The Wrong Type of King (John 12:12-19)
Jesus enters Jerusalem riding on a donkey; the crowds recognize this as a fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy. This man who had the power to raise the dead was their King! They joyfully bring Him into Jerusalem with shouts of praise. However, these same people five days later would demand the crucifixion of their King and declare that they had no king but Caesar. How could so many people change their minds so quickly? The King the Jews wanted The Jews…
Economics – Tithing (Part 4)
I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.Acts 20:35 The greatest conclusion that we can come to in discussing tithing is the admonition of Jesus, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” We must be a generous people who find our joy in giving not getting. But what do…
Worshiping Jesus (John 12:1-11)
As Jesus is eating dinner with Lazarus and His disciples, Mary anoints His feet with very expensive perfume and wipes His feet with her hair. From this discourse we find out a lot about the people present. Martha was serving Just like the story in Luke 10:38-42 Martha was very busy taking care of everyone. She was selflessly making sure that everyone was fed and taken care. However, she once again neglected the most important thing, Jesus Christ. We can…
Economics – Tithing (Part 3)
Our main focus has been on the heart behind tithing, a heart that loves God and loves neighbor. However, the question that arises is, “Do Christians have to give 10%?” 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 blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into…
Spiritual Blindness (John 11:49-57)
As the Jewish leaders are fretting over what to do about Jesus Caiaphas stands and tells them that Jesus must die. He tells them that Jesus must die for the nation and that His death will unite the people of God who are scattered all over the earth. Beware of the man who knows everything Caiaphas begins his speech by deriding the other Jews as knowing nothing; he is now going to enlighten them with his wisdom. We must beware…
Economics – Tithing (Part 2)
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 blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.Genesis 14:18-20 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit…
Valuing Jesus (John 11:45-48)
Jesus has just raised Lazarus from the dead. Many people witnessed this event, but they had very different reactions. Some people believed that He was the Messiah; others plotted to kill Him for gaining such a big following. They all knew the truth We have a wrong understanding of what it means to believe in Jesus. We often view belief in Jesus as intellectual assent to the historical truth that Jesus died on the cross and rose again from the…
Economics – Tithing (Part 1)
Nothing quite exposes the greed within our hearts as a discussion on tithing. Greedy preachers twist Scripture to extort money from the sheep. Greedy sheep twist Scripture to keep the money for themselves. People also try to use God for their own greed by using tithing as a means of twisting God’s arm into bestowing financial blessings. If we truly examine our hearts we will find that most of our thoughts on tithing stem from greed and the love of…
Compassion for the Lost (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
Hopefully you have experienced a measure of God’s grace and victory over sin as we have studied our indwelling sin and the grace of God that delivers us from that sin. How do we maintain this grace and grow in this grace? We must let past sins humble us We quickly forget that we were once hopelessly lost in sin. We forget what we were before Jesus delivered us by His grace. Because of this we can quickly lose compassion…
Economics – Coveting
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.Exodus 20:17 The tenth commandment is a commandment that is largely ignored in American culture. Right alongside adultery, murder, and theft God prohibits desiring what other people have. This commandment is primarily meant to show us our depravity and need of a Savior by exposing that our love…
Grace (Luke 15:1-2, 11-32)
As we draw our study of sin and temptation to a close, how does it all fit together? Our sin has ruined us Like the prodigal son, we have followed our heart’s leading, and it has ruined us. Our relationship with God, our marriage, our health, our finances, our family relationships, etc. are riddled with brokenness, guilt, shame, and devastation. All of this has been brought about by our sin. Like the prodigal we are in rags starving to death…