INTRODUCTION:The last description of Christ’s resurrection appearances is found in the very first part of Acts. As we celebrate His resurrection, we want to take care that we learn everything that the Scriptures teach us about it. THE TEXT:“The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and …
Inexorable Life
The crucifixion was not a bad dream. It really happened. Jesus Christ really was flogged, His beard pulled out, nails driven into His hands and feet, and a spear thrust into His side. It was not something that His disciples thought had happened, only to discover their error and that Jesus was still alive. No, …
No Ritual of Death
We gather to feed on the body of Christ, and to drink His blood, but do not make the mistake of thinking that it is some ritual form of macabre cannibalism. The Lord is risen, and we are partaking of His resurrection life. This is no corpse ritual. We are privileged to partake of the …
That We Might Wake the Others
Our Father and God, You have established Your Church as a royal priesthood in this world, and so we intercede for the nations of men now, confessing on their behalf so that the grace of Your forgiveness will soon be extended to them all.
Palm Sunday and the Greeks
INTRODUCTION:In the verses immediately prior to our text, we see the Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The people received Him gladly in the name of the Lord (vv. 12-13). It is common for preachers to expand on the fickleness of crowds by contrasting this reception with the mob yelling “crucify Him” just a few days …
Understanding the Story We are In
God gives us stories throughout the Scriptures, and He does not do this for purposes of entertainment. God tells us the stories of our fathers—in the Garden, in the ark, in Egypt, in the wilderness, in the promised land, in the empire, in exile, and in the return, so that we might know how to …
The Destroyer and the Sacramental People
In his discussion of the Lord’s Supper in Corinthians, Paul tells them that there is no temptation overtaking them that was not common to man. The context of this exhortation was the fact that they had apparently been putting on airs, over against the Jews. We have been baptized. We have spiritual food, they were …
Self-Flattering Sin
Our Father and God, You have established Your Church as a royal priesthood in this world, and so we intercede for the nations of men now, confessing on their behalf so that the grace of Your forgiveness will soon be extended to them all. Father God, we confess that we belong to a nation that …
A Word and a Nod Delivers
he world is governed by the Lord Jesus, as we know, but it follows from this that the world is governed by the Word—Jesus is the Word of God, the Logos of God. The world is not governed by mechanical power. It is not governed by spells or necromancy. It is governed by the magic …
The Blessing, the Bread and the Wine
In Genesis 14, Melchizedek greets Abraham as he returns from the slaughter of the kings. “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And …