January 22, 2024
As Jesus continued his Upper Room Discourse in John 15, he moved beyond metaphor by claiming to be the true vine of Israel. Then he connected the dots between the vine and himself, the gardener and his Father, and the branches and the disciples. . . .
July 24, 2023
Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled this messianic prophecy about “a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely” (Jeremiah 23:5). Isn’t it interesting that Jesus, the Righteous Branch, called his disciples branches, too? . . .
April 1, 2021
Words are powerful, especially a person’s final words. A loved one’s final words impact us for years to come. In the same way, the final words of Jesus will continue to impact us until he returns. Jesus not only spoke seven separate times from the cross, but in his last hours, he offered up a prayer that included us. A careful reading of Jesus’ longest recorded prayer (John 17) reveals Jesus prayed not only for his followers then, but for his followers now. Quite literally, Jesus prayed for us. And he asked God for only one thing on our behalf—that
January 25, 2018
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.
March 13, 2017
Dr. Mark Scott wrote this treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson. Scott teaches preaching and New Testament at Ozark Christian College, Joplin, Missouri. This lesson treatment is published in the March 12, 2017, issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Mark Scott Matchless means peerless; no equal; unsurpassed. When we speak of God”s love for us, it is matchless. Our text is in the middle of what is called the Farewell Discourse of Jesus. The content stretches from John 13″“15. It was the night of his betrayal. In an upper room somewhere in Jerusalem, Jesus met with
December 28, 2015
By Becky Ahlberg Monday, December 28 Perhaps the greatest Christmas text is also one of the most familiar to Christians: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16, 17). God so loved . . . so “agaped“ the world, he put his privilege, his position, and his power aside and gave. He did what was best for us, not
February 16, 2013
By Jim Powell The goal of being like Christ will never be completed. Until we take our last breath, we will struggle in our desire to be the person Jesus calls us to be. Despite our best intentions, and even with noticeable progress, we will still fail in acts of omission and commission with attitudes, thoughts, words, and deeds. What is true for the individual believer is true for the community of faith. To move a congregation toward Christlikeness is a perpetual challenge that will never be mastered and tends to produce as many failures as successes. As our church
February 7, 2010
By Brian Giese Hebrews 13:17 exhorts Christians to respect and follow their church leaders so their work will be a joy rather than a burden. That is God”s ideal. But what happens to a leader who is rebuffed by his followers and loses the joy of ministry? Many factors can cause a church leader to lose effectiveness in serving a body of believers. We will consider some of these factors later. For now, we must acknowledge that many church leaders have suffered from painful resistance to and/or forced termination of their ministries. Many statistics are available concerning this subject. Suffice
March 1, 2006
Steve Wyatt discusses his book Trading Places and what it means to experience true internal change. He explains the “great exchange,” renewing the mind, and staying connected to Jesus for lasting transformation.
July 3, 2005
Eddie Lowen addresses common criticisms of megachurches, pointing to the New Testament church’s large beginnings and offering observations about what healthy large churches can look like in practice.
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