The New Testament opens four hundred years after the Old Testament closes. In those four centuries following the book of Malachi, there was no word from God. But God was present and working through history to prepare the world for the arrival of the promised Messiah. 

Who is Jesus Christ? The answer to that question is absolutely critical to our eternal destiny. The Gospel of John gets to that point immediately, describing Jesus in its opening verses as the eternal Creator and eternal God. 

We must know and accept Jesus Christ, not on our own terms, but for who He has revealed Himself to be: God the Son. This is the great truth John’s Gospel reveals to us—that God became flesh and dwelt among us for our sake, for our salvation. 

The genealogy of Jesus is important in establishing His qualification for being Israel’s Messiah. It is also an important reminder that God graciously works in the lives of sinners like us to redeem us and make us a part of His eternal family.

Some of God’s greatest works are often overlooked because He is working through common, humble believers like Zechariah, Elizabeth, and Mary. God does not call us to be great people in this world but to be people of great faith.

We rightly praise and thank God for wonderful things He has done in our lives. But the examples of two godly people show us we should be equally ready to praise and thank Him for what He has promised to do. That is just as certain as what He has already done.

God’s plans sometimes interrupt our own. We simply need to obey Him and learn to readjust our thinking. God’s great plan for the coming of Israel’s Messiah into the world created some challenges for Joseph, but this godly man’s character was up for the challenge.

God’s work encompasses all of creation and history. That means He is working in the lives of obscure individuals as well as in the lives of the rich, famous, and powerful. His great work in bringing Jesus into the world as our Savior at just the right time is evidence of that.

Joseph and Mary had a unique, divinely ordained role in God’s plan, just as we all do. Their experience demonstrates that God is faithful to honor those who are faithful to Him and to encourage them through the testimony of other believers.

The plan of God was to announce in Israel and elsewhere the birth of the King of the Jews and to protect Him and His family and provide for them. None of that could be thwarted by the schemes of evil Herod—or by any other power in the universe.

Jesus Christ is not only Lord and Savior. He is also our perfect example. He is our model for how to relate to God and to people. The twelve-year-old Jesus offers some relationship lessons for both adults and children.

Meeting religious expectations and observing spiritual rites cannot substitute for a personal relationship with the Lord. This is John the Baptist’s message. Unless there is true confession of sin and evidence of genuine repentance, you simply do not know God.

There is no fast and easy route to serving the Lord. Every experience, every day, is preparing us to follow and serve God tomorrow. The challenges and even the temptations are God’s means of teaching us, strengthening us, and preparing us. This is the path Jesus Himself followed.

Christlike ministry is directed by God and His Word and involves co-laborers in communicating the gospel message. This is the pattern of Jesus’ earthly ministry from the very beginning.

Jesus is not the one-dimensional preacher of love and peace many people like to envision. Yes, He is loving and compassionate, but He is also angered by evil because He is holy and ultimately concerned about the truth. That concern is evident in this study in the Gospel of John.

The moving force behind Jesus’ coming into the world was God’s love for the world. Ultimately, Jesus demonstrated that love by dying as the Substitute for sinners, but He also displayed it by taking time to carefully explain the way of salvation to individuals like Nicodemus.

If we know Jesus Christ by faith and are growing in our understanding of who He is, what He has done, and what He is doing, we cannot help but humbly acknowledge that He must increase and we must decrease. John the Baptist provides us a wonderful example of such humility.

Jesus is the Savior of the world. And like Jesus, Himself, we must not allow man-made boundaries to keep us from taking His gospel to people who need to hear it—in all the world. 

The truth about Jesus always cuts two ways. Some believe and receive His blessings. Others reject the truth even when it is clear to them. Jesus Himself saw both responses, and His reaction to rejection provides a model for us when we face similar situations.

Jesus Christ is God. As such, He possesses all authority. The only question for us is whether we submit to His authority in every aspect of our lives. 

Jesus Christ was focused on truth and the spiritual needs of people. He never allowed these priorities to be sidetracked by human doctrines, opinions, and customs. We will do well to follow His example. 

Both Jesus’ miraculous works and His clear teaching reveal that He and God the Father are equal. This great truth that Jesus Christ is God means He is Lord over every aspect of life. Do we acknowledge Him as Lord and act accordingly?

As Christians, we are all disciples of the Lord. As such, we should humbly recognize our need for the Lord’s ongoing work in our lives and be willing to learn and grow with a focus on what we can become by God’s grace. 

Following and serving Jesus is not reserved for the most talented, qualified, and experienced believers. What He is looking for are people who are willing, available, and faithful. He will take care of everything else.

Jesus’ disciples illustrate that while we all have the same message, we also have unique ministries. Some ministries are prominent, and others largely unrecognized. The Lord, however, is more concerned with our faithfulness in ministry than with the kind of ministry we have. 

Genuine happiness, or blessedness, in life comes, not from pursuing it as a goal, but as a result of humbly recognizing our need for God and selflessly and passionately seeking to honor Him. This is the lesson of Jesus’ Beatitudes. 

Only those who have been justified through faith in Christ and are at peace with God can be the true, merciful peacemakers this world really needs. 

When Christ’s followers live godly lives, they are assured of two things: God’s reward and the world’s hatred. They also experience a clear conscience and true happiness. 

Righteousness means not just right actions but proper thoughts and attitudes as well. Consequently, the perfect righteousness required to enter God’s kingdom is unattainable by our own efforts. It is ours only by God’s grace through Jesus Christ. 

Righteous living is not a legal matter but a heart matter. It is concerned not only with doing what is legal but also with doing what is most honoring to God in all our relationships and activities.

When our relationship with God becomes a matter of performance and pride, it is time to reexamine that relationship. Our focus and desire should always be on pleasing God, not impressing people.

Only when we understand and acknowledge God’s character and priorities can we properly pray for our own needs. The Lord’s model for us gives the right perspective and balance for our prayers.

Possessions have the potential to take possession of us! Jesus does not condemn wealth and possessions, but He offers strong warnings against making any material things the priority in our lives.

A life built on Jesus Christ will have a profound impact on our thoughts, motives, attitudes, and actions. The conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount reveals various areas in our lives where Christ’s transforming work should be evident.

Jesus’ miraculous works were designed to reveal who He is, but they were also acts of divine compassion. He sympathizes with our grief and suffering, and that is the standard He sets for us as we deal with hurting people and offer them the gospel of Christ. 

Difficult circumstances and unfulfilled expectations can cause us to doubt God’s plan and purpose. They should also drive us to God’s Word, which answers our doubts with His promises. 

To ignore one’s sin is to ignore the most basic problem in life. To ignore Jesus Christ is to ignore the only means of forgiveness of sin. Spiritual peace and rest come only through faith in Him.

Serving the Lord is not reserved for the most talented, brilliant, or capable among us. A few verses in the Gospel of Luke remind us that the Lord welcomes the worship and service of the unknown, the unexpected, and the unappealing—indeed, all who have experienced His grace. 

If we find ourselves misunderstood and the truth we speak rejected, even when it is clear and obvious, we can take comfort in knowing this was our Lord’s experience as well. And like Jesus, we should use such occasions to warn and to teach those who resist the gospel.

In this current age, as we await Christ’s return, we are to be proclaiming God’s glorious Word. As we do, we have the Lord’s assurance that while many will reject the truth and some will falsely profess it for a time, others will certainly embrace it in faith and follow Christ.

Our faithful service to the Lord will bring opposition and, sadly, the disappointment of seeing some people make false professions of faith. But we can be sure our service is not in vain, for Jesus promises to grow His kingdom according to His power and timing, not ours.

To be Christ’s loyal subjects today is to be part of a steadily developing kingdom that will one day be manifested fully in the Lord’s visible, earthly, millennial reign. No earthly treasure is of greater value than being a citizen of His kingdom.

The trials of life are tests. We will either wither under them or learn from them. The greatest thing we can learn from trials is that we can always trust Jesus to be sufficient. 

Jesus never encounters a hopeless case. Even a deranged, demon-possessed man can be delivered, saved, and used in God’s service. That is something we should remember with regard to both ourselves and every other seemingly hopeless person we meet.

Although people and the difficult situations they face may differ greatly, the hope they desperately want is always found in the same place—in Jesus Christ. Two desperate people from very different backgrounds illustrate this truth. 

Jesus’ earthly ministry reveals His person and His character. It also reveals important—and sometimes very difficult—lessons for all who follow Him.

Following Jesus means following His instructions regardless of how people respond. That is not an easy task, but God’s Word adequately equips us for success in it. 

Jesus’ miracles often addressed physical needs, but their ultimate purpose was spiritual. The feeding of the multitude is a prime example of this. Jesus’ focus is on making, equipping, and sending out disciples. 

The challenges—and the failures—we face in life are not obstacles to faith but stepping stones to greater faith. On the stormy Sea of Galilee one night, Jesus taught Peter a lesson in faith from his own failure. 

It is easy to become so consumed with the daily, physical necessities of life that we overlook our greatest needs, which are spiritual. The Lord knows our deepest needs better than we do, and only He can fully satisfy them. He is the true, life-giving Bread of Life. 

The world always emphasizes externals—what people see and what impresses them. But Jesus teaches that no matter how perfect we might appear to others, if our lives are centered on the external and physical, we are nothing but empty hypocrites.

The obstacles we see to God’s work are opportunities for us to trust Him, conform our attitudes to His, and witness the fulfillment of His will. This is Jesus’ lesson for the disciples as Jesus ministers in two Gentile areas. 

Who is Jesus? This is the one question we must answer and answer correctly. Who He is defines who we are as Christians. To consider Him anything less than the Messiah, the sovereign Lord, God in the flesh, and our Savior is to dishonor Him and call our own faith into question. 

Being a faithful disciple of Jesus is not about making Him a part of your life; it is about giving Him your life. As Jesus Himself puts it, you are to deny yourself and take up your cross daily. 

God’s Word assures us that Christ’s kingdom will one day be established on earth. The transfiguration is a brief but glorious preview of that kingdom, when we will serve alongside saints of all the ages in the presence of Jesus Christ. 

At times we see great potential in Jesus’ disciples, but we also frequently see a lack of understanding, faith, and power. God’s work in us has given us great potential too, but the disciples’ example gives us fair warning against self-assurance.

To be humble is to follow the example of our Lord and Savior. That means putting aside self-interest and petty jealousies. It also means seeing faithful believers as coworkers, not competitors, and rejoicing in their service for the Lord. 

The church cannot function effectively and in unity without dealing with sin in its midst. The church body as a whole and individual believers must be committed to confronting offenders, boldly and lovingly seeking confession and reconciliation and offering genuine forgiveness. 

Jesus Christ is Lord. If we fail to follow Him, it is not because He has given us no reason to do so but simply because we place our own desires ahead of Him. Three would-be disciples with typical excuses demonstrate this sad truth.

Who is Jesus? Is He Israel’s Messiah and God in the flesh? Or is He simply a man, not God but one who taught wonderful truths and provided the greatest of all examples to follow? This is the most important question a person can answer: Who is Jesus?

Those who see sinners simply as people to be condemned and used are as guilty as those they condemn. Like Jesus, we should not excuse sin, but we should act with love and compassion toward those who need His forgiveness. An incident in John 8 highlights this perspective. 

Like Jesus, we live in a world that is content to remain in the darkness of sin, ignorant of the freedom they can have in Him, the Light of the World. What are we doing to let His light shine forth brightly in this needy world?

When rejected on earth, we need to remember that is the common lot of God’s children. What is important is that, by God’s grace, we are accepted by Him. Jesus’ healing of a blind man offers an encouraging illustration.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are sheep under the care of our Good Shepherd. We can rest in the truth that He knows us, loves us, and desires and initiates a relationship with us. How could we be any more blessed? How could we be any more obligated to serve and worship Him? 

We are all part of the Lord’s plan. And as with the seventy-two disciples Jesus sends out to proclaim His message, He offers us sound principles to follow that will give us realistic expectations and a clear focus that will help us successfully complete our mission. 

If our joy is determined by responses to our ministry efforts, we have a flawed perspective on God’s work. Jesus reminds us that our joy is not dependent on our work in the world but on God’s work in us and for us.

Jesus’ familiar parable of the Good Samaritan was shocking to His Jewish audience, challenging their prejudices and self-serving interpretations of God’s law. It is still today a powerful statement of what it means to love your neighbor. 

The sisters Mary and Martha both loved and served the Lord. Yet their different priorities give Jesus an opportunity to teach us the importance of keeping work and worship in proper balance.

Prayer is not getting God to do things for us. It is a matter of properly recognizing and honoring Him and humbly recognizing how dependent on Him and needy we are. The Lord’s Prayer, or more properly the disciples’ prayer, is an enlightening model of God-honoring prayer. 

Jesus’ teaching on prayer is not only informative; it is also encouraging. He affirms that God answers sincere and honest prayers and is not reluctant to do so. Nothing is too big or too small for Him, and there is no time our prayers are inconvenient for Him. 

Jesus’ life, works, and teaching demand a decision about who He is. Do we accept Him as Lord and Savior or foolishly try to explain away the things He taught by word and deed? There is no middle ground.

Learning the truth of God revealed in His Word is not merely an academic exercise. That is because the truth—properly understood and applied—changes our lives. Jesus warns that to reject it is to flounder in spiritual darkness and invite divine judgment. 

Jesus has very strong words for spiritual hypocrites. We are wise to heed those words and be ever alert to the underlying attitude of the world that fuels it—namely, the pride that promotes a focus on ourselves and on impressing others.

Fears can become cruel masters that control and crush your lives. Faith in the Lord is the key to breaking free of such debilitating fears. Yet, Jesus Himself teaches us there are some things we should, in fact, fear.

Covetousness is a deadly danger, and it is often fueled by anxiety. Jesus not only warns us of the temptation of covetousness, but also provides the antidote to anxiety.

The expectation of Jesus’ return is not a motivation to just sit back and await His coming but to watch for it with excitement and joy and to work all the harder in His service. We need to be faithful stewards of the time and opportunities He has given us.

As it was for Jesus, so His followers may face very difficult times in this world. Their suffering, however, will be limited to this world. In contrast, a terrible, eternal judgment awaits those who reject Christ. Jesus Himself gives us all fair warning.

Jesus reminds us that the events of life should cause us to reflect upon eternity and our relationship with Him. The unexpected, especially, points us to the urgency of trusting Christ today as Savior and Lord.

The truth about who Jesus is and what He has done will be hated, resisted, ridiculed, and attacked. That is a sad fact, but it does not change the reality of Jesus’ person and work. The evidence speaks for itself.

The matter of eternal salvation is not an issue God has presented for us to debate. His Word presents it as truth to be personally, humbly accepted through genuine, sincere faith in Christ. Salvation is available to all, but it is urgent that all receive it now.

The antagonism and hatred we experience at the hands of those who reject Christ only affirm the truth of God’s Word and the experience of Jesus Himself. Such opposition also should strengthen our compassionate resolve to continue to take Christ’s message to this needy world.

Our relationship to the Lord can be measured by the compassion, humility, and grace we exhibit in our daily lives.

Being Jesus’ disciple is not a matter of saying the right words but of having the right attitude, perspective, and commitment. And nothing about it is easy!

Jesus tells two memorable parables to remind us of the love of God for sinners. Do we love people as He does, and do we rejoice in their salvation? Our attitude toward the gracious work God is doing in the lives of other people reveals a lot about us.

Those who seek the “joy” of being free from God end up in the despair of enslavement to sin. Jesus’ powerful parable of the prodigal son reminds us of this truth.

Only when we see ourselves as sinners can we understand and appreciate God’s marvelous grace. And it is in offering grace to others that we demonstrate Godlike character. Jesus’ story of two prodigals illustrates these truths.

Money is a useful tool, but it can also be a deadly temptation. Jesus teaches us that it is only when we use money wisely as good stewards of God that it produces benefits of eternal value.

Marriage is not easy. And it becomes extremely difficult when serious sin enters the picture. For believers, is divorce an option; and if so, under what circumstances? We need to look to the Bible for God’s instruction concerning this challenging issue.

Outward circumstances have nothing to do with a person’s eternal destiny. All people must personally respond in faith to the gospel of Christ. That gospel is available to them in the Bible, as we simply present it to them and allow the Word to do its convicting work. 

Following the Lord Jesus means directing our lives away from ourselves and toward God and others. Humility, integrity, forgiveness, faithfulness, and selfless service should characterize our lives. 

The death of Jesus’ friend Lazarus provides an amazing opportunity for the Lord to present the truth of who He is. This truth exposes the hearts of people as they choose to either acknowledge Him as the Son of God or obstinately reject Him in the face of undeniable proof.

Gratitude is a mark of a follower of Christ. We should never cease to recall God’s past work in our lives, as well as His continuing work, and praise Him for it all.

Jesus taught us to look forward to His coming and the establishment of His righteous kingdom on earth. At the same time, we should warn unbelievers of the judgment that will accompany His return and urge them to believe in Christ and not make faulty assumptions.

Prayer is not just a helpful exercise for believers. Persistent, humble, faith-filled prayer is a reflection of one’s relationship with the Lord and a necessity for everyone who seeks to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. 

It is critical that we have a firm grasp of the Bible’s teaching on the family so that we can resist challenges both from the world and from professing Christians. Jesus’ own responses to such challenges demonstrate some biblical priorities in family matters.

We cannot fully grasp God’s grace without understanding the depth of our own sin and unworthiness. This is true for unbelievers in need of salvation, as well as followers of Christ, who walk by faith.

It is easy to miss God’s work in the world because we are focused too much on the world—its values, expectations, and temptations. To follow Jesus is to serve and sacrifice for others, not elevate ourselves at the expense of others. 

Jesus’ earthly mission was to seek and to save the lost. That is still His mission today, and we are a part of it, called to share the gospel message of Jesus Christ with the world.

Most things we might be remembered for in this world will probably fade quickly from the memory of society and eventually even from the memories of family members. But we can be sure that our love for Christ will be forever remembered and honored by the Lord.

As we see Jesus entering Jerusalem for the final time, He is greeted by the religious leaders of the Jews, who hate Him, and the throngs, who praise Him but have false expectations. We do well to remember that religion and even worship are not sure signs of faith.

Prayer was central to Jesus’ life and ministry, so it is certainly a need in our lives. In the last week before His crucifixion, Jesus devoted a unique miracle to teaching, not only a sobering truth about Israel, but also a critical truth about prayer.

As Jesus’ time on earth is growing short, He is intent on alerting people that their time is short. Now is the time to believe in Him; and now is the time for those who do believe in Him to openly confess Him and follow Him.

To those who love themselves and hate God, the truth is an uncomfortable obstacle they would like to destroy. And this means they must attempt to destroy Jesus Christ, who embodies the truth.

Beliefs have consequences, and so does unbelief. The persistent rejection of God’s message, God’s messengers, and Israel’s Messiah would have devastating effects on both the nation of Israel and all those who continued in unbelief.

Jesus never allowed Himself to become distracted from His mission and message. Even as He neared His arrest and crucifixion and was warding off attempts to discredit Him, He kept the focus on the call to follow Him and submit to God’s Word.

Simply put, what God requires of us as we live in this world is to love God and love others. We can do neither until we first settle the question of who Jesus Christ is.

Jesus’ strongest condemnation was reserved for religious leaders and teachers. This is a reminder that if those who teach others are leading them away from Jesus Christ rather than to Him, they are actively engaging in evil. They should be exposed and sternly rebuked.

People long to know what the future holds. What they really need is to know the one who holds the future. The Bible reveals everything we need to know about the future and assures us that God’s eternal plan will be worked out in His providence and according to His will.

What we anticipate in the future will have a great impact on our present. To look forward to Christ’s return is not to grow lazy and unconcerned but to be diligent in serving the Lord now.

Jesus Christ is coming back. For those of us who know Him as our Savior, that is a glorious prospect. For those who do not know Him, His return means judgment has arrived. How important it is to know where we stand in relationship to Him. 

Serving Jesus Christ means serving others as He serves us. That requires humility and selflessness, but it always results in true, spiritual happiness.

People who are self-centered are often masters at deceiving others. We need to be alert to such hypocrites; but more than that, we need to guard our own hearts, realizing it is not what others see but what God sees that matters most.

Judas serves as a warning for all of us. It is very easy to elevate our desires and plans to the point that they take precedence over God’s perfect will.

What do people see when they look at you? If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, the one thing they should see is an undeniable love that reflects the love of your Savior. 

The one critical truth we must always cling to and keep before us is the Lord Jesus’ death in our place and for our benefit. Just hours before He went to the cross, the Lord gave us a unique way of remembering that mighty work.

In a world filled with troubles and trials, it is easy to become anxious about current circumstances and what the future holds. The Lord tells us that the answer to anxiety is the person of Jesus and the promises of God.

God’s perfect, eternal plan centers on the work of Jesus Christ. God’s work does not have a backup plan because He does not need one. Christ’s work is all-sufficient, and He, and He alone, is the only way to the Father.

The words and works of Jesus Christ are essential to the Christian faith. They are also foundational for our prayer life, as we learn to pray and wait and trust Him to accomplish His good will.

Until we stand one day in the immediate presence of Jesus Christ, we have the assurance and comfort of knowing we have a constant, divine helper, companion, and teacher in the Person of the Holy Spirit.

The first step toward following and serving the Lord is recognizing how utterly helpless we are. Jesus’ image of the vine illustrates this truth and shows us that spiritual fruit in our lives comes from total dependence on Him.

We are to serve the Lord by loving and serving others, and by being an example and a witness to others. Serving the Lord is our calling. Knowing the Lord as our Friend is our privilege and joy.

To stand with Christ is to stand against a hateful world. That means we will experience persecution; but we will never do so alone. Other believers will join us, and the comforting presence of the Holy Spirit will enable us to be a powerful witness to the unbelieving world.

The trials and challenges of life just keep coming, but they do not have to overcome us. We can survive them courageously and ultimately with joy when we have the right perspective on God, the work of the Holy Spirit, and the power of prayer.

Jesus’ prayer in John 17 shows us how important purity and unity are to the church. There can be no true unity apart from purity in life and purity in doctrine. As we all strive for such purity by the Spirit’s power, we will experience unity and the answer to Christ’s prayer.

Prayer is the appropriate response to every agonizing situation in life. But that does not mean either the situation or prayer itself suddenly becomes easy. Jesus’ prayer in the garden demonstrates the great emotional struggle it can be to align our will with God’s will.

What Jesus experienced in the garden of Gethsemane is beyond our ability to fully comprehend. But the model He gives us is very clear: When we come before the Lord in times of anxiety, pain, uncertainty, and decision, our foremost desire should always be for His will to be done.

No human plans or preparations can alter God’s plan or limit His power. When Jesus is confronted by Judas and a large band of soldiers who have come to arrest Him, He does not resist but demonstrates to all He is all-powerful and in complete control.

God’s plans for us are not always easy. In fact, they are usually very challenging. But when we understand, as Jesus did in the garden of Gethsemane, that what comes to us from God’s hand is His will, we can accept it with the peace of knowing that His will is always best.

Those who are consumed with their own power are unconcerned about justice. This is true even when those in power profess to follow God. There is no better illustration of this than when Jesus stands before Annas, the influential former high priest of Israel.

Those who seek to stand in judgment of Jesus Christ concerning His deity, His teaching, and His works bring themselves under the judgment of God and His holy Word. This is the terrifying truth Jesus communicates to the high priest Caiaphas and his colleagues.

Sin can occur in a moment, but it usually arises from a heart that has been prepared for failure. Peter provides us with a perfect example—and an enduring warning. 

Peter’s denials of Jesus remind us of how carefully we all need to guard our relationship with the Lord. They also remind us of the wonderful grace of Christ, who stands ready to forgive us and restore us from even the worst of sins when we turn to Him in repentance.

The Jewish council delighted in condemning Jesus. Judas regretted having a part in their plan. Both ended up in the same, sad place—under the judgment of God. Their actions teach us much about God, God’s Son, and the hearts of sinful people.

It is shocking to think that people in Jesus’ day would prefer a criminal over the Lord. But people have not changed, so we should not be appalled that the one we most cherish is the one the world most hates.

The pressures of this world are unrelenting, urging us to compromise, to choose our interests over the Lord Jesus and God’s will. We must prepare for the onslaught and stand true to Christ. To do otherwise is to repeat Pilate’s injustice.

The sad portrait of Jesus we see as He is led to the place of crucifixion calls not for our pity but for our amazement, our adoration, and our gratitude for the one who suffered all this willingly for us.

There is nothing we can suffer that Jesus Christ cannot understand. Indeed, everything He suffered was for us. He can fully sympathize with any and every pain, disappointment, and injustice and can minister to our needs as no one else can. 

Even extreme personal suffering could not distract Jesus from meeting the needs of others. As He hung on the cross, He showed concern for His executioners, a dying criminal, and His mother. Jesus is the ultimate example of a life lived for others.

The agony Jesus Christ suffered is almost unimaginable. But He endured it all to complete the work of salvation so that we can rest in His perfect, completed work, not trust in our own futile efforts to find acceptance with God.

God’s eternal plan is perfect, and it is unveiled in history according to His perfect timing, as Jesus’ crucifixion demonstrates.

God is always at work—in good times and bad times—providentially moving all things to His ultimate, desired end. As Jesus was taken down from the cross and placed in a tomb, God was simply preparing the way for His ultimate triumph.

Jesus’ followers were traumatized by His death and not at all anticipating His resurrection. On the Sunday after His crucifixion, the Lord began to gradually enlighten these shocked followers with evidence they could not ignore—Jesus was alive!

The evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ is clear, powerful, and undeniable. And it is convincing to all who humbly trust God’s Word. It is denied and resisted by unbelievers only because they do not want to believe it.

In His gracious providence, God assured Jesus’ followers of His bodily resurrection from the dead. Our assurance of the resurrection, like our faith, is grounded in the divinely inspired revelation we know as the Bible.

Believing in the resurrection of Christ brings peace, comfort, and encouragement. It also brings the responsibility and privilege of proclaiming the message of peace and forgiveness available in Christ.

As followers of Christ, we are always students, learning and growing through both successes and failures. Thankfully, our Teacher knows us thoroughly. He knows what we need and what will best develop our faith.

Our love for and commitment to the Lord is demonstrated by our faithful obedience to Him. It is not measured by how we compare to others. 

The Lord has called us to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to our world. He has given us the message and the strategy and provided the strength to carry it out. The only thing we need to do is accept the commission and obey His command.