A Word about Christmas

As I’m sure everyone who is reading this knows, Christmas is upon us. For most of the religious world, it is a celebration of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The name of the holiday itself comes from the term, “Christ mass.”  The name in some languages, such as the Spanish Navidad, refer directly to [...]

Second-Guessing God – Rom. 11:33

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” (Rom. 11:33, NASB)

Throughout history, mankind has tried to second-guess God. God told the generations after the flood to “be fruitful and multiply;
populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it”  (Gen 9:7b, [...]

Read the Bible (Again)

Those who attend Manslick Road have heard a lot from me over the past several months about Bible reading thanks to Member to Member, the monthly bulletin that we pass out to the congregation. Last month wrapped up the four-month accelerated reading cycle. I want to propose two options to those of you who are [...]

The Blessed Life — A Harsh Reality

5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The first thing that those who would be pleasing to God must be is “poor in spirit.” What does it mean to be poor in spirit? Some have equated this with physical poverty, noting Jesus’ unqualified statement of poverty in Lk. 6:20. [...]

The Blessed Life — What Does It Mean to Be “Blessed”?

The first portion of Jesus’ Mountain message speaks of those who are “blessed.” Most people will tell you that this is simply another word for “happy.” While they are not incorrect, as far as it goes, happy is not the best alternative for this word. The idea of happiness is related to happenstance, a chance [...]

The Mountain Message in Context — The Kingdom Reclaimed

The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 15:24-28:
24 then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will [...]

The Mountain Message in Context — The Kingdom Opened

As we’ve noted previously in this series, the “sermon on the mount” served as Jesus’ primary teaching on the kingdom of heaven. But when did it actually come into play? When were the “gates,” so to speak, opened?
We left off in the biblical narrative in Acts 1. In the next chapter, Acts 2, we find [...]

The Mountain Message in Context — The Kingdom Announced

In the previous article on Jesus’ “sermon on the mount,” we looked at Daniel’s prophecy leading up to the coming of the kingdom of heaven. In this article, we look at the preaching that occurred indicating that the kingdom was coming…and was coming soon.
After 400 years of silence, a man named John came up out [...]

The Mountain Message in Context — The Kingdom Foretold

At the conclusion of Jesus’ “sermon on the mount,” Matthew records, “When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes” (Mt. 7:28-29). The crowd noticed that something different was happening with Jesus’ teaching. For the intervening centuries [...]

Salvation Apart from Works?

The Apostle Paul wrote in his second letter to the Ephesians:
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. –Eph. 2:8-9 (NASB)

Wait a minute…saved not as a result of works? Many have [...]

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