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The Series - Jesus, Unique & Unequaled Teacher (45/TBD)

Focus Text: John 18.19-23

Under the cover of darkness, Judas betrayed the Master with a kiss of abject depravity. There was no more ruse to be played out on Judas’ part; Jesus’ hour had come!

“The high priest then asked Jesus about His disciples and His doctrine. Jesus answered him, ‘I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where the Jews always meet, and in secret I have said nothing. Why do you ask Me? Ask those who have heard Me what I said to…  ( Click for more )

The Series - Jesus, Unique & Unequaled Teacher (44/TBD)

Focus Text: John 13.12-17

“So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than…  ( Click for more )

The Series - Jesus, Unique & Unequaled Teacher (43/50)

Focus Text: John 13.8-13

The final Passover had arrived. Jesus was about to be betrayed in to the hands of sinners. The apostles still yet had many things they needed to know in order to achieve the mission for which they had been called. Besides all of this, Jesus was about to enter the darkest place into which any man could ever enter! His suffering was to be incomprehensible and it waited only hours away. What anguish might have stricken the ordinary heart; what dread might have engulfed a lesser man in self-pity…  ( Click for more )

The Series - Jesus, Unique & Unequaled Teacher (42/50)

Focus Text: John 13.1-7

Today, we enter nine messages to close out the series, Jesus, Unique and Unequalled Teacher.

“Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His…  ( Click for more )

To All Who are in Rome

Focus Text: Romans 1.1-4

“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” (Romans 1.1-4).

Words are so important to understanding God’s plan for us. One word of unexcelled importance in today’s…  ( Click for more )

To All Who are in Rome

Focus Text: Romans 1.1-4

Wise people do not accept every claim that they encounter; they weigh the evidence and draw conclusions based on the strength (or lack thereof) of the available testimony. It should be no different with claims of a religious nature. In fact when one considers the risks involved with accepting a false claim, nothing could be more hurtful than to be taken in by a “peddler of goods” in the spiritual arena. Perhaps that is why Paul purposefully introduced himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ at the very outset of some…  ( Click for more )

To All Who are in Rome

Focus Text: Romans 1.1-4

It is only reasonable that the book of Romans would contain some of the deepest and most complex theological themes of the entire Bible. This is true because of the audience to whom the Holy Spirit appealed through Paul, the human author of the book. Rome was the literal capital of the “civilized world” at the time the book was written. As such, it was a melting pot for every imaginable human philosophy. The Greek culture blended with Rome and produced one of the best educated societies of the era as well as one…  ( Click for more )

The Series - Jesus, Unique & Unequaled Teacher (41/TBD)

Focus Text: John 6.66-69

Note to our readers: This is the final edition of TODAY’S LITTLE LIFT prior to the coming of the New Year. I want to take this time to thank you for letting me be a part of your daily routine and for giving the me Joy of knowing that every day someone, somewhere has the opportunity to reflect on the scriptures and perhaps draw a little closer to God through these efforts.

“From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said…  ( Click for more )

The Series - Jesus, Unique & Unequaled Teacher (40/TBD)

Focus Text: John 6.60-66

“Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can understand it?’ When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, ‘Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.’ For…  ( Click for more )

The Series - Jesus, Unique & Unequaled Teacher (39/TBD)

Focus Text: John 6.53-58

“Then Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly [literally: Amen, Amen!], I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds…  ( Click for more )

The Series - Jesus, Unique & Unequaled Teacher (38/TBD)

Focus Text: John 6.53-58

Are we guilty of “cafeteria style” Bible study? By that I simply mean, do we tend to go through life like a cafeteria line, picking and choosing from the Bible those things which we like and leaving the less savory truths to someone else? It is common to see banners and signs saying, YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN! or, GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD…! Did you ever see a banner saying, UNLESS YOU EAT THE FLESH OF THE SON OF MAN YOU HAVE NO LIFE? Or, how about, HE WHO DRINKS MY BLOOD ABIDES…  ( Click for more )

Monday Miscellany

Focus Text: John 3.36

If the Bible is the word of God (and I believe without reservation that it is), then how one interprets and applies the scripture is of utmost importance. In fact, I think we would all agree that the responsibility of understanding God’s word is unexcelled in importance by any human endeavor. Anyone who would willfully play “fast and loose” with the word of God is of all men most pitiable and is in danger of condemnation. Yet, each and every day of our existence, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, and ad…  ( Click for more )

The Series - Jesus, Unique & Unequaled Teacher (37/TBD)

Focus Text: John 6.47-52

“‘Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.’ The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves,…  ( Click for more )

The Series - Jesus, Unique & Unequaled Teacher (36/TBD)

Focus Text: John 6.43-46

“Jesus therefore answered and said to them, ‘Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, “And they shall all be taught by God.” Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father.’” (John 6.43-46).

There are two great affirmations…  ( Click for more )

The Series - Jesus, Unique & Unequaled Teacher (35/TBD)

Focus Text: John 6.35-41

The men who saw Jesus perform the miracle of multiplying the loaves and fish said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” (John 6.14). They were to be commended for that statement, but the story does not end here. A crowd followed Him to Capernaum where they listened to Him for a while as He spoke of His relationship with the Father. We will note some of what He said as well as the reaction of the multitude.

“And Jesus said to them, ‘I am the…  ( Click for more )

The Series - Jesus, Unique & Unequaled Teacher (34/TBD)

Focus Text: John 6.30-33

“Therefore they said to Him [Jesus], ‘What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to…  ( Click for more )

Monday Miscellany

Focus Text: John 8.32

This message is not about Christmas; it is about cultures and how they sometimes contrast, conflict, and/or even contradict. All the observations about the two cultures selected for discussion were made between December 1,2007 and today’s date (December 10,2007).

In “Culture X” a national broadcast provided the “sample” from which these conclusions about the culture were extracted. The program seemed to present itself as being mainstream within the country in which the broadcast originated. It was…  ( Click for more )

The Series - Jesus, Unique & Unequaled Teacher (33/TBD)

Focus Text: John 6.27-29

Jesus said, “‘Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.’ Then they [the disbelieving multitude] said to Him, ‘What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.’” (John 6.27-29).

After telling His hearers…  ( Click for more )

The Series - Jesus, Unique & Unequaled Teacher (32/TBD)

Focus Text: John 6.25-27

“And when they found Him [Jesus] on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, ‘Rabbi, when did You come here?’ Jesus answered them and said, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.’” (John 6.25-27) …  ( Click for more )

The Series - Jesus, Unique & Unequaled Teacher (31/TBD)

Focus Text: John 6.22-25

After feeding the five thousand, and after perceiving that the multitude wished to make Him a physical king, Jesus departed into the mountain alone. Meanwhile, His disciples entered a boat and headed across the lake toward Capernaum. In an eventful night, Jesus walked atop the waters of the lake, calmed a raging storm, quelled the fears of His disciples, and made it to His home town.

“On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that…  ( Click for more )

The Series - Jesus, Unique & Unequaled Teacher (30/TBD)

Focus Text: John 6.15

“Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.” (John 6.15).

All down-to-earth people know that power can be a mighty intoxicant. The pages of our history books are filled with remembrances of those who became drunk on its charm and fell prey to its deadly enticements. The world has suffered some of its most horrid atrocities at the hands of men who were egomaniacs staggering…  ( Click for more )

Monday Miscellany

Focus Text: Galatians 4.4-5

Justification could not and cannot come by means of the Law of Moses; this is Paul’s summary argument in Galatians 3. Regardless of what the Jews thought about the Law and the blessings that might come on them through the Law, Paul made no bones about the fact that justification was by faith in Christ and not through the Law. “For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law.” (Galatians 3.21b).

Man had one major problem under the Law, and…  ( Click for more )

The Series - Jesus, Unique & Unequaled Teacher

Focus Text: John 6.7-14

It was not as if He had not previously performed signs and wonders; in fact, many had seen His miracles and believed because of them. “Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.” (John 6.2). Yet, Philip did not foresee the supernatural deed that He was about to do; he just mused, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.” (John 6.7). Andrew…  ( Click for more )

The Series - Jesus, Unique & Unequaled Teacher

Focus Text: John6.1-6

“After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased. And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, ‘Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?’ But this He said to test…  ( Click for more )