January 1, 2024
Overcoming Our Problem
The Ephesians faced a serious problem in their lives . . .
Articles for tag: Death and Resurrection
Again
Here we go again. It’s time for Communion, again. Once more with feeling! Right? . . .
February 13, 2023
On Being the First
Being the first in any endeavor is always a challenge. . . .
July 5, 2021
Netzer
Sometime in the first century, as Jewish refugees returned from exile, they settled in an area near the Sea of Galilee and named their new town Nazareth after the tender, new shoots of the Olive tree.
October 29, 2019
The Inspiring Leader
By Stuart Powell After Peter’s confession that Jesus was the Messiah the Jews had long anticipated (Matthew 16:16), Jesus began explaining God’s plans for this long-promised deliverer: From that time on Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him: “God forbid, Lord! This must not happen to you!” (Matthew 16:21, 22, New English Translation). Matthew didn’t record all of
March 19, 2019
Benefits of the Family Meal
By Halee Wood Close your eyes and picture a family dinner. A “June Cleaver” mom is in an apron and pearls, “Ward” in a sweater and tie. The children’s hands are washed and their hair combed. The savory aroma of a home-cooked meal fills the air. Everyone, including the family dog, listens intently to what is being said. Is this what dinner looks like at your house? In real-life families dinner can be messy—there might be cooking and dining mishaps, arguing and complaining among family members, and other things competing for our attention. Though a sit-down meal as a family
December 4, 2018
A Sign and a Prediction, Both Fulfilled
(This Communion meditation originally appeared in our December 1, 1998, edition.) By Kent Fillinger The year was 734 BC. King Ahaz of Judah was under attack by the countries of Syria and Ephraim, which were trying to dethrone him. In order to encourage King Ahaz, God told King Ahaz to ask Him for a sign. When the ruler asked, God said, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14, New International Version). “Immanuel” means “God with us.” This
September 25, 2018
He’s Right Here
By Mandy Smith Outsiders watching Christians take part in the Lord’s Supper over and over might feel sorry for us. We take a tiny piece of bread and a tiny sip of juice and remember someone who had a real meal with his friends a long time ago. It might seem foolish or sad that we keep doing this. “Jesus is gone,” they might say. “Move on.” But they don’t know what we know. We know that when Jesus left, he promised he would never leave. It’s a strange truth, but it’s what he said. Although he stopped walking around
A Meal That Reminds Us
By Jon Wren In the last chapter of John’s Gospel, Peter and John, among other disciples, encountered the resurrected Jesus early in the morning on a beach at the Sea of Galilee. Their meeting with him was the culmination of what surely had been a strange and confusing period of time. After spending years following Jesus through small villages and large cities, watching him heal the sick and the demon-possessed, hearing him teach and preach, and even watching him die on the cross, these disciples were sitting with Jesus on a quiet beach . . . and the Lord had
January 25, 2018
Jesus Spent Much of His Life Escaping Death
By Jim Nieman Near the end, when praying in the garden, his arrest but minutes away, and his crucifixion only hours away, Jesus prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). From the time he was a baby, Jesus was escaping death. Herod tried to kill him shortly after he was born in Bethlehem, so his parents took him to Egypt. As an adult, the Jews set out to kill him because he was healing on the Sabbath and calling God his father.
November 7, 2014
The Best Object Lesson
By Trevor Tolley A good teacher likes to use an object to help his or her students remember the lesson. A good teacher knows that a good object lesson engages a student”s senses. The more a student”s senses are engaged, the greater the likelihood the student will remember the lesson. Jesus understands this about us. And through the Lord”s Supper, Jesus demonstrates his mastery as a teacher. He cares enough to provide a physical reminder, an object lesson, of what he has done for us and what we believe. And what a reminder! Have you ever stopped to ponder the
January 10, 2011
The Cure for Moralistic Therapeutic Deism
By Jon Weatherly Nothing alarms church folk quite so much as problems with the young folk. So it was about five years ago with Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton”s book, Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers. Smith and Denton”s research produced the phrase “moralistic therapeutic deism” to describe the typical American teen”s view of God. It”s “deism” because the god of the typical teen is mostly distant and uninvolved. It”s “therapeutic” because that distant god still wants everyone to have a happy life and occasionally is willing to get involved when a person has an
