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The Fruit of Joy: Our Right Standing with a Caring Father

The Fruit of the Joy: Our Right Standing with a Caring Father

May 28, 2018

Joy has nothing to do with our situation and everything to do with our standing with God. When our standing with God is absent, happiness is a cheap, counterfeit alternative to joy. We tend to think that our faith is faltering when things are not happy. Yet, biblically, the cause for our supposed “suffering” could be the refiner’s fire. It is not necessarily an indication that we are outside of the will of God but rather that God continually pursues us and draws us closer to Himself.

The Parables of Mark: The Strongman

May 24, 2018

From all accounts of scripture, Jesus had just cast out demons from a man with multiple ailments. The man had been blind and unable to speak and had been healed by Jesus miraculously. After all, Jesus is a God who came to heal people and bring them to restoration. Most people would view this as a good thing for a man to have physical ailments be brought to restoration. Others, for whatever reason, viewed this as a threat to themselves and what they were doing.

To The Seven Churches – Ephesus – Revelation 2:1-7

May 23, 2018

The church is Ephesus was surrounded by a pluralistic society in which many gods were given temples and places for people to worship. As a major trade center, various different religions found a home in Ephesus with no one god being elevated above the other. Then there was the issue of the Nicolatians. The Nicolatians were marked by their flagrant indulgence of the self. They would engage in adulterous worship and commonly participated in religious services to other gods. They abandoned their witness and the church is Ephesus stood out as a major opponent of the Nicolatians. Yet, for all of the theological fervor of the church in Ephesus, they had grown increasingly cynical at the world rather than embodying what a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ looks like.

The Fruit of Joy: Experiencing Joy in The Hardship

The Fruit of the Joy: Experiencing Joy In The Hardship

May 21, 2018

The birth of a child is a miraculous blessing in the lives of people. It is viewed as a joyous occasion with much celebration that life should continue. Yet, for all of this blessing, the process of pregnancy and child birth is a long arduous process filled with pain. For nine months, the mother carries the child, caring for his or her needs as the child is entirely helpless and incredibly needy. Joints ache and fatigue runs rampant. Then, during the birth, the process is painful tonthe point where science has developed everything it can to dull the pain, and it still hurts. For all the problem of children, this is a moment of joy. Despite whatever pain or trials, the outcome and the end are sheer joy.

Nobody Special 035: Laurel, Yanny, or Bethel?

May 18, 2018

This week Caleb and Danny answer the question that everyone is asking and nobody really cares about; Laurel or Yanny? We don’t like that we are looking in to that, but hey, why not? Also, Danny dives in to his love of a children’s worship album and discusses the important of theological significance even in the midst of emotional pieces. props go out to Bethel Kids, now Bright Ones, for a stellar album and for the talented voice of Peyton Allen. Seriously. Awesome and you should all go check it out. Finally, we look at the connection between our faith and our works and how the two are connected. How should the Christian strive to conduct their lives and do our works even matter.

The Parables of Jesus: The Cloth and the Wineskin

The Parables of Mark: The Cloth and The Wineskin

May 17, 2018

Throughout the Gospels Jesus employed parables, or stories, to communicate the complex truths of the nature of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, and what faith looks like expressed in the world. The parables allowed the complex, unfathomable truths of God to be simplified and understood by all people to bring them closer to God. In understanding the truth, the people could apply it to their lives and grow in their faith. In Mark’s Gospel, many of these parables are recorded as a part of the Gospel record.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, Chapter 1:9-20

The Revelation of Jesus Christ – The Authority and Hope of Jesus Christ

May 15, 2018

John hears the voice of God calling first, and turns to see who stands behind him. The voice is described as a loud trumpet, heralding His coming. There is a strength and power behind its timbre. Jesus tells John to write down what he is encountering and to spread it to the churches. This is the God given word to be delivered to all the churches. Furthermore, Jesus amidst the seven lampstands, holding the seven stars. He is intimately involves in the details of the live of the church.

The Fruit of the Joy: Part 1

May 14, 2018

With the fruit of love being the leading fruit for the Spirit filled Christian, Paul continues that those claiming they are filled with the Spirit also display joy as an outward expression of the Spirit within them. A person who has no joy cannot rightly be said to be a Spirit filled individual. Yet, for all of our preconceived notions and ideas of joy, there is a misunderstanding of what it means to be filled with joy. Some mistake it that a person of faith must be smiling at all times in order to be joyful, to the dismay of the melancholic personalities. Smiling does not necessarily equate to joy, although it my certainly be expressed as such. Joy, rather than a temporary feeling is a longstanding state. Furthermore, this status is cementing by the work of Jesus Christ. Joy is not temporary. Joy is a lasting state because the works of Christ are cemented and secured.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ: Chapter 1:1-8

The Revelation of Jesus Christ – Redeemed By The Blood

May 9, 2018

For many people, the idea of apocalyptic literature is misunderstood. Our mind have become inundated with zombie apocalypse, dystopian futures, and loyal bands of survivors trying to make it amidst cinematically cataclysmic events. For biblical literature, however, the idea of apocalyptic literature comes form the idea of unveiling or revealing. Thus, the imagery of nuclear winter, war, or end of days type scenarios, while they may be part of what will be to come, are not the purpose. The main point of Revelation is to reveal the nature of God’s Sovereign rule throughout all human history through the empowerment of the church to minister to the world.

The Fruit of Love: Discipline and Accountability

The Fruit of the Spirit: Love Part 3

May 7, 2018

It seems that as some point people God the idea that loving someone meant an implicit acceptance of everything they do. A person is viewed as the summation of their actions and their desires. Thus to love a person was to be accepting of everything they are and everything they desire to be. Nothing could be further from the truth of the Gospel. The love of God is a multifaceted and complex love that surpasses understanding, comprehension, and ability. For those of us who have received the Spirit of God, the outpouring of love is a similar love for all mankind. Love does not mean a person will never experience any negative emotion because love does not limit itself to merely emotions. Instead, often times, love involves the rebuke and discipline of God because of His love for His people and His desire to not see them remain in their sin. Furthermore, our love for our brothers and sisters in Christ and for the world as a whole, remains to speak up against injustice and sin as the mouthpiece of God and to hold one another account fo our actions. This love links arms with the rest of mankind and rushes towards the perfect relationship with Jesus Christ.