We are here to love God and our neighbors by making disciples for King Jesus who make disciples for King Jesus

What in the World Is This?

These 3 opening verses set the stage for our understanding of this book as a whole. The points will appear as questions that I hope will help us understand in a general (but Biblical) sense what in the world Revelation actually is. 1. What is an apocalypse? 2. Who’s the author? 3. Who’s the audience? and 4. Is this authoritative? The answers to these questions provided by the passage will help us see ultimately that this is a message for everyday (not just the future) from King Jesus to His church, absolutely including us. 

Doubt in the Greatest of Men

In today’s passage, John the Baptist seems to be having some doubts about who Jesus is.  At Jesus’ baptism, John seems pretty confident that Jesus was indeed the Christ, the Son of God.  Now, John is in prison and Jesus doesn’t seem to be the Messiah He expected.  Jesus, ever compassionate to the weak, speaks into John’s doubts with words of assurance.  The questions for us:  What causes doubts to rise in our minds about our Savior Jesus Christ?  How should we combat those doubts?

Resurrecting Hope

Paul is seeking in this passage to both encourage and call on his listeners to encourage others to be hopeful about those who have died in Christ. It is absolutely not the end for them. They can and must remain hopeful. But how? Paul gives clear direction. They (and we!) remain hopeful by looking to Jesus (the One who died but didn’t stay dead), listening to what Jesus says on this matter, and by going and comforting others with these truths. 

Learning To Love The Body God Gave You (Part 2)

As we continue with Part 2 in 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 we specifically focus on verses 11-12. Paul is helpful here in affirming that love is observable. While it is good for us to declare we love the body God has given us, we must also demonstrate we do as is detailed in verse 11. Paul goes on to share in verse 12 that such demonstrable love makes a difference both externally (to outsiders) and internally (us who are already a part of the family).