Tuesday, July 27, 2010

He Is Risen!

…do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.  Matt 28:5-6

According to one study, there are approximately 4,200 religions practiced in the world.  Of these, a dozen are considered “major religions”, in that they have a large following, have one or more “holy books”, and have an identifiable set of beliefs.

But what makes one different from another? Is there one God, with different paths?  Do all roads lead to the same destination?  How can one religion claim to be true above the others?

Well, there is one defining aspect about Christianity that separates it from every other religion:  That Jesus Christ rose from the grave!  Buddha is dead, Mohammed is dead, and Confucius is dead.  You can visit their tombs.  But there is no tomb for the Lord Jesus Christ, His tomb is empty!

Spme have set out to prove that the resurrection of Jesus was a myth, only to find that the evidence proves the resurrection!  Men such as Lee Stroebel, and Josh McDowell set out to prove that Christianity was false, and ended up becoming believers as the evidence was set before them.

That is the true message of the cross:  Yes Jesus died, and His death paid the price for my sin.  But Jesus not only died, He also rose from the grave!  And His victory over death is a sign to us that we will share in this victory:

For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection… Rom 6:5


None of the other 4,199 other religions can deliver this promise!

Join us this Sunday, as we look the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Till the whole world hears...

Pastor Clay

Thursday, July 22, 2010

The Suffering Messiah

Isa 53:3-5
He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.


When we look at this prophetic utterance regarding the death of Jesus on the cross, we see a man who is rejected, despised, stricken, and afflicted.  These are the sufferings of Jesus Christ on that day some two thousand years ago.  But the question often comes up, “Why did Jesus have to suffer?”  I did an internet search on the question; and got 342,000 results!

But after looking through about 100,000 of the answers (OK, I’m joking – I only looked at five!), something became clear:  All of the reasons that Jesus had to suffer boil down to one thing – US.  You and I.  Look at the words of the scripture in Isaiah:

  • He has borne our griefs
  • carried our sorrows
  • He was wounded for our transgressions,
  • He was bruised for our iniquities;
  • The chastisement for our peace was upon Him
  • by His stripes we are healed

Jesus Christ suffered the cross for you and I, that through His suffering and death, we would be reconciled to God, and have eternal life!

Phil 2:5-11
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.


Join us Sunday as we look to the suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross.

...till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay

The Suffering Messiah

Isa 53:3-5

He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

 

When we look at this prophetic utterance regarding the death of Jesus on the cross, we see a man who is rejected, despised, stricken, and afflicted.  These are the sufferings of Jesus Christ on that day some two thousand years ago.  But the question often comes up, “Why did Jesus have to suffer?”  I did an internet search on the question;  342,000 results!

 

But after looking through about 100,000 of the answers (OK, I’m joking – I only looked at five!), something became clear:  All of the reasons that Jesus had to suffer boil down to one:  US.  You and I.  Look at the words of the scripture in Isaiah:

 

  • He has borne our griefs
  • carried our sorrows
  • He was wounded for our transgressions,
  • He was bruised for our iniquities;
  • The chastisement for our peace was upon Him
  • by His stripes we are healed

 

Jesus Christ suffered the cross for you and I, that through His suffering and death, we would be reconciled to God, and have eternal life!

 

Phil 2:5-11

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 

Join us Sunday as we look to the suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross.

 

 

Till the whole world hears...

 

Pastor Clay

 

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

What shall I do with Jesus, who is called Christ?

Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?"
Matt 27:22
As we prepare to wrap up our study of Matthew (only three Sundays left!), we come to the trial of Jesus before Pontius Pilate. By the morning of the Day that Jesus was crucified, Jesus had already been before three trials, if you can all them trials.  Perhaps “mock trials” would be a better description, since the outcome had already been determined by the religious leaders.  No matter what, Jesus was going to be found guilty.

Jesus trial before Pontius Pilate, the Roman Procurator of Judea, contains many interesting aspects which we will explore on Sunday.  But one statement stands out, when Pilate asks the Jewish crowd "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?"  

I do not believe that it was just a question, asked by a Roman, to the Jews.  To me this question was initiated in the mind of this Roman by the Living God, a question that was recorded for all of history by Matthew, a question that rings out to all mankind, throughout the ages:  What shall I do with Jesus, who is called Christ?

It is a question that every human being must answer.  What is your answer?

Join us Sunday, for “From Gethsemane to Calvary Part 3 - The Trial of Jesus”

Till the whole world hears,
Pastor Clay