 38 The sons of Jether: Jephunneh, Pispa, and Ara. 39 The sons of Ulla: Arah, Hanniel, and Rizia. 40 All of these were men of Asher, heads of fathers' houses, approved, mighty warriors, chiefs of the princes. Their number enrolled by genealogies, for service in war, was 26,000 men. A Genealogy of Saul 8 Benjamin fathered Bela his firstborn, Ashbel the second, Aharah the third, 2 Nohah the fourth, and Rapha the fifth. 3 And Bela had sons: Addar, Gera, Abihud, 4 Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah, 5 Gera, Shephuphan, and Huram. 6 These are the sons of Ehud (they were heads of fathers' houses of the inhabitants of Geba, and they were carried into exile to Manahath): 7 Naaman,5 Ahijah, and Gera, that is, Heglam, who fathered6 Uzza and Ahihud. 8 And Shaharaim fathered sons in the country of Moab after he had sent away Hushim and Baara his wives. 9 He fathered sons by Hodesh his wife: Jobab, Zibia, Mesha, Malcam, 10 Jeuz, Sachia, and Mirmah. These were his sons, heads of fathers' houses. 11 He also fathered sons by Hushim: Abitub and Elpaal. 12 The sons of Elpaal: Eber, Misham, and Shemed, who built Ono and Lod with its towns, 13 and Beriah and Shema (they were heads of fathers' houses of the inhabitants of Aijalon, who caused the inhabitants of Gath to flee); 14 and Ahio, Shashak, and Jeremoth. 15 Zebadiah, Arad, Eder, 16 Michael, Ishpah, and Joha were sons of Beriah. 17 Zebadiah, Meshullam, Hizki, Heber, 18 Ishmerai, Izliah, and Jobab were the sons of Elpaal. 19 Jakim, Zichri, Zabdi, 20 Elienai, Zillethai, Eliel, 21 Adaiah, Beraiah, and Shimrath were the sons of Shimei. 22 Ishpan, Eber, Eliel, 23 Abdon, Zichri, Hanan, 24 Hananiah, Elam, Anthothijah, 25 Iphdeiah, and Penuel were the sons of Shashak. 26 Shamsherai, Shehariah, Athaliah, 27 Jaareshiah, Elijah, and Zichri were the sons of Jeroham. 28 These were the heads of fathers' houses, according to their generations, chief men. These lived in Jerusalem. 29 Jeiel7 the father of Gibeon lived in Gibeon, and the name of his wife was Maacah. 30 His firstborn son: Abdon, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Nadab, 31 Gedor, Ahio, Zecher, 32 and Mikloth (he fathered Shimeah). Now these also lived opposite their kinsmen in Jerusalem, with their kinsmen. 33 Ner was the father of Kish, Kish of Saul, Saul of Jonathan, Malchi-shua, Abinadab and Eshbaal; 34 and the son of Jonathan was Merib-baal; and Merib-baal was the father of Micah. 35 The sons of Micah: Pithon, Melech, Tarea, and Ahaz. 36 Ahaz fathered Jehoaddah, and Jehoaddah fathered Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. Zimri fathered Moza. 37 Moza fathered Binea; Raphah was his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son. 38 Azel had six sons, and these are their names: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan. All these were the sons of Azel. 39 The sons of Eshek his brother: Ulam his firstborn, Jeush the second, and Eliphelet the third. 40 The sons of Ulam were men who were mighty warriors, bowmen, having many sons and grandsons, 150. All these were Benjaminites. Footnotes [1] 7:1 Syriac (compare Vulgate); Hebrew And to the sons [2] 7:3 Hebrew sons; also verses 10, 12, 17 [3] 7:23 Beriah sounds like the Hebrew for disaster [4] 7:27 Hebrew Non [5] 8:7 Hebrew and Naaman [6] 8:7 Or Gera; he carried them into exile and fathered [7] 8:29 Compare 9:35; Hebrew lacks Jeiel (ESV) Hebrews 11 (Listen) By Faith 11 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. 13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. 20 By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. 21 By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones. 23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. 24 By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 25 choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. 29 By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. 32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two,1 they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. Footnotes [1] 11:37 Some manuscripts add they were tempted (ESV) In private: Amos 5; Luke 1:1–38 Amos 5 (Listen) Seek the Lord and Live 5 Hear this word that I take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel: 2   “Fallen, no more to rise,    is the virgin Israel;  forsaken on her land,    with none to raise her up.” 3 For thus says the Lord GOD:   “The city that went out a thousand    shall have a hundred left,  and that which went out a hundred    shall have ten left    to the house of Israel.” 4 For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel:   “Seek me and live;5     but do not seek Bethel,  and do not enter into Gilgal    or cross over to Beersheba;  for Gilgal shall surely go into exile,    and Bethel shall come to nothing.” 6   Seek the LORD and live,    lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph,    and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel,7   O you who turn justice to wormwood1    and cast down righteousness to the earth! 8   He who made the Pleiades and Orion,    and turns deep darkness into the morning    and darkens the day into night,  who calls for the waters of the sea    and pours them out on the surface of the earth,  the LORD is his name;9   who makes destruction flash forth against the strong,    so that destruction comes upon the fortress. 10   They hate him who reproves in the gate,    and they abhor him who speaks the truth.11   Therefore because you trample on2 the poor    and you exact taxes of grain from him,  you have built houses of hewn stone,    but you shall not dwell in them;  you have planted pleasant vineyards,    but you shall not drink their wine.12   For I know how many are your transgressions    and how great are your sins—  you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe,    and turn aside the needy in the gate.13   Therefore he who is prudent will keep silent in such a time,    for it is an evil time. 14   Seek good, and not evil,    that you may live;  and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you,    as you have said.15   Hate evil, and love good,    and establish justice in the gate;  it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts,    will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. 16 Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord:   “In all the squares there shall be wailing,    and in all the streets they shall say, ‘Alas! Alas!'  They shall call the farmers to mourning    and to wailing those who are skilled in lamentation,17   and in all vineyards there shall be wailing,    for I will pass through your midst,”      says the LORD. Let Justice Roll Down 18   Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD!    Why would you have the day of the LORD?  It is darkness, and not light,19     as if a man fled from a lion,    and a bear met him,  or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall,    and a serpent bit him.20   Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light,    and gloom with no brightness in it? 21   “I hate, I despise your feasts,    and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.22   Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,    I will not accept them;  and the peace offerings of your fattened animals,    I will not look upon them.23   Take away from me the noise of your songs;    to the melody of your harps I will not listen.24   But let justice roll down like waters,    and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. 25 “Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 26 You shall take up Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god—your images that you made for yourselves, 27 and I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts. Footnotes [1] 5:7 Or to bitter fruit [2] 5:11 Or you tax (ESV) Luke 1:1–38 (Listen) Dedication to Theophilus 1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. Birth of John the Baptist Foretold 5 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,1 of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. 8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” 18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. 24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.” Birth of Jesus Foretold 26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed2 to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. 28 

LUKE 4:25-32 - Jesus Condemns the Nazarenes - 2BeLikeChrist Jesus enraged the people of Nazareth by citing some examples of God's mercy on the Gentiles in the Old Testament. The citizens were so mad at Him they attempted to throw Him off a cliff, but Jesus escaped and moved to Capernaum. Support us on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/2BeLikeChrist Link to our Book - https://www.2belikechrist.com/books Link to the notes (free digital copy) - https://www.2belikechrist.com/bible-study-notes My other channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCafLpACIMa6CBpQK5MjePxQ #Biblestudy #2BeLikeChrist #Biblevideos

On Hold Be careful of SCAM mail and e-mail this time of year Closing arguments Using deadly force Food give away over the weekend Christmas Movies already? 11th plague? Professing obedience Jesus: Fact or Fiction Vital signs ------------------ Acts 10:34-43 (ESV Strong's) Gentiles Hear the Good News 34 So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), 37 you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39 And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, 41 not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. 43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” ------------------ 5 Core Values of SWAT 1. God's Word 2. Prayer 3. Evangelism 4. Discipleship 5. Community ------------------ https://swatradio.com/ SWAT - Spiritual Warriors Advancing Truth Call us Toll-Free at: +1-844-777-7928 Email Us a Question: ask@swatradio.com FIND A SWAT MEETING Woody's Bar-B-Que 226 Solano Rd Ponte Vedra, FL 10611 Wed. 6:30-7:30 am IHOP 3250 Hodges Blvd Jacksonville, FL 32224 Wed. Night 7-8 pm Salem Centre 7235 Bonneval Rd Jacksonville, FL Wed. 12:00-1:00 pm Jumping Jax House of Food 10131 San Jose Blvd #12 Jacksonville, FL Thursday 6:30-7:30 am The Village Inn 900 Ponce De Leon Blvd St. Augustine, FL Friday 9:00-10:30 am Woodmen Valley Chapel - Woodmen Heights Campus 8292 Woodman Valley View Colorado Springs CO 80908 Thursdays 8-9:15 pm

Thanks for joining us for episode nine of This Is Jesus: Season 3.We're living in the golden age of binge-worthy, documentary-style storytelling—reflected in the popularity of shows like Tiger King and The Last Dance. But, the original might be The Gospel According to Luke. It's like an ancient docu-series that seamlessly weaves together archival footage (writings), eyewitness interviews, and expert commentary to tell the story of Jesus in dozens of episodes spanning multiple seasons. It's an inside-look at the conversations and controversies surrounding his rise from humble roots in Nazareth, his crucifixion in Jerusalem, and the twist ending that created a movement that's still going strong two thousand years later.

Subscribe for more Videos: http://www.youtube.com/c/PlantationSDAChurchTV In Episode 46 of the Bible Unmasked, Pr. Jen & Principal Robert Stevenson discuss John 13 - Acts 7. The book of John is the fourth of the canonical gospels. The book of Acts is Luke's second volume and describes the founding of the Christian Church and spread of the gospel.  Date: November 14, 2021 Questions in this episode: What does it mean to be washed by Jesus? We partake in communion, including the foot-washing ceremony, quarterly.   Is there any particular reason why we only partake in communion once a quarter. Other  denominations do it more frequently: weekly or monthly. Is this wrong?  Are there  biblical guidelines about the frequency of communion?  Tags: #psdatv #BibleUnmasked #disciples #Nazareth #communion #Jesus #love possessed #diseases #forgiveness #Holy Spirit #judgment #Paul #John #deacon #women #deaconess #divorce For more life lessons and inspirational content, please visit us at http://www.plantationsda.tv. For more information on the Bible Unmasked, please visit us at  https://bibleunmasked.plantationsda.tv For more information on the Bible Unmasked Audio Podcast, please visit us at https://www.plantationsda.tv/bible-unmasked-podcast Church Copyright License (CCLI) License Number: 1659090 CCLI Stream License License Number: CSPL079645 Support the show: https://adventistgiving.org/#/org/ANTBMV/envelope/start See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1 Mc 1:10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-63 [From the descendants of Alexander's officers] there sprang a sinful offshoot, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of King Antiochus, once a hostage at Rome. He became king in the year one hundred and thirtyseven of the kingdom of the Greeks. In those days there appeared in Israel men who were breakers of the law, and they seduced many people, saying: “Let us go and make an alliance with the Gentiles all around us; since we separated from them, many evils have come upon us.” The proposal was agreeable; some from among the people promptly went to the king, and he authorized them to introduce the way of living of the Gentiles. Thereupon they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem according to the Gentile custom. They covered over the mark of their circumcision and abandoned the holy covenant; they allied themselves with the Gentiles and sold themselves to wrongdoing. Then the king wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be one people, each abandoning his particular customs. All the Gentiles conformed to the command of the king, and many children of Israel were in favor of his religion; they sacrificed to idols and profaned the sabbath. On the fifteenth day of the month Chislev, in the year one hundred and forty-five, the king erected the horrible abomination upon the altar of burnt offerings and in the surrounding cities of Judah they built pagan altars. They also burned incense at the doors of the houses and in the streets. Any scrolls of the law which they found they tore up and burnt. Whoever was found with a scroll of the covenant, and whoever observed the law, was condemned to death by royal decree. But many in Israel were determined and resolved in their hearts not to eat anything unclean; they preferred to die rather than to be defiled with unclean food or to profane the holy covenant; and they did die. Terrible affliction was upon Israel. 119:53, 61, 134, 150, 155, 158 R. (see 88) Give me life, O Lord, and I will do your commands. Indignation seizes me because of the wicked who forsake your law. R. Give me life, O Lord, and I will do your commands. Though the snares of the wicked are twined about me, your law I have not forgotten. R. Give me life, O Lord, and I will do your commands. Redeem me from the oppression of men, that I may keep your precepts. Lk 18:35-43 As Jesus approached Jericho a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging, and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” He shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” The people walking in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me!” Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He replied, “Lord, please let me see.” Jesus told him, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.” He immediately received his sight and followed him, giving glory to God. When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/sofia-fonseca7/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/sofia-fonseca7/support

LUKE 4:22-24 - Jesus Rejected in Nazareth - 2BeLikeChrist Jesus was rejected as the Messiah in His own hometown of Nazareth. The people assumed the "carpenter's son" wasn't Messiah material.  Support us on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/2BeLikeChrist Link to our Book - https://www.2belikechrist.com/books Link to the notes (free digital copy) - https://www.2belikechrist.com/bible-study-notes My other channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCafLpACIMa6CBpQK5MjePxQ #Biblestudy #2BeLikeChrist #Biblevideos

Acts 8–11 Acts 8–11 (Listen) Saul Ravages the Church 8 And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria 4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city1 of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city. Simon the Magician Believes 9 But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. 10 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” 11 And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles2 performed, he was amazed. 14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in the gall3 of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” 24 And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.” 25 Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans. Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch 26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south4 to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:   “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter    and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,    so he opens not his mouth.33   In his humiliation justice was denied him.    Who can describe his generation?  For his life is taken away from the earth.” 34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?”5 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea. The Conversion of Saul 9 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. 10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19 and taking food, he was strengthened. Saul Proclaims Jesus in Synagogues For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” 21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” 22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ. Saul Escapes from Damascus 23 When many days had passed, the Jews6 plotted to kill him, 24 but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, 25 but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall,7 lowering him in a basket. Saul in Jerusalem 26 And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists.8 But they were seeking to kill him. 30 And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. 31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. The Healing of Aeneas 32 Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. 34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. 35 And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. Dorcas Restored to Life 36 Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas.9 She was full of good works and acts of charity. 37 In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.” 39 So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics10 and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. 40 But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner. Peter and Cornelius 10 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, 2 a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. 3 About the ninth hour of the day11 he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” 4 And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. 5 And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” 7 When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, 8 and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa. Peter's Vision 9 The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour12 to pray. 10 And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance 11 and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. 12 In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. 13 And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” 14 But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” 15 And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” 16 This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven. 17 Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon's house, stood at the gate 18 and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there. 19 And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. 20 Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation,13 for I have sent them.” 21 And Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are looking for. What is the reason for your coming?” 22 And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.” 23 So he invited them in to be his guests. The next day he rose and went away with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him. 24 And on the following day they entered Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am a man.” 27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found many persons gathered. 28 And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.” 30 And Cornelius said, “Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour,14 and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. 32 Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.' 33 So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.” Gentiles Hear the Good News 34 So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), 37 you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39 And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, 41 not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. 43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” The Holy Spirit Falls on the Gentiles 44 While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. 45 And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, 47 “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days. Peter Reports to the Church 11 Now the apostles and the brothers15 who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party16 criticized him, saying, 3 “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” 4 But Peter began and explained it to them in order: 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. 6 Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. 7 And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.' 8 But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.' 9 But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.' 10 This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven. 11 And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. 12 And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man's house. 13 And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; 14 he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.' 15 As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' 17 If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?” 18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” The Church in Antioch 19 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists17 also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, 24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. 25 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians. 27 Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). 29 So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers18 living in Judea. 30 And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul. Footnotes [1] 8:5 Some manuscripts a city [2] 8:13 Greek works of power [3] 8:23 That is, a bitter fluid secreted by the liver; bile [4] 8:26 Or go at about noon [5] 8:36 Some manuscripts add all or most of verse 37: And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” [6] 9:23 The Greek word Ioudaioi refers specifically here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, who opposed the Christian faith in that time [7] 9:25 Greek through the wall [8] 9:29 That is, Greek-speaking Jews [9] 9:36 The Aramaic name Tabitha and the Greek name Dorcas both mean gazelle [10] 9:39 Greek chiton, a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin [11] 10:3 That is, 3 p.m. [12] 10:9 That is, noon [13] 10:20 Or accompany them, making no distinction [14] 10:30 That is, 3 p.m. [15] 11:1 Or brothers and sisters [16] 11:2 Or Jerusalem, those of the circumcision [17] 11:20 Or Greeks (that is, Greek-speaking non-Jews) [18] 11:29 Or brothers and sisters (ESV)

Discover why the Shroud of Turin, one of the world's most analyzed artifacts, is still a mystery. Join speakers Dr. Cheryl White, Russ Breault, Father Peter Mangum, and Joe Marino as they explain the secrets of the linen cloth believed by millions to be the burial shroud of Jesus of Nazareth.

As Jesus approached Jericho a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging, and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” He shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” The people walking in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me!” Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He replied, “Lord, please let me see.” Jesus told him, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.” He immediately received his sight and followed him, giving glory to God. When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.

In this series of "blessings" there is a lot for us to see, in terms of the lives of the sons and the tribes they would represent, as well as the God over them all. The main point of the passage is that God's faithful hand was on this family and, therefore, His covenant purposes would stand with them (often times in spite of them). The main point for us is that God's redemption of and rule over mankind would come through this line, through a son of Judah, through Jesus of Nazareth.

- Press the PLAY button to listen to the catechesis of the day and share if you like -+ A reading from the holy Gospel, according to Luke +When Jesus drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road, begging. As he heard the crowd passing by, he inquired what it was, and they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was going by. Then he cried out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" The people in front scolded him, "Be quiet!" but he cried out all the more, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"Jesus stopped and ordered the blind man to be brought to him, and when he came near, he asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" And the man said, "Lord, that I may see!" Jesus said, "Receive your sight, your faith has saved you." At once the blind man was able to see, and he followed Jesus, giving praise to God. And all the people who were there also praised God.The Gospel of the Lord.

As Jesus approached Jericho a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging, and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” He shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” The people walking in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me!” Luke 18:35–39This beautiful story of the healing of this blind man, named Bartimaeus in the Gospel of Mark, sets for us a model of how we must come to Jesus in prayer. Bartimaeus and his encounter with Christ is an icon upon which we must meditate so as to imitate him in his weakness, openness, confidence and perseverance.To begin, this “blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.” We must see this as an ideal image of how to begin our prayer. When we start to pray, we must see our littleness, weakness and extreme poverty in our spiritual life. We come to God with nothing. Unable to see. A beggar. And one who is incapable of meeting our own spiritual needs. This is Bartimaeus, and this must be the way we come to our Lord in prayer. Sometimes we can fall into the illusion that our prayers are so elevated and pious that God must be very impressed. If that's your struggle, then you are more like the Pharisees. This blind man, however, is the ideal to aim for. So when you begin your prayer, come to our Lord as a spiritually poor and needy beggar.In this state of humility, just as it happened in this Gospel story, you can be certain that “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” So as you sit in your humble and needy state, wait and be attentive to Jesus passing by. Wait upon His gentle voice, His quiet inspiration, His calming and unmistakable presence. If you can humble yourself this way and then sense our Lord's divine presence touching you in some way, then further imitate Bartimaeus by calling out interiorly, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” The cry from the depths of your heart in prayer must come as a result of Jesus “passing by.” It must be a response to Him coming to you on His own. As Jesus passes by, spiritually speaking, He waits for you to call to Him. He desires that you call to Him. And He desires that you do it with firm confidence and perseverance.Notice that as this blind beggar cried out, there were obstacles put in his way. The people “rebuked him, telling him to be silent.” But even this was a gift, because it enabled Bartimaeus to cry out all the more. So also with us, when obstacles arise in our prayer, such as distractions, temptations, a lack of consolation, or any other challenge to our prayer, we must see these obstacles as hurdles that must be overcome. Doing so will deepen our union with Jesus, turning that apparent obstacle into a source of blessing.Reflect, today, upon these four aspects of a deep prayer life that are presented to us through the witness of this blind beggar. First, ponder your weakness and poverty as you turn to God in prayer. Second, be attentive to the presence of God as He passes by, waiting for you to call to Him. Third, cry out to Him and beg Him to come closer. And fourth, work to overcome every obstacle to prayer and see those obstacles as opportunities to call out to God all the more.My compassionate Lord, I come to You in my weakness and poverty, I come in need of Your divine touch and healing. As You do pass by, I acknowledge Your presence and call to You. Jesus, please do come to me, have pity on me. Help me to overcome every obstacle to Your love and to trust in You always, never wavering from my commitment to You. Jesus, I trust in You.Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2021 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

Acts 4:32–7:60 Acts 4:32–7:60 (Listen) They Had Everything in Common 32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. Ananias and Sapphira 5 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” 5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. 6 The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. 7 After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you1 sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” 9 But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 10 Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things. Many Signs and Wonders Done 12 Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. 13 None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. 14 And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, 15 so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. 16 The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed. The Apostles Arrested and Freed 17 But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy 18 they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 20 “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” 21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. 22 But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, 23 “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.” 24 Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to. 25 And someone came and told them, “Look! The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” 26 Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people. 27 And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, 28 saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.” 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” 33 When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. 34 But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. 35 And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. 36 For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. 37 After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. 38 So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, 40 and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. 42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus. Seven Chosen to Serve 6 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists2 arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers,3 pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. Stephen Is Seized 8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, 13 and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” 15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel. Stephen's Speech 7 And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” 2 And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.' 4 Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. 5 Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child. 6 And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years. 7 ‘But I will judge the nation that they serve,' said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.' 8 And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs. 9 “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him 10 and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. 11 Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. 13 And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh. 14 And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all. 15 And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers, 16 and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. 17 “But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph. 19 He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive. 20 At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God's sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father's house, 21 and when he was exposed, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds. 23 “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?' 27 But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?' 29 At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. 30 “Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.' And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.' 35 “This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?'—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.' 38 This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us. 39 Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.' 41 And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. 42 But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:   “‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices,    during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?43   You took up the tent of Moloch    and the star of your god Rephan,    the images that you made to worship;  and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.' 44 “Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. 45 Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So it was until the days of David, 46 who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.4 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him. 48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, 49   “‘Heaven is my throne,    and the earth is my footstool.  What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,    or what is the place of my rest?50   Did not my hand make all these things?' 51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.” The Stoning of Stephen 54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. 55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together5 at him. 58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Footnotes [1] 5:8 The Greek for you is plural here [2] 6:1 That is, Greek-speaking Jews [3] 6:3 Or brothers and sisters [4] 7:46 Some manuscripts for the house of Jacob [5] 7:57 Or rushed with one mind (ESV)

God's great Son is the only one worthy of our worship. ““Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this...

We All Need a Dose of Comfort with Kip Baldwin and Evan Hirsch Description: Comfort You is a song, a video, and an inspiration for a global movement for our human family to connect in a new way. Soul Twin Messiah, who wrote and recorded the song, have planted the seed and created the hashtag #comfortyou as a gathering place for all who feel attracted to the idea that offering comfort, support, and LOVE to one another is a worthy step on our journey toward creating peace in the world. The more united we become, the more we can heal past damage and trauma, and move forward together in harmony as we create a world in which we are all better supported. This will give us the bandwidth to make significant enough change happen to be on the road to recovery for ourselves, our planet, and all of the other forms of life with whom we share this sacred home.   As we witness the dramatic transformation from the current chapter in our collective story of humanity - which is largely rooted in fear - to one of LOVE, it is impossible to ignore the fact that (as futurist Barbara Marx Hubbard put it) our crisis is a birth. Birthing can be painful, and change can be a challenging thing to accept. We see symptoms of the transition all over the place. Systems don't function smoothly, customer service has become a rare thing to find, technology foils us constantly, business just keeps on growing, and the bulk of money and power are being funneled to a very select few, while so many humans continue to suffer from a lack of resources, support, and influence. To a sensitive person, it can be heartbreaking. We carry around frustration, confusion, and loneliness, which can lead to hopelessness, desperation and isolation, which so many of us are experiencing as we witness and feel empathy for those who are suffering.   Since it feels like none of us are quite sure what will happen next, and so many feel powerless to impact significant change, we need something to bolster our motivation to stay the course for doing the work and helping to accelerate positive transformation. This is why a movement to bring comfort to one another feels vital now if we wish to narrow the growing polarization between us, and build a path to peace and thriving.   Comfort You is here to soothe the tensions of a lifetime of challenges for us all. The song reminds us to give one another the full attention, compassion, and support that we all need. We won't always have answers and solutions, but we will always have LOVE to give. A hug, a sympathetic ear, and our time and attention are valuable things that we have to offer one another in support of healing, growth, and an acceleration to a healthier, more sustainable way to be.   Follow #comfortyou to join the movement and be part of the action. Be among the first to hear the song and see the video once it premieres. And come check out Soul Twin Messiah at soultwinmessiah.love and on all the usual social platforms.   STM Bio   Soul Twin Messiah is an Evolutionary Rock band for the 21st century. Evan Hirsch (The Blue Rocker!) and Kip Baldwin (Oshalla) represent the creative core of the band, and do all of the songwriting as a team. The music ranges from light rock to hard rock, and even metal, with some downright soulful (and even gospel) moments and a few ballads thrown in for the LOVE of it. Call it “neoclassic rock” if you will, and that gives a hint of the groove, but know that the music is so much more than that. Each song is highly thematic, topical, and intended to awaken and inspire people through the universal emotional power of music and the intellectually stimulating content of the lyrics and messaging.   The concept for the band's name was introduced by friend and author Dr. Jamie Turndorf (“Ask Dr. Love” website), who declared founders Kip and Evan “soul twins” while speaking together over the phone for the first time and feeling the almost identical vibration in their voices. The soul twins LOVED that concept and sought to raise it to Infinity! They believe that we all share an even more fraternal and innate connection than that of twins; we are truly one; with one another and the Universe. The name “Messiah” was initially jokingly suggested, but  they quickly realized how profound the idea of Soul Twin Messiah actually was. Not only does it represent the aforementioned universal connection shared by all, but also their mission of promoting the practice of conscious evolution, as it sets us on the path to becoming our own gurus, sages, saviors, messiahs if you will.   STM has recently been working with renowned producer Joel Jaffe to develop and record a number of their songs. Since the core of the band is the duo of Kip and Evan, Joel helped to assemble a group of world class musicians to accompany the recordings. Evan plays all guitars, bass on a few songs, and even drums on one track, as well as sings co-lead on a couple of songs and backgrounds on most. Kip sings lead on all songs, and background on many. These first recordings of eighteen songs are only the beginning, as the guys have so many more waiting to hit the recording studio.    While they did provide a couple of songs for the soundtrack of the S.O.U.L. documentary A World Worth Imagining, Comfort You will be their first official single and debut music video. Head to soultwinmessiah.love  to see and hear more, and be sure to follow them on social media to stay on top of the latest!   Evan Hirsch - The Blue Rocker!   It was obvious to all who knew him at age seven that Evan was massively inspired by rock music, as he used to carry a cassette boombox to school every day and blare rock tunes. Singing, dancing, and spreading the love through music were activities he was clearly born to do, and the rock and roll lifestyle was his destiny.   The evolution of his musical discoveries helped him broadly expand his range of tastes and collect many genres of music to enjoy throughout his life. Initially attracted to the pop of the day, an early babysitter soon blew his mind with classic and hard rock. After moving, a new babysitter talked him into checking out some new wave. He was resistant at first, but soon found himself extremely attracted to that sound and culture. At age 12, he got a Billy Idol haircut, and by high school was full on new wave, goth, etc. Then a friend sold him his first three punk albums, and it changed everything. Something about punk music really resonated with him like none other before (or after). The energy, tempo, and passion attracted him, and he went deep into the scene, including the crossover to metal. Then, hanging out in front of a punk/new wave club at age 15, a new friend introduced him into the fascinating, wide world of the one and only Grateful Dead. He dove deep, and jumped into that late 80's Dead culture, going to many shows around the west coast. A musician friend from work shared with him the rest of the San Francisco psychedelic sounds, all definitely listen-worthy guitar and Hammond B3 organ driven rock. While wakeboarding in Florida in the early 2000's, he was exposed to underground hip hop, and finally felt an appreciation for beat-driven, rap-spoken music as well. After living half a century, these are some of the enduring bands that rank among his lifelong favorites: Rich Kids on LSD, Bad Religion, The Living End, Metallica, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Grateful Dead, Cadillac Tramps, The More I See, AC/DC, Foghat, Gamma, and UFO.   As for playing instruments, he grew up with a piano in the home, and dabbled in violin and saxophone in elementary school, but it was soon clear that formal music education wasn't the path for him. It wasn't until age 16 that he finally got his first electric guitar from a friend who also taught him those simple power chords to jam along with his favorite punk music of the day. Ironically, after watching his guitar heroes all play Marshall amps, he accidentally bought an Acoustic brand bass amp at the pawn shop. At 21, a coworker sold him his first drum kit, and that became another form of musical expression, including on some recent recordings. And ultimately, it was out of necessity, for demoing his solo tunes, that Evan started playing the bass and keys as well. Now he has even recorded some official bass tracks for STM songs. Evan played guitar in the Band Armagetiton from 2000 - 2006 (RIP Jen Slatten). He uses Gibson, Schecter, and Paul Reed Smith electric guitars and basses, Breedlove and Eastman acoustics, Mesa Boogie amplifiers, the Kemper Profiler, and DW Drums.   Kip Baldwin - Oshallah Kip's first LOVE and lifelong passion in the creative realm has always been music. Early memories include dancing and singing to Nancy Sinatra's These Boots Are Made for Walking for his Great Grandmother Ruby, listening religiously to Casey Kasem's Top 40 on his AM Radio, and pawing through his parents' vinyl collection, which ran the gamut from the rock of Paul Revere and the Raiders, to Marty Robbins' country classic El Paso. In High School Kip joined the choir, did theater, and saw his musical tastes go from the pop of AM radio to the hard rock and heavy metal of FM, with some his favorites being Nazareth and Judas Priest. Kip's current musical fascination is talent shows - like The Voice and America's Got Talent - where he finds constant inspiration from children as young as seven (Angelina Jordan) of whom he could only hope to have half the talent.  In 1985 Kip's passion for music saw him make the move from Camas, WA to San Francisco via semi-truck, knowing no one and with only a quarter to his name. When asked, “Why S.F. and not L.A.?” he often jokes that he came to S.F. looking for the 60s, but was 20 years too late. The ironic thing is that what he found in S.F. was pretty much the same 80s hair band scene that was going on in Hollywood. And while Kip looks back fondly on the musical and performance experience gained with his band King Roach, the scene and the industry left him creatively unfilled, burned out, and with a severe drinking problem. So he made peace with the fact that music did not seem be his career path, but instead just something he did for personal enjoyment. He then set out to find something to fill the hole in his soul that leaving the pursuit of his beloved music behind had caused. He spent the better part of the next decade focusing on local and sustainable foods, and while a worthwhile pursuit for sure, it did little to satisfy his need to create and share. After a near death experience left him with the realization that he either had to find what his purpose was and be happy or find a quicker way out, he quit drinking. This led him to heed the call of the entertainment industry, first as an actor and then ultimately as a producer, with some success co-creating the influential cannabis series Weed Country for the Discovery Network, co-founding the United Filmmakers Association, and starting the Just LOVE Movement (his life's purpose being sharing LOVE). Eventually this led him to co-founding S.O.U.L. Documentary with creative partner Evan Hirsch, after Kip had been recommended as a producer for a Bernie Sanders project for which Evan was looking for help. But it wasn't until a year into doing S.O.U.L. that Kip and Evan - who are both musicians - formed Soul Twin Messiah and began writing songs to perform at the Peace in the Park Festival that S.O.U.L. co-produced with the Brahma Kumari's in the Music Concourse/Band Shell of Golden Gate Park.  Through all of this what Kip has come to realize is that while he and Evan have done so many amazing things in the past six years with S.O.U.L., it was truly Soul Twin Messiah that he and Evan were drawn together by the creative spirit to do. And how could Kip have known when they started S.OU.L. that it would ultimately not only fulfill his musical dreams beyond his wildest imaginings, but also his longing for tribe, and his unable-to-ignore drive to share LOVE… STM PROMOTIONAL LOVE PARADIGM VIDEO LINK: https://youtu.be/rhmJolWeEjY Video Version: https://youtu.be/RZFZtaywwVM Call in and Chat with Dr. Jamie during Live Show with Video Stream: Call 646-558-8656 ID: 8836953587 press #.  To Ask a Question press *9 to raise your hand Tune-in to “Love Never Dies” and discover for yourself why reconnecting and Dialoguing with Your Departed loved ones is the only way to dry your tears and transform your grief to joy! For more information about Dr. Turndorf follow her on Facebook: askdrlove and Twitter: @askdrlove and visit www.askdrlove.com.

Acts 1–4:31 Acts 1–4:31 (Listen) The Promise of the Holy Spirit 1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 And while staying1 with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with2 the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” The Ascension 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas 12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. 13 And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. 14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.3 15 In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, 16 “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” 18 (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong4 he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. 19 And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms,   “‘May his camp become desolate,    and let there be no one to dwell in it'; and   “‘Let another take his office.' 21 So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” 23 And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen 25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. The Coming of the Holy Spirit 2 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested5 on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.” Peter's Sermon at Pentecost 14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.6 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: 17   “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,  that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,  and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,    and your young men shall see visions,    and your old men shall dream dreams;18   even on my male servants and female servants    in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.19   And I will show wonders in the heavens above    and signs on the earth below,    blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;20   the sun shall be turned to darkness    and the moon to blood,    before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.21   And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.' 22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—23 this Jesus,7 delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him,   “‘I saw the Lord always before me,    for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;26   therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;    my flesh also will dwell in hope.27   For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,    or let your Holy One see corruption.28   You have made known to me the paths of life;    you will make me full of gladness with your presence.' 29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,   “‘The Lord said to my Lord,  “Sit at my right hand,35     until I make your enemies your footstool.”' 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” 37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. The Fellowship of the Believers 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe8 came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. The Lame Beggar Healed 3 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.9 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. Peter Speaks in Solomon's Portico 11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's. 12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant10 Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus11 has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. 17 “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.' 24 And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.' 26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.” Peter and John Before the Council 4 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. 5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus12 is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.13 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men14 by which we must be saved.” 13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” 21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old. The Believers Pray for Boldness 23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant,15 said by the Holy Spirit,   “‘Why did the Gentiles rage,    and the peoples plot in vain?26   The kings of the earth set themselves,    and the rulers were gathered together,    against the Lord and against his Anointed'16— 27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. Footnotes [1] 1:4 Or eating [2] 1:5 Or in [3] 1:14 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters; also verse 15 [4] 1:18 Or swelling up [5] 2:3 Or And tongues as of fire appeared to them, distributed among them, and rested [6] 2:15 That is, 9 a.m. [7] 2:23 Greek this one [8] 2:43 Or fear [9] 3:1 That is, 3 p.m. [10] 3:13 Or child; also verse 26 [11] 3:16 Greek him [12] 4:11 Greek This one [13] 4:11 Greek the head of the corner [14] 4:12 The Greek word anthropoi refers here to both men and women [15] 4:25 Or child; also verses 27, 30 [16] 4:26 Or Christ (ESV)

Saturday, 13 November 2021   Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; Acts 2:23   Peter now gets to the point concerning the error of the Jews in what has occurred. He just noted that Christ was “attested by God” because of the “miracles, wonders, and signs” that He accomplished. This is something that they were all perfectly well aware of. In fact, this is what the two men on the road to Emmaus poignantly asked of the Lord after His resurrection as they walked –   “And He said to them, ‘What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?' 18 Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, ‘Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?' 19 And He said to them, ‘What things?' So they said to Him, ‘The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. 21 But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. 22 Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. 23 When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. 24 And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.'” Luke 24:17-24   Calling the Lord a “stranger” was a way of saying, “It's the only explanation for you to not know these things.” As this is so, the men of Israel were perfectly well aware of the ministry of the Lord, and yet Peter next directly says to them, “Him, being delivered.”   This is referring to Christ. The word translated as “being delivered” is an adjective. A more literal rendering would be “betrayed.” Hence, “Him, betrayed...” This is the explanation for what occurred. The word is connected to the coming words “you have taken,” not to the words “by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God.”   In other words, the betrayal was by the Jewish people. It wasn't just that Christ got caught up in circumstances that ended in His death, but that He was purposefully given over by Israel. Despite this, Peter notes that this occurred “by the determined purpose.”   The word “determined” is translated from the Greek word horizó. One can see the root of the word “horizon.” Being a verb, it signifies “to set limits on.” There was an eternal purpose of God that set the boundaries for what would occur because God had resolved it to be so. The word is used again in Acts 17:26 where the meaning is clearly explained from the text –   “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings.”   As such, it was certainly the result of the “foreknowledge of God.” Here is a new word in Scripture, prognósis. One can see the obvious connection to our modern word of the same spelling. God's foreknowledge allows Him to set the boundaries for all things to work out in accord with His redemptive plans. With that understood, Peter now states the words that are connected to the idea of being “betrayed” as noted above. He says, “you have taken.”   Here is a word used only once in Scripture, ekdotos. It is an adjective in the singular. Hence, it more appropriately reads, “[man] delivered.” In other words, it is referring to Jesus. With that understood, the NKJV next reads, “by lawless hands.”   The translation is incorrect. It says, “by hand lawless.” The word “hand” is singular. The guilt of the nation is highlighted in these words. It doesn't matter if every person standing there had done this. Nor does it matter today, two thousand years later, that none of the people now alive were there. The guilt is a national guilt. Hence, Peter's words are addressed to all.   Further, the word “lawless” is precisely translated. It signifies “without law.” At times, it is rendered “ungodly.” What occurred was a lawless act by the hand of the people. They had the law. The law clearly speaks of Jesus (see John 5:39 and 5:46). Thus, the delivering up of Jesus was a lawless act. As such, guilt is imputed because of it. There can be no forgiveness of the act apart from the atonement process.   What is evident is that the believers did have their guilt atoned for. This is clearly substantiated by the pouring out of the Spirit upon them. As the others did not, it means that their guilt remained unatoned for. Peter will explain to them how this can happen, and he will do it by referring to both an individual (e.g., Acts 2:38) and a national (e.g., Acts 3:19-26) atonement. Of this lawless hand, Peter next says, “have crucified.”   Again, Peter uses a word found only here in Scripture, prospégnumi. It signifies “to fasten to” and it refers to the act of nailing (fastening) Christ to the cross. The word is in the plural signifying that each person (you all) bears the guilt. Even if it was only Roman soldiers who took the hammer and nail and fastened Christ to the cross, each person was responsible for that having come about.   The guilt is national and it is all-encompassing. From the oldest man to the newborn baby, the nation bears the guilt. Remember, Peter is a Jew speaking to his people. He is not so much making an accusation as he is stating a point of fact. Again, this is obvious because the disciples who received the Spirit are a part of this body. And yet, they are set apart to God because of their belief in the work Christ accomplished. With that understood, it is exactly this occurrence that allowed for them to receive the Spirit. As Peter says, “and put to death.”   The crucifixion led to the death. But the death is because of the crucifixion, and the crucifixion was because the people had fastened Christ to the cross. Everything is tied up in this act, including the atonement of those who believed.   Hebrews says that “without shedding of blood there is no remission.” The fact that those who followed Christ had received the Spirit signifies that their guilt was remitted. The fact that those who had not followed Christ had not received the Spirit means that their guilt remained. The only difference between the two is the disciples' faith in Christ. As such, it demonstrates that Christ's death was an atoning sacrifice for sin. The guilt is removed through faith in His work. This will continue to be seen as the narrative unfolds.   Life application: As seen in the evaluation of this verse, though it is not explicitly stated, the blood atonement of Christ is clearly evidenced in the words of Peter. Those who deny this and who claim that Peter never referred to blood atonement (hyperdispensationalism) are clearly mistaken. One does not need to explicitly state a point of doctrine for it to be understood.   The doctrine of original sin is never explicitly stated in Scripture. The word “Trinity” is never stated in Scripture. And the word “rapture” is never explicitly stated. However, all three of these doctrines are clearly implied. Such is the case with the blood atonement of Christ in Peter's words. There are those who stand forgiven and who received the Spirit. There are those whose guilt remains, and they did not. The only difference between the two is faith in the work of Christ.   There is one gospel. To say there are two is a heresy. Don't be a heretic. Accept the one gospel of Jesus Christ and be saved from the wrath of God that is to come upon the world.   Glorious, almighty, and most wonderful Lord God – thank You for having sent Christ Jesus to die for our sins. Thank You for the sealing of the Spirit that comes when we believe that it is so. Thank You for Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Luke 23–24 Luke 23–24 (Listen) Jesus Before Pilate 23 Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.” 3 And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” 4 Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.” 5 But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.” Jesus Before Herod 6 When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. 7 And when he learned that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. 8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. 9 So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. 10 The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. 11 And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. 12 And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other. 13 Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. 15 Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him. 16 I will therefore punish and release him.”1 Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified 18 But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”—19 a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder. 20 Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, 21 but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” 22 A third time he said to them, “Why? What evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.” 23 But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. 24 So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. 25 He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will. The Crucifixion 26 And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. 27 And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. 28 But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!' 30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,' and to the hills, ‘Cover us.' 31 For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” 32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”2 And they cast lots to divide his garments. 35 And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription over him,3 “This is the King of the Jews.” 39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him,4 saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” The Death of Jesus 44 It was now about the sixth hour,5 and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,6 45 while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. 47 Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” 48 And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. 49 And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things. Jesus Is Buried 50 Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, 51 who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God. 52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid. 54 It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning.7 55 The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment. The Resurrection 24 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” 8 And they remembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, 11 but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened. On the Road to Emmaus 13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles8 from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” 25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. 28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” 33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. Jesus Appears to His Disciples 36 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish,9 43 and he took it and ate before them. 44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for10 the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” The Ascension 50 And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. 51 While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple blessing God. Footnotes [1] 23:16 Here, or after verse 19, some manuscripts add verse 17: Now he was obliged to release one man to them at the festival [2] 23:34 Some manuscripts omit the sentence And Jesus . . . what they do [3] 23:38 Some manuscripts add in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew [4] 23:39 Or blasphemed him [5] 23:44 That is, noon [6] 23:44 That is, 3 p.m. [7] 23:54 Greek was dawning [8] 24:13 Greek sixty stadia; a stadion was about 607 feet or 185 meters [9] 24:42 Some manuscripts add and some honeycomb [10] 24:47 Some manuscripts and (ESV)

Friday, 12 November 2021   “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— Acts 2:22   With his completion of quoting the prophet Joel, Peter now begins to explain how the fulfillment of that prophecy came about through the work of Christ Jesus. As such, he begins by referring to those he is addressing. In the Greek, it is only two words. But they are two words that, if paid attention to, would resolve innumerable errors found within the church today.   In Peter's coming words are all kinds of directions for the people, but they are not directions for the reader of Acts today. This is perfectly clear with the opening of his address, saying, “Men of Israel.”   As noted, in the Greek, it is two words, “Men, Israelites.” This is the context. Taking a verse out of context will inevitably form a pretext. Peter is addressing his fellow Israelites. These are the descendants of Jacob, who is Israel. It would also include any who were brought into Israel as proselytes according to the established norms. With that understood, he next says, “hear these words.”   He is calling for complete attention so that the reason for quoting Joel can be properly explained. The main connection between the events and the citing of the prophecy will be seen in verse 2:33, but he must first give a logical explanation of what led up to the pouring out of the Spirit. With that understood, he immediately introduces the main Subject of his explanation, saying, “Jesus of Nazareth.”   The entire point and purpose of his words comes forth in the stating of the name. In saying “of Nazareth,” he is tying in the reason it is Galileans who spoke the astonishing tongues (see verse 2:7). But more, it is an explanation as to why Nazareth is relevant at all. It is a reminder of the prophecy of Isaiah –   “Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, As when at first He lightly esteemed The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, And afterward more heavily oppressed her, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, In Galilee of the Gentiles. 2 The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined.” Isaiah 9:1, 2   The “great light” that shone in Galilee of the Gentiles had come, thus – without saying it – not only is the prophecy of Joel fulfilled, but it is fulfilled by the One prophesied by Isaiah as well. Thus, it is the reason those who stood before the gathered of Israel were Galileans. They already knew these things, but Peter is reminding them in order to set the stage for his coming words. After noting his Subject, he says of Him, “a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs.”   The word translated as “attested” is introduced into Scripture here, apodeiknumi. It signifies “to show by proof,” “to demonstrate,” and so on. A claim is made, and the claim is then substantiated by a demonstration of validation. In this, there could be no doubt that the things Peter is recalling to mind are true. The entire nation had seen or heard of the marvelous things Jesus has done, thus attesting that God had approved of His work. For example, this was said of Him in John 9 –   “The man answered and said to them, ‘Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! 31 Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. 32 Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. 33 If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.'” John 9:30-33   The gospels clearly testify to the fact that the people understood God has approved of Jesus' ministry. As this was only a short time before, it would be fresh on the minds of all. Of His works, Peter notes three aspects. The first is “miracles.” The word is dunamis, and it speaks of mighty, powerful, and marvelous works. The second is “wonders.” The word is teras. It speaks of an extraordinary event which is given to bring forth a reaction from those who witness it, such as a portent from heaven. The third is “signs.” The word is sémeion. A sign is something that speaks to, or provides evidence of, something else. In other words, a sign is not the thing itself, but points to something other than itself. A sign in the sky may tell the people the Messiah has come. The changing of water to wine may testify to the coming change from the Mosaic Covenant to a New Covenant. And so on. It is these things that Peter says, “which God did through Him.”   The works of Jesus Christ are the works of God, being wrought through His physical existence. They are, however, of a magnitude greater than the prophets who came before Him. And this is for notable reasons, some of which will be explained by Peter as he continues. The words of Jesus to the people had already claimed what Peter now repeats –   “But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. 37 And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.” John 5:36, 37   The works were given as a validation of the fact that He was the prophesied Messiah. From giving sight to the blind and cleansing lepers, even to casting out demons and raising the dead, everything that Jesus did was to validate that the power and authority of God was working through Him. And Peter next says that this was done “in your midst.”   The things Christ Jesus did were not accomplished in Rome or in Tibet. They were accomplished in the midst of the people to whom the prophecies were given. There was no need to wonder if the stories coming out of Crete were true about someone doing amazing things, God had spoken through Israel, to Israel, and about what would occur in Israel. Specific names were prophesied in advance, such as Galilee and Bethlehem. Miracles were done in Jerusalem and before the leaders and attendees of synagogues. There could be no doubt of these things, and so Peter finishes the verse with, “as you yourselves also know.”   The people standing before Peter were guilty of rejecting their Messiah. This was now fully evidenced by the fact that while the Spirit had been poured out upon Jesus' disciples, it had not been poured out upon them. Thus, they knew very well now that Jesus was the Messiah and that they had missed the boat on this one. Now, they could either change their minds (repent) about this fact, or they could continue with dull minds and hardened hearts. Peter will continue to speak direct, piercing words to this group of people – the “Men, Israelites” standing before him.   Life application: Acts 2, as has been noted time and again, is a descriptive account of what occurred. In the verse just evaluated, it was noted that the words are directed to the men of Israel. Not only are these only words that describe what occurred, but they are words that are directed only to the men of Israel (women also as the masculine speaks for both). What Peter says does not apply to the Lutheran Church. It does not apply to the Roman Catholic Church. It does not apply to the Church of Christ, the Presbyterians, or Pentecostals.   Luke is providing a historical record of what occurred in order to establish the church as a whole. Certain elements of it must run their course before new elements can be introduced. It is flawed thinking to say that because Peter is speaking to the men of Israel, that the church in which Gentiles now participate is a different church. Rather, the events that established the one true church is going through a process of development.   Be careful to remember the five most basic elements of interpretation –   Is this descriptive? Is this prescriptive? What is the context? What is the context? And... What is the context?   In this, you will not make the amazingly tragic errors that have led to innumerable denominations, all fighting over things that have nothing to do with proper doctrine and theology.   Lord God, thank You for the sure proofs that the Bible records concerning the coming of Christ Jesus. He and the works He would do were prophesied in advance. When He came, the gospel writers recorded His deeds for us to know what occurred. And then the epistles explain to us these things so that we can more fully understand them. In this, we truly have a sure word and a written testimony we can trust. Thank You for this wonderful word. Amen.

Luke 16–18 Luke 16–18 (Listen) The Parable of the Dishonest Manager 16 He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 2 And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.' 3 And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.' 5 So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?' 6 He said, ‘A hundred measures1 of oil.' He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.' 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?' He said, ‘A hundred measures2 of wheat.' He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.' 8 The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world3 are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth,4 so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. 10 “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” The Law and the Kingdom of God 14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. 15 And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. 16 “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it.5 17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void. Divorce and Remarriage 18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery. The Rich Man and Lazarus 19 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side.6 The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.' 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.' 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house—28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.' 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.'” Temptations to Sin 17 And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin7 are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! 2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.8 3 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, 4 and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,' you must forgive him.” Increase Our Faith 5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. Unworthy Servants 7 “Will any one of you who has a servant9 plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table'? 8 Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly,10 and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink'? 9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants;11 we have only done what was our duty.'” Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers 11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers,12 who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”13 The Coming of the Kingdom 20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!' or ‘There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”14 22 And he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!' or ‘Look, here!' Do not go out or follow them. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.15 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, 29 but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all—30 so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. 32 Remember Lot's wife. 33 Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. 35 There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.”16 37 And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse17 is, there the vultures18 will gather.” The Parable of the Persistent Widow 18 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.' 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.'” 6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. 7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” The Pharisee and the Tax Collector 9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed19 thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.' 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Let the Children Come to Me 15 Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 17 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” The Rich Ruler 18 And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.'” 21 And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” 28 And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.” 29 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers20 or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.” Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time 31 And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32 For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. 33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.” 34 But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said. Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar 35 As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” 42 And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” 43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God. Footnotes [1] 16:6 About 875 gallons or 3,200 liters [2] 16:7 Between 1,000 and 1,200 bushels or 37,000 to 45,000 liters [3] 16:8 Greek age [4] 16:9 Greek mammon, a Semitic word for money or possessions; also verse 11; rendered money in verse 13 [5] 16:16 Or everyone is forcefully urged into it [6] 16:22 Greek bosom; also verse 23 [7] 17:1 Greek Stumbling blocks [8] 17:2 Greek stumble [9] 17:7 Or bondservant; also verse 9 [10] 17:8 Greek gird yourself [11] 17:10 Or bondservants [12] 17:12 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13 [13] 17:19 Or has saved you [14] 17:21 Or within you, or within your grasp [15] 17:24 Some manuscripts omit in his day [16] 17:35 Some manuscripts add verse 36: Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left [17] 17:37 Greek body [18] 17:37 Or eagles [19] 18:11 Or standing, prayed to himself [20] 18:29 Or wife or brothers and sisters (ESV)

LUKE 24:4-7 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. LUKE 24:25-27 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. LUKE 24:32 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? LUKE 24:44-46 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: JOHN 1:45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. JOHN 11:49-52 And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. JOHN 13:19 Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he. JOHN 13:37-38 Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake. Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice. JOHN 14:29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.

Did Mary and Joseph have other children? Was Jesus an only child? We are looking into the lineage of Jesus of Nazareth!

This episode is sponsored by Zondervan's new book Why is there suffering? by Bethany Sollereder.Download the transcript for this episode here.Meet our GuestThe Rev Dr George AthasGeorge is Director of Research and Lecturer in Old Testament and Hebrew at Moore Theological College in Sydney.Featured MusicMichael Levyis a composer for the lyre. His music is a blend of some original ancient melodies and some of his own creations. His arrangements for solo lyre are based on reconstructions of some of the incredibly rare, actual surviving written music of antiquity. We played two of these reconstructions in our episode, with permission: Ma Tovu and Kandel's Hora. You can find out more about Michael's work, and listen to more of his music at ancientlyre.com.Yamma Ensemble is an Israeli world music group who have a beautiful love of the Hebrew language and ancient instruments. We played parts of their live recordings of Psalm 104 (see below) and also a track featuring the ancient Shofar, based on the Mi'mekomcha, a Jewish prayer. All music used with permission. Links Here's a basic timeline of Jerusalem that might be helpful to get your bearings. Watch Alexander, the 2004 biopic we reference at the top of the ep. Though, to be honest, it really wasn't very good. Get the Oxford Classical Dictionary here. Read a little more about George Athas's upcoming book Bridging The Testaments (Zondervan Academic) in this article he wrote for Eternity News. Read George's PhD thesis, The Tel Dan Inscription (Sheffield Academic Press) which focused on the amazing 1993 discovery in Galilee of an inscription mentioning the dynasty of king David (of David and Goliath fame) - it's likely the first mention of David outside the Bible.  Here's an interesting New York Times article about Jewish communities in Myanmar and India who claim to be descendants of the lost tribes of Israel. Find out more about the archaeological evidence we have for the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple ('the first temple') by the Babylonians in 586 BC. Take a look at the Cyrus Cylinder, housed in the British Museum, which features an inscription mentioning how wonderful the Persian King Cyrus is, of course, but also that he allowed certain subjugated peoples - like the Jews - to return to their homelands and restore their own temples. So, what's The Talmud? Here's an introduction. The Jewish Virtual Library has a heap of maps from this period, so you can see stretch of the Assyrian Empire, the Babylonian Empire, the Persian Empire, the Hellenistic World and the Herodian Kingdom. You might like to check out the 1998 documentary In The Footsteps of Alexander to get a good overview of Alexander The Great. Get to know more about Ben Sira. This YouTube discovery - a Maccadean/Hamilton mash up - made Producer Kaley's day. Read more from Josephus on The Jewish War and Antiochus IV Ephiphanes persecution of the Jewish people. Meet the High Priest Simon (also called 'Simon the Just')  Then, meet Antipater, the Roman-friendly governor of Judaea and founder of the Herodian Dynasty (father of Herod The Great) And then, of course, there's Herod I The Great, who was later made King of Judaea by the Romans. Take a look at Herod's Temple, the 'Second Temple'.And also, this article about the engineering feat of the temple and those massive foundation stones. Josephus records:  Herod announced, "I know the Jews will greet my death with wild rejoicings; but I can be mourned on other people's account and make sure of a magnificent funeral if you will do as I tell you. These men under guard — as soon as I die, kill them all…." Salome disobeyed, and released the prisoners when Herod died, Josephus added. Herod died a very painful death, and his symptoms were recorded in detail. Read this article for more gross details after Jan Hirschmann, professor of medicine at the University of Washington, in Seattle, analysed his symptoms and gave her own diagnosis in 2002 (article from The New Scientist) Who wrote Ecclesiastes? Read this analysis from Zondervan Academic and John Walton. This is a really indepth article on the challenges in dating the Book of Daniel, from The Gospel Coalition. Here's the verse in the Book of Jude that references the apocryphal text 1 Enoch. Here's what John Dickson said about that reference in the episode: "This isn't necessarily because Jude thought 1 Enoch was Old Testament Scripture - it wasn't! - but he did think it made an excellent theological point - about the coming judgment of God - and so it was worth citing with approval. " Here are some readings from the so-called 'intertestamental texts':  From the Book of 1 Maccabees:1Mac. 4:30-43   When he saw that their army was strong, he prayed, saying, “Blessed are you, O Savior of Israel, who crushed the attack of the mighty warrior by the hand of your servant David, and gave the camp of the Philistines into the hands of Jonathan son of Saul, and of the man who carried his armor. 31 Hem in this army by the hand of your people Israel, and let them be ashamed of their troops and their cavalry. 32 Fill them with cowardice; melt the boldness of their strength; let them tremble in their destruction. 33 Strike them down with the sword of those who love you, and let all who know your name praise you with hymns.”1Mac. 4:34   Then both sides attacked, and there fell of the army of Lysias five thousand men; they fell in action.a 35 When Lysias saw the rout of his troops and observed the boldness that inspired those of Judas, and how ready they were either to live or to die nobly, he withdrew to Antioch and enlisted mercenaries in order to invade Judea again with an even larger army.Cleansing and Dedication of the Temple1Mac. 4:36   Then Judas and his brothers said, “See, our enemies are crushed; let us go up to cleanse the sanctuary and dedicate it.” 37 So all the army assembled and went up to Mount Zion. 38 There they saw the sanctuary desolate, the altar profaned, and the gates burned. In the courts they saw bushes sprung up as in a thicket, or as on one of the mountains. They saw also the chambers of the priests in ruins. 39 Then they tore their clothes and mourned with great lamentation; they sprinkled themselves with ashes 40 and fell face down on the ground. And when the signal was given with the trumpets, they cried out to Heaven.1Mac. 4:41   Then Judas detailed men to fight against those in the citadel until he had cleansed the sanctuary. 42 He chose blameless priests devoted to the law, 43 and they cleansed the sanctuary and removed the defiled stones to an unclean place. From the Book of 1 Enoch:1Enoch 1:1-10 - The word of blessing of Enoch, as he blessed the elect and righteous, who will be present in the day of distress, when all the enemies are removed, and the righteous will be saved. 2 And he took up his parable and said: “Enoch is a righteous person, to whom a vision from God was opened to him, having the vision of the Holy one and of the heaven. It was shown to me, and I heard the holy messengers, and as I heard from them everything and understood I saw, but I was not considering the present generation, but I speak to one being distant. 3 and concerning the present elect I said, and concerning them I raised my parable: My great holy one will go forth from his habitation, 4 and the God of eternity will walk upon the earth, upon Mount Sinai and he will appear from his camp, and he will appear in the power of his might from the heaven of heavens. 5 And all will be afraid and the Watchers will believe, and they will sing hidden things to all the heights of the [earth]. And all the heights of the earth will shake, and trembling will take hold of them and great fear up to the ends of the earth. 6 And the mountain will be shaken and will fall and will be scattered, and the high and lofty mountains will be brought low, to be passed, and they will melt as wax before a fire in flame. 7 And the earth will be torn asunder (into) a split crevice, and all that is on the earth will be destroyed, and judgment will be upon all. 8 And with the righteous he will make peace, and upon the elect will be preservation and peace, and mercy will be given to them, and all will be of God, and he will give approval to them and he will bless all, and he will take hold of all, and he will help me, and light will appear to them and upon them he will make peace. 9 He comes with his myriads and with his holy ones, to make judgment against all, and he will destroy all the ungodly, and convict all flesh about all works of their ungodliness which they in an ungodly way committed and the harsh words which they have spoken. From Ben SiraBen Sira 2:1-18. My child, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for testing. 2 Set your heart right and be steadfast, and do not be impetuous in time of calamity.3 Cling to him and do not depart, so that your last days may be prosperous.4 Accept whatever befalls you, and in times of humiliation be patient.5 For gold is tested in the fire, and those found acceptable, in the furnace of humiliation. 6 Trust in him, and he will help you; make your ways straight, and hope in him.7 You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy; do not stray, or else you may fall.8 You who fear the Lord, trust in him, and your reward will not be lost.9 You who fear the Lord, hope for good things, for lasting joy and mercy. 10 Consider the generations of old and see: has anyone trusted in the Lord and been disappointed? Or has anyone persevered in the fear of the Lord and been forsaken? Or has anyone called upon him and been neglected?11 For the Lord is compassionate and merciful; he forgives sins and saves in time of distress.12 Woe to timid hearts and to slack hands, and to the sinner who walks a double path!13 Woe to the fainthearted who have no trust! Therefore they will have no shelter.14 Woe to you who have lost your nerve! What will you do when the Lord's reckoning comes?15 Those who fear the Lord do not disobey his words, and those who love him keep his ways.16 Those who fear the Lord seek to please him, and those who love him are filled with his law.17 Those who fear the Lord prepare their hearts, and humble themselves before him.18 Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, but not into the hands of mortals; for equal to his majesty is his mercy, and equal to his name are his works. From the Dead Sea Scrolls, the so called Messianic Apocalypse which was discovered in Cave 4 at Qumran (scrolls were scattered across eleven caves at the site). Though fragmentary, the passage powerfully expresses the Jewish hope for a Messiah, an eternal kingdom and the healings and good news promised centuries earlier by the prophet Isaiah:"… the earth will listen to his anointed one (mashiach /messiah) [and all] that is in them will not turn away from the precepts of the holy ones … For he [the Lord] will honour the pious upon the upon the throne of an eternal kingdom, freeing prisoners, giving sight to the blind, straightening out the twis[ted.] … And the Lord will perform marvellous acts such as have not existed, just as he sa[id,] [for] he will heal the badly wounded and will make the dead live, he will proclaim good news to the poor." 4Q521. OK... now, who are the Essenes?  The Sadducees? The Pharisees? The Zealots? Read again Luke 4:16 - 21:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up.  And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 18  “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,because he has anointed meto proclaim good news to the poor.He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captivesand recovering of sight to the blind,to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19  to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Best-selling author Eric Metaxas (Bonhoeffer, Luther, Amazing Grace, Miracles) joins Frank to reveal highlights of his new book Is Atheism Dead? Eric covers the discoveries pointing to God from science and archaeology, and he does so by telling the stories leading to these momentous discoveries. It's a delightful read, and it shows how much the script has flipped from science points away from God to now science strongly pointing toward God. On the podcast, Frank and Eric discuss the Big Bang, the fine-tuning of the universe, and the utter futility of trying to find a natural cause for the first life. The universe and life provide compelling evidence for supreme intelligence. They also cite a few of the more prominent archaeological finds, including the home of Jesus and Mary in Nazareth which was just discovered last year. Get the book here: https://amzn.to/2Zvj5Ta If you want to send us a question for the show, please email us at Hello@CrossExamined.org. Subscribe on iTunes: http://bit.ly/CrossExamined_Podcast Rate and review! Thanks!!! Subscribe on Google Play: https://cutt.ly/0E2eua9 Subscribe on Spotify: http://bit.ly/CrossExaminedOfficial_Podcast Subscribe on Stitcher: http://bit.ly/CE_Podcast_Stitcher