... on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, "Who do people say I am?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I ... Peter a rock and says, "upon this rock I will build my church and all the powers of hell shall not prevail against it." (16:18) This is critical. Our church is built upon the testimony that Jesus is the Christ. When a theologian or church leader says that he or ...
The Reverend John Brokhoff tells a great story about a major league baseball game that was stopped by a dog. It happened at a Kansas City Chiefs ... to his arms going in opposite directions, and keeping them from taking off. He has done the same thing with Harley Davidsons, two on each side. He bends 1/2-inch steel bars, 18 inches long, into a perfect U-shape. He bends 10-inch crescent wrenches, breaks handcuffs, lifts refrigerators with one finger, and pounds nails through 2 by 4's with his bare hand. Yet, ...
... .actsweb.org/subscribe.htm via http://www.witandwisdom.org Shared by: Glen Mettler 2. Viktor E. Frankl, MAN'S SEARCH FOR MEANING (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1984), 81. Cited in John Trent, Ph.D. LIFE MAPPING (Colorado Springs, CO.: Focus on the Family, 1994), pp.17-18. 3. Lee Strobel, GOD'S OUTRAGEOUS CLAIMS (Grand Rapids, MI.: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997), pp.70-72. 4. LIVING LIGHTS SHINING STARS: TEN SECRETS TO BECOMING THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD with Mary HoIIinsworth ...
... According to Lawrence O. Richards only someone who is secure in his/her identity can humble himself and become a servant to others. John, chapter 13 verse 3, mentions that Jesus had come from the Father and knew that he was returning to the Father. He had ... S CHRISTIAN WOMAN, Sept./Oct. 1996, p. 41. 2. Max Lucado, JUST LIKE JESUS (Nashville: Word Publishing, 1998), p. 18. 3. George C. Pidgeon 4. Richards, Lawrence O., THE 365-DAY DEVOTIONAL COMMENTARY (Colorado Springs, Colo.: ChariotVictor Publishing, 1990), ...
... man chose Liberty and the wife picked Elizabeth. As the girls grew, they were so identical, they kept pulling tricks on people who couldn't tell them apart. Finally, when they were about 18, a young man took interest in them. He would take one out on a date but he was never sure which one he was with. He decided he would marry one of ... -12. 5. "The Odd King and His Nonconformist People," by Craig M. Watts. Cited in John K. Bergland, Abingdon Preacher's Annual 1994, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993), p. 353.
... " and "the past." Let's deal first of all with the fast. When our lesson opens, the Pharisees and even the disciples of John the Baptist are fasting. Jesus and his disciples are not. To the casual spectator it might appear that Jesus is not paying proper tribute ... an exaggerated Law. An old Doonesbury comic strip column portrays a most picturesque expression of the conflict taking place here in verses 18-22 and in verses 23-28 of chapter 2. I want you to picture in your mind a typical white New England Church ...
... policies, careers, and the like by this one question: What's in it for me? As the world seems more complex and threatening, we are turning our focus inward. Fear causes us to focus on ourselves. Self-centeredness also stems from a lack of love. First John 4: 18 reminds us, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear." Whatever the reason, no one can argue that much of our society chooses to "look out for number one." And this attitude eventually spills over into our worship of God. We want ...
... make a significant choice. Jesus had just received the "seal of approval," if you will, for his ministry. He had been baptized by John in the River Jordan; at the moment of baptism, a dove had descended from heaven and the voice of God had announced "This ... Jesus when he writes, "Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." (Hebrews 2: 18, NIV) He also wrote in Hebrews 4: "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but ...
... they want to be a part of it? We have no evidence that they hesitated. They did as Jesus directed. The Reverend W. John White was visiting his friend, Reverend Juan Rivera, who was suffering from kidney failure. As he sat in Rivera's hospital room, ... speech at Washington, D.C.'s Mayoral Prayer Breakfast in 1995. In the speech, she reminded the listeners of Jesus' words in Matthew 18 that they must become like little children in order to enter the kingdom of God. And she encouraged the adults in the audience ...
... I tell you the truth, unless you . . . become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Mat 18:3) Obviously there is a difference between acting like children and being child-like. These immature disciples were acting like ... Devotional Commentary, makes the point that only someone who is secure in his/her identity can humble himself and become a servant to others. John chapter 13 verse 3 mentions that Jesus had come from the Father and knew that he was returning to the Father. He had ...
... God may be proficient, equipped for every good work." 1. Source Christian Reader "Lite Fare" http://ChristianityToday.com/cr/9r1/9r1073.html via MONDAY FODDER. 2. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997), pp. 202-203. 3. Philip Yancey, THE BIBLE JESUS READ (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House), p. 18. 4. Christine Wicker, GOD KNOWS MY HEART (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999), p. 175. 5. John Beukema, Stories from God's Heart (Chicago: Moody Press, 2000), 26-27.
... teen-age son, David, were put in charge of one of seven cottages. They were responsible for the lives of 20 boys from 5 to 18 years of age. "Now," he says, "I'm where God wants me to be, in a life that began--instead of ending--with my ... tried to warn his disciples but they could not understand. "If I be lifted up," he said on one occasion, "I will draw all men unto me." (John 12:32) On another occasion he declared, "No sign will be given to you but the sign of Jonah." (Matthew 12:39) He knew what lay ahead ...
... congregation if we were all God calls us to be? “Where there is no vision,” the Bible declares, “the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). Those of us who have been in the church for a long time need to be particularly on guard at this point. Sometimes people ... the shepherd? They were not to worry, Jesus told them. “I will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever . . .” (John 14: 16) That Counselor came like a bolt of lightning, like a mighty wind, like tongues of fire at Pentecost. The Holy ...
... struck the four cornersof the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!" (Job 1: 18-19) Female 1: "I'm crying in my heart. My heart will never, ever be the same. This was a man who was my best friend. He was ... reported by Julie Chen, The Early Show, CBS, Oct. 11, 2001. Transcripts from CBS website. 11. Patricia Spataro, whose husband, John, died in the attacks, "The Long Road Back," report by Tracy Smith, The Early Show, CBS, Sept. 28, 2001, transcript ...
... tree thieves have been sawing down trees in the middle of the night. But in 2002 they lopped the tops off 18-foot trees that were more than 20 years old. The trees probably are permanently disfigured. So the university decided to take ... a change in our hearts. This is the heart of Christmas. It was all for the purpose of making us into a new creation. Dr. John Rosen, a psychiatrist in New York City, is well known for his work with catatonic schizophrenics. Normally doctors remain separate and aloof from their ...
... s right-hand Man! He has dominion over the earth. “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. . .” He said (Matthew 28:18). Dare we believe it? The First Letter of Peter says that “Jesus has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels ... of Christ, only to be sadly disappointed? I read last week that a state trooper down in Hamilton, Ohio, named John Elsaesser got himself in trouble with the zoning board because he placed three large crosses on his property, and there ...
... the Christians of the New Testament, the soul was not naturally immortal. Indeed, the Scripture plainly says: The soul that sins...it shall die! (Ezekiel 18:14) The soul, therefore, is not naturally immortal. Rather, as Paul puts it, it must put on immortality. (I Cor. 15:53) This is ... it also promises that beyond this life, there is Eternal Life with God. Some years ago the great Scottish theologian John Baillie wrote what has come to be regarded as a classic book on our subject of the morning titled And ...
... “the Word became flesh,” and “From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:16-17) The word literally mean, “we have received grace heaped on top of grace.” What on earth does the writer mean? What is “grace”? Some churches seem ... but in him it is always Yes.’ For in him every one of God’s promises is a Yes.’” (II Corinthians 1:18-20) THANKS BE TO GOD FOR THIS AMAZING GRACE! AMEN!
... with “sinners and tax collectors,” but He even made a tax collector the hero of one of His most famous parables. We find it in Luke 18, where Jesus talked about the two men who went up to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee (one of the good guys), and the ... to the conclusion that Matthew the Apostle was, indeed, its author. (Edgar J. Goodspeed, MATTHEW—APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST (Phila.: John C. Winston Co., 1959). There are many reasons for this conclusion. Since Matthew was a tax collector, he would ...
... action! As Dwight Moody once said, "We put the gospel message into shoe leather or boots!" Third, belief is confirmed by behavior. In verses 18-20, James says, "Yes, you believe--but even the Demons believe." What are the results of your beliefs? There is a BIG difference in ... t mean you are a Christian. When Karl Marx was seventeen-years-old, he wrote a fantastic explanation of part of John''s Gospel. Great theologians agree with much of what he said, but Karl Marx eventually rejected the Bible''s authority ...
... completed until your tongue has been baptized as well. Even Charles Haddon Spurgeon was forced to conclude, "Tongue sins--are GREAT sins." John Calvin wrote, "The only thing more damaging than a loose cannon--is a slippery and loose tongue." We have opened God'' ... , leaves a great stain in the fabric of life. That, unfortunately, is not a winsome witness for our Lord. Proverbs 12:18 says, "Thoughtless words can wound as deeply as any sword--but wisely spoken words can heal." To which support group does your ...
... there is great strength and comfort in knowing our God is an active participant in our journey--leading the way. This is the power found in Hebrew 2:14-18. Thomas R. Kelly, who was a distinguished Quaker, shares these words in his well-known book, A Testament of Devotion, 'Within the Silence of the Souls of Men ... for he was bold to say, "I am the way, the truth and the life." (John 14:6) It is my great hope and prayer that during this sermon series the Holy Spirit anoints all of us and draws us closer to ...
... Almost every newspaper columnist and sportscaster was predicting the Colts to kick the wings of the Jets. However, Joe Namath predicted a victory. John Dockery, who was a member of the 1969 Jets team shared this account: "It was late in the third quarter when I ... the study of world history to help us understand this principle. The allied troops under General Wellington fought Napoleon on June 18, 1815, at the Battle of Waterloo, a village in Belgium just south of Brussels. News was transmitted by the use of ...
... in all human history. Here is the historical event of a man whose friends saw him after he was dead, because in him the power of death was impotent. It could not hold him. And he and he alone, says to us: "Because I live, you will live also" (John 14:18). After World War II, during the Nuremberg war-crime trials, a witness appeared who had lived for a time in a Jewish cemetery in Poland. It was the only place where he and many others could hide after they had escaped from the gas chambers. During this time ...
... a somber note, but one of hope and joy, and rejoicing. “Even though I am in prison,” Paul says there in verses 17 and 18, “even though I’m imprisoned, being poured out as a sacrifice, I am glad and rejoice with you all, and you also are to be ... experience of a mother giving birth to a baby – the suffering of that, but the joy that comes. Listen to him as he writes in John’s Gospel – when a woman is in travail, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she is delivered of the child, she ...