Podcasts about savior jesus

The Grand Inquisitor looks at Jesus and says: I know exactly who you are. And we are going to have to kill you anyway. Not because he is confused. Not because he lacks evidence. Because he understands Jesus perfectly — and finds him unmanageable. This Lent, we are confronted with a question. Do we actually want the kind of Savior Jesus is? Matthew 4:1-11

In this episode of the podcast from the church, Pastor Karl concludes the study of Matthew chapter 9, highlighting Jesus' revelation of His power through a series of remarkable miracles. He explains Matthew's Jewish perspective, portraying Jesus as the promised Messiah and Anointed One, contrasting this with other Gospel accounts. He recaps the structure of Matthew, noting how chapters 8–9 demonstrate Jesus' authority over disease, death, and demonic forces through ten miracles, while also showing the kinds of people who desperately approach Him.The core message centers on true faith: it arises not merely from believing Jesus can help, but from admitting that nothing else can. Pastor Karl unpacks the encounters in Matthew 9:18–34—the synagogue ruler pleading for his deceased daughter, the woman with a 12-year hemorrhage who touches Jesus' garment in faith (possibly connecting to Malachi's prophecy of healing in His "wings" or "corners"), the two blind men calling Him "Son of David" and trusting in His mercy alone, and the deliverance of a mute, demon-possessed man whose condition defied traditional Jewish exorcism methods. Through these stories, he emphasizes that desperate faith, even if imperfect or "weak," directed toward the right Savior—Jesus—releases God's power. Faith often requires a public "touchpoint" of expression, removing unbelieving voices that sound logical but hinder God's work, and ultimately trusting in God's mercy rather than demanding specific outcomes.Pastor Karl closes by applying the passage to the church's present moment, noting the explosive community growth in their area—with thousands of new residents and students arriving soon—as evidence that "the fields are ripe for harvest." Jesus' compassion on the harassed and helpless crowds compels believers to pray for workers and step into the harvest themselves, making this not just a message about miracles but about the church's responsibility to reach those in need with the gospel of the kingdom.Watch all our sermons on our youtube channel "Flipside Christian Church"Join us in person 8:00am, 9:30am & 11:00am every Sunday morning.37193 Ave 12 #3h, Madera, CA 93636For more visit us at flipside.churchFor more podcasts visit flipsidepodcasts.transistor.fm

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us that form and function are closely connected. That means that who we are influences what we do. When God called us to faith, he declared that we were something new: light, salt, his children. Jesus encourages us to be what God says we are as a way of blessing the world through us.Support the showMessages from the King is produced by King of Kings Lutheran Church in Maitland, FL.To find out more about King of Kings... Please visit VisitKoK.com Like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/visitkok) Email us @ info@visitkok.com Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

I recognize my inability to defend myself against spiritual enemies. The world is against me, but I look for ways to imitate it. I try to master my own sinful flesh, but I recognize desires in myself that war against my soul. And when it comes to the devil, I fall into temptation again and again. My impending death proves that I have sinned. I realize that what I really need is a champion. God the Father realized it too. He sent his Son to be my Savior. Through the obedience of the Son of God, I have victory over my enemies.Support the showMessages from the King is produced by King of Kings Lutheran Church in Maitland, FL.To find out more about King of Kings... Please visit VisitKoK.com Like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/visitkok) Email us @ info@visitkok.com Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD IN GLORY Jesus was a real human being, and he looked like it when he taught his disciples. But one day atop a high mountain, Jesus gave his disciples a glimpse of his glory as the Son of God. After he came down from the mountain, Jesus went to Jerusalem to suffer and die. It is good for us to view Jesus in glory on the mountain. It prepares us for Lent, and it prepares us for life.Support the showMessages from the King is produced by King of Kings Lutheran Church in Maitland, FL.To find out more about King of Kings... Please visit VisitKoK.com Like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/visitkok) Email us @ info@visitkok.com Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

Send us a textIn this 'EPISODE 451 IRAN AND ITS PROXIES, ARE WE EDGING CLOSE TO WORLD WAR THREE? WHAT DID JESUS SAY? MATTHEW 24 AND ISAIAH 24? ARE YOU READY?' author and host Elbert Hardy explains from God's prophetic word, both Old and New Testaments, where we are in prophecy today. We indeed are getting closer by the day. Things are heating up in the Middle East. May God intervene and take charge!Support the showGo to itellwhy.com to read Elbert's books free of charge, no Ads and no requests for money or Email addresses. You can watch faith building YouTube Links to Videos and the listen to Elbert's Life of Christ Audio Book in 30 minute Episodes arranged and read by the author straight from the Bible, but rearranged in logical harmony of the Gospels, Revelation and other scriptures. All FREE of charge in the public interest.

Several weeks ago, I found a trailer for my side-by-side on Facebook Marketplace. Matt graciously went with me to look at the trailer. Who could have guessed? Matt knew the owner! We'll call him "Jake".We entered Jake's shop. I eventually texted Shelley, "I brought the right guy along. Matt knows Jake. They've been talking about race cars for the past 15 minutes." Jake had two race cars in his shop. Then we started moving outside to the trailer. Before we got there, we passed by Jake's very expensive snowmobile. I texted Shelley, "Now they've spent 5 minutes talking about snowmobiles."The whole time, Jake is filling each sentence with four-letter words. And not the good kind. While we were by the snowmobile, Matt introduced me as his pastor. Do you know what Jake did? Matt and I discussed it later. It seemed like Jake's language got even worse! It was like he was showing off his extensive foul language repertoire in front of the Lutheran pastor!Matt and I discussed the encounter later in my vehicle after I purchased the trailer. First, I had to stop my ears from bleeding after the assault with all those cuss words! We discussed how as Christians we try not to cuss, gossip, engage in course talk or crude jokes, and so on. We are called to be fine Christian salt in a world filled with course salty language. We are called to be Christian lights reflecting the light of Christ's purity in a world darkened by decadence and death.In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught, "You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its flavor, how will it become salty again? Then it is no good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people. You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket. No, they put it on a stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. In the same way let your light shine in people's presence, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven."Salt in Jesus' time was precious. Salt was used to preserve food since there was no refrigeration. Salt was used to disinfect wounds and was rubbed on the skin of newborn babies to protect them from various diseases. Sacrifices were sprinkled with salt to purify them before they were offered to the Lord. Salt was seen as killing the sinful decay and preserving life.Salt is useful stuff. A little salt can be sprinkled on a dish to tickle the tastebuds. Salt is useful to remove the ice on your sidewalk and driveway ... if it ever gets cold enough to have snow and ice this winter.Light shines and brightens dark places. It can be a small candle or a simple oil lamp bringing light to a dark room in Jesus' day. It can be the sun shining and chasing away the darkness of the night every morning. It can be children walking through the house and turning on lights in every room. Then dad is doing his fatherly duty of walking through the house and turning off all the lights.Jesus says, "You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world." Notice that Jesus doesn't say, "You need to work on your saltiness" or "You need to become light." No, Jesus says that through your Baptism, through your conversion to Christianity, through your faith in him who is the true salt and bright light, now this is what you are. So be salt and light.This world is rotten and corrupt and needs to be salted. The world is shrouded in the darkness of sin and death and needs to be lighted.Where do you encounter this rot and feel this darkness in our culture? As salt and light Christians, we notice this rot and darkness as we are living and raising our children in an amoral culture. It used to be that we were living in a moral culture - one where people did wrong things, but they knew the difference between right and wrong. Today we are living in an amoral culture where people no longer believe in or care about right or wrong. They just do whatever comes naturally to them and feels good to them. And what is natural is evil and what feels good is sin.We are living in a culture that relishes the rot and delights in the darkness. They don't know any better. They've tasted this world's tainted garbage so long that what is good, right, and healthy is a shock to their system. They've lived in the shadows so long the light hurts their eyes. Now they want us as Christians to not only tolerate their amoral behavior, but we must also accept it and promote it. They want to drag us into their decay and darkness. Then we are to join them in persecuting anyone who refuses to tolerate, accept, and promote their wickedness.We fall victim to these scare tactics by Satan and his devilish followers. We're afraid of being called names, canceled, persecuted, prosecuted, classified as "unloving," "bigoted," or "hypocritical." We are tempted to fill up our shakers with sugar. We are in danger of losing our saltiness. We are tempted to cover our light under a bowl. We are in danger of letting our light go out.The problem is that we don't like friction. We don't want people to think of us as offensive. We believe in the make-believe 11th commandment of "thou shalt be nice!" As Lutherans, we like to stay in the middle of the road. But on this issue, the world is on one side and Jesus is on the other side. We get hit by semis in the middle of the road. There are times when we need to be all the way to one side of the road - because that's where Jesus is.We don't want to scare anyone off or offend anyone or cause any problems. It's much easier to mind our own business, keep quiet, and keep to ourselves. It's much more convenient to compromise God's truth than to shake out Christ's salty judgment upon a corrupt world. We are more willing to offend God than offend our neighbor. It's more pleasant to hide in the shadows than to shine Christ's light into the darkness. It's a whole lot easier to go with the flow than to stand against the tide, standing on the solid rock of the cross of Christ.When we do that, we are not being what Christ has made us to be - salt upon the earth and lights upon the world.Jesus often told people difficult things - like he was the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy, or he told the rich man to sell everything to follow him, or that he was the Bread of Life. In every instance, people rejected that message and turned away from Jesus. He didn't worry about offending people or appearing as "not nice." Jesus told the truth. The people rejected that truth. Jesus told his disciples elsewhere that when people rejected the truth, to shake the dust off their feet and move on. We would do well to follow Jesus' example and words.This means not everyone will like you. Jesus calls us to be salt. Not the sugar on top.Jesus is the salt that preserves your soul by pointing out your sins against him. He is the salt that purifies you with his perfection. He is the salt that never loses its saltiness. He is the salt that heals your wounds - physical, mental, and spiritual. He is the salt that prepares your body for death and life beyond death. He seasons your speech with salt (Colossians 4:6).At creation, God did not leave the earth wrapped in darkness. He said, "Let there be light," and there was light that pushed against the darkness (Genesis 1:3). Nor did God abandon his children to sin's darkness, either. Since the darkness is not disappearing, our Savior Jesus stepped into the darkness. "[God] has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:13,14). Now that we have been rescued from this darkness and brought into the Light of Christ, we need to keep following the Light. Jesus teaches, "I am the Light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12).Jesus calls you salt because you are precious. You serve a purpose. You are baptized to be the salt of the earth. You are baptized to be the light of the world. Jesus calls you salt not because of how much you can do, but because of how much he has done. He loves you. He declares you forgiven of your sin. He has spared you from hell. He chases the devil away from you. He has rescued you from death. He has made you his own. He sets you apart from the rest of the world for his purpose.That purpose is to simply tell others what Jesus has done for you. Your privilege is to talk about all the wonderful things Jesus did out of love. This is your purpose as the salt of the earth. This is your purpose as his lights in the world. As Jesus has confronted your sins, now you are to confront the sins of those around you. As Jesus has shined the light of his grace upon your life, now you are to shine the light of Jesus' grace upon others. As Jesus has forgiven your sins, now you are given the opportunity to forgive the sins of the repentant around you.Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Professor August Pieper makes it very clear: "[T]here is no excuse for those who think it unnecessary to tell unbelievers about their sins right to their face and to condemn their ways with the written law, since the gospel alone is God's power for salvation, and so it is enough to make these tidings known to the world. This opinion is not based on Scripture, but on their own wisdom. It is born of their fear of men and of the curse of the cross... Wanting to be silent about sin and win the impenitent only with the sweetness of the gospel amounts to denying God's zeal and holiness and suppressing his threats. It amounts to hypocrisy, practicing spiritual quackery. It means leading the poor people to fleshly security instead of to faith and casting pearls before the swine. Under all circumstances the impenitent need the law, and only next, afterwards, the gospel." (August Pieper, Wauwatosa Theology, Vol 2, pg. 60)We take on the difficult task of being salt in an unsalty world. Even if people don't listen, we have done our duty. Then we have honored what God has made us to be. However, if we do not do our duty, then we will stand before the Lord on Judgment Day and we will observe those on Jesus' left pointing at us and accusing: "They never told me!" Then we will hear Jesus' sentence of judgment: "It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men."As Christian parents, Christian citizens, and members of the Christian Church, we are called to be a part of a counterculture which works hard to shine the light of Christ into the shadowy corners of the world and the dark recesses of people's souls. You are light, shining the light of Christ. You are the moon, reflecting the greater light of the Son.The Bible says, "You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, the people who are God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9). You have been called out, set apart, chosen for a purpose. Wherever God has shaken you out - in your home, your school, your work, your community - there you are salt, seasoning your little corner of the world. Wherever God places you in the shadows, there you are light, shining the light of Christ into the darkness that threatens to envelop those you love.This is your identity. This is your calling. No one else has this calling - only children of God in Christ Jesus. May we be such salts and lights that when others experience our saltiness and witness our shining lights, that they may praise our Father in heaven. We pray that we are what Christ has made us to be - salt and light. Amen.View this sermon (with video and/or audio recording) on our website: https://www.casperwels.com/sermons/be-salt-and-light/

When the ever-virgin Mary's forty days of purification were passed, according to the Law of Moses she took her son Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem, to dedicate him to God as her first-born son. At the temple the Lord's parents offered the sacrifice of a pair of doves (Luke 2:22-23), from which we learn that they were poor, since those who were able were required to offer a lamb. At the Temple, the Lord was met by Zacharias, father of St John the Baptist, and by the aged, righteous Symeon, who had awaited the salvation of God for many years. (Sts Symeon and Anna are commemorated tomorrow.) We are told that some Pharisees, seeing the child Jesus recognized as the Messiah of Israel, were enraged, and went to tell King Herod. Realizing that this must be the child of whom he had been warned, Herod immediately sent soldiers to kill Him. But the righteous Joseph, warned in dream, fled with the child and his wife, the most holy Theotokos, into Egypt, and they were preserved.   The Feast of the Meeting of the Lord was observed in Jerusalem at least from the fourth century. Its observance was brought to Constantinople by the Emperor Justinian in 542. In the West it is called the Feast of the Purification of the Mother of God, or Candlemas Day.

You may not feel blessed when you are hungry or insulted or mourning the death of a loved one. You may not be in the mood to boast when you feel foolish, weak, or lowly. But knowing your difficulties, Jesus still chose you to be his own. He gives you many gifts, and he calls you blessed.Support the showMessages from the King is produced by King of Kings Lutheran Church in Maitland, FL.To find out more about King of Kings... Please visit VisitKoK.com Like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/visitkok) Email us @ info@visitkok.com Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

Join us for worship and praise of our Savior Jesus! Today is part 3 of our series in Romans.

Join us for worship and praise of our Savior Jesus! Today is part 3 of our series in Romans.

Join us for worship and praise of our Savior Jesus! Today is part 3 of our series in Romans.

Join us for worship and praise of our Savior Jesus! Today is part 3 of our series in Romans.

Join us for worship and praise of our Savior Jesus! Today is part 3 of our series in Romans.

Join us for worship and praise of our Savior Jesus! Today is part 3 of our series in Romans.

A message about Jesus showing us how to navigate to honor God with our daily lives, while also making it clear that He came to do for us what we could not do for ourselves.

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20260119dev.mp3 Listen to Devotion The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29 Jesus Is the Lamb of God John the Baptist was appointed by God to point people to their Savior Jesus. When John saw Jesus coming toward where he was baptizing in the Jordan River, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” But in what way was Jesus a lamb? For nearly fifteen hundred years before this, Jewish believers had been commemorating the Passover Festival with a special meal featuring the meat of a lamb. In this way, they never forgot how God rescued them from slavery in a foreign land. While the angel of death had passed from house to house throughout Egypt, he passed over the homes of all who trusted God’s promise by painting their door frames with the blood of a lamb. Years later, the prophet Isaiah compared the coming Messiah to a lamb who quietly and without complaint allowed himself to be a sacrifice for others. He wrote, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). These and many other prophecies from the Old Testament help us understand why John later called Jesus “the Lamb of God.” He was sent to be our substitute, sacrificed in our place. As innocent as a young lamb looks, Jesus was even more pure at heart. The Passover lambs did not complain as they were led to be killed, partly because they did not understand what would happen to them and could not have done anything to protect themselves, even if they had known. But Jesus knew very well how he would suffer and die—and he had all the power of the Son of God to prevent it, yet he quietly and humbly accepted all of it. As the innocent Lamb of God, he came to stand between us and the punishment we deserved. Because of Jesus' sacrifice in our place, nothing stands between us and peace with God. Prayer: Jesus, Lamb of God, you came to take away the sins of the world. Have mercy on me. You willingly came to be my substitute, and with your death you became my Savior. Amen. Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20260119dev.mp3 Listen to Devotion The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29 Jesus Is the Lamb of God John the Baptist was appointed by God to point people to their Savior Jesus. When John saw Jesus coming toward where he was baptizing in the Jordan River, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” But in what way was Jesus a lamb? For nearly fifteen hundred years before this, Jewish believers had been commemorating the Passover Festival with a special meal featuring the meat of a lamb. In this way, they never forgot how God rescued them from slavery in a foreign land. While the angel of death had passed from house to house throughout Egypt, he passed over the homes of all who trusted God’s promise by painting their door frames with the blood of a lamb. Years later, the prophet Isaiah compared the coming Messiah to a lamb who quietly and without complaint allowed himself to be a sacrifice for others. He wrote, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). These and many other prophecies from the Old Testament help us understand why John later called Jesus “the Lamb of God.” He was sent to be our substitute, sacrificed in our place. As innocent as a young lamb looks, Jesus was even more pure at heart. The Passover lambs did not complain as they were led to be killed, partly because they did not understand what would happen to them and could not have done anything to protect themselves, even if they had known. But Jesus knew very well how he would suffer and die—and he had all the power of the Son of God to prevent it, yet he quietly and humbly accepted all of it. As the innocent Lamb of God, he came to stand between us and the punishment we deserved. Because of Jesus' sacrifice in our place, nothing stands between us and peace with God. Prayer: Jesus, Lamb of God, you came to take away the sins of the world. Have mercy on me. You willingly came to be my substitute, and with your death you became my Savior. Amen. Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

We continue the Christmas celebration of the dawning of the light of all mankind. When the sun rises, we can see things that we haven't seen before. When Christ the Savior is born, the light of new revelation breaks over the world. When the Son rises, we can clearly see the grace of God, our Redeemer.Support the showMessages from the King is produced by King of Kings Lutheran Church in Maitland, FL.To find out more about King of Kings... Please visit VisitKoK.com Like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/visitkok) Email us @ info@visitkok.com Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

“Christ” is not the family name of Jesus. It is a title. The Greek word “Christ” and the Hebrew word “Messiah” both mean the same thing: “The Anointed One.” Anointing was the practice of pouring liquid over the head of someone to signify selection for some special task. When the Lord had someone anointed, he also poured his Spirit over them. It was the fulfillment of promises made over centuries.Support the showMessages from the King is produced by King of Kings Lutheran Church in Maitland, FL.To find out more about King of Kings... Please visit VisitKoK.com Like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/visitkok) Email us @ info@visitkok.com Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

For centuries Israel offered sacrifices to God for sin. Over and over, a substitute shed its blood to earn forgiveness. Then Jesus appeared, the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. He died as the substitute for sinful mankind. Connected to him by faith, you have new perspective and new motivation for living a Christian life.Support the showMessages from the King is produced by King of Kings Lutheran Church in Maitland, FL.To find out more about King of Kings... Please visit VisitKoK.com Like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/visitkok) Email us @ info@visitkok.com Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him (Colossians 2:6). Amen.Two weeks ago, I was on a mission trip in Gilbert, Arizona. I was learning how to evangelize to Mormons – members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.On Tuesday, we went to visit an LDS temple. Our mission team was Pastor Parsons – who is the Executive Director for Truth In Love Ministries – his wife, Molly, Pastor Nitz from Cheyenne, and his wife, Katie, and me. The mission team also had a dozen students from Martin Luther College and Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary.Pastor Parsons organized an hour conversation that our mission team was able to have with Mormon missionaries, who are all 18 to 20 years old. Caleb, who is a second-year student at our Seminary was paired with me. He introduced me to Elder Young, a young missionary we would be speaking with. Caleb pointed to me and said, "Elder Young, this is my grandfather." Elder Young replied, "Really? That's cool. Pleased to meet you."I replied, "No. Not really, you young whippersnappers!"The LDS missionaries can never be alone. They must always have a partner. Elder Young's partner was the President of the Temple.During our conversation, I said to the President and Elder Young, "Let's say a member of my church named Joe, comes into my study. He admits he has an addiction to alcohol. He knows it's wrong and harmful to him and his relationships. He's been battling this addiction for years, but he can't overcome it. So, I lead Joe to the cross of Christ and to his open tomb. We open our hymnal and go through the order of Private Confession and Absolution."For your knowledge, that confession goes like this. The penitent confesses: Almighty God, merciful Father, I, a troubled and repentant sinner, confess that I have sinned against you in my thoughts, my words, and my actions. I have not loved you with my whole heart; I have not loved others as I should. I am distressed by the sins that trouble me and am deeply sorry for them.The minister says: Jesus says to his people: "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven." His death paid for the guilt of your sins and the sins of the whole world. Do you believe this?The penitent replies: Yes, I believe.The minister says: Because of the promise of our Savior Jesus, I forgive you all your sins. Be assured that you are a dear child of God and an heir of eternal life. Go in peace. The Lord be with you.I continued with the President and Elder Young. I said, "I then use a Bible verse you quoted on your screen earlier, Jesus said, 'Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven' (Matthew 16:19). It's like the chains on Marley's ghost in Charles Dickens' novel, 'A Christmas Carol.'"The President replied, "I've read 'A Christmas Carol'."I said, "Great! Do you know what those chains represent?""I do," the President answered. "They represent Marley's sins.""Exactly!" I said. "Those sins were bound to Marley for all eternity because he didn't accept Jesus' forgiveness for them. In my study, I absolved Joe of his sins. By Jesus' perfect life, atoning sacrifice, and glorious resurrection, I could announce to Joe that his sins were absolved. They were paid for. He was released from his chains. That forgiveness would be the power to combat his addiction."Then I asked the President, "If one of your LDS members came to your bishop to discuss his addiction, what he say?"The President admitted, "We don't have absolution like you do. The man would speak to the bishop. The bishop would give him a list of things to do to combat his addiction. He would try harder. Because he's trying, Heavenly Father would accept him."We'll be doing a Bible study at this time next year on evangelizing to Mormons. Pastor Uhlhorn will be taking over the position of executive director for TILM from Pastor Parsons. Pastor Uhlhorn is already scheduled to do a workshop on outreach to Mormons for us in spring of 2027.Did you catch one big difference between the Christian Church and the LDS church? It's Jesus! In the LDS church, there is no absolution – no forgiveness through Jesus Christ as Savior. In the Christian Church, you and I are given the authority to loose and bind people's sins based on their repentance or unrepentance. The difference is absolution through the blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.John the evangelist writes that the day after Jesus was baptized, John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29)!"Look" is an epiphany word. "Epiphany" means "reveal," "appear," "look here, I want to show you something." John had already received an epiphany from God the previous day. That's when John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River, the heavens opened, the Father spoke, and the Spirit descended like a dove. Now John is proclaiming this epiphany in the water to his disciples and audience."Look, the Lamb!" Throughout the Old Testament, animals were used for sacrifice. Bulls, goats, and birds, but especially lambs. These sacrifices were plentiful – morning and evening sacrifices, purifications, sin offerings, guilt offerings, burnt offerings, and so on. Then there were special festival sacrifices – the Feast of Tabernacles, Pentecost, Passover, and the Great Day of Atonement. The blood of lambs was continually flowing from Jerusalem's altar. When John calls Jesus "the Lamb" all these images come to mind.All devout Jews knew that they were the ones who should be allowed to die, not all these lambs. The blood flowing from the lambs only emphasized how sinful they really were. Hebrews reminds us, "Those sacrifices were an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats (and sheep) to take away sins" (Hebrews 10:3). The people knew they had earned God's eternal wrath with their sins. Just as they knew that sheep are amazingly clueless animals regarding the things of this world; they also knew that they themselves were amazingly clueless regarding the things of God. This image was so strong that God often referred to the people as his sheep with himself as their Shepherd. They understood that the sacrificial lamb was taking their place. Now John was pointing to this Man who was the Shepherd who had become a Lamb to lead by becoming a sacrifice. Like we just sang, "You, Lord, are both Lamb and Shepherd.""Look, the Lamb of God." I've learned that in the LDS church, their god – Heavenly Father – appears to me as being remote, aloof, and distant. Do you ever feel that way about the true God? That your Heavenly Father is remote, aloof, and distant? That he's out of touch? Unknowing? Uncaring? That he sees the unrest in our nation, but isn't doing anything to quell the violence? That he sees your hurt, but isn't doing anything to give you peace? That he sees your illnesses and injuries, but allows you to keep suffering?If you feel this way, then join John the Baptist on the shores of the Jordan River. Look at where he's pointing. "Look! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" St. Paul explains the importance – and complexity – of the incarnation when he writes, "For all the fullness of God's being dwells bodily in Christ" (Colossians 2:9). In his incarnation of the divinity taking on human flesh, Jesus proves that our God is not remote, aloof, or distant. He is Immanuel. He is God right here with us. As we'll confess today in the Nicene Creed, Jesus is God from God and Light from Light. He is the Son from eternity who entered time by taking on human flesh to become a bridge between sinful humanity and a holy God. The Son of God also became the Son of Man so we could be adopted as sons and daughters of God. He became the sacrificial Lamb of God to lead us to God as our Savior Shepherd."Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away sin!" The words "take away" in the Greek mean to "lift up and carry to another place." This means the Lamb takes the load, the curse, the damnation of the total massive amount of sin upon himself. He lifts the awful burden from us and carries it to the cross. There our sin is crucified with Christ. Blood flows. The Lamb is slaughtered. The Savior is sacrificed. The Substitute takes our place and takes our sin away.Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! Sin which has plagued and plundered creation since the Fall of Man is removed. Jesus takes away sin, not just of the Jews who sacrificed lambs on Jerusalem's altars. Isaiah says of Christ, "The Lord said: It is too small a thing that you should just be my servant to raise up only the tribes of Jacob and to restore the ones I have preserved in Israel, so I will appoint you to be a light for the nations, so that my salvation will be known to the end of the earth" (Isaiah 49:6). Salvation is not restricted by race, place, culture, wealth, or age. There is no sin anywhere by anyone that this Lamb of God does not take away."Lamb" speaks of sacrifice. That's what lambs were good for. Their throats were slit, their blood poured upon the altar, sprinkled on the ark of the covenant or painted on doorframes. Their bodies roasted in the fire, sometimes consumed entirely, sometimes shared in communion for the fellowship offering. The lamb was their substitute, their vicarious victim. They owed everything to the lamb.Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! We respond to John's declaration in the Divine Service. As John baptized Jesus in the Jordan one day and the next day pointed to him as the Lamb who would ultimately lay upon the altar of the cross, so too our Baptism now leads us to the altar, to eat the body and drink the blood of the crucified Lamb of God. We sing John's song as we approach the altar, "Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us." The life we are given through water and Word is fed and strengthened and sustained through the forgiveness and life of this eating and drinking. If Baptism washes us from the outside in, here is the food that changes us from the inside out. If Baptism puts us into Christ, then here Christ is put into us.We owe everything to the Lamb.I've learned that the LDS church is all about what they must do for Heavenly Father. That's why LDS members won't smoke or drink alcohol or drink caffeine. That's why they have good paying jobs and lots of children. They must keep doing good works to gain their god's favor. When one of their members admits he is struggling with sin, he is told to do more, try harder, and be better. They are taught the Devil's lie.By God's grace, you have been brought into the Christian Church. You are taught God's truth. You can't ever do enough to earn God's favor. Doing more, trying harder, and being better doesn't work. The only thing that works to remove your burdens, release your guilt, and forgive your sins is Jesus Christ. He did the good work of living perfectly in your place. The good work of overcoming the Devil's temptations in the desert. The good works of paying for your sins with his sacrificial death, crushing Satan's power under his bloody foot, sacrificing himself on the altar of the cross, and rising from the dead to defeat Death once and for all. Jesus dies as the Lamb of God to rise to be your Good Shepherd. As the Lamb of God, he absolves your sins in private confession, in public worship, and in your daily lives as spouses, family, and friends. He then releases you from the chains of your sins to shepherd you to the green pastures and quiet waters of paradise.Look! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise (Revelation 5:12)! Amen.View this sermon (with video and/or audio recording) on our website: https://www.casperwels.com/sermons/look-the-lamb-of-god/

'About the beginning of our Lord's thirtieth year, John the Forerunner, who was some six months older than our Saviour according to the flesh, and had lived in the wilderness since his childhood, received a command from God and came into the parts of the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance unto the remission of sins. Then our Saviour also came from Galilee to the Jordan, and sought and received baptism though He was the Master and John was but a servant. Whereupon, there came to pass those marvellous deeds, great and beyond nature: the Heavens were opened, the Spirit descended in the form of a dove upon Him that was being baptized, and the voice was heard from the Heavens bearing witness that this was the beloved Son of God, now baptized as a man (Matt. 3:13 17; Mark 1:9 11; Luke 3:1 22). From these events the Divinity of the Lord Jesus Chist and the great mystery of the Trinity were demonstrated. It is also from this that the present feast is called "Theophany," that is, the divine manifestation, God's appearance among men. On this venerable day the sacred mystery of Christian baptism was inaugurated; henceforth also began the saving preaching of the Kingdom of Heaven.' (Great Horologion)

Jesus Followers Are Sinners Who Have a Savior Because “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners . . .”; Is Jesus Your Savior Too? MESSAGE SUMMARY: We are all sinners, but we now have a Savior – Jesus. As Paul tells us, in 1 Timothy 1:15-16, that the Gospel provides Salvation for all followers of Jesus, including the worst of sinners -- Paul: “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.". Also, Paul, in 1 Timothy 2:3b-6, further points out that God wants all of us to be saved by His Grace through Jesus if we only, as sinners like Paul, reach out to bring Jesus into our lives: “God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”. It is only because of Jesus the Christ that we receive the healing that we need. “I am a sinner who now has a Savior – do you”?   TODAY'S PRAYER: Abba Father, I open my clenched fists to surrender everything you have given to me. Reestablish my identity in you — not in my family, my work, my accomplishments, or what others think of me. Cleanse the things in me that are not conformed to your will. By faith I unite my will to yours so that the likeness of Jesus Christ may be formed in me. In his name, amen. Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 85). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, I will not be driven by Anger. Rather, I will abide in the Lord's Forgiveness. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): 1 Timothy 1:15-17; 1 Timothy 2:3b-6; 2 Timothy 1:8-12; Psalms 89a:1-13 A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. THIS SUNDAY'S AUDIO SERMON: You can listen to Archbishop Beach's Current Sunday Sermon: “The Struggle with Time -- Until I Determine How We Want to Use Our Time, Others Will Determine How Our Time Is Used ”, at our Website: https://awordfromthelord.org/listen/ DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

CD 1774 Are You Minding Your Own Business?Food 4 Thought: stop and think for a moment and see if you can remember how many times somebody has told you to mind your own business! Probably everyone under the sound of my voice has been told that at least once and their life and if you have a more involved personality you probably cannot count the number of times you've been told to mind your own business. But this morning as children of the most high God we have an example from the Lord Jesus Christ to follow. So this morning I asked you are you minding your own business? Not your personal business alone but your heavenly business from your father in heaven? Remember Joseph he was about his master's business when sin came calling and he went running to a righteous God because he was about his father's business! (See Genesis  39:11-12)With that question be an ask Brother Jason is going to put two verses of scripture on the screen that show us that we are children of God and we are to work the works of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ:Bro. Jason: *John 1:12 KJV But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:*John 14:12 KJV Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.Now let's turn to the gospel of Luke chapter 2 for our text this morning: *Text: Luk 2:41-52 KJV 41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. 43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. 44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. 45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. 46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. 47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. 48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. 49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? 50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. 51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.Notice in verse 49 our key thought for this morning Jesus asked a simple question to his parents: wished you not that I must be about my father's business?Q. What is the Father's business? Though this can be subjective I feel like when we're talking about the Father's business we're talking about these three: #1 Love*Read 1 Peter 4:8 KJV And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.*Read 1 Corinthians 13:8 KJV Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.*Read 1John 4:7-14 KJV 7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10 Herein is lSupport the show

Christmas holidays mean family time, often with extended family travel and visits. Meals are prepared, gifts are given, memories are made. But the memories might not all be good. Sometimes there are Christmas hurts or even tragedies. We live in a world still affected by sin. The sinfulness of the world cannot rob us of the peace God intends to bring through his Son. Christ the Savior is born, and through his life, God brings us into the family. He gives us the rights of redeemed sons and daughters, the privileges of inheritance.Support the showMessages from the King is produced by King of Kings Lutheran Church in Maitland, FL.To find out more about King of Kings... Please visit VisitKoK.com Like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/visitkok) Email us @ info@visitkok.com Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

Emmanuel is an important person. “Emmanuel” means “God with us.” It was a special name given to Jesus already 700 years before he was born. Who is with us when Jesus is with us? God himself. God became a human being in a special way, becoming truly human but remaining God. God is still with us. We encounter him in a special way when we gather with two or three others in worship. He is so near to us that the thrill of anticipation is almost unbearable. Let it wash over you as you celebrate Christmas this week.Support the showMessages from the King is produced by King of Kings Lutheran Church in Maitland, FL.To find out more about King of Kings... Please visit VisitKoK.com Like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/visitkok) Email us @ info@visitkok.com Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

Veiled in Flesh The Godhead SeeFor us he veiled his gloryTo us he reveals his glorySupport the showMessages from the King is produced by King of Kings Lutheran Church in Maitland, FL.To find out more about King of Kings... Please visit VisitKoK.com Like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/visitkok) Email us @ info@visitkok.com Remember your Savior Jesus loves you! May he bless you with his grace!

What does the name “Savior” tell us about Jesus? Coach Jonathan looks at the powerful meaning of this name and how it impacts your day-to-day life! As a thank you for this month's donation......we'll send you the newest release from author and theologian Dr. Harold Berry on Revelation: Daily Scriptures to Receive, Reflect, and RespondFor Christians who want to go deeper in their understanding of the book of Revelation.Yours with a gift of any amount.Thank you for supporting the mission of Christ.

No one writes about our Savior Jesus better than Isaiah. This week's special Christmas episode looks at Isaiah 52. Our guest is Martin Luther College professor Keith Wessel. 

Discover how God chose an ordinary carpenter named Joseph to play a key role in the greatest story ever told. This powerful Christmas sermon explores Joseph's obedience, mercy, and faith—and reminds us that God still uses ordinary people like you today.In this inspiring message, we dive into:-Joseph's righteous and merciful response to Mary's pregnancy-How Caesar Augustus unknowingly fulfilled prophecy-Why every one of us needs a Savior (Jesus saves!)-The simple, childlike trust that leads to new birthPerfect for anyone feeling insignificant this Christmas. God has a plan for YOU.Timestamps:– Intro: God Uses Ordinary People– The Christmas Story's Nobodies– Joseph: Righteous & Merciful– Joseph Needs a Savior Too– Joseph Submits to God's Plan– The Miracle of New Birth

Born - Part 4:  Born of Women Matthew’s genealogy features an unlikely cast of characters. He includes multiple women—like Tamar, Rahab and Ruth—which was uncustomary for the day. His inclusion of them reveals something about the heart of God and the type of Savior Jesus is. It reveals God’s heart for the outsider, the oppressed and the forgotten and his heart to redeem them. This week, we’ll consider how these truths about his character should transform how we understand him and how we treat others.

Welcome back to the podcast! Join us today as we start a new Christmas series!--The PursueGOD Truth podcast is the “easy button” for making disciples – whether you're looking for resources to lead a family devotional, a small group at church, or a one-on-one mentoring relationship. Join us for new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Find resources to talk about these episodes at pursueGOD.org.Help others go "full circle" as a follower of Jesus through our 12-week Pursuit series.Click here to learn more about how to use these resources at home, with a small group, or in a one-on-one discipleship relationship.Got questions or want to leave a note? Email us at podcast@pursueGOD.org.Donate Now --The Christmas Family Tree: The Part We Usually SkipMost people love Luke 2 at Christmas—the angels, the shepherds, the manger scene. But few of us slow down for Matthew 1, the chapter that looks like the “skip intro” button of the New Testament. Genealogies feel like the part you breeze through on your Bible-in-a-year plan. Yet Matthew opens the story of Jesus with a family tree on purpose—not to bore us, but to prepare us for what Christmas is really about.Matthew organizes Jesus' genealogy into three sets of fourteen generations (Matthew 1:1–17). It's not intended to be exhaustive; it's designed to make a theological point. Jesus is the promised Son of David, the fulfillment of God's long-awaited plan. But Matthew also includes something shocking for ancient readers: five women—and three of them appear in the very first section of the genealogy.In the first century, writers didn't include women in genealogies, and certainly not women with complicated, painful, or morally messy backstories. But Matthew breaks the rules to highlight a truth at the heart of Christmas: God invites outsiders, sinners, strugglers, and the unexpected into His family. These women tell us what kind of Savior Jesus really is—and what kind of grace He brings.TAMAR — The God Who Sees the Hidden StoryMatthew 1:3 (NLT): “Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (whose mother was Tamar).”Tamar's story in Genesis 38 is one of the most uncomfortable chapters in the Bible. She marries into Judah's family, but tragedy and injustice quickly follow. Her first husband dies. The second refuses to fulfill his duty to give her a child. Judah promises his youngest son to her “later,” but he never intends to keep his word.Tamar is left childless, powerless, and trapped in a culture where bearing children was the only path to honor, security, and a future. Judah fails her completely, and out of desperation she takes matters into her own hands—posing as a prostitute to confront Judah's neglect. When Judah discovers what happened, he responds with a shocking confession:Genesis 38:26 (NLT): “She is more righteous than I am.”This isn't a story celebrating deception—it's a story exposing Judah's injustice. Tamar is the wronged one, and yet God sees her, steps into her story, and brings redemption through the birth of Perez—a direct ancestor of Jesus.The lesson of Tamar:God steps into the stories we try to hide.He doesn't turn away from the messy parts of our past—He redeems them. Tamar reminds us that God moves toward the abandoned and overlooked with purpose and...

His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied. . . . — Luke 1:67 Opening gifts is a big part of our family's Christmas celebration. Each year, our kids are excited to see what they'll receive. But one important part of all this is learning about gratitude. So when they receive a gift, our kids have learned to say, “Thank you!”In response to the birth of John and filled with the Holy Spirit, Zechariah offered praise and thanks to God. He recalled how God had fulfilled his promises to deliver his people. God had graciously invited his wayward people to love and serve him, and through those people God was bringing forth a Savior (“Jesus”), the promised Messiah (“Christ”), who would bring salvation, forgiveness, and peace.Zechariah and Elizabeth's son, John, would play a unique role in preparing people for the coming of Jesus—and this Savior, Jesus, who is also the Son of God, is the greatest gift we receive at Christmas.When we see this gift, what do we say? Do we too respond with gratitude for God's deliverance and his invitation to serve him? Do we encourage our neighbors and families to see their role in God's plan?May the gifts you give and receive this season remind you of the greatest gift of God's presence in Jesus Christ. And may we all give thanks and grateful obedience in response. Thank you, gracious Father! You have given us so many gifts. And, what's more, your Son has come to bring us forgiveness and eternal life. We give ourselves to you in response. Amen.

How can faith and traditions help us get through grieving during the holiday season?  Today, host Tina Yeager is joined by filmmaker and creative minister Angel Wynn to address navigating grief during the holiday season. Inspired by her own family's struggle after her mother's stroke, Angel Wynn shares the heart behind her new short film, "Last Christmas," which explores the healing power of faith, community, and shared memories. Together, they discuss the pressure to feel joyful during the holidays, the importance of reaching out for support—especially in an increasingly isolated world—and how to offer comfort to those who are hurting. Angel Wynn reveals practical ways to honor lost loved ones, build meaningful traditions, and find hope in the true meaning of Christmas. Whether you're personally grieving or want to support someone who is, this episode offers encouragement, empathy, and actionable advice for finding light even in the darkest seasons. Here's what you'll find in this week's episode: Faith, Community, and Healing: Angel Wynn opens up about how prayer, having a supportive community, and reaching out—even when it's difficult—can make all the difference in moving through grief (not just during the holidays, but all year long!). How Creative Storytelling Brings Light: Discover how sharing stories, both in film and in life, helps us process grief and makes space for hope. Angel Wynn's approach as a creative minister is to let God's light shine through every story she tells, reaching people in ways sermons sometimes cannot. Practical Ways to Support Yourself and Others: Whether you're the one grieving or you know someone who is, both Tina Yeager and Angel Wynn share practical tips—like recreating cherished traditions or simply creating safe spaces for conversation and prayer. Access to "Last Christmas": Ready for an uplifting film that will move your heart without weighing you down? Angel Wynn's "Last Christmas" is streaming FREE on YouTube via Halo Pictures. It's a perfect watch for life groups, with family, or on your own. Join the Movement: Follow Angel Wynn and Halo Pictures for updates on their inspiring projects—or support their work and help more stories that carry the light reach those who need it most. Takeaway Quote: As Angel Wynn shares, "The real meaning of Christmas for me is the good news of Jesus Christ. … Christmas is a place of hope, to know that everything that you're suffering through is not going to last long because our Savior Jesus was here."

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20251210dev.mp3 Listen to Devotion John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. Matthew 3:4-6 Confess Do you ever wrestle with regret? I’m not talking about how you may regret not buying that stock when it was at $20 per share or eating at that sketchy restaurant and getting food poisoning. I’m talking about the regret of the decisions that have left you with shame. You know what I’m talking about, don’t you? There was that time when you took things too far. There was that time when, so enraged, you said or did something you can’t take back. Or maybe there is that constant guilt that you carry around because you know your life choices aren’t the right ones, and you’ve been acting on that urge or behavior, even though you know it is wrong. You know that it is toxic for you and/or your relationships with others, and you’ve gone back to it more times than you can count. The people who came to see John preaching at the Jordan River were just like you and me. They wrestled with guilt. They knew shame. And, tragically, when they went to their religious leaders, they were told, ‘Stop doing that! Be better!’ However, John said something else. When they talked with John, they unburdened themselves of that weight of regret and shame. They confessed to their sins that had weighed them down and left them feeling lost. And do you know what John told them? He assured them of their forgiveness! Whatever guilt or shame has brought regret into your life, confess it. Open your heart to God and confess that sin. Because when we do that, God promises that he has forgiven us because of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus has paid for all the things you regret, and he promises that you and I are loved and wanted by him. Prayer: Dear Jesus, forgive me for my past missteps and failures. I am sorry for them. Help me to trust in my Savior Jesus for his forgiveness today and every day. Amen. Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20251210dev.mp3 Listen to Devotion John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. Matthew 3:4-6 Confess Do you ever wrestle with regret? I’m not talking about how you may regret not buying that stock when it was at $20 per share or eating at that sketchy restaurant and getting food poisoning. I’m talking about the regret of the decisions that have left you with shame. You know what I’m talking about, don’t you? There was that time when you took things too far. There was that time when, so enraged, you said or did something you can’t take back. Or maybe there is that constant guilt that you carry around because you know your life choices aren’t the right ones, and you’ve been acting on that urge or behavior, even though you know it is wrong. You know that it is toxic for you and/or your relationships with others, and you’ve gone back to it more times than you can count. The people who came to see John preaching at the Jordan River were just like you and me. They wrestled with guilt. They knew shame. And, tragically, when they went to their religious leaders, they were told, ‘Stop doing that! Be better!’ However, John said something else. When they talked with John, they unburdened themselves of that weight of regret and shame. They confessed to their sins that had weighed them down and left them feeling lost. And do you know what John told them? He assured them of their forgiveness! Whatever guilt or shame has brought regret into your life, confess it. Open your heart to God and confess that sin. Because when we do that, God promises that he has forgiven us because of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus has paid for all the things you regret, and he promises that you and I are loved and wanted by him. Prayer: Dear Jesus, forgive me for my past missteps and failures. I am sorry for them. Help me to trust in my Savior Jesus for his forgiveness today and every day. Amen. Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/daily-devotions/20251210dev.mp3 Listen to Devotion John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. Matthew 3:4-6 Confess Do you ever wrestle with regret? I’m not talking about how you may regret not buying that stock when it was at $20 per share or eating at that sketchy restaurant and getting food poisoning. I’m talking about the regret of the decisions that have left you with shame. You know what I’m talking about, don’t you? There was that time when you took things too far. There was that time when, so enraged, you said or did something you can’t take back. Or maybe there is that constant guilt that you carry around because you know your life choices aren’t the right ones, and you’ve been acting on that urge or behavior, even though you know it is wrong. You know that it is toxic for you and/or your relationships with others, and you’ve gone back to it more times than you can count. The people who came to see John preaching at the Jordan River were just like you and me. They wrestled with guilt. They knew shame. And, tragically, when they went to their religious leaders, they were told, ‘Stop doing that! Be better!’ However, John said something else. When they talked with John, they unburdened themselves of that weight of regret and shame. They confessed to their sins that had weighed them down and left them feeling lost. And do you know what John told them? He assured them of their forgiveness! Whatever guilt or shame has brought regret into your life, confess it. Open your heart to God and confess that sin. Because when we do that, God promises that he has forgiven us because of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus has paid for all the things you regret, and he promises that you and I are loved and wanted by him. Prayer: Dear Jesus, forgive me for my past missteps and failures. I am sorry for them. Help me to trust in my Savior Jesus for his forgiveness today and every day. Amen. Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

God's Plan for the SaviorAdvent | Jesus, the SaviorActs 13:13-39Dr. Ken MitchellWestside Chapel | December 7, 2025

Presented by Lauren Stibgen When I think of a servant leader, I think of someone who always places others before themselves—giving to others perhaps when they may not even seem like they can give anything more. Giving without any expectation of something in return. This self-sacrificing giving was embodied by our Lord and Savior Jesus. I think all of us have likely been on the other end of this—someone has done something for us and now they are seeking a favor in return. It's what you would call a quid pro quo or a tit for tat style of giving. I give, and then I want something in return. It feels like a transaction, because it is. This is not servant leadership. This is a transaction. Jesus gave his life for us! For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit (1 Peter 3:18). He sacrificed himself for our sins once and for all! It is a one-way selfless gift that gives us the joy of eternity with our Lord in heaven! What are ways you can give to others? How are you a good steward of your time, treasure, and talent to the benefit of others? Time. More than anything, women at all stages of their career need mentorship. Statistically, women are less likely to receive mentoring, and it is also a fact that those who receive mentoring are five times more likely to progress in their career in the form of a promotion! Perhaps someone needs encouragement. Can you take time to pray with them or have a cup of coffee? Perhaps even taking time to send an encouraging text or a Bible verse would be just what they need. Treasure. This isn't just money; it is the spiritual and eternal riches you have from your salvation. The greatest gift. Giving of your tangible treasure could look like taking a colleague to lunch or buying them a small token of appreciation for a job well done. Perhaps it is preparing a meal for someone in need, which is a combination of using your time, treasure, and hopefully talent! What about your spiritual treasure? How are you giving of this selflessly? Are you telling people about Jesus? Maybe praying for people? Simply being hopeful and being able to give an answer for what your hope is in can be one way to share your spiritual treasure with a colleague. Talent. Are you amazing at something? Maybe you are super organized or love planning a meeting. Offer to help someone else when they need it most!

In this thought-provoking episode, Tony and Jesse delve into Jesus's twin parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price from Matthew 13:44-46. They explore the profound economic metaphor Jesus uses to illustrate the incomparable value of the Kingdom of Heaven. Through careful examination of both parables, they discuss what it means to "count the cost" of following Christ while simultaneously recognizing that no earthly sacrifice can compare to the infinite worth of gaining Christ. The conversation moves between practical application—considering how believers assess value in their spiritual lives—and deeper theological reflections on Christ's perfect sacrifice that makes our entrance into the Kingdom possible in the first place. Key Takeaways The Kingdom of Heaven has such surpassing value that sacrificing everything to obtain it is considered a joyful exchange, not a loss. Both parables show different paths to discovering the Kingdom (unexpected finding vs. intentional seeking), but identical responses: selling everything to obtain the treasure. The parables are not primarily commanding material poverty, but rather illustrating the "sold-outness" required in pursuing the Kingdom of God. Counting the cost of discipleship is not only permissible but necessary to fully appreciate the value of what we gain in Christ. The ultimate treasure we receive in salvation is not merely benefits like eternal life, but God Himself—union with Christ and fellowship with the Trinity. Christ Himself is the one who ultimately fulfills these parables perfectly, giving everything to purchase us as His treasure. The irresistible draw of the Kingdom illustrates how God's grace works in the heart of believers, compelling joyful surrender. Exploring the Incomparable Value of the Kingdom The economic metaphor Jesus employs in these parables is striking—both the hidden treasure and the pearl are deemed so valuable that the discoverers "sell all they have" to obtain them. As Tony and Jesse point out, this transaction reveals something profound about how we should view the Kingdom of Heaven. It's not simply that the Kingdom is valuable; it's that its value so far exceeds anything else we possess that the comparison becomes almost absurd. As Tony notes, "For sure the worth of the kingdom of heaven surpasses anything we could imagine... there's no measure that is satisfying, there's no measure that can actually show us how worthwhile it is." This perspective transforms how we understand sacrifice in the Christian life. When opportunities or comforts are foregone because of our faith, we're not simply losing something—we're experiencing the reality that we've chosen something infinitely more valuable. The parables teach us to view these moments not with regret but with a clearer vision of the treasure we've received in Christ. The Ultimate Prize: God Himself Perhaps the most powerful insight from the discussion is the realization that the ultimate treasure of salvation is not the benefits we receive, but God Himself. As Tony eloquently states: "All of those things are attending gifts. But what we get in salvation ultimately is we get God... we get union with God, we get fellowship with Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. We get swept up into the life of the Trinity... We gain the relationship that the son has with the father by nature. We gain that by grace and nothing can compare to that." This perspective reshapes how we understand the value proposition of the gospel. It's not merely that we receive eternal life, freedom from suffering, or other benefits—though these are real. The pearl of great price is relationship with God Himself. This helps explain why both men in the parables respond with such dramatic, all-encompassing sacrifice. When we truly grasp what's being offered, nothing seems too great a price to pay. Memorable Quotes "What we get in salvation ultimately is we get God. We get union with God, we get fellowship with Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. We get swept up into the life of the Trinity... We gain the relationship that the son has with the father by nature. We gain that by grace and nothing can compare to that." — Tony Arsenal "I often say in my own line of work, that cost only matters in the absence of value... it's like at the end of days when we think about the worthiness of our God, that there's no one like him, that he's unequal, that he has no rival, that the gospel is the sweetest message that we're rescued literally from the pit. We'll just say no matter what the cost of us personally, great or small, totally worth it." — Jesse Schwamb Full Transcript [00:00:08] Tony Arsenal: All of those things are attending gifts. But what we get in salvation ultimately is we get God we get union with God, we get fellowship with Jesus Christ in the, the power of the Holy Spirit. We, we get swept up into the life of the, the God of the universe. Like the life of the Trinity indwells us. And we, we become a part of that. We get swept up into that. We gain the relationship that the son has with the father by nature. We gain that by grace and nothing can compare to that. [00:00:47] Jesse Schwamb: Welcome to episode 469 of The Reformed Brotherhood. I'm Jesse. [00:00:54] Tony Arsenal: And I'm Tony. And this is the podcast with ears to hear. Hey brother. [00:00:59] Jesse Schwamb: Hey brother. Discussing the Value of the Kingdom of Heaven [00:01:00] Jesse Schwamb: Speaking of ears to hear, we're back at it again with a whole new, or let's say different parable from our Lord and Savior Jesus. And we've been talking about how really these parables give us this view of the face of heaven through these earthly glasses. And I am pretty interested in our conversation about what's coming up because sometimes we don't like to put too fine a points to our, our point of question to our faith. And in this case, we're gonna get to ask the question, what is it all worth, this kingdom of heaven, this rule and reign of Christ? What is it all about? Who are the beneficiaries of it? And what is it all actually worth? There's a little bit of economics in this, so we're gonna get there. And while we talk and do a little affirming or denying, you should just go ahead write to just skip, go. Do not collect $200 or maybe. Pass, go and collect $200. I dunno. But just go to Matthew chapter 13 and hang out there for just a second. Affirmations and Denials [00:01:58] Jesse Schwamb: But first, I'm always curious to know whenever we talk, are you gonna affirm with something or are you gonna die against something? We've been on a string of lots of affirmations, but I'd like to think that's just because we're fun, loving, optimistic people. But there was a day where we had to do both. And now that I only have to choose one, I do find myself gravitating almost naturally toward the affirming width. But I leave it to you, Tony, are you affirming with or denying against? [00:02:22] Tony Arsenal: I, unfortunately am denying tonight. Technical Issues with Apple Podcasts [00:02:25] Tony Arsenal: So you and I already talked about it a little bit, but uh, I'm denying Apple Podcast Connect. Oh yes. So, uh, I. Obviously, like if you're affected by this, you're not hearing the episode 'cause it's not updating for you. But, uh, if you happen to be using Apple to listen to the podcast and for some reason you're listening somewhere else, maybe you realize that the podcast has not been updating for several weeks. And so you went to a different podcast catcher. Um, apple just decided for some reason that none of our feeds were gonna update. No good reason. So I've got a ticket out to Apple and hopefully we'll get it fixed. Uh, if you do know someone who listens to the show and they use Apple, please tell them to subscribe to something else or to, uh, go to the website. You can get all of the, all of the episodes on our website. You could go to Spotify, you could do something like, uh, overcast or PocketCasts. Um, it really is just Apple. It's, it's the actual account that we use to, uh, to access. Apple's Directory is not pulling new episodes and it's not pulling new episodes on another show that I run as well. So, uh, it's not just this show, it's not our RSS feed. These things happen. It'll, you know, you'll get four or five episodes all at one time. When it, when it corrects itself, usually they're pretty quick. I put in a ticket like late on Friday afternoon, so I didn't expect them to get to it on, uh, Saturday or Sunday. So hopefully by the time you're hearing this, uh, it's resolved. I would hope so, because that means it would be about a week from today. Um, so hopefully they'll have a resolve. But yeah, it's just th thorns and thistles. This is our own, our own, uh, manifestation of the curse here in this little labor that we do. It's, it's thorns and thistles right now, but no big deal. Just, uh, catch up when you can. And, uh, yeah, so denying Apple Podcasts now, really, it's, it's a great service and this is a, a little glitch. It's, it's just a little frustrating. [00:04:20] Jesse Schwamb: The sweat of our brow. Yes. Here it is. We're just toiling over getting Apple to please release our episodes. Well, it'll be your happy day if you use Apple Podcasts and then get a bunch of them all at once. That's fantastic. It's like the gift that is over in abundance. Supporting The Reformed Brotherhood [00:04:36] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, it is a good reminder that you just said, Tony, that everybody should go, just take some time. Head on over to our form brotherhood.com. You can find all the other 400 some odd episodes living over there. And while you're over there and you're perusing or searching by topic to see what we've talked about before, you're probably gonna think to yourself, this is so incredible. How is this compendium, this omnibus of all these episodes just hanging out here free of cost? And I'm so glad you're thinking about that because there are so many lovely brothers and sisters who have decided just to give a little bit to make sure that all that stuff gets hosted for free for you Yeah. And for us, so that anybody can go and explore it and find content that we hope will be edifying. So if that's something you're interested in, maybe you've been listening for a while and thought, you know what? I would like to give a little bit one time or reoccurring, we would love to, for you to join us in that mission. You can go to patreon.com/reform brotherhood, and there's all the information for you to give if that's something that you feel you would like to do, and we would be grateful for you to do it. [00:05:32] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. We, we have a group of people who support the show. They make it possible for your, uh, your ear holes to be filled with our voices. And, uh, but again, you know, the costs are going up all around and, and we would, uh, certainly love to have people partner with us. Um, we've committed to making show that the, making sure that the show is free and available. Um, it's never our intention to put anything behind a paywall or to, to barrier and in that way, but we can only do that if there's people who are supporting the show and making, making sure that we've got the funding that we need to, to keep going. So, thank you to everybody who gives, thank you to anyone who's considering it, uh, and thanking anybody who decides to, uh, jump on board with that. [00:06:11] Jesse Schwamb: Right on. We're appreciative who we really are. [00:06:13] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. So Jesse, what are you affirming or denying today? Exploring Open Webcam DB [00:06:16] Jesse Schwamb: Uh, this is what I've kind of done before, but I think I've found a new place for it. I just am continually impressed and fall in love with how great and big and lovely God's world is. So I love these types of sites that give you insight into this great big world, even if it's in unexpected places or maybe in strange places. So I'm affirming with a website called Open webcam db.com. Open webcam db.com. And it's exactly like what it sounds like. It's a database that has something like 2000 live cameras streaming daily from over 50 countries, all searchable by a category. So you can find natural landscapes, airports, construction sites, and one of my recent favorites, honestly, and this is. It's so strange, but kind of awesome is this warehouse, it's called Chinese Robotic Warehouse Buzz, and it's just robots moving pallets around or like stacks of all of these items. It's mesmerizing. But I would encourage you go to open webcam db.com, search for like your stage or your country. You'll find so many amazing things. So I've sat and just watched, you know, between tasks or when you know you just need a break or you're just curious about the world. Like I look, I watched the Krakow Maine Market Square quite a bit because it's. Beautiful and brilliant, and to think about the people moving to and fro and what they're doing, what their lives are like. There's some great scenes from San Francisco Bay. There is a bird feeder in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania that I often watch. So of course, like go out as we've said, and live and breathe and be in your own communities. And as well, if you're looking at scratch that itch of just seeing all these different places, all the different things that are happening in God's created world, I can firmly and unreservedly recommend open webcam db.com for that. [00:07:58] Tony Arsenal: Nice, nice, uh, little known fact at one point, Dartmouth Hitchcock, which is the hospital that I worked for, had to block a penguin cam, uh, because it was causing such a productivity drain combined with an actual measurable decrease in internet bandwidth at the hospital. 'cause so many people were watching this little penguin cam at some zoo in Boston. I think it probably was. Yeah, I, I love this kind of stuff. I think this kind of stuff is great. Uh, I use, uh, Dartmouth College has a, like a live one that I use all the time, especially when we're trying to figure out what the weather's gonna do. You can see it on the camera. Uh, we, we often will, you know, see, especially as we get closer to the season when we're talking about traveling to the beach and whatnot, uh, often look at the ocean grove. Oh, that's right. Uh, pier cam. So yeah, check it out. Uh, sounds like a fun time. Do not share it with too many of your friends at work. Or it may crash the network and Yeah. But [00:08:53] Jesse Schwamb: yeah, for [00:08:54] Tony Arsenal: sure. That was a funny email that they had to send out. I remember that [00:08:57] Jesse Schwamb: for sure. Use, use the penguin cam responsibly. I just did a quick search. There are four different penguin cams. Uh, three of them are in the United States, one is in New Zealand, and you better believe I'm gonna be checking those bad boys out. Yes. I didn't even think about. The penguin feature here and penguins are an amazing animal. Like we could stop right now and just shift our topic to penguins if you want to. [00:09:16] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. ' [00:09:16] Jesse Schwamb: cause there's so much there. And the spiritual truths are so broad and deep, but I just think penguins are kind of undervalued. Birds. Everybody should go check them out. [00:09:26] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. They're, they're pretty cool. [00:09:28] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. Um, I'm like, I will watch any Penguin documentary and just be astounded by Penguin. Like, whether they're Emperor Penguins or South African Penguin, wherever. I just think they're phenomenal and hilarious and seem to be living the dream. And he doesn't want a little bit of that. [00:09:46] Tony Arsenal: You just gotta get Morgan Freeman to do the voiceover in any documentary or, or nature documentary is better with Morgan Freeman doing the voiceover. [00:09:55] Jesse Schwamb: Well, I all, this might be a deep cut real quick, but I just learned this, and I'm guessing some of our listening brothers and sisters probably already know this. Maybe you do too, Tony. So, Benedict Cumberbatch, do you know where I'm going with this? Yep, [00:10:06] Tony Arsenal: yep. Pen wing. [00:10:07] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. I didn't. I cannot say that word or stumbles over its pronunciation. He did some kind of big documentary in which Penguins played at least some part. Yeah. And they were in an interview. They were giving him such a hard time because they played his reading of it like within the same kind of five minutes. And his, the word just kept degenerating in his mouth every time he said it. So it became like almost undistinguishable from the actual word. And it's like initial pronunciation. It was so hilarious. Apparently it's a big joke on the internet and I just didn't know it. [00:10:38] Tony Arsenal: Especially for someone like Bent Cumberbatch who just is, uh, like he's a world-class voice actor. [00:10:44] Jesse Schwamb: Right. [00:10:45] Tony Arsenal: And like a super smart ude guy and he just can't say the word penguin and penguin. Yeah. [00:10:51] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. He said, you got everybody go look it up. 'cause it is super hilarious. And now it's kind of gotten stuck in my head. But um, again, this suddenly became like the All Penguin episode all of a sudden. [00:11:01] Tony Arsenal: I mean like, he can pronounce his own last name just fine, but the word penguin escapes him. I like to call 'em blueberry crumble bottom or whatever. Crumble bunch. [00:11:11] Jesse Schwamb: Uh, see that's the good stuff right there. That's what everybody we know. This is what you all tune in for. This is what you're missing when Apple Podcast doesn't send everything out on time. Yeah. You're welcome. [00:11:22] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. The Parable of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl [00:11:23] Tony Arsenal: Well, Jesse, why don't we, why don't we get into it? Because you know it, it's interesting. Let's [00:11:27] Jesse Schwamb: get into it. [00:11:28] Tony Arsenal: Well, it's interesting because when you, you know, you kind of, we, we sort of do the little lead to the episode and I, I suddenly realized that I think I've been interpreting this parable very differently than maybe you have or other people. Great. Do, uh, because I, I think I, I think I might have a different take on it. Let, let's do it. Yeah. So let's get into it. Uh, do you have the, the text in friend you wanna read? Uh, why don't we just do 44 all the way through 46? We'll do both parables in one reading. We'll come back and talk about it. [00:11:54] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. Sorry, everybody. So here's a two for one for you. Beginning in where we're in verse 44 of Matthew chapter 13. This is Jesus speaking. The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field again. The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Interpreting the Parables [00:12:22] Tony Arsenal: I think maybe this is the, like the beauty of parables, uh, when Christ doesn't give us a interpretation. I, I think we're, we're, we're not free to like make up whatever we want, but these kinds of teaching tools are useful because the fact that there can be multiple interpretations actually is, is probably intentional. [00:12:43] Jesse Schwamb: Right. [00:12:43] Tony Arsenal: So it's funny because I think when you intro the episode here, it sounds like you're going to the kingdom of Heaven being a treasure hidden in a field, being something that we should sell everything we have and go after. And when I read this, I read it as the kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden a field. And the man who is Jesus goes and sells all that. He has. He gives all that he has and buys the field. So, and I, I think this is one of those ones where like. Probably both of those things are in play. Sure. But it's interesting 'cause I've never, I've never really read this and thought about myself as the person who buys the field. [00:13:19] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah. Interesting. [00:13:20] Tony Arsenal: I've probably heard sermons or read devotionals where people have said that and it just never clicked. And it didn't register until just now. And you were, when you were, uh, introing the parable that maybe you are the, maybe your way of introing your, your interpretation. Maybe that's the dominant one. So I, I looked at a couple quick, um, commentaries while you were speaking and I didn't get a chance to do my commentary reading before the episode. It seems like I'm the weird one. So, but it's interesting, um, 'cause again, I think that's the, kind of the beauty of parables is that sometimes the, the, um. Ambiguity of what the possible meaning could be, probably plays into the, the, um, teaching technique itself. [00:13:58] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, I, I think that's fair. I totally can take and understand what your perspective is on this. What I find interesting is that these, we've got these two abutting each other, like the cheek to cheek parallel approach here, and in doing so, there seems to be like kind of an interesting comparison between the two. Actors in this. And I think we should get into that. Like why in one case Jesus is talking about a person who finds this in a field, which by the way, I think the, the thing that jumps out to me first about that person is this person doesn't actually own the field at first. Right. That the treasure is in. So that is interesting. I'm totally with you. But then the second one, so in the first one there's kinda almost like this sense, and I don't wanna like push this too far, but that this person who finds this treasure does so very unexpectedly, perhaps like he's even the hired hand and of course not the one who owns the field. [00:14:48] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. [00:14:49] Jesse Schwamb: And in the second case, we have somebody who almost is volitionally looking for this thing of great value, but finds the one thing above all the other things that they're used to looking for that clearly has the greatest and most. You know, essential worth and therefore the end is always the same in both of 'em. They give everything they have. They're willing for forsake all other things with great joy, recognizing the great value that's in front of them. I think there is a place to understand that as Christ acting in those ways. I think there's also interesting, again, this comparison between these two people. So I'm seeing this as we've got these varied beneficiaries of the kingdom. They both come to this place of the incomparable value of the kingdom, but then there's also like this expulsive power of the kingdom. All, all of that's, I think in there, and again, these are really, really, really brilliant, I think, because the more that you spend time meditating on these, the layers just kind of come and they fall away and you start to really consider, well, why again is Jesus using these two different characters? Why is he using this kinda different sense of things of, of worth what the people are actually after? I think all of it's in play. You're totally right. [00:15:54] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. The Cost and Value of the Kingdom of Heaven [00:15:55] Tony Arsenal: So I think, you know, when we think about the kingdom of heaven, when we think about these perils, we made this point last week, we shouldn't, um, we shouldn't restrict, we have to be careful not to restrict the comparison to just like the first noun that comes up, [00:16:08] Jesse Schwamb: right? [00:16:08] Tony Arsenal: So it's not just that the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, it, it is like a treasure, but it's like a treasure that's hidden in a field. Yes. And it's not just like a treasure that's hidden in a field, it's a treasure that's hidden in a field which a man found and covered up. Right? So, so like we have to look at that whole sequence. And I think, I think, um, you know, obviously like the, the interpretation that we are the, we're the man who finds the kingdom of heaven and we, you know, we go and buy the field. Um, that, that obviously makes perfect sense now that I'm looking at a few different commentaries. It seems to be the predominant way that this gets interpreted. And we, we look at it and we say, what, well, what does this mean for like our Christian life? Like. What does it mean? Do we have to, do we have to give everything away? Do we have to sell everything we have? Is that the point of the parable? I think some people make that the point of the parable. Um, I'm not convinced that that actually is the point of the parable. Um, because it, you know, it, it, it just, there's lots in the scripture that, that, uh, doesn't seem to require that Christians automatically like, give away everything they have. Um, maybe that's your calling. Maybe it is something that God's calling you to do to sort of, um, divest yourself of your, your belongings, either to sort of fight materialism or greed or, or just because like you're gonna need to have that fluidity and liquidity to your assets 'cause you're gonna need to move around or whatever it is. But I don't think we look at this parable and have like a, like a, a command for a life of poverty or something like that. Right. Um, really this is more about the. Utter sold outness of the Christian to pursue and seek the kingdom of God. [00:17:48] Jesse Schwamb: Right? Right. [00:17:49] Tony Arsenal: And and I think that that's the same in both, even though the way that the person in the parables comes a, comes across the kingdom or they come across this, this thing of great value or thing of great price, that they find their response in both parables is the same. And to me, that that actually tells me that that's more the point of these parables. Um, or, or maybe we shouldn't even think of these as two parables, right? Some of the introductory language that we see in when we transition from one parable to another, we don't really see that here. Uh, and if, if we're gonna follow that, actually we would be going to the next parable would also kind of fall into this. But he says the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure. And then in 45 he says, again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. We're gonna run into something like this later on when we get to like the parable of the lost sheep and the parable of lost coins. Where there are these distinct parables, but they're kind of stacked on top of each other in order to make a specific point. All of the parables that are sort of in these parable stacks are making the same point. And so I think it's not so much about like, how do we find the Kingdom of Heaven or how do we come upon the kingdom of heaven? It's more about what do we do once we've come upon it? Once we've thrown it's, that's the point of the parable that we need to unpack. [00:19:03] Jesse Schwamb: That's right. And I would add to that, like who is it that is the beneficiary of this kingdom? We have two different, very different individuals, which I, again, I think, we'll, we'll talk a little bit about, but I'm totally with you. I, I think it's, it's easier, it's almost too narrow and too easy to say. Well, this is really just about like physical ma or about wealth. Like in some way the, what we're being taught here is that you have to get rid of everything of value in exchange for this. In some ways, that almost feels too transactional, doesn't it? As if like what, what we need to do is really buy the kingdom. We express our seriousness about this kingdom or the rule and reign of God by somehow just giving up everything that we own as if to prove that we're really worthy of receiving that kingdom that we prayed enough. Right. That we've done enough, even though that we're contrite enough. Yeah. And all that stands like in direct opposition to the mercy and grace, which God gives to us through his son by the power of the Holy Spirit to bring us into this kingdom. So we know it can't really be about that. And so that leads me back again to just like the lovely details here. And like you've already said in the first case, here's what really strikes me is. For probably most of us in the West, this idea of treasure is novel and maybe romantic. There's a adventure and an energy to it. Because we've all heard stories about this, whether it's like, I don't know, pirates of the Caribbean or the county Mount Cristo. Like there's something about treasure finding some kind of, or national treasure. Sorry, that just came to my mind. Like I couldn't go any further without mentioning Nick Cage. So you know, like there's something there that pulls us in that finding this thing almost unexpectedly in a hidden place of immense worth and value is, has a real draw to it. But I imagine that in Palestine being like a war torn region in Jesus' day, in the way people might store goods of great value in the fields they own. And then of course the owner may never be able to achieve for lots of reasons, including death. And then somebody might stumble upon it. And as I understand the, the laws there, of course, if you were to stumble upon something. I was in somebody else's property and and on earth that thing take it out of the ground. In this case, you would be by law required to bring that back to the person who owned the field. So there's something interesting here that this first person, probably the more meager and humble of the two with they at least respected, like their socioeconomic status is let's, we could presume maybe going about their normal work. They find this unexpectedly in the field and it's immediately recognized to be something of great value that it is to stop and to, again, there's like a measuring that happens behind the scenes. This person at least is measuring of all the things that I own, all things I could possibly own. The better thing for me to do is to consolidate all the rest of my wealth. And this case, again, it's not the message of the story to do this, it's the exemplification of what's happening here. This person is so sold out to ensure that they acquire this great treasure that they stumbled upon, that they will take literally everything else of value that they own to exchange it for this very thing. So I'm totally with you because I think the predominant message here is not like take all your wealth and make sure that you give it to the church or that it goes to ministry or to missions. That may all be well and good and it may all be the kind of calling that you receive. However, I think the principle message here is the kingdom of God is so valuable that losing everything on earth, but getting the kingdom is a happy trade off. Like that's actually a really, really good deal. And so having the omnipotent saving reign of Christ in our lives is so valuable that if, if we lose everything in order to have it, it would be a joyful sacrifice. [00:22:20] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. And you know, I think, um, I think there is a level of. Encouragement in Sacrifice and Joy in the Kingdom [00:22:27] Tony Arsenal: Sacrifice that happens for every Christian and. I mean, I, I know there's a lot of people who they, uh, come to faith as young children and we've kind of talked about that as like, that's that testimony that, you know, I think everybody really wants is like they wish they never had a time that they didn't know Jesus and Right. I don't know any parent that I've ever spoken to, and I'm certainly not any different here that doesn't want that testimony for Jesus, but, or for, for their kids in their relationship with Jesus. But. I think most people who come to faith at some point in their life when they're able to remember it, like they, they have a conscious memory of their conversion experience. There is this sort of sense of sacrifice and e even a sort of a sense of loss. Um, I think there, there are times where, and, and you know, I think maybe, um, even people who've always been in the faith, um, they probably can resonate with this. I think there are times when we might look at how our lives could have been different or could be different if we weren't in the faith. Um, and, and sometimes there's a sort of wistfulness to that. Like being a Christian can sometimes be difficult right On, um, you know, maybe you miss a promotion opportunity because you're not willing to work on the Lord's day or because you're not willing to do something unethical. Like you, you miss out on some sort of advancement and you think, well, if I could just, you know, if I could have just gotten past that, like my life would be much different. And what this parable teaches us is. That's an understandable, like that's an understandable emotion or response. Um, and there is this weighing of the cost. And in the parable here, he, like you said, there's this calculation that goes on in the background. He finds this treasure, he makes the calculation that to have this treasure is worth. Everything it's worth everything he has. He sells everything he has, and he buys the field in order to get the treasure right. And, and there's some interesting textual dynamics going on through this chapter. We've talked about how the parables kind of like the imagery across the parables in chapter 13 here of Matthew, they kind of flip certain figures around and almost, it's almost intentional because he is getting the treasure and the treasure. The kingdom of heaven here is like the treasure, but he's also getting the field right. And the kingdom of heaven is, is the field in other parables. Um, but this, this calculation that happens, um. I don't know, maybe my heart is just sensitive to this right now. I, I, I, I feel like a lot of times we look at that sort of wis wistful second glance at what could have been if we were not Christians, and we automatically feel like that's gotta be a sinful impulse. Like, how could I ever even consider what life might have been? Like this parable implies that that's the thing we actually have to do. You have to know and consider what it is you've sacrificed or will be sacrificing in order to make this transaction happen. You can't just blanketly say like, oh, of course. You know, you've gotta, you've gotta count the cost, as it were, and then you have to actually make the purchase. So I think we should look at this as a source of encouragement. Um, like I said, I'm not sure why. I feel like maybe there's, maybe there's just a, a. I dunno, I'm feeling a little weird and charismatic right now. I feel like this is something that I definitely need to be saying, like, I feel like someone needs to hear this. Maybe it's just me that needs to hear this. And that's, I'm tricking myself by thinking of someone else. But we are able, as Christians, I think God permits us and in some sense, maybe even expects and commands us to recognize what we have given to be Christians in order that we might realize how much we have gained with that transaction. It's not just this like remorse or regret, um, for the sake of remorse or regret. It's to be able to see how good and how beautiful and how worth it is the kingdom of God, uh, to, to, to claim that. [00:26:23] Jesse Schwamb: I like that there is a great discipline and a great joy in remembering worth and worthiness. So there's gonna be times, like you said, when it's hard and if you look back, look back at the ministry of Jesus, I've often thought that he's like a poor evangelizer from like modern standards. Yeah. Because often people come to him and say things like. I, I wanna be part of the kingdom of God. Well, what do I need to do to enter the kingdom of God? And here you have like a seemingly a willing convert. And he always says things like this, like, you gotta go count the cost. Yeah. Like is, is this worth it to you? Like you have to deny yourself, you have to hate your own father and your mother, and your wife and children, and brothers and sisters, even your own life. Otherwise you cannot be my disciple. And in this kind of language, it's clear that Jesus is saying you fail often. And maybe this goes back like you're saying, Tony, it's like the parable of the soil that you fail to really take into account what it means to follow with full fidelity, to commit yourself in a fully unencumbered way. Are you willing to do that? Are you willing to consider that? And as human beings, we're just not good often at counting costs. We're not good at thinking about opportunity costs. And it's interesting here that we're called out to say, even if you've already purchased the field as so to speak, that as if you've been saved by Christ, to continue to remember how good it is to be in the kingdom of God. And that the joy. Of knowing as like the Heidelberg Catechism says in the first question that all things are subservient to our salvation. Yeah. That incredible worth of, that should be a source of encouragement in times of great trial and tribulation, no matter how big or small, so that this joy that this person has when they go and sells everything he has and he buys this field, you know those details, like you're saying, do press us. It really comes to us with this idea that we should be able to see plainly why having Christ is more valuable than all other things. If the omnipotence all wise, God is ruling, ruling over all things for our joy, then everything must be working for our good, no matter how painful and in the end, God is gonna triumph over all evil and all pain. So this kingdom is a real treasure. Like it is a, it is a real. A real quantity in our life and our wellbeing and in our spiritual consistency, that'll ought demand some reflection of how valuable it truly is. And then knowing that in our minds, that like influencing our behavior, our other thought patterns, and then our actual feelings about stuff. So that when, like you said, we're passed over, we're looked over, we're ridiculed for something, we go back and we count it all joy to be worthy of being part of God's kingdom, knowing that it was because of the entrance and acceptability and the identity in that kingdom that we experience. Those things, those hardships begin with. [00:29:05] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. And, and I, um, I don't want us to miss out on the fact that even as the parable may be encouraging or forcing us to think about. The cost. It, it really is trying to emphasize the great value of the kingdom. Right? Right. We, like I said, we, we don't just count the cost. In order to count the cost for its own sake. We count the cost in order to understand the great blessing that is ours in Christ. Right. All I, I count all that I have as a loss compared to the greatness of Christ Jesus. And, um, I think we just don't often do that. I, I, I think as Christians, that's probably a thought that is in our head more as young Christians, especially if we come to the faith in, in a time in our life where we're aware of things like that. We think about things like that. Reflecting on the Cost of Faith [00:29:59] Tony Arsenal: You know, I was 15 when I first came to faith and, um, I, I don't think I was in a frame of mind as a 15-year-old boy to think about, like. The cost of what I was doing, right? It's not like I was a particularly popular kid. I didn't have a, you know, I didn't, I wasn't unpopular, but it wasn't like I lost a ton of friends when I became a Christian. I didn't really lose anything that was measurable. Um, but I do think that, as, you know, someone now in my forties, looking back at, you know, 15, 20, 25 years of, of Christian life, it's easy to see that things could have been different on a sort of temporal scale. Like my, my life could probably be more comfortable in terms of wealth or opportunities or other things that might, uh, aren't, aren't even bad things necessarily. There is a sense of sacrifice. But again, God has brought us into this kingdom and he's given us parables like this and given us the ability to recognize. That we do have a cost, that there is a cost to be counted in order that we might now look at it and praise him for how great and glorious and valuable the gift that he's given us is. Understanding the Parable of the Pearl [00:31:08] Tony Arsenal: And so I think, you know, I think that's the same basic meaning of this second, second half of the same parable. I guess the, the pearl of great price or the pearl of great value. But it's not exactly the same, right? It's not like Christ is just repeating the same ver, you know, parable with, with different words for variation. Um, every word is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching correction, reproof, and training and righteousness. And I had a, I had a prophet in, uh, in Bible college who would say like, difference means difference. And he was often talking about like minute things, like the difference, um, or why, why is this word used instead of that word? This word would've worked. And, and the author chose that one. There's a reason for that. Difference means difference, but. Christ here chooses to, to tell the parable a second time, um, in a slightly different way. Uh, and Matthew chooses to record these in the same sense next to each other in slightly different ways. So what, what do we, what do we wanna pull out of this second parable that's different and what do we think it's telling us that's a little bit different than the first version Y? [00:32:14] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, that's a great question. Diverse Approaches to the Kingdom of Heaven [00:32:16] Jesse Schwamb: Uh, I love this idea because not until really, I was thinking about it this week when I read through them, was I really, again, drawn to the differences between these two main characters. Interestingly, I think in both, and we can make the case that the, the treasure, the kingdom of heaven here represented in both this pearl or in this literal treasure is in a way hidden. Certainly the first man is not necessarily looking for, it's still revealed to him, but the second in a way. And on the other hand, he knew this guy knows treasure. He's been seeking it with diligence in vigor, or at least like this is what he does for a living in his vocational career. He's out there trading pearls, presumably, and he knows something about them and how to evaluate them effectively. And so it's his business and he's dedicated himself to finding them. And apparently he's seen plenty of them over the years. But then all of a sudden, and this is wild, the beautiful, all of a sudden, clearly the search comes to like an abrupt end because he finds this one of immeasurable value, so much beauty exceeding and value exceeding all the other ones. And he doesn't need to search anymore. He just finds the one pearl that he can retire on a pearl with more than everything else. Or anything else that he's ever possessed and he gets it again. He does. And this brings him into symbol two with the first man. He does the same thing, then liquidate everything else and go after this one. Great pearl. So to me, and I'm curious your perspective on this, I'm not necessarily promulgating that. Well, the first one is not a seeker and the second one is like a seeker of of God things. Right? There is though, like you said, a difference in their approach and what they're after. And so I think what we can take from this, at the very least, is that there is diversity in these beneficiaries of the kingdom of God that's covering everybody. And just by these two kind of bookended or polar examples, that's what Jesus draws us to. But I would turn the question back to you. What do you think about this second guy? What do you think about the fact that his business is searching after these things? What? What do we take away from that? [00:34:07] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. The Ultimate Value of the Kingdom [00:34:07] Tony Arsenal: And you know, the thing that drop that jumps out to me immediately in the first parable, the kingdom of heaven is, is like the treasure hidden in the field, [00:34:16] Jesse Schwamb: right? [00:34:16] Tony Arsenal: In the second one, the kingdom of heaven is the merchant who's searching, [00:34:20] Jesse Schwamb: right? [00:34:20] Tony Arsenal: Right. The kingdom of heaven is like the merchant in search of fine pearls who finds one. That's right. And so I think that they kind of are like, almost like mirror images of each other, right? One of them is about the treasure and what it takes to come upon it and then obtain it. The second is about the person who is coming upon the treasure and, and finding it. And then what it takes again to obtain that treasure. And I think, I think you're right, there is an element here that. Um, in this second parable, the person who is seeking for this treasure is one he's seeking for the treasure, right? Right. You get the image in this, in this first parable that the dude just kind of stumbles upon it. Um, I've heard this Todd as like, it's actually more like a guy who's just walking through a field rather than like a person working the field. And I'm not sure that matters that much, but there is this sense in the first parable that the guy kind of stumbles upon it. He wasn't looking, it wasn't what he was trying to do, but you're right in the second one, the kingdom of heaven, and this is where I, this is where I think I need to think more about it, is what does it mean for the kingdom of heaven to be like a merchant searching for fine pearls right [00:35:23] Jesse Schwamb: on. [00:35:23] Tony Arsenal: Rather than the pearls being the kingdom of heaven, which is what we see in the first bearable. Um, and I don't know the answer to that question. I think I need to, need to think about it and study it a little bit more. But I do like this distinction that in, in the first case, it's sort of a happy accident. And in the second case, this is, this is the life, this man's life work. He finds he's, he's in search of fine pearls. I'm not sure I know exactly what he's trying to do with the fine pearls. It seems like it implies that he's a pearl merchant or a pearl trader, but then he finds this pearl. He doesn't seek to sell it. He buys it. Right. [00:36:00] Jesse Schwamb: Right. [00:36:00] Tony Arsenal: And, and the, the, the fact that the parable stops with him buying it sort of implies that like. He actually is not going to sell it. He's just gonna keep this pearl. Now before the, the pearls, the, the source of the value of the pearls was kind of in the, the financial gain that selling or trading them could bring. But now he suddenly finds this pearl that is so valuable. It's so great, it's so beautiful. Everything he was working to obtain before all of the money he's gathered by finding and selling pearls in the previous like mode of living. He now gets rid of all of that just to purchase this one pearl and presumably to keep it. And I think that again, is kind of a, kind of a, um, statement on our Christian life is that we, we probably have all sorts of things that we've been doing our whole life and we are seeking to, to move forward in our life. And the kingdom of heaven is kind of the ultimate goal of all of that, for those who are in Christ, for those who are called according to his purpose. The purpose is not just to accumulate wealth. It's not even necessarily, uh, in and of itself to like grow in righteousness. It's to be transformed to the, uh, to the image of God's glory son, for the purpose of making him great, making his name renowned. Right. When we look at that passage in Romans that have kind alluded to, he's, he would transform into the image of Christ so that he might be the first born among many brothers. The Incomparable Worth of Salvation [00:37:24] Tony Arsenal: Ultimately, our, our sanctification and glorification is about making Jesus great and glorified, um, to give him glory, to have our glorification reflect his already intrinsic glory and the gift that he gives us, and I think that's kind of, kind of in play here, is that. Uh, we might have all sorts of goals in our life. We might have goals in our Christian life, um, that are good things that we should strive for, but at the end of the day, all of those things only serve to bring us to the kingdom of heaven, which is this pearl of great price that we, we purchase, we buy it and we just kind of hang onto it. It is its own treasure and it's, it's not about what this, this treasure can bring to us, right? Which is what the fine pearls were before they were about what the merchant can find and sell. It's, it's now about just obtaining the pearl and enjoying that pearl. Um, which I think is a little bit different than, than, um, what I would've thought of with the par before. [00:38:19] Jesse Schwamb: Yeah, I totally agree with you. I think, I think you're actually onto something with the distinction because I think of. So much of my career has been spent in financial services among people who are buyers and sellers of things. They're traders. And the way I read this was very similar to what you were saying to me. What resonated was if this gentleman or this person is. Trading, collecting these pearls. Presumably they have appreciation for the beauty of the pearl itself. So there is like something innate that draws them to this particular thing. And with that experience and with that knowledge and with that, that appreciation of that beauty. I think when they see this other pearl, it moves from, well, why would I ever sell that? I've seen everything. This is the most beautiful pearl I've ever laid my eyes on. And now I want to keep it for me. I want to have it in my possession. I want to cherish it and not just keep it in the inventory and then turn around and sell it for markup, presumably, because there is no nothing that would be of greater value to this person. 'cause they just sold everything else that they had. So they, it's appreciation for the pearl itself. It's going after that finding and seeking that great beauty. And then that led me right into Philippians chapter four, where Paul writes the church in Philippi, beginning of verse eight. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever's honorable, whatever's just whatever's pure, whatever's lovely, whatever's commendable. If there's any excellence, if there. Anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Practice these things and the god of peace will be with you. So this idea, like you and I, Tony, have talked about like the world has great wisdom, it has great knowledge, it has things that can lead us by way of common grace into certain amounts of peace. But the pearl of great price, the seeking after the going after all these great things is to find the gospel, to be given the gospel it revealed to you. And then say everything else I count as a loss. Everything else is worthless compared to this thing. And if you're a person that can appreciate even just by turn of mind or God's influence in your life, you know, knowledge and wisdom, and you're seeking after that, which is the ultimate expression and representation of those things, and then you find you come upon this pearl of great price, the gospel wisdom and the beauty of God represented in his son Jesus Christ. And you say, this is it. I, I know enough to know, again, by the regeneration that comes through the spirit, this is the real deal. Then I think the message still stands. We come through two different directions into the same final culminating point, which is there is a condition for having this kingdom of God, for having the king on your side as your friend, but the condition isn't like wealth or power or negotiating or intelligence or even good trading behavior or going out and finding the right thing. The condition is that we prize the kingdom more than anything else we own. The point of selling everything in these parables is to simply show where our hearts are at. And so I often say in my own line of work, that cost only matters in the absence of value. Actually, it's true for everything that we. We presumably spend our time or our money on cost only matters in the absence of value. And I think like you and I could do a fun little experiment where I don't know, you ever talking to somebody about something and you're paying a cost to have that service delivered to you and you're, and you're just like totally worth it, like I would do totally worth it. Like, yeah, that's kind of the vibe I'm getting here. It's like at the end of days when we think about the worthiness of our God, that there's no one like him, that he's unequal, that he has no rival, that the gospel is the sweetest message that we're rescued literally from the pit. We're just say no matter what the cost of us personally, great or small, totally worth it, that that's what we'll be saying for all of eternity as we worship him. [00:41:45] Tony Arsenal: Yeah, and I think even more than saying, totally worth it. I think when we are given our new eyes to see, and we no longer see through a da a glass dimly, we're gonna recognize saying that it was worth, it is is like it's a pale, like it's a faulty answer to begin with because the, for sure the worth of the kingdom of heaven surpasses anything we could imagine. And in our, you know, locked in little meat brains that we have now, we're kind of com we're just comparing it to. You know, like what, what we could have had or what we, what we've given up. Um, it, it's gonna be an incomparable comparison. Like there's no, there's no measure that is satisfying, there's no measure that can actually show us how, how worthwhile it is. And, you know, we've, we've made a point of it, like the, the blessing of salvation and, and really like what it is that we're getting, uh, in, in the. You know, the Christian understanding of salvation, it's not, it's not an eternal destiny. It's not bigger mansions in heaven. It's not freedom from death. All of those things come with it. All of those things are attending gifts. That's right. But what we get in salvation ultimately is we get God we get union with God, we get fellowship with Jesus Christ in the, the power of the Holy Spirit. We, we get swept up into the life of the, the God of the universe. Like the life of the Trinity indwells us. And we, we become a part of that. Uh, not, not in the, you know, like. Eastern Orthodox deification sense, although I think there's a proper way we can talk about deification. Um, but we get swept up into that. We gain the relationship that the son has with the father by nature. We gain that by grace and nothing can compare to that. There's nothing that we could ever point to. Um, it's funny, my, my wife and I, um, this is a little corny, but, um, we'll often say to, to each other instead of saying, I love you more than anything, we'll say, I love you more than everything. Right. And, and it's, it's a way to say like. You could take all that there is in the world, everything that I have that I could possibly consider and sum up the value. And I love my wife more than that. I love my children more than that. So it's not that I love them more than any one thing, it's that I love them more than everything combined. And this is even greater than that, right? We, we will look back at our lives and if, if it's even in our mind, if we even can, can comprehend anymore. The idea of thinking about what it costs us to obtain this pearl of great value, which is the kingdom of heaven, which is just another way to say, is just fellowship with the God of the universe. Um, we'll look at it and say no matter what it was. No matter what it could have been, I would give everything I, I love God more than everything. Right. Right. There's nothing that could ever possibly be considered that even comes close to what we gain in, in Christ Jesus, in union with, with God. And I think that's the point of this, like I think the guy who, um. Christ's Perfect Sacrifice and Our Response [00:44:58] Tony Arsenal: I think about what it would take for me to even like to sell everything, like the concept of selling everything I own. I'm not even sure how I would do that, to be honest with you. Like, I don't even know the mechanism for that kind of thing. But the idea that there's anything that could be valuable enough that I would just sell every piece of human property that I have, there's probably nothing like that in this world. Like, there probably isn't. And to, to take that comparison and then basically say like, that's just what the kingdom of God is like. 'cause that's the other thing I think we miss about parables is you, you only make a comparison when you can't describe something, um, analytically, right? There's the difference between analogically and analytically Ana lot analytically means we're able to actually quantify and explain it kind of in strict terms, right? I can, I can say that, um, uh, a heavy object ways, X number of grams or it, you know, or, um. Pounds or whatever. I can, I can measure that and make an analytical statement, or I can make an analogy, an analogy that is comparative. Uh, but by definition, or almost by by nature of the thing, when you make that comparison, you're kind of saying like, not only is it like this, but it's actually it, like it's more like this than I can even describe. Right? So when we're talking about the kingdom of Heaven here, and we say it's, it's like, it's like a man who goes, he finds a treasure and then he sells everything. He has to get that treasure. It's infinitely more like that than it actually can be described. Does that make sense? I feel like I'm rambling on that a little bit. Maybe trying to describe something that can't be described is, is hard to do. [00:46:35] Jesse Schwamb: It's, that's, yeah. But yeah, that's, that's very difficult to do. I'm actually totally with you on this. I think I understand clearly what you mean, this idea that no matter how hard we actually try to value it, we'll be incapable of doing so. Yes. And at best, it almost seems like this is a strange command in a way because it's, it's asking us to do in some ways a thing that is impossible for us to do. However, I think what you're saying is it doesn't mean that we shouldn't turn our minds toward that. We're a bit like people who, I don't know if this show is still on PBS, but like, do you know that show, remember that show The Antiques Road Show? Yeah. Where people would like come, they'd ran ransack their homes or their garages with these old antique items and they bring them to this road show where there'd be experts who would value them. And inevitably we'll be like those people who come with what we think is like a. A thousand dollars clock that we got at a garage sale thinking, wouldn't it be great? I know this is valuable. It's probably a thousand dollars. It'll be, look at the return, tenfold return, I'll get on this item, and then instead finding that it's worth $10 million when it's appraised. Yeah, I assume it'll be just like that in the Beautific vision that even maybe for all of eternity will be growing in our appreciation for just how valuable this great salvation is. And yet at the same time, I think what this should encourage us to do is to pray things like God make us real in seeing and savoring Christ in his saving work above all the other things. Yeah. So that, as you said in your example, we would cherish him above everything, above all things that you have that right place in our hearts or that we be inclined to undertake that posture, which says, God, though I cannot understand it in full. Would you help me to see that? Encouragement in Our Spiritual Journey [00:48:08] Jesse Schwamb: And I wanna just say like, as a word of encouragement, maybe I'm speaking more to myself here so everybody else can disregard this if you like, but I think sometimes there can be a little bit of intimidation then when you hear these things and say like, ah, I'm just not, I just dunno if I love God enough, like I wanna love him, or I want to want to love him more. And I think even that posture is appropriate. Yeah. Sometimes there, oftentimes in my personal life, I'll pray something like, God, help me to know how much you love me and would you give me the strength to love you back? So that even that awareness, that energy, that volition, that vitality, that, that heat, all of that, that fire itself is kindled by the Holy Spirit. It's not like we need to like try to again manufacture here. Because the point of these, these stories is not again, that we just find the means to do a transactional exchange here, but that instead we really just sit in the full promises of God. And of course to that, I would say we always need to go back to, to something like Romans eight. I mean, I know that we should, like you said, Tony, the. The standard description we give for the Bible is the one that gives itself, which is that all of it, all of it's is carried along by the Holy Spirit. All of it is God breathe. All of it is useful for something. And yet, of course, I say somewhat tongue in cheek that, you know, if I have 10 minutes to live, I'm probably not gonna the s descriptions of reading a genealogy, I'm going straight from Roman and say, Romans say, I think it's just like the pinnacle of the scriptures. And so just a couple of verses at the end there, because I think this is, this is leading us into what is this great treasure? What is the kingdom of God? Why do we value it so much? What is the saving power? And uh, these verses, I mean, always just entirely get me ready to run through a wall. So this is the end of, of Romans eight beginning verse 35. Who shall separate us from the law of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword as it is written for your sake. We are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No. In all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us for I'm sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from a love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. [00:50:22] Tony Arsenal: Yeah. Yeah. That's, that's a good word. And I, I, I like what you're saying too, is, is I think we, we can. There's this paradoxical thing that happens when the scriptures is trying to encourage us to do something, is we often like to get our, in our own way. And, and actually that becomes a source of discouragement for us. The Bible calls us to something and we know we can't live up to it. And that's actually like part and parcel of, of reform theology to recognize that this is law, like the, the, the, the, you know, maybe not in like the strict sense, like when we talk about dividing the scripture into law and gospel, um. It may not be that this particular passage would fall under that rubric of law normally, but this idea that we need to count the cost and that we need to be treasuring Christ more and more, and then when we feel like I'm just not getting it. I'm just not there. Like, I don't, I don't treasure Christ as much as I so should. Um, that Yeah, that's right. Nobody does. Nobody can, like, that's, that's kind of the point of this, and that's why it's law is it's, it shouldn't drive you in Christ. It should not drive you to despair. Right. It should not drive you to discouragement. It should drive you to gratitude that God saved you anyways. That, that this pearl of great value is still yours even though you can't possibly deserve it. Um, you know, we're, we're a little bit different than the, the merchant and the man who finds the treasure in the field in that we can't sell everything we have and obtain it like they have the ability to do that in the, in the parables. Right. Um, we, we don't, and we never will. And so rather than let that drive you to being discouraged that like you're just not getting. I recognize God is of infinite value and we are finite creatures. So we, we could, uh, value God perfectly. Like whatever that means, and I don't even know what that means, but we could value and cherish and love God perfectly as far as our capacities are concerned, and it still would not be enough to sufficiently merit God's favor for us. Like as much as we can, even in, even in eternity. As much as we can value and worship and love and praise Jesus, he is worth infinitely more than we could ever give, even when we do it perfectly. And this is, this is why you know Christ coming to die, to live on our behalf, to die in our place. Why that's necessary is because only this is a, maybe a different take on it. We, I think we talk a lot about how, um. Only God could, could carry, bear the wrath of God and not be destroyed. Right. Right. Only God could, um, could stand up under his own wrath, could stand up under the wrath of God and bear that punishment and not be destroyed. And so therefore, um, Christ had to be not just a man, but had to be God. But on the flip side. And God requires perfect perpetual obedience, which involves loving the Lord your God, perfectly with your whole heart at all times. Right? Only God can do that too. So it's not just that God. It's not just that G

Last month, VCY held its fall rally and the guest presenter was Chris Katulka from the Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. He spoke on the issue: Why Israel Matters. Why does Israel still matter? Chris had this to say in his opening comments concerning the Bible: "From Genesis to Revelation, this book is Jewish, OK? Do you know that your Savior Jesus is Jewish? You know he never went to church, he went to synagogue. He never celebrated Christmas or Easter. That would be awkward, OK? Jesus celebrated Passover. He honored Yom Kippur. He kept the Feast of Tabernacles. He celebrated Hanukkah. Jesus is Jewish and we believe that if you have a passion for God's Word, then you should automatically have compassion for God's chosen people." That pretty much says it all, but we encourage you to listen to this larger portion of audio from the rally as Chris explains how the existence of a Palestinian state would really be a reward to Hamas. He breaks down Genesis 12:3 (the promise to Abraham) and how it extends throughout the entire Bible. Find out why the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Assyrians and numerous other people groups are gone, yet Israel is still in existence. Other points are examined as well, all to show that Israel still matters!

Last month, VCY held its fall rally and the guest presenter was Chris Katulka from the Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. He spoke on the issue: Why Israel Matters. Why does Israel still matter? Chris had this to say in his opening comments concerning the Bible: "From Genesis to Revelation, this book is Jewish, OK? Do you know that your Savior Jesus is Jewish? You know he never went to church, he went to synagogue. He never celebrated Christmas or Easter. That would be awkward, OK? Jesus celebrated Passover. He honored Yom Kippur. He kept the Feast of Tabernacles. He celebrated Hanukkah. Jesus is Jewish and we believe that if you have a passion for God's Word, then you should automatically have compassion for God's chosen people." That pretty much says it all, but we encourage you to listen to this larger portion of audio from the rally as Chris explains how the existence of a Palestinian state would really be a reward to Hamas. He breaks down Genesis 12:3 (the promise to Abraham) and how it extends throughout the entire Bible. Find out why the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Assyrians and numerous other people groups are gone, yet Israel is still in existence. Other points are examined as well, all to show that Israel still matters!

Please turn in your Bibles to Malachi chapter 2. Our sermon text is verses 1-9. That can be found on page 953 in the pew Bible. Last week, we learned that the people had been bringing polluted offerings to the temple. They were supposed to bring unblemished offerings for the sacrifices. Instead, they brought lame and sick and blind animals. By doing so, they were dishonoring the Lord. I usually don't spend a lot of time on sermon titles. But last week's title and this week's title are connected. Last week's title was The Polluted Offerings and the Pure Offering. This week, it's The Polluted Priests and the Perfect Priest. That is because last week's passage and this week's passage are connected. The problem was not only that the people were bringing impure offerings. The problem was also that the priests were allowing it. And not just allowing it, supporting it and failing to lead the people in God's way and will. Let's now come to God's Word Reading of Malachi 2:1-9 Prayer In 1794, a young man was ordained to pastoral ministry in Berlin. He was brilliant and eloquent. This man had studied theology and philosophy at a Protestant university named after the great Martin Luther. As a young pastor, he witnessed the younger generation in Germany walking away from the church. That greatly grieved him, as it should. But, to win them back, he developed a new kind of theology which he hoped would make Christianity more attractive to modern minds. He began to teach that the essence of faith was not trusting in God's revealed truth, but feeling God's presence within. The Bible, he said, was not divine revelation itself, but a record of human experiences with the divine. Repentance gave way to sentiment, and the cross of Christ became a symbol rather than a saving act. His name was Frederich Schliermacher. Sadly, his sermons and teaching spread across Germany. Even worse, after he became a professor at the University of Berlin, his influence spread to all of Europe and into America. In the last two centuries, Schleiermacher's beliefs have led thousands of churches and millions of Christians astray. Few men in modern history have done more to undermine the Gospel while claiming to defend it. I bring this up as an example of what Malachi 2:1-9 warns against. The priests were supposed to lead the people. They were the ones who were to direct the people to the Lord and were to faithfully teach his truth. But they failed. Look down at verse 7. I know we are jumping ahead. But this is an important verse about the role of priests. It says, “For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.” The priests were not only to oversee the temple and sacrificial system, but they were to faithfully teach God's truth. By the way, that is different from a prophet. A prophet was given new revelation from God. A priest was to teach what God had already reveled. Does that make sense? Well, as you know, we do not have priests today. No, the priestly function in the Old Testament has been fulfilled in Christ. That is why there are no priests in the New Testament. There are no more animal offerings, because, as a reminder from last week, Jesus offered himself for us as the ultimate offering for sin. However, there are some parallels between priests and pastors… or priests and teachers of God's Word. Both are to direct people to God, and both are to faithfully teach his Word and live out his ways. So, a big part of the application of these verses today is about preachers and teachers. And as you will see, the stakes are high. Now, you may be tempted at this point to check out. Maybe you are thinking, “I'm not called to teach the Bible, so this doesn't really apply to me.” Well, I want to say a couple things. ·      First, one of the passages we read earlier in the service was from 1 Peter 2. In 1 Peter 2:9, God's people are called a royal priesthood. Maybe you've heard the phrase, “priesthood of all believers.” In some ways, we are all to teach and model God's Word. You may not have a formal teaching role in the church, but you may be called to disciple others at some point in your life. Or if you are married, you have a responsibility to lead or participate in leading your family. ·      Second, this passage teaches us to know what to look for in a Godly leader in the church. In the Old Testament times, the priests were descendants of Levi, one of Jacob's 12 sons. However, in the New Testament, elders and pastors in the church are appointed by the church. So, we have a responsibility to seek Godly men to lead. I'm just saying that these verses apply to everyone in the church. Which brings us to Malachi 2. We're going to look at three things: #1. The Curse. #2. The Corruption. And #3. The Covenant. 1. The Curse So, number 1. The Curse. Briefly look at verse 1. It says, “And now, O priests, this command is for you.” It's referring to the command in chapter 1 to bring pure offerings. Last week, our focus was on the people bringing their offerings. But the bigger problem was that the priests were letting them. The priests were not rejecting the offerings that the people were bringing. They were not reminding the people of God's command to bring unblemished offerings. Furthermore, the priests were taking the people's polluted offering, and they were the ones sacrificing them on God's altar – polluting God's altar. Also from last week, we saw that the end of chapter 1 was all about honoring the Lord. The people were dishonoring him by bringing inappropriate offerings. But it was the priests who were leading the people to dishonor God. That is why, in chapter 2, verse 2, God warns them. He says, “If you will not listen, if you will not… give honor to my name… then I will send the curse upon you.” That word “curse” is used three times here. God is warning of their damnation if they do not repent. “IF you will not listen or… honor me, THEN I will send the curse upon you.” Well, what was the curse? Three things would happen. ·      Number 1 – God would curse their blessing. In fact, verse 2 says that he has already cursed their blessing. The priests blessing was their blessing on God's people. Quite often at the end of our worship, Coleman or I will use the Aaronic blessing from Numbers 6. You probably know it well, “may the Lord bless you and keep you, may the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.” Aaron was the first High Priest – he was from the tribe of Levi. And he and the priests were to bless the people. Well, God had taken away their blessing. In fact, he had turned their blessing into a curse. Instead of blessing the people… through their words and actions, they were cursing the people. That's very sad. ·      Number 2 – The Lord also says that he would “rebuke their offspring” – their seed. This is about the Levitical line. You see, these priests were priests because their fathers were priests. Their fathers were priests because their father's fathers were priests. The priests in Malachi 2 were part of the priestly succession going all the way back to Levi. God was saying that their particular branch of the Levitical line would end with each of them. It was a devastating warning for them. ·      And Number 3 – this one was the worst… and most graphic. Middle of verse 3.  “I will spread dung on your faces.” It's referring to the contents of the entrails of the offerings. When the people brought the offerings, the priests prepared the offering. They would remove the inner digestive system. You know, intestines and such. Those things were to be carried off and burned outside the temple area. It was all unclean. God was saying that the priest's acts were so shameful that God metaphorically would spread the unclean intestinal dung on their faces. They were to be carried off like the innards to be burned. It's a stinging warning they would be cursed like the dung. Add those three things together and it is a pretty condemning curse upon them. #2. The Corruption Which brings us to point #2, The Corruption. We're going to move down to the second half of our passage next. We'll come back to the middle section in a minute. We've already looked at verse 7 which is about their responsibility to teach. But now look at verse 8. It begins, “you have turned aside from the way.” The priests own lives did not display the godliness and wisdom of God. They were not living out God's commands. And that makes sense, doesn't it. It stands to reason that if they were not directing the people to fulfill God's commands then they themselves were not doing it. Not in every case, but often a pastor who begins to teach false doctrine or who does not direct his people in righteousness, has himself fallen from the way. And the result of turning aside is found in the second half of verse 8. “You have caused many to stumble by your instruction.” I want you to think of the gravity of what they were doing. The priests were leading people to destruction. That is why the curse, as we just considered, was so condemning! Their sin not only impacted them, it impacted many. A friend once said to me, “you know, all sin is the same before God.” He was trying to argue that his sexual sin was the same as telling a white lie. But that is not true. Yes, each and every sin deserves God's judgment. Our sin, no matter what it is, condemns us before our holy God. No matter our sin, we need Christ. That is all true. However, there are degrees of severity with sin. It is not the same to think of murdering someone in your heart as it is to actually murder someone. Some sin, like actual murder, is more heinous. Some sin is more grievous in God's eyes. All sin deserves God's judgment, but some sin is more severe. And one of the worst sins in all of Scripture is when the leaders of God's people abuse the sheep or lead them astray. Malachi 2 here is just one of several Old Testament judgements against godless and morally corrupt leaders. Ezekiel 34, Isaiah 56, Jeremiah 23, and Zechariah 10 all speak of God's condemnation of the “corrupt” and “worthless” so-called “shepherds” and “watchmen” of Israel. Think of Jesus anger against the Pharisees. Or in James chapter 3, verse 1, it says “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” Now, if you're a math or science or English teacher, the Lord is not necessarily talking about you. Rather, his greater judgment will be upon teachers in the church. That is why the hammer is so heavy here in Malachi 2. They, themselves, had fallen from the way and they were leading people astray. You need to fire me… the moment I begin to teach false doctrine. If I ever start teaching things contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ or in direct contradiction to the Word of God, I should no longer be allowed to be a minster. I think you know this, I'm talking about tier one things that are very clear in Scripture. Things that we share with the Bible-believing Protestant world. For example, that salvation is found in Christ alone. There is no other way. Jesus death on the cross satisfied the wrath of God, for those who believe in him. We receive Jesus' righteous when we come to him by faith and in repentance. And furthermore, that the Bible is the very Word of God. It testifies to its own authority. You should boot me out if I ever undermine essential doctrines like those. You also need to fire me… the moment I commit a sin that undermines my responsibilities… like abuse or infidelity or a pattern of ongoing sin that is not being delt with or of which I will not repent. Obviously, like any elder, I sin and need the grace of God. However, just like the priests of old, a leader in the church should model faith and repentance. 3. The Covenant Which brings us to that very point. #3 The Covenant In the middle verses here, verses 4-6, we are given the picture of what a priest should be like! By the way, you'll see the word “Covenant” used several times in these verse. When I first saw that, I thought it was referring to the Covenant of Grace. You know the covenant that God had established with his people. The Covenant of Grace includes the covenant with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David. They all, in different ways, are part of the Covenant promises fulfilled in Christ. After all, verse 7 speaks of life and peace and reverent fear. Those are all benefits of God's Covenant with his people. However, I realized that the word Covenant here is actually referring to the specific responsibility that God had given to Levi and his descendants. Verses 4, 5, and 8, specifically refer to God's “covenant with Levi.” To be sure, the priestly order and responsibilities given to Levi directed God's people to the Messiah, so it's not unrelated. But it's different. By the way, there's not a single passage in the Old Testament which describes the covenant with Levi. However, we are given their priestly responsibilities in the book of Leviticus. That is why it is named Leviticus, of course. Also, we read from Deuteronomy 33 this morning which speaks of God's blessing upon Levi and his descendants. They were to keep the covenant; they were to observe and teach the word. The Levites were also to administer the offerings on the altar, and they were to protect the people from false teachers. And now look at the end of verse 5 into verse 6. “…he feared me.” As we talked about before, that's a reverent worship-filled fear of the Lord. “He stood in awe of my name. [verse 6] True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity.” That description is the opposite of the priests of Malachi 2. It's the model. The priests were to give honor to God's name. They were to teach the truth of God's Word. Furthermore, walk with God in uprightness. And instead of leading people astray, they were to turn many people from sin. This is God's call for teachers and pastors in the church. I read a really good book last year. It's titled, Pastor as Leader. The author, John Currie, is a professor at Westminster Theological Seminary. He teaches and trains future pastors. The whole book is about the character and responsibilities of a pastor. The book is very rich and it's full of Scripture. Currie summarizes a pastor's role this way: “for the glory of God, a man of God, appointed by the Son of God and empowered by the Spirit of God, proclaims the word of God so that the people of God are equipped to move forward into the purposes of God together.” That's helpful, isn't it? Let me read that again… [repeat] That really captures the heart of Malachi 2:5-6. This is the kind of pastor that each and every church needs. A man who seeks God's glory and not his own. A man who leads his sheep in God's Word through his Spirit, and who cares for and loves them in Christ. I'll say, it's both sobering and inspiring to me. It's sobering because I know my own weaknesses and propensity for sin. I know I've failed at these responsibilities many times and perhaps even at times have hurt you without even knowing. I feel inadequate. But it's also inspiring because God doesn't call without equipping. He doesn't leave pastors to their own strength. No, God gives clear guidance to the role and responsibilities of a shepherd. His Word clearly reveals his salvation and clearly reveals his truth and his way. God furthermore gives his Holy Spirit to lead in righteousness and truth. And God provides earthly accountability in the process. And there's one more related thing. Look again at verse 6. “True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity.” Who is this referring to? Is it referring to Levi? Well, Levi failed in many ways – he was vengeful and a murderer. What about Aaron, one of Levi's descendants? He was Moses's brother and the first High Priest. Is verse 6 referring to him? Well, don't forget that it was Aaron who led the people to melt their gold and create the idolatrous golden calf. He, at first, led many people astray. Verse 6 certainly doesn't describe Aaron's sons, who brought unauthorized fire and experienced God's immediate judgment. In Numbers 25 we are given the example of Aaron's grandson, Phinehas. He was identified as a faithful Levite who fought against unrighteousness. Perhaps verse 6 alludes to him. But in the end, there is only one who meets this description. He is the one in whom all the Levitical requirements are fulfilled. He is the perfect High Priest. Every single word he spoke was true instruction. Absolutely no wrong was found on his lips. He followed the way of God, keeping all the commandments of God. He not only walked in peace, as verse 6 describes, he bought and brought peace with God - peace beyond measure. And last, he turned many from iniquity. And the word “many” is a vast understatements. He had led billions in the way of truth and righteousness. Beloved, this is your Savior Jesus. In him is truth and righteousness, and through him is the only way to God. May each and every one of us as a priesthood of believers look to him for he is the way, the truth, and the life.  And may every single pastor and teacher point to him as the great shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep… and may they point to his Word. And may we each follow his lead and model for he is the perfect priest.

Given the recent craze on social media among wild-eyed Evangelicals, Judeo-Christians and even some Catholics replacing the name of Jesus with 'Yeshua,' we decided to find out if there's a basis for their claims.Episode hosted by Presbyter Darren Kelama and produced in association with the Journal of Pre-Nicene Christian Studies (ISSN: 3068-8469).Ἰησοῦς = JesusPronunciation: Approximately "ee-AY-soos" or "yay-SOOS," with the emphasis typically on the second syllable ("SOOS").Koine Greek alphabet:https://greekforall.com/learn-biblical-greek-grammar/biblical-greek-alphabet/Marcionite Church Inscription:Συναγωγή Μαρκιωνιστῶν κώμης Λεβάβων τοῦ κυρίου καὶσωτῆος Ἰησοῦ Χρηστοῦ, προνοίᾳ Παύλου πρεσβυτέρου, τοῦλχ' ἔτους ("Meeting house of the Marcionites of the village of Lebaba of the Lord and Savior Jesus the Good, under the oversight of Paul the elder.")Marcionite inscription episode:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L8TCspXmusOther Christian inscriptions:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_MT6xS2bBwThe Very First Bible (free ebook):https://www.theveryfirstbible.org/Presbyter Monnet (French Pontiate):https://www.youtube.com/@EgliseMarcioniteMarcionite Church:https://www.marcionitechurch.org/Journal of Pre-Nicene Christian Studies:https://journal.pre-nicene.org/

Julia Rose is a painter and poet for Jesus. Bringing faith to life through art, Julia's Kingdom mandate is to take back the arts from the kingdom of darkness and reclaim God's rainbow from the enemy. Julia experiences daily warfare as a servant and evangelist-artist for the King of Glory. She was radically saved in January 2021 after nearly 60 years of living in the new age deception. Today Julia is a Spirit filled disciple of Jesus. Painting the Son of God as a ministry, occupation, and evangelism tool. Using the gifts God blessed her with to share the gospel, Julia invites Holy Spirit to guide the her with the “skill to do all kinds of work” (Exodus 35:35) There is only one truth...and His name is Jesus. Julia's writes psalms to our Savior Jesus and her faith is displayed on canvas for the world to see. Active-Faith.org https://active-faith.org/taking-ground https://active-faith.org/active-faith-training https://active-faith.org/donate/

We all allow outside sources to impact our hearts, our minds, and our missions.  This is why we must focus on our Savior Jesus and commune with him daily.  Today, Jon shares part of his story on this. This devotion was originally posted as a blog post on jon-goodwin.com.   As always, please feel free to chat with about this.  Get the conversation started at jon@christianoutdoors.org. If you are in the Western NY area, Jon would love to see you some Sunday at Hartland Bible Church where he preaches every week!

September 15, 2025 | Daniel Harris discusses how we don't need to meet everyone's expectations or appear perfect. We are not the Savior—Jesus is. As Christians, our job is to point others to Jesus, not seek the approval or praise from those around us. 

Send us a textGood morning! Thank you for taking a few minutes to listen. If you are interested in the Daily Bible Devotional, you can find it at the links below:Amazon - (paperback, hardcover, and Kindle)Spiritbuilding.com - (premium quality paperback)Youtube Video Introducing the ContentFeel free to reach out with any questions: emersonk78@me.comActs 22 The apostle Paul addresses the crowd in Jerusalem after his arrest. He shares his testimony, detailing his background as a devout Jew, educated under Gamaliel, and his earlier zeal for persecuting Christians. Paul recounts his dramatic encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, where God blinded him and instructed him to wait for further guidance. In Damascus, Ananias, a devout servant of Christ, heals Paul's blindness. He then commands Paul to be baptized to wash away his sins and explains God's mission for him to become an apostle to the Gentiles. This story incites the predominantly Jewish listeners to demand his death! The Roman commander prepares to flog Paul but hesitates when he learns that he is a Roman citizen. He is then brought to stand before the Jewish Council. Paul's conversion story is recounted three times in the Book of Acts. On this occasion, Paul himself shares the story with the Jews who called for his arrest. In this hostile setting, he describes how God intervened to guide him toward true faith in Jesus. He emphasized how God worked in his life to redirect his passion toward righteous ministry. He spoke the truth, even though it provoked anger among the audience. This is the humility and courage we strive to cultivate in our lives. If God is working to redirect you for His purpose, submit to Him. If He is using your voice to bring Christ's hope to others, regardless of how they respond, keep proclaiming the name of Jesus. God of grace, we praise You for Your loving-kindness towards all people. Paul's conversion illustrates how You seek out good-hearted individuals, forgiving their sins and repurposing them for Your glory. Thank You for pursuing us and patiently guiding us to submit to Your will. Help us to be grateful and to share Your mercies with others. Please provide us opportunities to share with others how good You have been, regardless of how people choose to receive it. Protect us from the enemy, but also involve us in challenging and meaningful ministry work in the name of our Savior Jesus. Thought Questions: -       Paul used a Hebrew dialect to better relate to the audience. Are there ways you can modify your words to be better received by others? -       God's action in Paul's life led him to humble obedience. Has God's patient pursuit of your soul humbled you? How has that changed you? -       Paul was willing to die, but he also avoided a beating in this text. How do you balance self-sacrifice and self-defense in your faith?