... am God and there is no other.” Jesus Christ, only, and Jesus Christ, alone, is the source of true salvation. Over and over and over that theme is reiterated in the Bible. John 3:18 - “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 14:6 - Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Acts 4:12 - “Nor is there salvation ...
... things?” It’s a question relevant to us—because it’s the question of grace. Let’s look at Nicodemus for a moment. John doesn’t dwell on him, doesn’t tell us much about him. Yet I doubt if there is a more intriguing person in the ... of God which lives and abides forever…” (1 Peter 1:23) James speaks of God begetting us with a word of truth (James 1:18). And the letter to Titus speaks of the washing of regeneration (Titus 3:5). Paul speaks of new Christians as being “babes in Christ.” (1 ...
... salvation is the free gift of God. It is an inheritance that is bestowed upon us the moment we become children of God. Father John Powell in his book, Unconditional Love tells about when he was serving as a chaplain in Germany. A dear little sister, 87 years ... study of mountain gorilla groups in the forests of Rwanda. Dian Fossey left her home in California to live for 18 years among those fierce creatures studying them closely. Gradually the gorillas accepted her and trusted her. Tragically, in 1985 Dian ...
... Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him" (John 14:6-7). Thomas, more than any of the other disciples, had an enquiring mind. When the others went to Thomas and said, "We have ... is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints. (Ephesians 1:17-18) Thomas did not know resurrection hope because he was afraid to hope. Who can blame Thomas? We have all experienced our moments of ...
... can get through life's valleys and storms if we trust that Jesus is in control. That's the message of both stories in John 1:1-21. In the first story, the feeding of the 12,000 people, Phillip was faced with what appears to be an unsolvable problem ... control everything. Maybe the storms of life will cause us to wake up to reality. "The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing" (John 6:18). When the storms of life overwhelm us, it may dawn on us that we need to turn control of our lives over to God. ...
... his disciples and for all those people who will believe in him until the day he returns. And this is how he begins his prayer in John 17: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might ... life spent with a God who loves us and made us to spend eternity with Him. 1. SillyBuddies.com News, August 18, 2003. From:cathie@sillygirl.com (Cathie Walker). 2. Reader’s Digest, Sept. 2005, p. 108. 3. The Preacher’s Outline and ...
“If we were logical, the future would be bleak, indeed. But we are more than logical. We are human beings, and we have faith, and we have hope.” (Jacques Cousteau) “Deep waters call out to what is deeper still; at the roar of your waterfalls all your breakers and your waves swirl over me.” (Psalm 42:7) "For You had cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the current engulfed me. All Your breakers and billows passed over me.” (Jonah 2:3) “When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Now ...
... new person—the person God created us to be. Baseball fans are familiar with the name Mickey Mantle. Mantle played 18 seasons with the New York Yankee with great success. Three-time American League Most Valuable Player. Seven World Series titles. ... and that Mickey was fully assured of that relationship. Mickey assured her that he knew everything he needed to know and he recited John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, ...
... of a dinner plate on his chest. Now, what I am going to suggest is that, in today’s gospel lesson from the sixth chapter of John, Jesus is, in fact, calling us beyond being a fan, beyond being a friend, even beyond being a follower. Jesus is calling us to be fanatics ... fiber. In the time of Jesus, as today, the local bread was what we would call large pita bread, flat disks about 10-18 inches in diameter, and an adult man could be expected to eat as many as three in a meal. Prisoners, however, were given ...
... , we can certainly come to a better understanding. In Creation, for example, we have seen the presence of the Holy Spirit. We have heard God (the Father) say, “Let us make human beings in our own image.” Later in the prologue to his gospel (John 1:1-18), John indicated that all things were made through Christ. All three are present, all three are Creator, and all three are in existence prior to the “beginning.” Another piece of this amazing puzzle is the fact that we were created in God’s image ...
... mornings commercial won't be very long. We are celebrating Heritage Sunday. As Methodists part of our heritage is music. So this morning, I would like to take Wesley's directions for singing and interpret them for everyday life through this passage from John's first letter. In 3:18 John writes: "Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action." I believe Wesley's directions for singing can help us "love, not just in word or speech, but in truth and action." I. Learn these tunes ...
... returned to his church to discover that the church board had invited Moorhouse to preach every night that week. And his text every single night was John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He sent His One and Only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but ... ordinary-29/commentary-on-exodus-3312-23-4. 6. “Exodus 33:12-23 Commentary” Sermon Commentary for Sunday, October 18, 2020, by Stan Mast, Center for Excellence in Preaching. https://cepreaching.org/commentary/2020-10-12/exodus-3312- ...
... ! Let’s take a look at this strange textual phenomenon in today’s scripture. When we quickly read through this scripture in John 12, we see that a group of Greeks wants to speak with Jesus, but directly afterword, we see Jesus suddenly launch into ... Birth of Belief,” Journal of the History of Philosophy, Faculty Papers, NYU. [2] See Daniel Napier, “Why Philosophy,” January 18, 2024, for a discussion of Socrates, who believed that the mind must be properly prepared for reception and nourishment of ...
... man (2:12), yet in 2 Timothy, he sends greetings to Priscilla, a woman who has authority over men in the early church (4:19; cf. Acts 18:26). In Romans (16:1), he talks about Phoebe, who was a deaconess and may have been ordained in the church. What do you make of all ... instructed women in the faith, which was unheard of at that time. He first revealed Himself as the Messiah to a Samaritan woman (John 4:lff). Women were first to hear of His birth, last to leave him at the cross and first to see His ...
... the spiritual sincerity of the people, but of their inability to experience the presence of God, the source of hope in their lives. In Proverbs 29:18 it is written: "Where there is no vision, the people perish." And we do! Our being able to hang in there in the difficult times is ... The church was by this time under steady persecution. In 44 C.E. James the son of Zebedee, and probably his brother John, had been executed by Herod Agrippa I. At least a decade before Luke's gospel, Peter had died in that same wave ...
... flaws and shortcomings, I don't think we're hopeless. And I don't believe God sees us that way either. For, after all, as we read in John 3:16, he has "so loved" us that he has given his own beloved Son in our behalf. One of the very fine things about us, I ... a rather startling condition. He says, "If two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them ..." (Matthew 18:19) Does this mean that it takes two people to make the kind of prayer that will be answered? I don't know. I really ...
... Testament provides the answer, the answer which points to Jesus: "Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Can you demonstrate the kind of faith that Abraham had? What will you do, in the hour of severe trial, when ... 7. With only _______ men, Abraham conquered several kings. (14:14) 8. As a result, he was blessed by _________, king of Salem. (14:18, 19) 9. The son of the maidservant, Hagar, was named ________. (16:15) 10. The names of Abraham and his wife were changed when ...
... religious center. David now ponders it all. This portion of the narrative - 2 Samuel 7:18-29 - is referred to as "David’s Prayer." It is a chance to reflect, a ... O Lord God, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me thus far?" - 2 Samuel 7:18 David was feeling good about things and it was a proud time of his life. Grateful humility, not ... . 11, 16, 19, 25, 26, 27, 29 it means "dynasty." • and in v. 18 it means "family status." It was in terms of all these meaningful things that David prayed. He ...
... love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments” (1 John 5:2-3). God loves us enough to set safe limits on us. We should do no less for our leaders and fellow citizens. To ... will you go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). You will note that they had no answer to Elijah’s question. Nor, do the pseudo-intellectuals of our generation. III. The ...
... ,000 letters. Ms. Felton responded to all the mail, published a newsletter and hired a computer consultant. There are now 18 Messies Anonymous groups around the country with more than 7,000 members. Anyone wanting to start one can contact Ms. ... enjoy living for Christ on this side of the tomb. Are you and I joyfully living as followers of Jesus here and now? John Haggai tells about two men who were contemporaries. The first, Clifford Baron, was one of the greatest orators America has ever seen. One respected ...
... by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Then there is external peace—peace with others. Paul said in Rom. 12:18, "If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live at peace with all men." But the fruit of the Spirit is internal ... is because they are looking for it. You will never find peace looking for peace. You will only find peace when you look for Jesus. John Wesley said: "When I looked to Jesus, the dove of peace flew into my heart. But when I looked at the dove of peace, it ...
... that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.'" Here in Matthew, chapter one, we are told specifically in v.18, "she was found with child of the Holy Spirit." An angel testified to this fact in v.20, "that which is conceived in her is of ... Now you need to understand that back in those days Jesus was an ordinary Jewish name. It was as common in that day as the name John is common today. When Mary named that boy Jesus nobody stopped to ask what she meant by that name. There were a lot of other ...
... illness and the prospect of meeting his Master, he tried to put his spiritual house in order. A Presbyterian pastor, Dr. John Edgar, visited Jackson. The old General said that he wanted to take the vows of church membership. Dr. Edgar questioned him ... seven times. He asked Jesus “Is that enough?” “No,” replied Jesus. “You must be willing to forgive seventy-seven times.” (Matt. 18:22) Jesus was saying that we should stop counting and just make forgiveness our way of life. I wish I could tell ...
... hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from, or where it is going. So with everyone who is born of the spirit. -- John 3:6b-8 NEB This is to say that the Spirit is not always visible, and there is an element of mystery in the Spirit's coming. But you " ... of Paul's chief headaches were caused by some of the enthusiastic factions, particularly at Corinth. From 1 Corinthians 1:18 to 4:21 Paul confronts some of the Corinthian Christians who describe themselves as "the spiritual ones." They had ...
... you were younger," Jesus told Peter, "you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished." But now, Jesus said, "someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go" (John 21:18). Jesus was speaking, John writes, of "the kind of death by which [Peter] would glorify God" (John 21:19). Being led captive to your own death is not to have much of a life style; offering one's all for the glory of God, though, is to have life, and to have it abundantly. In his memoir ...