Tag Archives: Christ

It’s like a trip on Jesus.

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student_bible_study“It’s like a trip on Jesus.”  That’s exactly what the young man said who shared his testimony this evening.  Those are the words he used to sum up his salvation experience.

I don’t write much about the youth ministry I’m involved in, but feel like I must share this story.  A Christian should be able to share his or her testimony.  Maybe not in front of a church congregation, maybe not even in a group.  But a believer should be able to tell another person, even if just in a one on one conversation, what God has done in their life.  So tonight at BCM Celebration!  (Baptist Campus Ministry) we talked about what it means to share a testimony. Continue reading →

The Gospel is Offensive

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communion-bread-and-cupThe Gospel is good news.  It is the power of God unto salvation.  It is the story of God with us.  As Christians, we believe all these wonderful things, and more, about the Good News of Jesus Christ.  But the vast majority of people will say “Thanks but no thanks,” and some will get defensive first and then angry.  For better or worse, hearing the good news offends people.

Jesus has a long conversation with some Jews that “had believed him” in John 8:31-59.   In verse 39, the Jews respond to Jesus that Abraham is their father.  In 41, they say that God is their only father.  Jesus’ final statement, “Before Abraham was I am,” is the Gospel.  Jesus is using language that only God would use (i.e. the burning bush), and seems to make a play on words with God’s name.  It was not only blasphemy to use God’s name this way, he is saying that in fact he is God; God with us.  That’s good news.  But on this occasion, it’s not good news for Jesus.  They were picking up stones with which to kill him as he escaped from their midst. Continue reading →

Christianity, Truth or Fiction

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jesus_crossThere is an old saying that is Christianity were a lie, they would have made up a better lie.

Think about it. The basic tenants of the Christian faith are that a carpenter from a small town in Israel was crucified by the Roman Empire, buried, rose again from the dead, and that faith in these events is what gets one into heaven. These are just the basics. We could make a long list. To be a faithful Christian, one must believe: Continue reading →

Jesus in the Wilderness, a short film

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Thank you Noel Heikkinen for sharing this video.  Noel is doing a series on the Old Testament, and reminds us that each time Jesus resisted Satan he quoted from (what we call) the Old Testament scripture.

Ash Wednesday, Lent, (and p.s. Mardi Gras)

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ash-wednesday

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday occurs 46 days before Easter, 40 days if you don’t count Sundays.  This year it fell on February 25th.  This marks the beginning of Lent, a time of preparation for Holy Week.  At an Ash Wednesday service, part of the ceremony is placing ashes on the forehead as an outward symbol that you will be observing Lent.  During the 40 day period something is given up, anything typically important to the individual, and more time spent in prayer, worship and meditation.  Lent is about preparing ourselves spiritually to observe Holy Week, the days between Palm Sunday and Easter. Continue reading →

Upside Down

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Watch the video all the way through.  At the end the message is “reversed.”

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Hindsight is 20/20

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hindsight-rear-view-future-past-road-mirrorHindsight is 20/20 means that anything you look back on is easier to understand that it was at the time.  We make decisions in the now, then sometimes realize later we acted too quickly, neglected certain facts, or else were simply uninformed.  Hindsight being 20/20, we would have done things differently if we could just have seen the big picture. Continue reading →

Jesus is Christ

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Not just Jesus Christ.  Jesus is Christ. 

I’m not sure if it’s the title or what.  On March 1st I posted the sermon I preached that morning Peter Confesses Jesus is the Christ.  I’m not hung up on stats, but that particular post has only been viewed 3 times in the past 10 days.  Personally, I feel it’s one of the better sermons I’ve preached in quite a while, yet almost no one read the blog post.

Like I said, maybe it’s the title.  The post has little to do with Peter, and more to do with our understanding of what Christ means.  It is particularly appropriate with Easter approaching.  So may I politely suggest giving this post another try.  No pressure.

Peter Confesses that Jesus is the Christ.

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And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.”    -Mark 8:27-29

I want to unpack Peter’s statement here that Jesus is the Christ.  There are two questions we need to answer; 1) What does Peter mean by saying that Jesus is Christ, and 2) What does it mean to us that Jesus is the Christ. Continue reading →

Jesus Shaped Spirituality

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jesus-shapedWhat is Jesus Shaped Spirituality?  That is precisely the question that the InternetMonk tried to answer earlier this week.  In short, it is about making sure that our Christianity is modeled after the teachings and examples given to us by the Jesus of the Bible. 

If you’re a regular at this site, you know that I have written several posts on the examples given by Jesus.  Click “Jesus’ Examples” in the Categories list at right for a complete listing.  Each post is a specific lesson (or lessons) that we are to learn from something Jesus did himself, and in many cases encouraged his followers to go on doing.  Jesus didn’t lecture on how to be a Christian; he went around ministering to people’s needs and told his followers to keep doing the same things they had witnessed him doing. 

iMonk explains what a Jesus Shaped Spirituality looks like when we read the Scriptures and are challenged to conform to the image of Christ.  It’s not about denomination, emerging or church tradition.  It’s about each of us taking up our cross and following Jesus Christ.  Check it out.