October 21, 2024
The Taste of Death
Before the cross, Jesus had seen death’s impact and he had heard the cries of those who had lost friends and loved ones, but at the cross, Jesus experienced the full measure of its indescribable pain and horror.
Articles for tag: Lazarus
December 28, 2021
My December Memory and a Big Life Lesson
It's been 50 years since I spent 3 weeks in the hospital after being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. In the intervening years, one thing I've learned is that my diabetes is temporary, just like all the bad circumstances of this life.
November 16, 2020
Eternal Thanksgiving—Eucharist
By Michael C. Mack Thanksgiving is more than an annual holiday. For Christ followers, it’s a vital spiritual discipline. Jesus often modeled giving thanks for us. When he raised Lazarus from the dead, Jesus thanked his Father for hearing him (John 11:41-42). Before he fed the 4,000, he gave thanks for what was available to him—seven loaves and a few small fish (Mark 8:6-7). Jesus lived a life of thanksgiving for the big as well as the small blessings. And the early church followed Jesus’ example. The apostle Paul wrote, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation,
April 6, 2020
Lesson for April 12, 2020: Power Over Death (John 11:17-27, 32-44)
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 April 2020 issue of Christian Standard + The Lookout. (Subscribe to our print edition.) ________ Lesson Aim: Triumph with Jesus, who has broken the power of death. ________ By Mark Scott Easter is all about life swallowing death (1 Corinthians 15:54; Isaiah 25:8). Both Old and New Testaments gave us some “warm-up resurrections” so people could anticipate and appreciate the resurrection of Jesus. Some of those are Isaac’s (in
November 27, 2018
An Elder’s Greatest Priority
By David Roadcup Luke reveals the grand priority to which we are called as shepherds of the flock. Two sisters and a brother loved Jesus deeply. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus had an abiding relationship with him. They entertained him and his traveling entourage; they provided a place to stay, meals, and no doubt made contributions to his ministry. Luke 10:38-42 records a meaningful exchange between Jesus and his hostess. Martha is busy fixing a meal and is frustrated that Mary, “who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to his word” (v. 39, New American Standard Bible), was not helping
February 20, 2018
Flesh and Blood
By Ronald G. Davis John declared it: “In the beginning was the Word . . . and the Word was God. . . . The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:1, 14). Though John’s Gospel account may emphasize the deity of Christ, it gives full attention to his humanity. Incarnation! The eternal, the nonmaterial, became flesh and blood. Here, we celebrate that fact. Jesus was fully human. He grew from infant in Bethlehem to toddler in Nazareth to a boy of age at the temple to a man . . . at the cross. As
March 26, 2016
Merciful and Mighty
In John 11, Jesus meets Mary and Martha in their grief with both compassion and power. This devotional reflects on his tears, his words, and the hope found in the One who calls Lazarus from the tomb.
June 17, 2014
Really Something!
By Mark A. Taylor Joe Boyd says the Bible came alive to him when he was just 8 years old. The Sunday school lesson of the day was about Jacob and Esau and how Esau, famished from a day in “the open country,” gave up his birthright for a bowl of Jacob”s stew (Genesis 25:29-34). “Our teacher told us that story,” Boyd remembers, “and then she pulled out a thermos, unscrewed the cap, and poured each of us a serving of lentil stew in a paper cup. “I”d never tasked lentil stew before, and it was good! It dawned on
May 14, 2012
Lesson for May 20, 2012: The Resurrection and the Life (John 11:1-44)
This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. ______ By Sam E. Stone Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the “synoptic Gospels.” These three accounts of Jesus” life follow a similar outline and record many of the same events. The Gospel of John, written some years later, supplements our knowledge of Christ”s ministry in a wonderful way. While John recounts many of the same things as the other three, he also includes other significant teachings and events not previously recorded. Today”s lesson is one of them. Near the
August 20, 2011
My Favorite Passage
By Tom Ellsworth My favorite passage of Scripture? I hem and haw and generally fumble trying to find the right answer. What about John 3:16? Naw, everyone picks that one””be more original. All right, how about Philippians 4:13? Overused. OK, let”s try the Old Testament””Psalm 23? Did somebody die? That”s a funeral text. Sorry, I”ll say Revelation 3:20. Are you serious? You”re going to pick prophecy as your favorite? The inner deliberation rages while on the outside I try to appear thoughtful and decisive. How does one choose a favorite passage? That”s like asking me to identify which of my
