1. Does the church have a role in the community? Should the church be a deep and personal part of Christian life? What’s wrong with just trying to do good and be good and read the Bible and not have to associate with a church–much less the rest of the people of the community? What … Continue reading –>
The Bible does not say how long a period of time existed between the finished Creation and the Fall. Days, weeks, years, we just don’t know. What we do know, however, was that there was a Fall, and the consequences were immediate and apparent. The first mentioned result of Adam and Eve eating of the … Continue reading –>
The Bible says that humanity was originally created in the “image” (Gen. 1:27) of God. An image may be either two-dimensional, such as a mirror reflection or photograph, or three-dimensional, such as a statue or hologram. An image can also be intangible, such as a mental image, an idea that we have in our heads. … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Gen. 1:26-27; Deut. 6:5; Gen. 3:8-19; James 4:4; Gal. 4:19; Mark 2:1-12; John 10:10. Memory Text: “So God created mankind in his own image, in theimage of God he created them; male and female he created them”(Genesis 1:27, NIV) . All one has to do is look around, at the … Continue reading –>
The Whole Gospel A pastor held up his Bible before the congregation. It was in tatters, full of holes. In seminary he and some classmates had gone through his Bible and underlined every passage that dealt with justice, poverty, wealth, and oppression. Then, with a pair of scissors, they cut out every verse dealing with … Continue reading –>
At the beginning of a new quarter, it’s time to plan for our 13th Sabbath offering which will go to the East Central African Division. In this post you will find some patterns for making 13th-Sabbath offering boxes for your family or for your whole church. “The Adventist Church is built on mission. Our commission comes … Continue reading –>
As did all the other Gospel writers, Matthew wrote about the resurrection of Jesus. Also, as did his fellow writers, he wrote next to nothing about what the meaning of the Resurrection itself was. Though they depicted the story of the Resurrection, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John gave us no real theological explanation of it, … Continue reading –>
For many people, one of the most hard-to-understand things Jesus did was to return to heaven and entrust the gospel ministry to humans. How often we disappoint Him and ourselves, and as the Gospels show, His early followers were no exception. Yet, it’s by entrusting us with ministry that Christ shows His love for us … Continue reading –>
The Christian faith centers not only on the cross but on the empty tomb. The truth is, the majority of people in the world, including non-Christians, believe that a man named Jesus of Nazareth died on a cross. Not long after Jesus lived we find historical references such as this one from Tacitus, a Roman … Continue reading –>
You can view an in-depth discussion of “Crucified and Risen” in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris. (Adobe Flash Player version.) A Youtube version of this week’s lesson at Hope Sabbath School is below. You can download the video, the MP3 audio, and the lesson outline from the HopeTV Sabbath School … Continue reading –>
Each Gospel writer told the story of Jesus from various perspectives, but all focused on His death. Matthew alone, though, records the opening of the graves after the temple veil was torn. Read Matthew 27:49-54. What is the meaning of these events? What hope do they point to for us? Jesus died right after the … Continue reading –>
Jesus or Barabbas. Imagine the possible outcome of the life of Barabbas, chosen by the government to go free while Jesus was crucified. Was anything good about Barabbas ever mentioned in Scripture? What did Pilate hope upon hope would happen when the people saw the innocent Jesus compared with the corrupted and evil Barabbas? What did so … Continue reading –>
