Mini-Bible Lessons Section 4

These essays were written by Cindy Sears (member of Ebenezer Church) based upon her Bible reading and study. Lessons are moved here one to two weeks after first being posted on our home page. This section holds essays that were posted starting in November 2022. Access other lessons below.

• Mini-Bible Lessons Section 1:1-25
• Mini-Bible Lessons Section 2:26-50
• Mini-Bible Lessons Section 3:51-75

Up to Top

Mini-Bible Lesson #100: Defection

References: Acts 1:15-20; NIV Application Commentary by Ajith Fernando, pp.78-84.

In those days Peter stood among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus—he was one of our number and shared in this ministry.”  --Acts 1:15-17 NIV

Jesus felt the pain of betrayal and defection among his closest friends on earth. The Apostle “Paul expressed this pain when he said, ‘Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me…’ (2 Timothy 4:10).” “Such pain can leave us embittered and hinder our spiritual freedom and fruitfulness in ministry.” Peter looked at Judas’ betrayal as tied to God’s sovereignty. We can look at defections as somehow a part of God’s will—and learn to let our pain go to continue in our service to God and his kingdom.

Bitterness  due to betrayal by fellow Christians and church members can hinder our fruitfulness in our ministries for Christ. We may wonder “what did I do wrong?” or “how did I fail to cause that person to leave or betray me or the church?” Even Jesus was betrayed by one of his own. We know that the disciples, or some of them, knew before that night of betrayal that Judas was a thief (see John 12:4-6). When someone betrays a trust, we feel humiliation (thinking, “how could I have been so blind or stupid?”), and humiliation for the Church and Christ (it makes both look bad, hypocritical, or ineffective). There is the loss of friendship or fellowship, too. We can and must grieve at that loss but not hang on to it or let it turn into bitterness or resentment. Forgive one another! Forgive yourself for not being able to stop it. Turn them and the whole situation over to God. God is our defender. God is the one who “repays.” (See Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:19) We do not. Be comforted in knowing that even Jesus had to deal with these types of situations. Lean on Jesus for comfort, strength, and the power to forgive and to carry on in the faith.

As we read in Romans 8:28 God works all things out for the good of those who love him. God is sovereign. He will redeem every sorrow, betrayal, and loss in your life. He will restore the years the locust have eaten (Joel 2:25). God has a plan that we are not privy to—a good thing! Our growth in the faith depends on our ability to increase daily in our trust of God, and our obedience to him even when everything seems to be going wrong. He will wipe away every tear from our eyes one day (Revelation 7:17, 21:4). Rest in that promise and that hope.

Many people like to hold onto anger and grudges to show those people how much they hurt us. Do not ignore God’s sovereignty and dwell in “the gloomy world of bitterness. The message to us is: Let ‘the experience of pain that Christ had comfort us and let the knowledge of God’s sovereignty enable us to look at the pain with gratitude and hope’ (p. 84)

Mini-Bible Lesson #99: Fire and Wind

References: Acts 2:1-13; Interpreter’s Bible: Acts Romans, pp.36-39.

Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.” --Acts 2:12-13 NIV

The first Pentecost aka Feasts of Weeks after the crucifixion of Jesus and what happened to the disciples at that gathering is considered to be the birth of the Christian Church. In John 20:19-23, Jesus meets with the disciples and tells them he is sending them out to tell the world about him. In vs. 22 we read: "And with that he breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.' Though Jesus spent 50 days after his resurrection appearing to and teaching his disciples, we have no record of them increasing their numbers or going on mission trips.

Jesus told his followers that he had to leave them before the Counselor could come (John 16:7, 13). Did Jesus breathe on them to show them that he and the promised Holy Spirit were One? Were the fifty days preparation time for when the power of His Spirit would be poured out on them? And it was a POWERFUL pouring—like a violent WIND and like FIRE (Acts:2-4). The aftermath of this power was the ability to speak in other languages they had not been taught; a powerful sermon by the once scared Peter; and the increase of the number of believers by 3,000 souls in one day.

Pentecost is the revelation of the supernatural, the unseen, non-material taking charge of a person who then does extraordinary things. An athlete catches the wind and runs farther and faster than he ever has before, a dancer gives the performance of a lifetime, a musician plays a piece with passionate perfection, a man lifts a car with his bare hands to save a trapped person, a warrior defeats a hundred men with the jawbone of an ass. There are times for all of us when we can be "in the zone," when nothing goes wrong, everything falls into place, where we pull from inside ourselves power and strength and courage that we never thought we had. These people at Pentecost felt that kind of power when God’s supernatural Spirit took hold of them and they let that Spirit control them completely and freely.

They prepared for this by praying to God and worshiping together for days. They emptied their hearts and minds of themselves and invited God to come pouring in to give them power to do extraordinary things. Is this the problem of the church today—we are not willing to let God come in and take over everything? To let God be the owner of all we are and all we have?

Fire and wind are both uncontrollable and dangerous elements. Perfect representations of God, who is Spirit. Are we afraid to burn with the passion of the Spirit? To let the wind of the Spirit blow us where He wills? People may think we are crazy or drunk. God may burn up our belongings or us in service to Him and His kingdom’s work. God can use us when we hold back from giving him our all, but what wonderous things could He do with us and through us if we gave His Fire and Wind full control?

Mini-Bible Lesson #98: All the World

References: Acts 1:8; NIV Application Commentary by Ajith Fernando.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” –Acts 1:8 NIV

Notice the progression from local to the ends of the earth in Christ’s command about witnessing. He begins locally, which for the disciples was the Holy City, Jerusalem. Then he calls them to go to Judea, or their “State” within the Roman Empire. Samaria, a part of the same area, but considered by most Jews to be apostate or unclean by the standards of the Jews comes next—a place where the Jewish disciples would feel uncomfortable in being  and consider themselves to be superior to or better than the people living there. And last, but not least, to the ends of the earth, which includes everywhere else.

Jesus wants us to witness to everyone and everywhere. We need to avoid parochialism—where we concentrate only on our little corner of the world with the gospel message and Christian charity. We are called by Jesus to go “to the ends of the earth” with our witness. When the Church in history has pulled back into itself, only serving the “people like us,” God has sent “people like the Moravians and John Wesley…to bring it back” (Fernando, p. 67) to its full and wide mission field. William Carey helped lead the Baptists to consider world missions and then founded the Baptist Missionary Society. “William Temple is credited with the statement: ‘The Christian church is the one organization in the world that exists purely for the benefit of non-members’” (p. 68) In other words—Missions!

“The church that lives for itself will die by itself” (p. 68). How does a church avoid getting so wrapped up in its own little problems and community that it neglects to witness to people outside of its walls, who do not feel compelled to attend its services or events?

“It is the responsibility of Christian leaders first to burn with the passion themselves for mission and to pay the price of such commitment (see 1 Corinthians 9); then, out of the credibility won from such passionate commitment, they must constantly keep the vision of mission before the people they lead.” (p. 69)

Individual witnessing is included in missions. Even preaching is an individual witnessing about the truth of God’s Word and the gospel message and using his own beliefs and his own experience in his relationship with God to  move his listeners toward God and his Son Jesus. The best preaching is done by true believers and lovers of God and man. (p. 70)

Being a witness does not come easy, especially in today’s culture, which has been busily removing even the mere mention of God from the public space (except as a curse word). The more grounded you are in the faith, the easier witnessing will be.

“If something that the Bible testifies about is not true in our lives, we must stop all activity and grapple with God until we know that it is true for us, just as the disciples waited in Jerusalem, devoting themselves to prayer (Acts 1:14). To believe in the Bible is to believe that what it says works…” (p. 70).

Witness with your life, witness with your contributions to the church, witness by raising your children in the Christian faith, witness by giving time, effort, and money to missional work, both here and abroad. Leave the results to the Holy Spirit. Lean on the Spirit for the strength and courage and wisdom you need to be a witness for Christ and the gospel message here and around the world.

Mini-Bible Lesson #97: Missions' Power

References: Acts 1:4-5; NIV Application Commentary by Ajith Fernando: Acts, pp. 63-65

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 1 shows us that the Holy Spirit’s presence and guidance and POWER is very important to missions. But are most Christians able to access that power? We should avoid unbalanced emphasis of the Holy Spirit at the time of conversion, because we can forget to let new Christians know that the same Power of the Spirit at their conversion is available all the time. A Christian can become more holy in the Spirit’s power, but too much emphasis on the ‘perfecting’ of a Christian’s life can lead to inaction or unnecessary guilt or concentration on the letter of the law over the Spirit of the law. The Holy Spirit’s power is there to be used for sanctification and for mission work and for witnessing.

If a missionary or minister or other Christian worker neglects his or her relationship with the Spirit, it can lead to attempting to do missions, evangelism, or ministry “in the flesh” instead of in the Spirit. Sometimes we need to withdraw for a time daily or longer to renew our relationship with the Holy Spirit, so that we can come back to our Kingdom’s work in the Holy Spirit’s power and not our own.

People can be drawn into the church by excellent and exciting or entertaining programming, advanced technology, and beautiful buildings and comfortable seating, etc. They can get a weekly dose of religion. “But Christian ministry is ministry in the Spirit. Without the Spirit’s power our excellent programs are ultimately futile.” (p. 65)

“So whoever we are and whatever we do for God, our great desire should be to be filled with God’s Spirit so that our work will spring from his resulting power.” (p. 65)

Pray, pray, pray and expect the power of the Holy Spirit to be poured out upon you and your work. When the Spirit’s power is present, you know you are doing God’s will and moving in the right direction. Come, Holy Spirit, Come!

Up to Top

Mini-Bible Lesson #96: Church Work

References: Acts 1-2; Proverbs 3:3; James 2:14-25.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?  --James 2:14

Pastors and other church leaders can become discouraged when much of the congregation refuses to become involved in ministry efforts or Bible study classes, or prayer meetings, etc. There are church members who will come to every meal prepared by the church (free or a fundraiser), and bring their children to Easter Egg Hunts, or special singing services, or parties or events with fun activities, but refuse to join a Sunday School class, or meet for prayer, or volunteer to serve on a committee, or give money regularly to the church budget. They tend to be “now you see them, now you don’t” church attenders, not Kingdom workers. Where is their spirit for God and his work? Maybe the problem is a lack of the Spirit of God in their lives. Or they simply ignore or have not learned how to access the Holy Spirit’s power.

We can help the Spirit by avoiding unbalanced emphasis in our preaching and teaching. We can stress the experience of the Spirit at the time of conversion too much and new Christians do not learn that the Spirit can also empower them for mission and how to become more holy in Christ every day (entire sanctification).

Yet, again, too much emphasis  on the ‘perfecting’  of a Christian’s life can lead to inaction from fear of doing something wrong or unnecessary guilt or concentration on the letter of the law over the Spirit of the law. But all believers need regular study and reading of God’s Word. We need to communicate with our Lord often, and reading his Word is one way to know God and to learn from him. He calls to us from his Word, and his indwelling Spirit opens his Word to us to guide us and encourage us.

Corporate worship affirms our faith publicly and encourages us and strengthens our faith and our Christian bonds with fellow believers. To use a worship service or Sunday school/Bible study class for entertainment or socializing does not build us up in the faith. It may bring people into the church, but it is too shallow and empty of hard truth to lead people to saving grace in a deep, lasting belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Socialize but don’t stop there. Get to the hard truths.

Learn and teach church doctrine. Learn and teach how to speak of the need for salvation. Learn and teach how to defend the Christian faith. Discover ways to answer the hard questions and objections one will encounter when witnessing about Christ to unbelievers. Strengthen your own faith by discussing and searching for answers to your own hard questions or doubts that beset you at times. Then pray for God’s power to do what is right and what is righteous throughout your life. This is the way to become a confident and powerful witness for Jesus our Lord.

Up to Top

Mini-Bible Lesson #95: Lack of Response

References: Acts 1:1-8; John 6:60; Galatians 6:9; John 4:35-36; NIV Application Commentary: Acts by Ajith Fernando, pp. 63-64.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  –Galatians 6:9 NIV

Some preachers have given up on the altar call, because of lack of response. Yet, lack of visible response does not mean lack of edification. Plant the good seed and God will see to it that it bears fruit eventually. God’s Word will not “return to [him] empty, but will accomplish what [he] desires and achieve the purpose for which [he] sent it.” (See Isaiah 55:11 NIV)

“A spiritual awakening always soars on the wings of the Word. No matter how long people neglect the truth of God, one day it will surface and accomplish its wonder work.” –Lewis Drummond

Pastors and church leaders do not give in to discouragement. As long as you are preaching the Word of God and teaching the Word of God, there is hope for revival of the Spirit of God in people attending your church and hope that the people inside and outside of the church to whom you minister will turn to Christ for salvation.

Also, we must not give in to the culture and begin to rely upon entertaining Christians and unbelievers with ‘feel good’ preaching and teaching.

“Let us remember that Jesus also had the crowds leave him because of what he taught after his initial success. ‘This is a hard teaching,’ they said. ‘Who can accept it?’ (John 6:60). (p. 62)

In Galatians, the Apostle Paul counseled his Christian followers to not grow weary in their work for the Lord. Jesus told the parable of the Sower in which seeds fell on different types of soil with many never coming to fruition, and only a few growing up and bearing fruit. But those that bear fruit bear much fruit! (See Matthew 13:1-9) Not being God, we cannot know what type of “soul” we are planting in, so keep on sowing and leave the growing up to God and his Holy Spirit.

The fields are white and ready for harvesting but the harvesting takes hard, constant work. It is not easy to call sinners to repentance but not telling them they are sinners in need of repentance makes the harvesting of their souls for God even less likely. So, preach the Word always, unvarnished, aggressively, not sugar-coated, but boldly and truthfully, and pray that the Holy Spirit will open their eyes and ears and they will hear and see and understand as we continue to witness, minister, and pray to them and for them and with them. Never give up the fight. Christ wins in the end, but we have many battles to be fought until the end is here, and Jesus makes all things right again.

Up to Top

Mini-Bible Lesson #94: Truth or Feelings

References: Acts 1:1-8; NIV Application Commentary: Acts by Ajith Fernando, pp. 59-63.

After his suffering, [Jesus] showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. (Acts 1:3 NIV)

In our post-modern era, people don’t mind speaking about religion. They do object to any one religion claiming absolute truth and authority of their faith. This is the main conflict between post-modernism and Christianity. Christians claim that we know the ultimate truth that applies to everyone. How dare we be so intolerant and arrogant!

"[N]o group should attempt to convert others to their side out of a belief that they possess absolute truth." But this is precisely what Christians do. We also did it during the New Testament times, and that led to Christians being mocked and persecuted and murdered, because they lived in a pluralistic religious era, too. People were allowed to follow their own philosophical and religious beliefs, as long as, they were willing to “bow down to Caesar” and refer to him as a god. Because of the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus, we can boldly claim the truth of the Gospel. The resurrection of Jesus is "the ultimate proof of [the gospel’s] uniqueness" (Fernando, p. 59). (see also Acts 17:31)

Our era has lost trust in objective truth and lives by the dictum that there are no absolutes (which is expanded from Albert Einstein’s scientific theory of relativity). People today even deny objective reality. They are more focused on feelings, personal experiences, and perceptions than rationalism, cause and effect, or facts—so no truth can be universally applied (Fernando, p. 60).

Even in the church today, instead of focusing on what the Bible says, we tend to focus on subjective and comforting feelings and our own experiences. So, whatever makes me feel good about God and myself is what I concentrate on—not on God’s law and absolute truth and power claims. For instance, sexual behavior among Christians is nearly the same as among non-Christians. "…the Bible is no longer the primary factor in determining Christian behavior" (Fernando, p. 61). This type of "faith" cannot sustain us in the ‘dark night of the soul’—something we all experience at one point or another.

People, even in the Church, are refusing to submit to the rule of a transcendent God, instead they indulge in a pantheistic religiosity or spirituality and look to themselves and in themselves for their own personal version of godhood. "In summary, the gospel clashes with the pluralism, the subjectivism, and the pantheism of our day." "[So] we have the pastoral responsibility of helping develop Christians who know how to study and apply the Scriptures to their daily lives—that is, people who practice their belief in the supreme authority of Scripture in a postmodern world" (Fernando, p. 63). Once we have accomplished that, a spiritual awakening can happen in the church and in the world’s modern culture, too.

Up to Top

Mini-Bible Lesson #93: The Spirit of Evangelism

References: Acts 1:1-8, 14; 2 Kings Chapters 22-23; Acts 6:3; NIV Application Commentary by Ajith Fernando.

[Jesus] said to them, "It is not for you to know times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." –Acts 1:7-8 NIV

How does evangelism happen in the church or in a believer’s heart and life? How does revival become a reality in the church, in the believer's life and then spread out into the world?

The book of Acts could be called "The Book of the Acts of the Holy Spirit" for it recounts the stories associated with the pouring out of God’s Holy Spirit on the early church disciples, and how everyone was empowered by that Spirit to do great and miraculous things in Jesus' name.

It is here that we learn of three important acts that can and do lead to the growth of God’s kingdom on earth: 1) Teaching and preaching of God’s Word, 2) Fervent and continuous prayer, and 3) the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

In Acts 1:1-3, we learn that Jesus was teaching his disciples and telling them about the kingdom of God. He commissioned them to bring the Good News about salvation through him to all the world, yet, before his ascending back to his Father, Jesus told the disciples to wait (vs 4). Knowledge alone was not enough. They must wait to be empowered by the Holy Spirit (vs. 8). While they waited, they continued to learn God’s Word and to pray together (vs. 14).

"The place of biblical teaching in revival has been debated, and sometimes great outpourings of revival have been criticized for being low on preaching and teaching the Word. This was not the case with Peter’s speech at Pentecost, and several spiritual awakenings have been recorded where the Word was uncompromisingly taught. Whatever may have happened during the revival, it is well established that, as in Acts, Bible teaching has always been done before a revival." As historian J. Edwin Orr and D. John Mackay have said enlightening the mind with theology comes first, then the heart can be changed. In the Old Testament in 2 Kings, chapters 22-23, we see this happen to the nation of Israel when the Book of the Law is rediscovered during the reign of King Josiah and a great return to God and godliness occurs. So, "we must be faithful in teaching the Word to our people" if we want to have revival in our churches today. (see Fernando, p. 53)

"The early church showed that being filled with the Spirit was mandatory for Christians by making it a basic qualification for those who were to administer the distribution of food (see Acts 6:3)(p. 56, Fernando)…" Christians who do not ask for nor seek for the infilling of the Holy Spirit are a "scandal," because it is God’s Spirit that leads us on to a full and vibrant relationship with our Lord. When this relationship blooms in the power of the Holy Spirit, we believers become more able to witness and to give to the kingdom’s work, and to work better in the kingdom. "The fullness of the Spirit is essential for Christian life and ministry (Fernando, p. 56)." In verses 6-8 of Acts 1, Jesus told the disciples not to be inquisitive about the "end times" (or earthly power, which is what they were really asking about), but to be concerned with witnessing at home, in their cities, in their countries and all the world—after they were filled with his Spirit. We do not serve in our own power, but with God’s power. He imbues us with salvation, and he imbues us with power to be his disciples and his kingdom witnesses and workers.

"The Spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions, and the nearer we get to him, the more intensely missionary we become." –Henry Martyn (1781-1812)

We believers here today cannot witness with the same experience as the first disciples who saw, touched, spoke to, and heard directly from Jesus in the flesh. Yet, our witness must also come from a personal encounter with Christ that to us is just as real as what the disciples experienced. The only way to do that is by being filled with the Holy Spirit.

The presence of the Holy Spirit is vital to missions, to the spreading of God’s Word and the Good News about salvation in Jesus. We need the Spirit’s presence, guidance, his works in our mouths, his strength, his power, his holiness, his boldness. He leads us to go, where not to go, and when to go, and when not leave or let go. "The Christian mission and ministry, then, can only be done in the power of the Spirit (Fernando, p.57)."

So, evangelism isn’t all about feelings. It isn’t all about knowing the Bible and church doctrine fully and completely. It involves both heart and head, love and truth telling, preaching and teaching about sin and forgiveness, about the wrath of God and the grace (mercy) of God, about God’s power and about his love, about his Sovereignty and Kingship over us and his Fatherhood to us, about God’s set boundaries and our freedom from the burden of sin and guilt in Christ.

"From Acts 1, then, we can infer that the ideal Christian teaching is done by Spirit-empowered individuals whose teaching is grounded on objective facts of the gospel and should result in evangelism (Fernando, p58)."

Up to Top

Mini-Bible Lesson #92: Joyful in the Lord

This is the day that the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. –Psalm 118:24

References: Psalm 118:24; Philippians 4:4; Jeremiah 31:34; Romans 3:23; Romans 12:19; Hebrews 6:4; Ephesians 2:8-9; Psalm 95:1; Matthew 11:29-30; Psalm 119:11; Psalm 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; Philippians 3:13-24.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. –Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV

How do we maintain joyfulness in troubled times? We can talk all we want about believing in God’s promises, and announcing to ourselves that God is in control, no matter what is gong on in this fallen world. But our sense of joy can falter and crash into despair anyway. So how do we keep our joyfulness despite heartaches, disappointments, frustrations, ill health, bad decisions and hard consequences? These seven guidelines may help.

1. Accept the gift of grace. As it says in Eph. 2:8, “For it is by grace you have been saved.” Don’t be one of the “enlightened” of Hebrews 6:4-6, who tasted the “goodness of the word of God” and then fall away from their faith. This is not a head belief, but a heart belief. You don’t work for it. You can’t earn it. You can’t buy it. It is a gift from God— “not of works, lest any man should boast (Eph. 2:9). Open your hands and your heart and your life and accept the gift. Jesus gives it freely. He covers you with Himself. He washes your sins away with His blood, until you are “blameless.” There is no shame in Christ.

2. Confess your sins, repent, and let the guilt go. “I will remember [your] sins no more (Jeremiah 31:34).” God lets them go, why can’t you? “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).” You are no worse or better than anyone else in God’s eyes. We humans ten to rank sins, but to God, all sin is loathsome. So, once He washes you clean, let them go and move forward in Christ.

3. Forgive others as you have been forgiven. Let go of your past sins and mistakes and let go of the sins of others done to you also. Resentment is a burden you bear to your own sorrow and harm. “Vengeance is mine”, saith the Lord. “I will repay (Romans 12:19).” With God on your side, who can stand against you? And if God can forgive you, then you can and should forgive others and yourself. When you let go of past hurts your load is lightened. This is why Jesus says, “His burden is light (Matthew 11:30).” Because there is no resentment, or bitterness or guild or shame to carry around when we truly hand it all over to Him. We are free in Christ—freer than we would ever be without Him and His grace.

4. Stop doing it yourself. Take His yoke upon you (Matthew 11:29). Let Him lead. Let the Holy Spirit have control and lean on His power—not our own power and strategies.

5. Study God’s Word regularly and consistently and reverently. Meditate on God’s Word day and night and accept His promises as true. (Psalm 119:11; Psalm 1:2)

6. Pray. Commune with God daily and hourly. Pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

7. Keep your eyes on the prize. The true prize of life and living is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is our Savior, Messiah, Redeemer, Friend, King of kings and Lord of lords—forever and ever. (Philippians 3:13-14)

And the final thing you can consider doing that will keep your joy going is by working in and supporting God’s church and its ministries and spreading the Good News about Jesus while showing the love that Jesus has shown to you to your family, friends, neighbors, companions, and business associates—to everyone. Working in the church and helping with its ministries keeps you from obsessing about your problems and sins and the condition of the world. It also helps you to keep your eyes on the true purpose of your life in Christ. You cannot earn your salvation, but you can show your salvation through your work in God’s kingdom here on earth.

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice. (Philippians 4:4)

Up to Top

Mini-Bible Lesson #91: Jesus, The King

References: John 19:16-43; NIV Application Commentary: John by Gary M. Burge, pp. 540-544.

Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. (John 19:19-20 NIV)

Though Pilate acquiesced to the Jewish leaders wanting to have Jesus killed, he placed a sign on the cross that was his way of saying that he believed that Jesus had done nothing worthy of execution though the inscription in essence listed his “crime” as being “The King of the Jews.” Pilate refused to change the sign when the Jewish leaders complained.

John refers to Jesus as being “lifted up,” which is his way of implying that Jesus has been “elevated in glory.” (See John 3:14, 8:28, 12:32, 34.) (Burge, p. 541) With the title being written in the three languages of the Mediterranean area, John hints that Jesus is the King of Kings—King of all people, not just the Jews. The apostles Peter and Paul will both reach out to non-Jews in the future proving that Jesus is a “global King.” (Burge, p.541)

As a king, Jesus “deserves a king’s burial.” And royal burials tended to be expensive and filled with pomp and long processions with elaborate and costly accoutrements. The burial of Jesus, a condemned man is not that elaborate, but John signals his kingship by his burial—not in a pauper’s grave—but in a garden in a freshly hewn tomb, as if expressly for him with 75 lbs. of spices provided for his interment. The procession to the tomb is composed of only a couple of men, but those men, once afraid to show their support for Jesus, now boldly arrange and provide for his kingly burial. (“Note: King David’s tomb was considered a garden. See Nehemiah 3:16 LXX.”) (Burge, p. 542)

Jesus was not just a King; he was also the sacrificial lamb that will cause the “death angel” to Passover all the sinful people who accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord. Covered in the blood of Jesus, we who believe will not suffer the final death, but are able to look forward to new life—here and now—and eternal life with Jesus after we leave this “mortal coil.”

“In his most explicit teaching on his death Jesus speaks of this gift of his life as necessary for salvation (John 6:51-58). We cannot simply be enlightened by Jesus; we must see ourselves as saved, rescued from a crisis as terrible as slavery to the Egyptians. The pathos of the Passover story—its grim tale of slavery and the thrill of its redemption—must be recreated in our hearts if we are the appreciate the depth of what John saw then he witnessed Jesus dying on the cross that Passover season.” (Burge, p. 544)

Praise and honor and gratitude beyond measure to our King of kings, our Lord of lords, and our sacrificial Lamb of redemption from all our sins! 

Up to Top

Mini-Bible Lesson #90: Waiting for Jesus

References: Acts 1:1-11; Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 9, Acts/Romans p. 27.

After he said this, [Jesus] was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. –Acts 1:9 NIV

The disciples and followers of Jesus thought they had lost him forever when he was crucified, dead, and buried. Then with shock, disbelief, and trepidation they heard he had risen from the grave. Over 40 days, he proved that he was alive and not a ghost or mirage. (vv. 1-3) Now, Jesus has departed again, and their joy has turned to apprehension and bewilderment. Why has he left us alone again?

The Jews of Jesus time had been waiting for centuries for the glory of King David’s Israel to return. They thought Jesus was the one who would set up a new Kingdom of Israel as an independent and glorious nation. After his resurrection, they remain fixated on that earthly based kingdom, but Jesus has something more far reaching and glorious planned. He preached on the Kingdom of God, not of Israel. He calls for his disciples to “be his witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (v. 8b)

But first they must wait some more.

“There are times when the hardest thing in the world is to do nothing, yet there are times when that is the only thing to do.” (I.B., p.27)

For instance, “we can work for a living, we can only wait for the spring.”

Religion involves active and passive work. Sometimes we concentrate so much on being busy that we avoid being passive long enough to hear God’s “still, small voice.”

During our times of waiting, God does not want us to be hanging on to the past or our previous “glory days” or speculating about the future. He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.” (v. 7) He wants us to be witnesses here and now, transforming the world one person at a time—to remove the evil, corruption, envy, pridefulness, vanity, hate, and selfishness out of the systems of our world by leading people to Christ where they can be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit into good and godly people. Then their transformation will lead to transformation of the larger groupings of mankind—medical, political, religious, interrelationships of people and nations, business world, churches, etc.

The disciples waiting time in this instance would be complete when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them on Pentecost. Yet, they had to wait for that to happen before they could begin their new mission. Should we not take the time to pray and wait patiently for God’s guidance through his Spirit?

The angels told the disciples that Jesus would return. We have waited for centuries now for Christ to return. The hope remains, but waiting can be boring—unless we are doing the work Jesus set for us to do.

Christ was raised up into the sky and obscured by a cloud when he physically left the earth last time, but he has not left us alone. He is here, not just in Jerusalem or Galilee or Samaria—but to the ends of the earth.

Though we cannot see Jesus in a physical body anymore, we do see him when we allow the Spirit to open our eyes to his presence. We do not have to travel any long or short distances to find him or wait in line for hours, days, or weeks to get a glimpse of him. He is here, now, with you, with me, with everyone who wants his attention, because his Spirit, the Holy Spirit, is present in us who believe today. We only need to be still long enough to hear his call.  “Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” (Psalm 27:14 NIV)

Up to Top

Mini-Bible Lesson #89: Do You Love Me More Than These?

References: John 21:15-19; Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 8, pp. 806-811.

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" –John 21:15 NIV

What did Jesus mean by "these?" He probably was referring to Simon Peter’s old occupation, his old life that he had just tried to return to doing—instead of taking care of God’s "lambs" and "sheep." Jesus wanted Peter to devote himself to the kingdom’s work of bringing more people into the fold. (I.B. p. 806)

With all our failures to live as Christ would have us to live, to witness as he would have us to witness, to work for him as he would have us to work—we can still plead that we love Christ—and he, who knows all, knows it despite our failings and shortcomings. Each person must search their own heart to know whether "I love you" is a lie or the truth. Jesus always knows which it is.

Peter is directed by Jesus to "feed my sheep." Christ’s criterion for gauging our claims of loving him is by our service. It is not so much what we say as what we do. One’s service to his work on earth is unique to each person, but the goal is the same for everyone: in everything we do we must honor the Lord and help to increase his kingdom’s reach and increase the size of the fold. What we do for a living, the shape of our human relationships, the general course of our lives are ways to honor our Lord and to witness for the Good News to be found in Jesus Christ alone.

Karl Heim: In the Heidelberg Catechism under Part Three: Concerning Thankfulness.

"Since we are delivered from our suffering through grace alone, by Christ, and without service of our own, why is it necessary to engage in good works? For this reason, that we must employ our whole life in expressing our gratitude to God for His goodness and in praising Him."

John records Jesus using different words for the sheep or lambs, and to tell Peter how to take care of his followers. In verse 15c, Jesus tells Peter to "Feed my lambs." He may be referring to young believers, meaning the recently saved both young and old. So, new converts must be well-cared for by feeding them the Word of God and teaching them what the Christian life entails. In verse 16c, Jesus tells Peter to "Take care of my sheep." How do we take care of the sheep? We use visitation, intercessory prayer, connecting with all the members of the church, maintaining relationships with one another, and helping each other out when things go awry. And finally in verse 17c, he says "Feed my sheep." Just because a person has accepted Jesus Christ as Savior does not mean that they no longer need to hear the Word of God preached and taught to them. Those redeemed believers who are in the sanctification phase need nourishment and encouragement just as much as the newly reborn believer.

Do you love Jesus more than the things of this world? Are you showing your gratitude for what Jesus has done on the cross for us? Jesus knows and is continuously calling for us to work for his kingdom no matter what our circumstances are, or what talents we have or don’t have. Do your job, build your relationships, have fun, and do the religious stuff, too as if for the Lord Jesus Christ and with gratitude in your heart and mind—and everything will become easier and better while helping to make the world a less fearsome place to be.

Accent verse in NL:

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it." --Matthew 16:24-25 NIV

Up to Top

Mini-Bible Lesson #88: Sacred Work – Two Aspects

References: John 21:1-14; Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 8, pp. 803-805.

"I’m going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We’ll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. –John 21:3 NIV

Bishop Thomas Wilson said, "To dispose our hearts to devotion, the active life is to be preferred to the contemplative."

That is a fact we are forgetting, with our insistence upon shorter working hours and more extensive leisure. For everything depends on how we use and fill the leisure. So long as a man is at decent work, his soul as a rule is fairly safe. It is when he is idling in his own time, lounging perhaps at the street corners, that he invites temptation. And it comes. (I.B. p. 803)

In this story of Peter and some of the other disciples going fishing after having seen the risen Lord, we see a dangerous movement away from the mission Jesus wanted them to do. He wanted the disciples, the believers, to spread the Good News about what Jesus had done for everyone who would believe on him. They were not doing what God wanted, and they caught no fish.

This is not to say that work is not needed or is not a good thing. As Karl Heim said:

When the temple was overthrown, the whole world became the temple of God. The workshop became a church, a man’s native land became a sanctuary; all who were engaged in maintaining human life became consecrated priests in this vast Church of God. (I.B. p. 803)

That attitude toward work of all kinds has been largely forgotten. "For masses of people work has neither dignity nor interest, is a sheer nuisance, an intolerable necessity that has to be grudgingly put through. And not till it is safely over does life, to be called life, begin."

Yet, in Genesis we learn that Adam and Eve were expected to work in the garden and take care of it (Genesis 2:15). The difference for us is that the garden is no longer cooperating with our effort. Now there are thorns and thistles. We must now toil by "the sweat of our brow" (see Genesis 3:17-19). But that does not negate the need for work, nor the dignity of work.

There are few facts needing more urgently to be relearned than the sacredness and sanctity of common work. If men would only cease these eternal ululations and self-commiseratings, and would grasp that in and through every proper task they can serve not man alone but the Lord Christ, putting their loyalty to him into the doing of it, they would again find that it is really true. (I.B. p. 805)

For "It is not only prayer that gives God glory but work." (Gerald Manly Hopkins)

Yet, there are some who are called to a more definitely spiritual service to God and his kingdom. When we are called, we should answer 'yes' and do as Christ says, then we too can be fishers of men, as well as catchers of fish.

Had the disciples given up on working for God’s kingdom, so they returned to their original work routine? They had no success at it. Maybe this was a hint from God that their best work should be more about the spiritual than the physical? When they had given up, Jesus appeared and gave them the direction they needed for success—both in the physical (secular) realm, and in the spiritual realm as the rest of Chapter 21 will show.

Do not be ashamed of good, honest work. Do not use that necessity to avoid doing the spiritual work we are all called to do. Do your best in all things as "to the Lord." Success will follow. You will be blessed and be a blessing to those around you.

Up to Top

Mini-Bible Lesson #87: Skeptical but Hopeful

References: John 20:24-29; Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 8; NIV Application Commentary: John by Gary M. Burge

Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."

Much has been written about "Doubting Thomas." His skepticism when the other disciples came to him asserting that a resurrected Jesus had appeared to them in the flesh has caused his name to become a byword and example of unwillingness to believe—not only in a Christian perspective, but in secular instances, too. But was Thomas a doubter or a realistic person who needed solid proof before he would commit himself to something so wondrous, something he wanted with all his heart; yet feared another grave disappointment if found to be untrue? Jesus has suffered a grievous death. Thomas was afraid that, as a follower of Jesus, he might suffer the same fate. Under such dire circumstances, Thomas feared the worst, and had no hope of anything better.

We aren’t told why Thomas was not at the first appearance of Jesus in the closed room. He missed a wonderful blessing. How many of us have missed a blessing because we have stayed away from a worship service for whatever reason—frivolous or important; voluntarily or involuntarily. There is a reason we are told not to abandon corporate worship (Hebrews 10:25). Worship with fellow believers offers comfort, encouragement, teaching, and helps to bind us into a community. Thomas can never re-capture that first moment when a community of fearful people became a community of joyous believers. He will always to be the one who arrived late to the party. Let’s work on being "expectant" when we worship together for God’s Holy Spirit is present and may choose that day to do something wondrous. (I. B., p. 798)

Back to Thomas. Notice that Thomas was not so skeptical that he refused to gather with the disciples again. He had to wait 7 days though before Jesus appeared again and confronted Thomas about his doubts. Thomas quickly changed his time, explaining "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28), "a confession of Thomas’ heartfelt belief in Jesus" (Burge, p. 563).

Thomas believes because he has seen (as have the other disciples). Jesus here offers a blessing to those to come who will believe though they have not seen—that’s us! "Thomas’ faith is not necessarily blemished because of his need for sight; it is simply privileged, for few would ever have the gift of what these disciples experienced" (Burge, p. 563). Still, many of us do have the privilege of centuries full of believers and the good fruit that belief has borne in the world and continues to bear for all who have "ears to hear and eyes to see." Be open to the gospel message and see what wonderous things God has done and continues to do through belief in His Son, Jesus. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for these blessings.

Up to Top

Mini-Bible Lesson #86: Church Meant to Be

Rev. Simon Chigumira is doing a series of sermons on Church as It Was Meant to Be. Summaries of his first two sermons are provided below. We hope you will consider attending the next one in person. You will be blessed.

Real Worship

Scripture for sermon Pursuing Real Worship: Acts 4:23-31. Pastor Simon expounded on three important aspects of real worship of God.

(1) Glorify God. We glorify God in worship--not good singers or musicians, not the pastor, not entertaining preaching. All we do in the “worship” service should point to and praise our Lord (Father, Son, Holy Spirit).

(2) Bible-based. Our worship should center in and be conducted with the Word of God prominent. The reading of the Lord’s revelation of Who he is from His revealed Word is the best form of worship, and the basis for all preaching and teaching.

(3) Heart-felt and authentic. We should work on entering into worship of our Lord in a heart-felt, authentic, and passionate way. Centering our minds upon Jesus and all he has done for us, concentrating on the acts of worship with our full attention, our whole heart, our whole being is what makes a worship service real and powerful.

Real worship leads to changed lives, empowered ability to resist the devil, and witnessing that will shake the community and the world.

Divine Pattern of Prayer

Scripture for sermon Divine Pattern of Prayer: Exodus 25:8-9; Hebrews 8:3-5. God desires to be among his people and to hear from them. But prayer, or talking with God, can be difficult sometimes. Pastor Simon used the pattern of the tabernacle given to Moses to lead us through a pattern for prayer that will help to bring us to a closer and more powerful form of praying.

The altar in the courtyard where the animal sacrifices were performed show us the seriousness with which God looks upon sin. As Christians, this is where we should begin by concentrating on what Jesus did for us on the cross. He became our sacrifice for our sins. The water basin is where the priests would wash off the blood that came from the sacrifices. The priest could see himself in the mirror of the water in the bronze bowl. This is where we should look at ourselves truthfully and then “wash our feet” (see John 13:1-10) or list and repent of our sins in God’s presence in prayer. The Holy Spirit will remind us of what we need to confess. Our God is holy, and we are called to be holy. This prepares our hearts as we proceed into the Holy Place.

In the Holy Place we find the Menorah that holds 7 candles. This symbolizes the Light. Here we begin to speak about Jesus, We need the Holy Spirit to walk with us, to give us wisdom, comfort, courage. Welcome the Holy Spirit (Jesus’ “mouthpiece” or presence) and thank him for being with us and enabling us to grow in holiness. There is also an altar for the burning of incense which is symbolic of the prayers of the saints (believers). Prayers are a sweet aroma to God. The shewbread reminds of the Bread of Life, the written Word of God. Thank God for his Word and study it diligently.

Next stop is the veil which leads to the Holy of Holies. Long ago, only the head priest could enter this area. At Christ death, the veil in the temple was ripped from top to bottom to show that God had opened the Holy of Holies to all believers.

The Holy of Holies holds several important items. The Ark contained a vessel of manna, showing God’s provisioning, the tablet with God’s basic laws upon them (The Ten Commandments) to teach us how to be holy, and Aaron’s staff that was used to show God’s power to Pharoah and to the people of Israel. It reminds us that God works in history and is all-powerful. In this area, keep in mind that this is a holy place. Here is where we talk to God directly because we can now approach the throne of Grace. Here we work to let the flesh die by dropping our struggles, worries, and doubts by giving them over to God. When we are serious with God, God is serious with us. Begin to pray for others and for the wisdom and power to be who God has meant us to be. Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.

Prayer changes us. Pray often. Pray deeply. Try this pattern of prayer and see what mighty things God can do in us and through us.

Based upon notes taken during the two sermons by Rev. Simon Chigumira on July 14 and 21st, 2024 and made into this article by Cindy Sears.

Up to Top

Mini-Bible Lesson #85: JESUS IS ALIVE!

References: John 20:11-17; Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 8, pp. 792-794; NIV Application Commentary: John by Gary M. Burge, pp. 552-556.

"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. –John 20:13b-14 NIV

Mary is looking for a dead Jesus, which is why she cannot find him. Are you looking for a dead Jesus? Do you see him as that person who lived awhile in Israel a long time ago? Do you think of him as in heaven looking down at you now and then? Or do you see him as he who lives within you now as the presence of the Holy Spirit?

"[T]he coming of the Spirit is dependent on the departure of Jesus; in some fashion, when Jesus dies, when he begins his departure to the Father, the arrival of the Spirit will be a feature of his gift. In fact…the identities of Jesus and the Spirit—Paraclete are so closely aligned that they are almost indistinguishable. The promised Spirit will be Jesus’ alter-ego, resuming the role of Jesus after his departure." (see John 16:17); Burger, p. 545.

Mary did not find Jesus. Jesus found her. Jesus looks for us every day. He calls for us by name, asking us to hear him, recognize him, to know he is alive! And dwells with us who believe. He is alive! Discover the truth of that statement with R. W. Dale of Birmingham as he did one day when preparing his Easter sermon:

[T]he thought of the risen Lord broke in upon him as it had never done before. "Christ is alive," I said to myself; "alive!" and then I paused; --"alive!" And then I paused again; "alive!" Can that really be true? Living as really as I myself am? I got up and walked about repeating "Christ is living!" "Christ is living!" …It was to me a new discovery. I thought that all along I had believed it; but not until that moment did I feel sure about it. (I.B. p. 792)

Mary did not recognize Jesus when he appeared to her at the tomb—because she was looking for a dead Jesus, a different Jesus. But he was alive! Do we miss Jesus when he comes to us now because we are looking for a different Jesus? A dead Jesus? Or a different kind of Jesus? One that we want to see, who will tell us everything we want to hear, and give us permission to do what we want to do? He is alive! He chooses what to say to us, and what he wants us to do for him. We do not do the deciding. He is alive! Listen for him and to him!

"The empty tomb is now history, it is a cave to be disregarded (as it was among the earliest Christians), and only the living Jesus matters." (Burge, p. 555)

In verse 20:17, Jesus tells Mary not to hang onto him. He wants her to know that his resurrection does not mean a return to the way things were with his disciples on earth. No. Things are different now. His presence will soon be manifested in a broader, wider, more lasting way than could ever be when he lived with them as a man. He will soon send His Spirit to be "with [them] always, even to the end of the age."

He lives! He is alive! He is with us! Feel and live into and through his indwelling Spirit!

"[T]he gift of Christ is not merely a gift of salvation, if by salvation we mean freedom from condemnation and the promise of eternal life. Jesus offers us life, not mere freedom from judgment." (Burge, p. 546) Jesus is alive! Be alive in him!

Up to Top

Mini-Bible Lesson #84: Triumph, Tragedy, Redemption

References: 2 Samuel 11:1-27; 12:1-25; The NIV Application Commentary: 1 and 2 Samuel by Bill T. Arnold.

In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (11:1-4a NIV)

King David sends his commander, Joab, and the Israelites solders to fight, but he remains in Jerusalem. Lazing about, he spies a beautiful woman bathing on a lower house’s roof. Even after being informed that she is married, he sends for her to come to him. Whether or not Bathsheba, the woman, is a willing participant, this is coercion because David is the King. How could she refuse him? The immediate consequence of this sin is that Bathsheba becomes pregnant with David’s child.

What to do now? Can this sin be hidden? David makes a valiant effort to do so. He recalls Bathsheba’s husband, a soldier in the army of Israel, to Jerusalem to make a report to him about how the war is preceding; then invites him to go to his home and to his wife before returning to the battle.

Yet, Uriah the Hittite (of gentile ancestry?) sleeps outside the palace with other servants instead. When David is informed of this, he tries to get Uriah drunk, but that doesn’t work either. The contrast between Uriah, a man of honor who refuses to be comfortable while his fellow soldiers are at the battle and living in tents, and David, the King, who had refused to go to the battle at all, and then took another man’s wife is stark. But this sin of David’s has not come to complete fruition, yet.

Unable to make it seem that the child Bathsheba carries is Uriah’s, David arranges for Uriah to be purposely put in grave danger and killed on the battlefield. So, David has gone from laziness and self-indulgence instead of carrying out his duties as King to adultery, then to murder within a few days. From triumph to tragedy, and what comes next? Punishment.

One sin often leads to more and greater sins. All sin has negative consequences though they might not be noticeable at first. The hardening of David’s heart because of his sin is shocking in his flippant response to the report of Uriah’s death (11:22-26), not to mention that other soldiers were killed in the same action. King David must face his own hypocrisy as his newborn son from his adulteress relationship dies despite much fasting and prayer. Yet Nathan the prophet tells him that much worse is to come for King David—all because he had "displeased the LORD" (11:27).

Yet, in 12:13-14, after David confessed, "I have sinned against the LORD," Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die." Here we see that the LORD finds these sins reprehensible because they sully His name and reputation, along with causing harm to the others involved in David’s sin. Have you sullied your Lord and Savior’s name recently? Or has your heart been hardened by continual sin?

Notice that, even though Nathan tells David that his sin has been "taken away," David and Bathsheba’s first son died anyway. God will let the natural consequences of our sin happen, including deserved punishment here and now. God will strengthen us and return us to fellowship with him; yet bad things will happen to us and those around us when we or other people sin. This is why the world groans for release from the decay brought about by sin (disobedience to God) inherit in this world since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden (see Romans 8:20-22).

But God, in his infinite, merciful LOVE has prepared a way for our Redemption, as he did for King David, who remained to God a "man after mine own heart (Acts 13:22)."

When you sin, turn to Jesus to be cleansed and given redemption. Just don’t count on the consequences of your sin to be washed away in this life. The fear of negative consequences may help keep you from sinning, but loving your Savior for what he has sacrificed to provide you with eternal life gives greater incentive to be righteous and makes for a more joyous and peaceful life. Praise God for his infinite mercy and love.

Up to Top

Mini-Bible Lesson #83: And Two Others

References: John 19:38-42; John 12:42-43; NIV Application Commentary: John by Gary M. Burge, pp. 534-536

After this, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus—but secretly because of his fear of the Jews—asked Pilate that he might remove Jesus’ body. Pilate gave him permission, so he came and took His body away. Nicodemus (who had previously come to Him at night) also came, bringing a mixture of about 75 pounds of myrrh and aloes. –John 19:38-39 HCSB

In John 12:42-43, the Apostle John proclaims that some of the rulers of the Jews believed in Jesus, but because of fear of being banned from the synagogue or worse—and “preferring praise from men more than praise from God,” they would not publicly acknowledge this belief.

After Jesus’ death on the cross, two of these Jewish rulers publicly came forward to ask for Jesus’ body and arranged to bury him in a new tomb (hewn out of a rocky hillside). They were incognito disciples no more. What changed?

Jesus is now dead. Christ has not yet risen from that death. Yet, these men now come forward.

The Church, and rightly so, emphasizes the Resurrection of Jesus—as a sign of his divinity and power, as a sign of hope for all mankind that must ultimately face their own deaths, as a sign of Jesus’ triumph over death. But we often forget these last words of Jesus while on the cross: “It is finished!” (John 19:30)

Jesus came to die on that cross. It was always his ultimate goal. His goal was not to rise from the dead (death held no fear for him because he had the power give his life and to take it back at any time). His goal was to die and die a humiliating and excruciating death on a wooden cross as a condemned man who had done nothing to deserve any punishment at all—from man or God. Unlike every human being since Adam who deserved no less a punishment because of our rebellion against our Maker, Our God.

When Jesus finished this work, the path was clear for all men to be saved from their sinfulness, and the Holy Spirit could now begin its work—calling people to come to the foot of that cross and be saved and changed into the likeness of the sinless Jesus.

There would be a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon all the disciples at Pentecost, but the work had already begun. The thief on the cross and Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus are witnesses to that change—as they changed when Jesus proclaimed that glorious truth: “It is finished!” That’s why the day of Jesus death is called “Good Friday.”

May you be bold in the knowledge that Jesus has done all the work for you. You are saved by believing in Him and what he has done for you. He did all the work. And, if you let him, he will do all the work to make you over into his image.

Up to Top

Mini-Bible Lesson #82: The Rising

References: Matthew 28:1-15; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-18

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.” (Matthew 28:5-6 NIV)

As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.” (Mark 16:5-6 NIV)

While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” Then they remembered his words. Luke 24:4-8 NIV

So she (Mary Magdalene) came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb…Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) John 20:2-3, 6-9 NIV

With the rising of the sun, the greatest miracle of all occurred: Jesus, who had been crucified, rose from his death bed, and changed a tragedy into the greatest victory over sin and death ever. Angels opened up his tomb; Jesus opened up the door to heaven to those who believe in him. Satan and his demons, and the men who had arranged Jesus’ cruel death were laughing and declaring victory over this troublesome man (as the men thought he was) and over this Son of God (as Satan and the demons knew him to be) just two days before. All for nought. The men would soon have all their power and prestige and wealth they were clinging to taken away; Satan and his demons, likewise, saw that their days of power and ruling over the earth were diminished and numbered.

Read all the accounts of the different gospels about Jesus rising from the dead. There are differences, which are normal for eyewitness testimony. And how many eyewitnesses have seen a dead man rise? The shock must have been extreme. It was a joyous occurrence, but also frightening and stupefying. How could this be?

We have lived all our lives hearing about Jesus rising from the dead. They had only recently heard about people being raised from the dead since Jesus had been on the earth. This was not expected, not normal, not how they thought it was supposed to be. Their conquering Messiah had become a literal sacrifice. Then he had risen from the dead!

And, as you read on, you find that, though he retained some scars from his ordeal, he did not appear dead, but very much alive and healthy. What kind of man is this? He is the God/Man. He is the Savior of all people that accept his call to belief and discipleship. His ultimate sacrifice showed everyone who has “eyes to see and ears to hear” the message of God’s great love for humans, created in his image, and for his glory. Praise and glory be to God the Father, who sent God the Son to pay the price we owed for our rebellion against our Creator, and soon sent God the Holy Spirit to pull us into his circle of love and guide us in our devotion to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Have a glorious joyful Easter celebration of our Lord’s amazing resurrection. And praise His Holy Name for raising us up from the grave of sin we dwelt in before accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Up to Top

Mini-Bible Lesson #81: The Divider

References: John 19:17-24; Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 8, pp. 778-780.

“So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his cross, to the place called the place of the skull, which is called in Hebrew Gol’gotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.” –John 19:17. (Emphasis added.)

Jesus hung between two others on the cross. Jesus continues to hang between two others today—those who believe in him, and those who deny him. This division carries on into the life of every believer—sometimes even to the breaking apart of family relationships—including blood relatives, friendships, business relationships, and church families.

We are called as his disciples to bear our own crosses, just as Jesus bore his. This does not refer so much to physical maladies, or bad relationships, or financial problems here. Jesus means the cross we bear because we believe in him and live according to his will, God’s will, and not our own will. We are the rebels of this world because we live for Christ and not for ourselves alone. The world wants us to live for today, to work to acquire temporary treasures, to strive for temporary happiness—instead of living for our Lord, working and giving to advance God’s kingdom on earth, and striving to attain that joy that only comes through obedience and unending praise and reverence to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Every person on earth must choose which way to turn—with Jesus or against Jesus as Lord and Savior. There is no third choice, no sticking one foot in and then one foot out. Choose and go all the way in or choose and remain all the way out. And that choice must be made now before you die the first death—for after that is the judgment (see Hebrews 9:27-28).

Will you stand before God the Father, the Creator of all that ever was and ever will be, and be completely free of sin because Christ has washed them all away; or be among those who stand there in their filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6a) of unwashed sin and be condemned to everlasting punishment because there is no way to pay for those rebellious actions against the all Holy God? Stand with Jesus and find true life, true joy, and true freedom and love that surpasses all understanding.

Up to Top

Mini-Bible Lesson #80: Kingdom of Truth

References: John 18:33-40; Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 8, pp. 768.

So Pilate asked him, "Are you a king, then?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. I was born and came into the world for this one purpose, to speak about the truth. Whoever belongs to the truth listens to me."
"And what is truth?" Pilate asked. --John 18:37-38

Jesus is brought before Pilate because the Jews who oppose him want him to be executed. During the interview recorded here, it is clear that Pilate does not believe that Jesus has done anything wrong according to Roman law. When he asks Jesus if he claims to be King of the Jews, Jesus answers him with “My Kingship is not of this world (vs 36).” He then goes on to say, “…and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice (v.37b).”

For we humans, truth can be a slippery thing to hold onto. We can get ourselves to believe almost anything to be true even when it is an obvious lie. Consider some of the deceptions currently running rampant through our culture: a man can be born in a woman’s body and vice versa; a man can marry a man; a woman can marry a woman; mankind can control the whole earth’s climate; men can measure and determine the best temperature for the whole planet; a baby in the womb is just a fetus or a clump of cells and can be destroyed with impunity for any reason; marijuana is not a gateway drug and is not harmful in itself; skin color determines character (white supremacy anyone?); being obese can be healthy and beautiful, and so on.

Jesus came to point us to Truth, to the true knowledge of who God is and what he wants from us. We find this knowledge recorded in the stories of Jesus’ life on earth, and in the older stories of God’s dealings with mankind throughout the Bible. Added to this are writings of the Apostles that flesh out doctrinal truths—who God is, what Jesus did for us, and so on.

When we refuse to abide by God's recorded Word, we fall into error, begin to believe false things, and eventually become insane. (See Romans 1:18-32; and "Fools say to themselves, 'There is no God!'" Psalm 14:1a.) To be grounded in Truth requires constant diligence and study of God’s written word and an openness to God’s revealed word in his creation and in Jesus. ("Keep on working with fear and trembling to complete your salvation." Philippians 2:12b GNT.) We cannot remain in Jesus' kingdom of Truth if we neglect the reading and study of his Word (the whole Bible), daily prayer, worship with other believers, and service in his kingdom and support of his kingdom's work here on earth. How many Christians have been persuaded to accept Satan’s lies in our culture because they refuse to be diligent in working on their sanctification (in the Holy Spirit’s power), and instead putter away their valuable life’s time on useless or harmful activities? God expects us to enjoy this life we have been blessed with by him, but not at the expense of our soul’s health or that of other people’s souls. We are to be soldiers of the Cross, doers and not just hearers of his Word.

Do you want to be like Pilate who cynically replied to Jesus, "What is truth?" And then handed Jesus over to be executed though he found no crime in him worthy of such a punishment? Do we want to continue deceiving ourselves in small and large matters? Do we not care that our culture is becoming utterly corrupt and insane? The tide turned when the church refused to speak God’s truth to the world and to its own members. It will not turn back until the Church begins anew to speak God’s truth to its own members and into the world—no matter what the costs of such action. The Truth will set us free—and only the Truth of God can do that. (See John 8:32.)

Up to Top

Mini-Bible Lesson #79: Confronting Evil

John 18:22-23; Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 8, pp. 766-767 When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby struck him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded. “If I said something wrong,” Jesus replied, “Testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?” In these passages, Jesus has been arrested and brought before the High Priest, Annas, for questioning. Jesus remains calm even in the face of blatant abuse of power to suppress him and his followers. Even when struck by one of the people, he does not lash out at his tormentors, but only asks why they oppose the truth. Christ did not always forgive or withhold his anger as he does in this instance. He showed great anger when he drove the moneychangers, etc. from the Temple area (John 2:13-17). In Matthew chapter 23, Jesus spews angry words aimed at the self-righteous and hypocritical Pharisees and rabbis calling them snakes and a brood of vipers! So, Jesus is not always “meek and mild” as he is often portrayed by some. If we are to be his disciples, how do we know when to forgive and when to let our righteous indignation shine forth against evil? “What then, are we to do? What in this matter does he claim from us and insist upon having? Taking Christ as our standard, the real Christ, and not a man-made caricature of him, the whole Christ as he stands before us in the Gospels, does it not come to this of it—that the usual working rule required of us in practice and in the living of our daily life, when under provocation, is to be patient and forbearing and forgiving; but that there are occasions when, if we are to follow in his footsteps, it becomes us to be angry, with an anger that is clean and wholesome and Christlike anger, and to refuse to make peace with the evildoer until he has desisted from the evil thing. There are times, said Hugh Mackintosh, when not to be angry ‘is a sign… of positive unlikeness to Jesus Christ.’ (see whole passage in The Christian Experience of Forgiveness, p. 162)(I.B. p. 766).” Jesus hasn’t given us a whole bunch of rules, but general principles to live by “which we must apply for ourselves in differing ways in differing circumstances…That is a risk indeed for bunglers, such as we are. Yet even Christ cannot spare us the responsibility (I.B. p. 766-7). God has bestowed his Holy Spirit upon us to guide us and keep us righteous even in our anger and disgust at evil. Plato opined that “The unrighteous and vicious are always to be pitied in any case; and one can afford to forgive as well as pity him who is curable, and refrain and calm one’s anger, not getting into a passion like a woman, and nursing ill-feeling. But upon him who is incapable of reformation and wholly evil, the vials of our wrath should be poured out; wherefore I say that good men ought, when occasion demands, to be both gentle and passionate (Laws V, p. 731).” We are seeing Old Testament instances of great evil in our world now (October 7, 2023, in Israel), and, if we open our minds and hearts to it, we can begin to understand why God ordered the early Israelites to completely wipe out certain people groups in the Promised Land. The evil of some societies is so deep, so ingrained that even the children are unredeemable because of the way they are being or have been raised. We see this in “Palestine” Gaza and the Hamas terror group today. Is it possible that the younger children killed in this conflict will be “redeemed” or “re-claimed” by God somehow after their deaths? We don’t know, and not being God, we cannot know. Neither can we be certain of who is redeemable or not but can only do what must be done to stop such vile, malicious evil in its tracks. May God have mercy on their souls because we, and the Israelis cannot afford to.

Up to Top

Mini-Bible Lesson #78: We Are Gifts

References: John 17:6-19; Interpreter’s Bible, vol. 8, pp. 746-747.

I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. –John 17:9-10 NIV

On the eve of being betrayed by one, and deserted by all the other disciples, Jesus offers up a heartfelt prayer to his Father for these men gifted to him by the Father.

"Again and again he acknowledges God’s goodness to him in that God himself thought out this wonderous thing for him and, with his own divine hands, put it into his…We speak of him as God’s unspeakable gift to us. Christ on his side, incredibly enough seems to regard us as an amazing gift from God to him." (I.B. p.746).

The greatest gift from God the Father to us is Jesus Christ his Son. Jesus refers to his disciples, including those of us who believe on him through the disciples witnessing (v. 20), as a gift from his Father to him. Did you know that you are a gift, a precious gift to Jesus our Lord? Do you behave like a precious gift? Do you thank God daily for the precious gift of Jesus? Do you praise God daily that he has made you into a gift for Jesus?

And what about the other gifts God provides for us in friendships with other people? Do we pause to thank God for our friends and families? Friends who believe in us, judge us kindly, hearten us, and stand by us and with us in good times and bad are gifts, too. We should be thankful for these relationships for they are given to us by God.

And our church family is a gift from God to us. In verse 11, Jesus prays that the Father will keep the disciples and that they may be one, as he and the Father are one. Jesus wants us to remember that we, his followers, are in God’s family and, therefore, we ought to stand together against the world that hates us (v. 14). Together and in the power of Jesus’ Name, we can do many wondrous things for God and each other as we work to spread the gospel message and grow the kingdom of God on earth.

Does this mean that we can ignore errors in doctrine? No. We must teach and preach the truth as revealed to us in God’s Word and the natural revelation inherit in his creation. Yet, we can still cooperate with one another as we work to correct errors and grow in our own sanctification process. Even when it is necessary to break an association because of doctrinal drift away from truth, we can continue to communicate and pray for the return of those who have fallen away or into error. Regular church attendance, Bible study, worship, prayer, and relationships with stalwart Christians will help keep us in the faith and build up righteousness in our lives. These are all great gifts from our Lord. Open them and use them!

So, this year, why not put a bright red ribbon in your hair, around your neck, or around your waist this Christmas, and let God present you as a Christmas gift to our Lord and Savior Jesus? Be a beautiful gift by being a thankful, worshiping, righteous-living witness for Jesus to your family and the world this season and throughout the year. Merry Christmas!

Up to Top

Mini-Bible Lesson #77: Parting's Sweet Sorrow

References: John 16:5-15; Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 8, pp. 730-733.

But I tell you the truth: it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. --John 16:7-11 NIV

With Jesus on earth, before and after his resurrection, his influence and guidance would have remained restricted to one small area of the world. Also, his disciples would have continued to let Jesus handle "all their difficulties and to answer all their questions" and, therefore, they would never grow to full maturity in their faith or personhood. With the Holy Spirit in the world, he has access to everyone and every place all the time—and Jesus, the king, sent him here for that very reason.

The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus by convicting people of their greatest sin—disbelief in God’s Son, Jesus (v. 9), and their lack of righteousness—or they would have recognized God’s Son (v. 10), and of judgment here and now and to come because Jesus has shown his power over the devil (the ruler of this world, v. 10), and continued rejection of Jesus, God’s Son, will lead to eternal punishment.

The earthly ministry of Jesus lasted only a short time (approximately 3 years). There was not time enough to teach his disciples everything. The Holy Spirit is here to lead his disciples into a greater understanding of God and what it means to follow him—as he does for each Christian in the world since Jesus went back to the Father, and his throne. It is through the Holy Spirit that we recognize the total righteousness of Jesus (his complete obedience to God the Father even to the cross of shame and death). It is the Spirit that convicts us of our sins, including our disbelief in God’s Son. It is the Spirit that convinces us of the resurrection of Jesus that proves all his claims to be God’s Son. And it is the Holy Spirit that continues the teaching of Jesus as he works daily to show us Jesus’ glory and power and love. It is the Holy Spirit that remakes us in Jesus’ image as we mature in our faith with the aid of God’s written word, the revelation of his natural creation, daily prayer (communion with God), and worship and obedience that cements our relationship with Jesus our Lord and Savior.

May the Spirit convict you, convince you, and mature you in the faith that gives us the greatest gift of all—a right relationship with the One True God—the Creator and Sustainer of all that was, is, and ever will be. Amen.

Up to Top

Mini-Bible Lesson #76: The School of Christ

References: John 16:1-4, 12-14; Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 8, pp. 729-731

“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you.” John 16:4b

When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we begin a journey—at least, it should be only the beginning of our travel on the road of faith in him. Jesus leads us each day, moves us to higher plains of existence, teaches us each day to trust and obey him a little more, a little better than the day before—if we let him. A Christian’s whole life is spent in training to become a better disciple of Christ. In the school of life, our Teacher, the Lord Jesus, through the person of the Holy Spirit, leads us into a more mature, a more complete understanding of who he is, and who we ought to be in him.

Christ withheld things, ideas, concepts, and knowledge of things to come from his closest friends, his disciples, because he knew that they were not ready to hear them (v. 12). He has told us about many things in his Word, the Bible. Bible reading and study is important, because in the various stages of our life the Holy Spirit opens up ever more wisdom and insights into the character of God and our relationship to him when we read and study his Word. The Holy Spirit leads us into this greater, more profound understanding as we mature in our faith, and as life’s circumstances and challenges mold us and shape us, as the potter does with the clay, into mature, faithful Christians.

Do not settle down where you first met Christ—at the foot of the cross and the resurrection tomb. Jesus wants to resurrect you here and now. Your sins are forgiven, and you are washed clean, but much more grace and glory await you ahead if you are willing to join the adventure that Christ is calling you to begin. God is immense and awesome, and he calls us to “come unto [him] and learn of [him].” How do we learn more of God, or our Savior? In prayer, in worship, in the reading and study of his Word, and in service to him in and through his Church.

“I have much to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.” (John 16:12-14 NIV).

Listen! I hear the school bell ringing. Will you answer it?

Up to Top