Articles for tag: Sea Of Galilee

Lesson for December 28, 2014: Worship God’s Son (Matthew 14:22-36)

This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. It is published in the December 21 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Sam E. Stone  With the feeding of the 5,000 in the third year of Jesus” ministry, his favor with the crowds grew dramatically. The people enthusiastically ate the food he provided for them, but they were looking for even more””tomorrow”s meals, the sick cured, and a champion to lead the nation in revolt against the Roman authorities. John wrote, “Jesus, knowing that they intended

Let the Dead Bury Their Own Dead

By C. Robert Wetzel I am not dead. At least I wasn”t when I wrote this article. But I have come to see that Jesus was talking about people like me when he said, “Let the dead bury their own dead.” Let me explain. While reflecting on Matthew 8:19-22, which contains that quote, I remembered something that had happened about 30 years ago during our 11-year ministry in England. During that time, I would spend about a month each year visiting churches in the United States that supported or might support our ministry. On one of those trips I was

Lesson for May 6, 2012: The Bread of Life (John 6)

This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. ______ By Sam E. Stone An entire year elapsed between the healing of the lame man (John 5) and the feeding of the 5,000 (John 6). This would be two years after the first cleansing of the temple and one year before the crucifixion. John explains that his Gospel contains only a limited number of the many miracles and teachings of the Lord (John 20:30, 31; 21:25). Seth Wilson observes that the feeding of the 5,000 was a “turning-point in Jesus”

Getting the Most from the Gospels (Part Two)

By Matt Proctor In Part One of this article, I explained that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are more than divinely inspired, historically accurate biographies. They are that, to be sure. But each writer”s distinctive approach to telling his material gives us nuance and knowledge we would never have received from one writer alone. This week we consider principles to help us get the fullest meaning possible from what I call these “pastorally interpretive narratives of the life of Christ.”   Read Behind the Lines The first principle of Gospel reading is read behind the lines. In other words, look at the history and culture

Welcome Home

By Marshall Hayden It was our first trip with church members to the Holy Land. Driving from the airport, our guide (who has since become our favorite guide) asked the bus driver to pull onto the shoulder of the road about a hundred yards from the top of a hill. “Follow me,” he said. As we topped the rise, there it was, spread out ahead of us, filling the horizon! “Welcome to your spiritual home,” he said. When we climbed back on the bus we heard the first strains of a recording, “Jerusalem.” It was pretty quiet. Except for a

Breakfast on the Sea of Galilee

By Cheri Lynn Cowell I froze. My senses heightened. The Sea of Galilee spread out before me like the Table of Christ, as the rock is called over which the quaint chapel we”d just exited was built. From this rocky shore Jesus called out to the disciples, “Have you caught anything?” “No,” they replied. “Throw your nets on the other side of the boat,” he shouted. Peter and the other men had gone back to what they”d known before the ground-shaking events of the last several weeks””they”d returned to fishing. Yes, they”d been with the resurrected Lord several times. Yet,

Our Holy Land Pilgrimage

By Thomas F. Jones Jr. It was late afternoon and we had just landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel. There were 25 of us in the group, all midcareer pastors, 35-55 years of age, men and women. We came from all over the country. We had left the Atlanta, Georgia, airport the day before, and stopped in Frankfurt, Germany, to catch a connecting flight. We were a group of tired, hungry, Christian travelers. Once we landed in Israel we made our way through the crowded passport checkpoint, gathered our bags, and then met our Arab Christian guide

My Own Holy Land Testimony

By Mark A. Taylor When I returned from my trip to Israel, my wife said, “You are NOT going to begin speeches or sermons with, “˜When I was in Israel . . .” Right?” And I guess I never have. I don”t think I”ve ever written about that trip, either. But I couldn”t resist adding my testimony after reading Marshall Hayden”s and Tom Jones”s moving pieces this week. Their experiences help me remember my own special time there. I think the majestic Sea of Galilee was my favorite stop. Although it is usually still, wind churned it into waves the

NACC: BEYOND

By Ben Cachiaras When visiting Capernaum last summer, I paused on the rocky shoreline looking out at the Sea of Galilee. Knowing it could be the very stretch of beach Jesus walked when he called those first fishermen gave it a surreal sense of being holy ground. What struck me is that Jesus” call to them was abrupt and demanding: “Follow me!” Doing so would mean a life of perpetual movement and adventure, risk and change. It meant dropping familiar nets, leaving cherished family, and abandoning well-worn paths in pursuit of a leader who wanted to take them BEYOND any

Help Keep Christian Standard Free & Accessible with a Tax Deductible Donation

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Does Your Church Want to Support Christian Standard?

Would your church consider including support for Christian Standard in its annual missions budget? Your support would help us not only continue the 160-year legacy of this unifying ministry, but also expand the free resources, cooperative opportunities, and practical guidance we provide to strengthen churches in the U.S. and around the world.

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Secret Link