Sin Leads to More Sin (John 19:1-16)
Pilate commits injustice Even though Jesus has been declared without fault, Pilate still commands that He be beaten. Jesus is mocked, beaten, and tortured after being declared innocent! Pilate then offers Jesus to the Jews for them to kill Him. The amount of injustice Pilate commits is staggering. Jesus is declared King and Son of God Even in Jesus’ mocking and beatings one thing is never in question, His true identity. No Jew or Roman ever truly questions whether Jesus…
Evangelism Training (Part 9)
Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.Mark 1:14-15 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth…
Giving Thanks for the Taking (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
Job blessed God for giving and for taking from him. We can understand why you would thank God for giving, but why would you thank God for taking from you? God is sovereign Everything that happens in this world is under the direct control of God. He rules over everything and everyone. Nothing takes Him by surprise. Even the bad things in life are directly under His control. Life and death are entirely in His hands. If you receive something,…
Evangelism Training (Part 8)
Once we have identified the root issues of idolatry and sin, what is next? Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.Mark 1:14-15 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what…
Amazing Grace (John 18:38-40)
Jesus’ trial now comes to a conclusion. Jesus is declared innocent This trial is truly remarkable. First, Jesus was never formally charged. No crime or wrongdoing was ever alleged. This was simply a “witch hunt” hoping to find something for which they could declare Him guilty. Secondly, after at least four trials (Annas, Ciaphas, Pilate, and Herod) Jesus is declared to be entirely innocent and without fault. This is remarkable. Even with paid false witnesses, Jewish law, Roman law, and…
Evangelism Training (Part 7)
How does idolatry impact the way we share the Gospel? Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden,…
King of Truth (John 18:28-38)
Jesus is now brought before Pilate. The Pharisees and Pilate do not care about the truth In Jesus’ trials one thing becomes increasingly clear. The Pharisees do not care what is true and neither does Pilate. They are both far more concerned with maintaining power and position than they are with what is true. Throughout Jesus’ trials no one even tries to find out the truth. The Pharisees refuse to even listen to Jesus, and Pilate does not even care…
Evangelism Training (Part 6)
What are the fundamentals of the Gospel? Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which…
Why Celebrate the Reformation? (Galatians 3:6-14)
October 31 is the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Why do we celebrate the Protestant Reformation? Spiritual darkness The Dark Ages were dark because of the spiritual corruption, superstition, and oppression of the Catholic church. The Catholic church had ceased to preach the Gospel, and taken the Word of God away from the people. They taught unbiblical doctrines like purgatory, relics, and indulgences. Purgatory is the belief that we must be purged of our sins in a hell like…
Evangelism Training (Part 5)
What are the fundamentals of the Gospel? In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.Genesis 1:1-4 And God said, Let us make…
The Humility of Christ (John 18:12-27)
Jesus now goes to trial. In this passage we see a stark contrast between Jesus and sinful men. Willingness to discuss vs. shutting down the conversation Jesus would like nothing more than an open discussion on the truth of Scripture. He has nothing to hide. In contrast, Peter tries every way in the world to avoid scrutiny by changing locations or cursing. The Pharisees do not even want to acknowledge what Jesus has already said publically. They strike Him and…
Evangelism Training (Part 4)
How did Jesus share the Gospel? There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus…