Sharing God’s Holiness: Sword and Fire. “Because of His glory and goodness, He has given us great and precious promises, so that through them you may escape from the world’s corruption due to disordered passions and human desires, and may become partakers of the divine nature, participants in His nature, sharing in the divine life …
Made Holy – Word and Truth. “Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them, so they can be made holy by your truth.” (Jesus praying to …
The Holiness of God. We worship you for your holiness. We give you thanks for your goodness. We praise you for your glory. HOLY: To be set apart; to be separate in role and character; to be pure, and distinct because of that purity; to have attributes that makes one distinctive. God is holy because …
The Healing of the Blind Man at Bethsaida. Please read Mark 8:22-26. (There are no parallel passages in the Gospels). CONTEXT. Sandwiched around this healing of the blind man were significant gospel events. a. Jesus had just fed 4,000 people in the middle of nowhere, multiplying seven little loaves of bread and a handful of …
The Healing of Many in One Full Day. Please read Mark 1:29-34 (also Matthew 8:14-17 and Luke 4:38-41). CONTEXT. Jesus seemed tireless on this one full day in Capernaum. He taught with authority in the synagogue, He cast out a demon after His teaching, He healed Peter’s mother-in-law at Peter’s home, then after sunset Jesus …
The Healing of a Leper. Please read Matthew 8:1-4, Mark 1:40-45, and Luke 5:12-16. CONTEXT. According to Matthew, right after Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, He was immediately pressed into service. He had no choice but to go right to work. “When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. …
The Healing of the Young Demoniac. Please read Mark 9:14-29; (compare with Matthew 17:14-20 and Luke 9:37-43). CONTEXT. a. Peter, James, John (and Jesus) were coming down the mountain immediately after the momentous Transfiguration. The hearts of the disciples were on fire after this once in a lifetime experience. They were eyewitnesses to the uncreated …
The Healing of the Centurion’s Servant. Please read Matthew 8:5-13 or Luke 7:1-10 (or both). PARALLEL PASSAGES. In Matthew, the Roman centurion came to Jesus personally, asking for help. In Luke, the centurion sent a group of Jewish elders to represent him in asking for Jesus’ help. Either, one of these two writers didn’t quite …
The Healing of the Hopeless Demoniac. Please read Mark 5:1-20. a. Parallel Passages. Matthew 8:28-34 and Luke 8:26-39 offer other glimpses of this story. Matthew’s account has two demoniacs, not one. Either Matthew made an honest mistake, being human and all, and he didn’t get the story quite right. Or Mark and Luke only referred to the …
Song of Mary. “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy …
The Parable of the Sower, the Seeds and the Soil. “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across the field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil …
The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. Please read Matthew 25:31-46. The Parable: a. Is this a parable, or is it a word of prophecy, an eye-opening description of a future judgment? The reference to the shepherd and the sheep and the goats gives it a feel of a parable, but the interaction between the …