As we are taking a look at the baptism of Jesus in this week’s lesson, let’s also look at baptism in light of the cross. Brief overview: By baptism we confess our faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and testify of our death to sin and of our purpose to walk in … Continue reading –>
With this week’s lesson titled, “Salvation and the End Time,“ this is a good time to think about how we can share the hope of salvation with those those around us. “More people than we think are longing to find the way to Christ. Those who preach the last message of mercy should bear in mind … Continue reading –>
People often ask me how old a child should be before they can be baptized. Many are surprised to hear I was just seven when I was baptized. I still remember the night – I was lying in bed, thinking about the cross and Jesus’ love for me. I decided I wanted to be baptized. I … Continue reading –>
Have you ever gotten home from work but you don’t remember driving there? You’re on auto-pilot. It happens whenever we’ve done something so many times that our brain doesn’t really have to engage in what we’re doing to make it happen. It’s almost like our muscles just take over – tying our shoes, playing a … Continue reading –>
“Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hephzibah. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel. …And he … Continue reading –>
The New Testament uses several images to describe what baptism means. First, baptism symbolizes a spiritual union with Christ (Rom. 6:3-8), involving participation in His suffering, death, and resurrection, as well as the renunciation of one’s former lifestyle. In this way, baptism is linked with repentance and the forgiveness of sin (Acts 2:38); the new birth and … Continue reading –>
When we understand redemption as freedom from a form of enslavement that required external assistance, we may conclude that sinful humanity is bound by a power or influence stronger than itself. The question that needs to be answered is, by what power or agency has sinful humanity been so bound? Study Romans 6:12-23. Notice that in … Continue reading –>
Keeping Galatians 3:25 in mind, read Galatians 3:26. How does this text help us understand what our relationship to the law is, now that we have been redeemed by Jesus? 1 The word for at the beginning of verse 26 indicates that Paul sees a direct connection between this verse and the preceding one. In the same way that a master’s … Continue reading –>
