Tune and Prepare!

(Matt 5:1-16) by Andreas Köstenberger In his monumental Gospel, Matthew introduces Jesus as the descendant of Abraham and David, narrating his miraculous virgin conception and birth and recounting his flight to Egypt and return to Nazareth. At the inception of Jesus’ public ministry, John the Baptist cries out, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (3:1). Later, when hearing of John’s arrest, Jesus begins to proclaim an identical message (4:17). Yet while John is only the forerunner, Jesus is the Messiah. At this, Jesus gathers a large following and travels far and wide “proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people” (4:23). After this preamble, Matthew opens the first of five major teaching sections of Jesus in his Gospel. The number five is reminiscent of the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses. Similarly, the reference to Jesus ascending a mountain brings to mind Moses’ ascent of Mount Sinai when recei...

"Catholicism" in the Protestantism pre When we talk about the "Catholic person" we should see the original definition which refers to a diverse spirituality, not some religious tradition and trend contrary to Protestantism but the attitude of a person, based on his culture, family and community. Definition of the Catholic Catholicism is a rich and diverse reality... The word Catholic is derived from the Greek adjective, katholikos , meaning "universal," and from the adverbial phrase, kath' holou, meaning "on the whole." The term was first used by St. Ignatius of Antioch (d.c. 107) in his Letter to the Smyrneans.. Ever since the Reformation, the word has commonly been used in opposition to Protestant, but its real opposite is sectarian, which pertains to a part of the Church that has separated itself off from the worldwide Church.. {Catholicism. ©1994 by HarperCollins Publishers.} From the non-religious, Bible centered sta...

The day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday offers powerful spiritual lessons for believers. When disaster strikes and our hopes are dashed, we must be patient and wait for God because He can bring good out of evil in his own good timing. Andreas Köstenberger

By Brant Hansen Why isn’t righteous anger ever listed among the things that a Spirit-filled life will bring us? If it’s righteous, why is it not akin to the “fruit of the Spirit,” like love, joy, peace, and gentleness? Why is anger in Scripture so consistently lumped in the other lists with things like, say, slander and malice, with no exclusions for the “righteous” variety? (See, for example, Colossians 3:8). We aren’t to just pretend anger away or feel guilty for the initial emotion of anger. But we are to deal with it, with the goal of eradicating it within us. This, of course, is not easy to do, but it’s not complex to understand, either. Few ever present the radical implications of what it means to die to ourselves and what it means to practice a lifestyle of forgiveness. “Stepping out of anger,” Dallas Willard says, “means you are surrendering your will to God. It means you have accepted that you don’t have to have your way.”[1] When I’ve read commentaries on Ephe...

(When the Heaven touches the Earth) 24-7 worship & priestly service Brief outline / Short notices Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints. Ephesians 1:18 - ESV A Short Outline According to the Church History Melchizedek - Abraham - Moses - Samuel - David - Salamon - Daniel - Yeshua - Apostles -... {St. Patrick - Bobbio - Iona - Taize - HTB - IHOP - JHOP...} Notices below 3 key moments Abraham's Example Melchizedek's blessing Mount Sinai Moses' lessons Samuel the catalyst Reactions to Samuel's service King David's example Salomon's Temple - Banner over the nations Israel's declination and captivity The fulfilled plan on the Earth The apostles were taught about the Tent The Better High Priest The Royal Priesthood and its tasks Because of your servant, ...

Incense offering .. according to Jesus' life You shall make an altar on which to offer incense; you shall make it of acacia wood.. Aaron shall offer fragrant incense on it; every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall offer it, and when Aaron sets up the lamps in the evening, he shall offer it, a regular incense offering before the Lord throughout your generations.. Ex 30:1. 7.   ↓ His shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive tree, and his fragrance like that of Lebanon. Hos 14:6   ↓ While he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment of nard, and she broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head. But some were there who said to one another in anger, “Why was the ointment wasted in this way? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they scolded ...

by Lex Loizides A number of factors helped the somewhat surprising spread of the Christian Faith across the Roman world which began in the first century. 1. The political unity of the Roman Empire did produce a certain economic and political stability, notwithstanding its many faults. This encouraged trade between large cities and regions. 2. The military and trade routes meant relatively easy access to large numbers of people (both by land and sea). Joel Kotkin writes, ‘Rome allowed considerable self-government to individual cities; the empire itself, notes the historian Robert Lopez, functioned as a ‘confederation of urban cells.’ Europe would not again see such a proliferation of secure, and well-peopled cities until well into the nineteenth century. People, products, and ideas traveled quickly through the vast archipelago of ‘urban cells’ over secure sea-lanes and fifty-one thousand miles of paved roads stretching from Jerusalem to Boulogne… Christianity’s rapid...

An ESV Reading Plan The call to be a Christian was not a call to leave your secular vocation. That’s the clear point of 1 Corinthians 7:17-24. Paul sums up his teaching there with these words: “So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God” (verse 24). Paul had a high view of the providence of God—that God had sovereignly “assigned” or “called” unbelievers to positions in life where their conversion would have significant impact for his glory. “Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him” (verse 17). Paul does not mean that changing jobs is wrong in the Christian life—otherwise no one could become a vocational pastor or missionary except very young people (unlike Jesus who changed from carpentry to full-time ministry when he was thirty, Luke 3:23). What Paul does mean is that when we are converted we should not jump to the conclusion, my job must change. Rather our thoug...

Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. — John 19:30 — Before he died on the cross, Jesus uttered a cry of triumph, saying “It is finished.” The Greek word here— tetélestai —had three meanings that point out Jesus’ finished work for us. First , it was used for the completion of a task. When a son finished his work on a project, he would say to his father, “ Tetélestai ,” meaning, “The work entrusted to me is finished.” Second , it was used to pay off a debt. When a person paid off a debt with the legal authorities, the document was stamped “ Tetélestai ,” meaning, “The debt has been paid.” Third , this word was used to declare a person’s definite possession of a deed. When someone bought a piece of property and paid for it in full, they received the deed with the inscription “ Tetélestai ,” meaning, “You have the right of possession.” When Jesus gave up his life for us on the cross, he completed the work the Fa...

Tozer vs. Lewis: Mi a legfontosabb dolog velünk kapcsolatban? A. W. Tozer: Ami eszünkbe jut, amikor Istenre gondolunk, az a legfontosabb dolog velünk kapcsolatban. Az emberiség történelme valószínűleg azt fogja mutatni, hogy egyetlen nép sem emelkedett még soha a vallása fölé, és az ember szellemi történelme pozitívan fogja bizonyítani, hogy egyetlen vallás sem volt még soha nagyobb, mint az Istenről alkotott elképzelése. Az istentisztelet úgy tiszta, vagy alantas, ahogyan az istentisztelő magas, vagy alacsony gondolatokat táplál Istenről. Az Egyház előtt álló legsúlyosabb kérdés ezért mindig maga Isten, és minden emberrel kapcsolatban nem az a legjelentősebb tény, hogy egy adott pillanatban mit mond vagy tesz, hanem az, hogy mélyen a szívében milyennek képzeli Istent. A lélek egy titkos törvénye folytán hajlamosak vagyunk arra, hogy Istenről alkotott szellemi képünk felé haladjunk. Ez nemcsak az egyes keresztényekre igaz, hanem az Egyházat alkotó keresztények közössé...

Estudio. diferentes pensamientos y conexiones con Oseas 6:6 Un sorprendente punto ciego ..que es importante para Jesús Como vimos en la primera parte de la serie "Palabra viva", nuestras posibilidades han cambiado y se han ampliado fundamentalmente con la llegada de Jesu-Christo. Voy a mostrarte algunos versículos importantes y útiles de este contexto profético. Su misericordia y su gracia serán así más visibles. Porque quiero misericordia, y no sacrificios; conocimiento de Dios más que Holocaust os.. Oseas 6:6 [Reina-Valera] Jesús citó las palabras del profeta Oseas dos veces y en dos situaciones diferentes. Lo que para nosotros no suele ser más que una "rectificación profética" de una crisis del Antiguo Testamento, para el Señor son dos ámbitos de importancia crucial para la Iglesia en todo tiempo de alianza y para todo creyente. Descifremos juntos esta advertencia intemporal. Hos 6:6 - 1Pedro 2:9 Hemos visto en el ...

Tozer vs. Lewis: What’s the Most Important Thing about Us? A. W. Tozer: What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God. For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. This is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the Church. Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God. —A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy (New Y...

The eyes of the snake 1. The talking snake 2. The eyes of the snake 3. Your heels