Posts Tagged ‘Jesus’
John’s Proposition and Proof
by Terry Wane Benton The gospel of John is very unique in that it sets forth a proposition as in a debate, and then seeks to present evidence to prove the proposition is true. The proposition is stated in the first 18 verses that Jesus was actually God with God from the beginning of creation,…
Read MoreLike Father
by David Gibson My finite mind soon reaches the end of its tether when I try to comprehend God, the eternal, invisible, all-powerful, all-knowing Maker of all things. By observing the wonders of His handiwork in nature, we get glimpses into His wisdom and power (Romans 1:18-20), To learn more, we turn to the Old…
Read MoreThe Temptations of Jesus
The Temptations of Jesus: Changing Stones into BreadThe Temptations of Jesus (Part 2)The Temptations of Jesus (3) The Pinnacle of the Temple by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Luke 4:1-13 I. We all face temptations – I Corinthians 10:13 A. But Satan’s power to tempt is limited. He only has so many tricks to use. B. Consider the…
Read MoreStrike the Rock?
The children of Israel were desperate for water and were crying out to Moses, “Why have you brought us out here to die of thirst?” God told Moses to take his rod and “strike the rock,” and “water will come out of it, that the people may drink” (Exodus 17:3-6). Did God do this just…
Read MoreWithout Me, You Can Do Nothing
by Terry Wane Benton “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Without Jesus, we cannot be saved from a useless and aimless life. With Jesus, we can. Without Jesus, we cannot…
Read MoreRemembering Jesus Daily
by Richard Thetford Those of us who understand the authority of the Bible and are guided by it, because we respect what God has said to us, realize that Christians do not celebrate December 25th as the birth date of Christ. The apostle Paul wrote to the Colossian brethren and said “whatever you do in…
Read MoreJesus, the Greatest
by Terry Wane Benton The greatest blessing of my life is Jesus. Without Him, my heart was dark, and my direction was aimless. I pretended that believers were as irrational about God and Jesus as children were about tooth fairies. I once challenged a preacher, and he sent me material that opened my eyes. I…
Read MoreHe Died for My Sins
by Allen Dvorak via Biblical Insights, Vol. 15 No. 2, February 2015 What would you be willing to do for your enemy? To the Romans, Paul wrote that God demonstrated His love for us “in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). We (men in general) were enemies of God because…
Read MoreJesus, the Perfect Man
Author Unknown From The Commercial Appeal, 22 December 1912 There is no other character in history like that of Jesus. As a preacher, as a doer of things, and as a philosopher, no man ever had the sweep and the vision of Jesus. The human analysis of the human actions of Jesus brings to view a…
Read MoreThe Book of Hebrews on Jesus
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/The-Book-of-Hebrews-on-Jesus.mp3 by Raymond Warfel Download Audio
Read MoreWho Do You Say Jesus Is?
by Terry Wane Benton There were various opinions about who Jesus was to those considering Him in the first century (Matthew 16:13-19). All opinions and beliefs were not equal. Today, various religious beliefs are not equal to the truth. When some held the opinion that Jesus was a prophet but only a prophet, their opinion…
Read MorePaul and Jesus
by Zeke Flores In many ways, Galatians is about Paul and Jesus. One of the things I love about the short book of Galatians is how, although Paul writes on deep theological themes concerning the differentiation between the old and new covenants and their respective purposes, he often refers to how these themes relate to…
Read MoreI am with You Always
by Terry Wane Benton Perhaps no promise is more empowering than the assurance that we can handle anything because God promises to be with us. When the apostles, a rag-tag looking bunch of common men, were told to preach to all the world and start at Jerusalem, it had to be an intimidating sight for…
Read MoreThe Logos of Life
by Dudley Ross Spears via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 17 No. 1, 31 March 1991 The “Logos” is the Christ, the Son of the Most High God. John uses a term ordinarily meaning” a word” and applies it to the timeless and changeless Christ. There are a few cases where “logos” is used to express reason, account,…
Read MoreLiving Bread
by Terry Wane Benton What did Jesus want us to get from His claim to be “the living bread” (John 6:51)? Bread feeds energy into the body and keeps us going a little further in our bodily journey. Yet this body will still die, and bread will not stop our death. Jesus speaks of “living…
Read MoreTake Your Only Son
by Terry Wane Benton The test for Abraham was a type of the test that God Himself would undergo. In Abraham’s case, offering his only son, Isaac, was a test of his love for God. Would he trust and love God above his emotional attachment to his only son? Even though the command made no…
Read MoreJoy in Christ
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Joy-in-Christ.mp3 by Raymond Warfel Download Audio
Read MoreWhy didn’t Jesus know there were no figs on the tree?
Question: When our Lord cursed the fig tree, did He know that there was no fruit on it, or was knowledge withheld temporarily? Answer: The account is found in Matthew 21:18-19 and Mark 11:12-14. Early in the morning, Jesus left Bethany for Jerusalem. Seeing a leafy fig tree beside the road and being hungry, Jesus…
Read MoreWhy Jesus’ Death Stands Out
by Tommy Peeler In the first century, thousands were crucified. “During the last siege of Jerusalem, hundreds of crosses daily arose, till there seemed not sufficient room nor wood for them” (Alfred Edersheim). Of those thousands crucified, how many of the victims could you name? If crucifixion was such a common but horrible death, what…
Read MoreWhy Did Jesus Die? (Hamilton)
by Doy Moyer There are many atonement theories, and not every theory is equal. But one undeniable truth is that Jesus died to show how death is conquered through resurrection. By His death and resurrection, we are led to victory, and because of this, we can work with confidence that what we do is not…
Read MorePick Your Jesus
by Terry Wane Benton Paul said some were preaching “another Jesus” (II Corinthians 11:3-4). That was by picking the things they liked about the real Jesus, mixing in a few of their desires, avoiding the things they did not like about what the real Jesus said, and now we can talk about the Jesus we…
Read MoreJesus and Psalms 110
by Terry Wane Benton Jesus is very definitely the figure described and intended by the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 1 is making the argument that Jesus is “so much better than the angels” (Hebrews 1:4) and has “a more excellent name than they.” The Holy Spirit applied Psalms 2:7, 45:6-7, and 110:1f to Jesus. Psalms 110…
Read MoreWhat Was so Different About His Teaching?
by David Gibson “No one ever spoke like this man!” So said the officers sent by the Pharisees to arrest Jesus, but who came back without Him. After hearing Him teach, they could not bring themselves to take Him into custody. Many people noticed Jesus’ teaching differed because He spoke with authority (Matthew 7:28-29; Mark…
Read MoreEternal Existence
by James Sanders via Sentry Magazine, Vol. 16 No. 4, December 31, 1990 The Words of John 1:1 Nothing shatters—nothing startles like the sound of thunder. Its voice is unmistakable. And nothing seizes our attention like thunder. Whatever we may be doing when the crash of thunder interrupts, we stop immediately and listen. Thunder cannot be…
Read MoreThe Prophet: Who Is He?
by David Gibson Who was Moses pointing toward when he said, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me . . . you shall listen to him” (Deuteronomy 18:15 NASB)? The Jews of the first century were expecting this Prophet (John 1:19-21; 6:14; 7:40). Whoever it is would be remarkable…
Read MoreJesus Is God
Jesus Is GodJesus Is God – Part 2 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Titus 2:11-14 I. The religious world holds diverse views in regards to Jesus A. Is he a man or God? Or is it possible for him to be both? B. Oneness Pentecostals argue that there is only one God, and his name is Jesus.…
Read MoreWhy Does John Mention that Jesus Wept?
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Why-Does-John-Mention-that-Jesus-Wept.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: John 11:17-44 I. Ask someone even slightly familiar with the Bible what the shortest verse is and they can tell you: “Jesus wept.” – John 11:35 A. I was reading an article by Phil Gardner and he asked an interesting question, “Why does John show us a weeping Jesus?” 1. Not,…
Read MoreGod Appeared in the Flesh
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/God-Appeared-in-the-Flesh.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Timothy 3:14-16 I. Before the first century ended, several varieties of false teachings arose. A. One set has been referred to as the gnostics. The name derives from the Greek word for “knowledge.” – I Timothy 6:20-21 B. These were a diverse group, but they were tied by a belief…
Read MoreThe Human Life of God
by Steve Klein via Guardian of Truth XXXV: 14, pp. 419-420, July 18, 1991 One of the most ticklish of all religious controversies since the time of the apostles has been over the nature of the deity that Jesus possessed as a man. Historian Philip Schaff observed that in the years before 325 A.D., “the…
Read MoreGod Was Manifest in the Flesh
by Tim Coffey via Guardian of Truth XL: 5 p. 8-9, March 7, 1996 Paul proclaimed, “Great is the mystery of godliness, God was manifest in the flesh” (I Timothy 3:16). For those who saw Jesus in the flesh, the difficulty was not in believing that he was man, but in believing he was God.…
Read MoreGod’s Servant
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Gods-Servant.mp3 Download Audio by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Isaiah 49:1-9 I. Several passages in the latter part of Isaiah discuss the role that a person, referred to as “My Servant,” would accomplish on behalf of God. A. As we read through the passages, we need to keep in mind that Isaiah was written before the Babylonian…
Read MoreThe Living Intercessor
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/The-Living-Intercessor.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: Hebrews 7:11-25 I. The need for an intercessor A. Fear 1. Have you ever been so nervous that you said, “I can’t talk to him! You go and talk to him.” 2. Exodus 19:14-20 – When the people met the Lord God, it was a frightening experience. 3. So much so…
Read MoreThe Glory of the Son
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/The-Glory-of-the-Son.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 16:21-28 I. To the dismay of his disciples, Jesus began to speak of his pending death. (See also Mark 8:31-9:1 and Luke 9:21-27) A. They did not realize how important that death was to the plans of God, and when Peter declared that God would not allow such a…
Read MoreChrist, the Conqueror
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Christ-the-Conqueror.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalm 110 I. The Jews long looked for the Messiah of God A. They saw him as a leader, like David, who would throw out the oppressive Gentiles and restore Israel to its glory days B. However, Jesus was not the conqueror they expected 1. They even tried to force Jesus and…
Read MoreThe Head of the Church
by Terry Wane Benton The church is described as the body of Christ, with Jesus as the head of that body. Thus, the church is a group of people so connected to Christ that the body does not act without a proper signal (authority) from the head. If the church acts without authority, the church…
Read MoreMany Infallible Proofs
by Terry Wane Benton “To whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3 NKJV). Luke was convinced that the evidence for Jesus’s being the Messiah and Son of God was…
Read MorePropaganda Wars: Unbelief Based on Propaganda
by Terry Wane Benton The Bible talks about a god that never existed and a Jesus who never existed, modern atheists and humanists tell us. Is that fact (truth) or propaganda? Our president laid his hand on a fiction book and swore by fiction to uphold the Constitution: “So help me, fictional god?” Truth or…
Read MoreMeme Makers Myth-informed
by Richard Blackford Meme makers are trying to discredit Jesus again. It’s difficult to find more falsehood in such a small space. This was making the rounds on social media during the holidays. One of the first things mentioned is Jesus’ “Birthday is celebrated on December 25th. ”But notice the title: “THE BIBLE. Not as…
Read MoreA Short Course in Jesus Christ
by David Gibson No chapter in the Bible probably includes more names and titles for Jesus than the first chapter of the Gospel of John. He is called the Word, God, the Light, the Lord, the Lamb of God, the Son of God, the Messiah/Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, Rabbi, the King of Israel, and the…
Read MoreTogether We Can
by Terry Wane Benton When you think, “I can’t make it,” who is left out of that statement? Shouldn’t it be, “Jesus and I can’t make it?” But that can’t be a true statement, can it? When thinking correctly, you might say, “I can’t make it on my own, but I can do all things…
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