Many folks like to talk about themselves, whether they will admit it or not. Such talk can even be a sign of our fallen nature having its way in our lives. Such talk reveals that life is about me–not others, not God, or not even about God for me. But John the Baptizer acted differently. […]
1 Corinthians: Lesson 2: 1:10-31: God’s Contrarian Ways
December 20, 2014 by
Last week, we learned how Paul and Sosthenes (Silas) organized 1 Corinthians, using many elements of Greek rhetoric in that letter. They also wrote an extended greeting, in which they dropped hints to the content within the letter that would follow. Further, although 1 Corinthians has two authors, it also has extended parts where Sosthenes […]
Micah 5:2-5a, Revelation 12:1-5a: The Bread of Life gives you His life in His Church, His House of Bread
December 18, 2014 by
Great is the mystery, worthy of all telling. The Word became Flesh and tabernacled among us. Who would have known it? Who would have done it that way? A virgin mother will give birth to a Son; the Creator will join His creatures. The Infinite will contain Himself within the finite. God will become Man–and […]
1 Corinthians 4:1: Stewards of the Mysteries of God
December 14, 2014 by
When Jesus started His New-Covenant Church, fulfilling what came before, He didn’t hand out copies of the Bible and tell people to read it. Neither did He command His Apostles to do the same. He commanded them to do other things. And how God is at work through those things can be mysterious to our […]
1 Corinthians, Lesson 1: Introduction
December 14, 2014 by
Author and Date 1 Corinthians identifies its writers as the Apostle Paul and Pastor Sosthenes, whose Hebrew name was Silas (1:1). Sosthenes would later become the Bishop of Caesarea. Sothenes assisted Paul and also served as his scribe. At the end of the letter, however, Paul wrote his “goodbye” in his own handwriting (16:21). […]
Your Future Reality Invades Your Darkness
December 10, 2014 by
Malachi 3:1-4, Philippians 1:3-11, Luke 3:1-6 The name Malachi means “my messenger.” And it’s a fitting name, since that prophet so powerfully spoke about God’s coming messenger. That messenger would be like a powerful soap to purify and cleanse the Levites, the chosen priesthood of Israel. God chose that tribe of Israel to be His […]
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Luke 15:1-7: Joan Botthof’s Funeral Sermon
December 6, 2014 by
Jesus told a parable to those who thought they had sealed the deal with God. They didn’t need to repent–they were God’s people. So Jesus told them a parable, a story to make a point. But in that parable, Jesus also makes a point for us. But what is that point? Ah, Jesus sneaked it […]
Jesus Prophesied in the Old Testament
December 6, 2014 by
This lesson came into being from a question asking to see where Jesus was foretold in the Old Testament, but also where we find its fulfillment mentioned in the New. But before we delve directly into what the Scripture writers have foretold, we look at how Jesus Himself understood the Old Testament. This is so […]
Jeremiah 33:14-16, Luke 21:29-31: Jesus Ushers in a New Springtime of Life
December 3, 2014 by
Although we are now on the cusp of winter, some of us are already looking forward to spring. In our Gospel reading, we heard Jesus speak of spring, when leaves begin to bud and finally burst forth in the marvel of new life. Jesus used a picture of “the fig tree and all the others […]
Jeremiah 23:5-8: Jesus, Our True King
December 1, 2014 by
A good king is hard to find. In Jesus’ day, if the people of Jerusalem looked at the kings around them, they wouldn’t have found a true king. If they looked at their local king, Herod Antipas, they would have thought that a king was a bloodthirsty oppressor who thought little of his people, who […]
