[audio:] Nicodemus When: Sometime after he cleared the temple Who: Ruler on the Jewish ruling council (71 members tasked the elite) V1 “As under the Greek rulers the Jews were allowed a large measure of self-government, many points of civil and religious administration fell to the lot of the high priests and the gerousía to settle. “ “Teacher of Israel” v10 Only the...
Sermon Audio “The Journey” When the Israelites stood at the far side of the Red Sea they had escaped certain death and were delivered to life by the hand of God, but their journey wasn’t over. The Israelites wandered through the wilderness before reaching their promise, and it wasn’t always pretty. At times God’s anger burned toward them but in the end both He and...
Bible Class Audio May 23, 2010 “Kingdom of God (Part 2) Bible Class Audio May 16, 2010 “Kingdom of God (Part 1) “From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Matthew 4:17 (TNIV) 1. A Central Theme of Jesus Teachings The Kingdom of heaven is a central theme in the teachings of Jesus throughout his ministry. It’s difficult to gain the...
Bible Class Audio May 9, 2010 “Jesus and the Talmidin” “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 1. Galilee – The most religious Jews in the world, a place...
The GREAT thing is we are only at zero in terms of possessions. We are blessed beyond description in so many other ways. We still have treasures in heaven by the grace of God through Jesus Christ. Our family has never been closer and each are stronger. We live in the greatest community in the world. I work for an organization dedicated to service to others. Starting at zero gives us the unique...
All who are blessed with the gift of leadership will at some point discover they are the most powerful person in a group. It may be when an older sibling realizes the influence they can bear on the youngsters or when an adult is promoted to a position of authority. How we handle power is key to successful leadership, as a Christian the decision is absolutely critical. Popular culture will beg...
Arrogant [Eloquent] lips are unsuited to a fool how much worse lying lips to a ruler! Proverbs 17:5-7 (NIV) Truthfulness is an elusive habit for leaders. We are assaulted daily by situations that beg for lies, half-truths, misinformation, deception, and withholding. These situations arise at work from difficult communication, positions of disadvantage to us, and fear of retribution. Within our...
I grew up in a time when church frequently included special gospel meetings that featured a guest preacher imploring nightly over the course of a week to get right and reap the rewards of heaven or certainly go to hell. We were encouraged to invite our friends and neighbors where every night the message and volume would escalate until a satisfactory number had responded to avoid the punishment of...
Picture God in your mind… If you’re like most of the people I’ve asked, you probably thought of some combination of a man in a gray beard floating in the clouds or a scowling judge glaring down from his judgment bench. Both are wrong. God has a presence in the world today, and how we see Him determines how we see ourselves and others. When the Spirit of God descended into the Temple built by...