A survey of people in America taken a few years ago reveals a strong reaction to perceived hypocrisy in its Christian churches. A whopping 72% of people who believe in God, but who don’t attend church, said the church is full of hypocrites! Jesus noted that the leaders of the church of His time were hypocritical, … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Exod. 19:5-6; Matthew 23; John 12:20-26; Matthew 24; 1 Thess. 4:16. Memory Text:“‘And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted’” (Matthew 23:12, NKJV). The second coming of Jesus is the climax of the Christian faith. The First Advent of Jesus and His death … Continue reading –>
When the “remnant” is brought to view in Revelation, our attention is directed to God’s intent that the movement be defined by a specific theological construct: “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony … Continue reading –>
Discussion starters for Lesson 10: Jesus in Jerusalem 1. The rejected one would become the chief cornerstone. Have you ever wondered how Jesus was able to tolerate the abuse and misunderstanding that marred His ministry on earth? Why did He allow Himself to be brought so low? Was He not fully qualified to be the … Continue reading –>
The London newspaper headline read: “Woman dead in flat for three years: skeleton of Joyce found on sofa with telly still on” (“Joyce Carol Vincent: How could this young woman lie dead and undiscovered for almost three years?“). Dead for three years in a London apartment, and no one missed her? No one called to … Continue reading –>
The great news of the Bible is that we were created by a loving God who has provided us all a way out of this mess of sin and death through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. This is a theme that appears one way or another all through the Bible. We can see … Continue reading –>
The What and How of Clergy Sexual Misconduct Hopefully you’ll live out your days never encountering the type of religious leader who makes an article like this necessary. But for the sake of those who do, and in light of the fact that you might, read on. I want to help all of us better … Continue reading –>
You can view an in-depth discussion of “Jesus in Jerusalem” 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 –>
If you had just a few days left to live, what would you do with them? One of the things Jesus did was to tell stories that would leave a deep impact on His listeners. Read Matthew 21:33-46. Who is represented by each of the following? Landowner: Farmers: Servants: Son: Notice Jesus’ quotation of Psalm … Continue reading –>
Jesus’ cleansing of the temple was an act of compassion. It was the Gentile courts where the buying and selling were taking place, and Jesus intended His house to be a place of prayer and worship for all peoples. But the cleansing was an act of judgment also. The priests who ran the temple had … Continue reading –>
From the earliest days of fallen humanity, animal sacrifices were God’s chosen means to teach the world the plan of salvation, salvation by grace through faith in the coming Messiah (see Rom. 4:13-16). A powerful example of this truth can be found in Genesis 4, the story of Cain and Abel and the tragedy that … Continue reading –>
I recently watched a video on Youtube.com as two men attempted to cut a hornet’s nest hanging from a tree. They wanted it to fall into an open plastic garbage bag, and only one thing went wrong as the plastic bag failed open properly and bumped into the nest. The hornets were quick to counter-attack … Continue reading –>
