The sight of blood makes many people squeamish. It’s not an everyday sight for most. If you live on the farm, are a butcher, or a hunter, you are accustomed to it more than most. But blood is central to God’s plan of redemption. It’s there throughout the Old Testament and there in the New Testament, especially in the book of Hebrews.
Read More“We wish to see Jesus.” That’s what they said. But why? What had they heard? What did they want? Much had been made of this Jesus. Word had spread. He cast out demons. He healed the sick. He even raised dead people back to life—one named Lazarus. It’s no wonder people wanted to see Him, hear Him, and if they could, touch Him. “Sir, we wish to see Jesus!”
Read MoreMuch has been sensationalized about the return of Jesus in our modern age. From countless predictions claiming to know the precise day and time of His appearing, to books designed to frighten with the fear of being “left behind,” to movies featuring secret comings and shadowy signs, there is much that misleads and deceives.
Read MoreGrace and peace to you from God our Father and from our coming King, Jesus Christ. In this holy season of Advent—these days of yearning hope, sober repentance, and steadfast prayer—we find ourselves living amid times that strain the heart.
Read More“The Word became flesh” (John 1:14)—it’s a simple summary of what Christmas is all about. But it also points us to Easter and everything in between. It’s the miraculous story of how the Word of God came into our flesh and blood, into our hurts and heartaches, into our foolishness and frailty, to live as one of us in order to redeem all of us.
Read MoreYou can get yourself in trouble when you set out to confess the Word of God. Take Stephen, for instance (see Acts 6 & 7). He had a holy calling, yet it was pretty ordinary and mundane. He and six other men had been divinely appointed to relieve the Apostles of waiting on tables, so they could focus on prayer and the ministry of the Word.
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