Introduction This article is a bonus question concerning Jesus that I came up with after I had finished the series. It goes along with the subject of Christ’ death and is basically a pet peeve of mine. Often, I hear someone lead a prayer to God; thanking him for sending his son, Jesus, to die on the cross. Though he was sent for that reason, it wasn’t the only reason. I think that if that was the only reason his death would have been pointless. Why Was Jesus Sent? 1.    To Fulfill prophecy —If you go through the Old Testament, there are many prophecies given concerning Jesus coming to Earth. The first example took place in the Garden of Eden. In Gen. 3:15 God said to the serpent, “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel." This was fulfilled when many people followed Jesus; knowing that he was the Son of God. Their put their lives and

How are Christians supposed to be? A sermon by David Baker

Introduction When you go to a Circle K, Quik Trip , or an AM/PM ; they are referred to as convenience stores. The reason is that everything you need; from gas to snacks and drinks, are right there. It’s fast and easy to get yourself situated and moving down the road. Sometimes we’ll put those things off thinking we can make it a little further. If your gas tank has a ¼ left, rather than pulling into the station, you feel that you can make the next 50 miles just to put more distance behind you. Ignoring that convenience can produce dire consequences. It’s the same with putting off salvation until another day. Simply Inconvenient In Acts 24:24-25 it says, “And after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, "Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will c

Introduction Throughout Jesus’ ministry he was challenged by the Pharisees to show them a sign of who he really was; so that they might believe him. But he had been showing signs to prove that he was indeed deity. But on two separate occasions he was validated by The Father himself. If that’s not proof enough, the I don’t know what is. Let’s look at two events in which God gave validation to his son. At His Baptism In Matthew chapter 3, it tells the account of Jesus and his Baptism. Most don’t understand why he was baptized if he led a sinless life. His reasoning was to fulfill all righteousness (vs. 15). It also served as an example to Christians; to follow in His steps and have our sins washed away (Mk. 16:16). The verification of Jesus comes in verse 17, And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Those around to witness His baptism most likely heard this statement and verified to them as to who he really w

This week's lesson is on Patience . It is preached by myself, Chris Mentzer

  Introduction In a previous article, we discussed Universalism and the idea that, based on their belief, all men will go to heaven. We refuted that argument show that; although everyone will be given the chance to hear the gospel, not all will obey it and be saved. In this article we will look at the concept, that some hold, that Jesus didn’t come to save everyone but one specific nation; Israel. And that all other nations will be condemned to Hell.   To the Jew First Israel was God’s chosen people; made up of 12 different tribes. However, this doesn’t mean that God didn’t care about the rest of the nations on the planet. All nations were created by Him and therefore all flourished on Earth. In addition, the Jews (as they were later called) didn’t thumb their nose at other nations; declaring themselves as being the only nation that mattered. They had enough to worry about and focus on in worshipping God to every think of such a notion. In Jeremiah 31:31-

Our sermon this week is by Micky Galloway of Lancaster, Calif.

Introduction Imagine walking out of your front door one morning, picking up your local newspaper, and seeing the headline, “Satan Repents!” on the front in 3-inch letters. The article attached to it has quotes in which God says, “All is Forgiven” and Jesus says, “Welcome home, Brother!” At this point you’re probably looking around for the Candid Camera or someone to jump out from behind a bush and say, “Gotcha!” But suppose, just suppose, this was real. Everyone Will be Saved There is a doctrine out there in the religious world that claims, everyone will go to Heaven and no one will go to Hell. It is called Universalism and here’s the definition from the dictionary: Universalism — The doctrine of universal salvation . All men everywhere will be saved.   No one will be lost.   End, all mankind will be saved.   Everyone will be saved and no one will be lost. What a great concept! There are even passages of scripture that are used to su

(From 2013) Introduction    I n our final article about “Questions concerning Jesus”, we come to the discussion of why hasn’t Jesus returned in the Second Coming? What is he waiting for? Some of the most recent dates predicting his return have come and gone without incident i.e. May 21, 2011; December 21, 2012; and dozens of other predictions of the Second Coming or Rapture of the church. People believe these dates to be the ‘real deal’; they’ll sell everything they own, put their house up for sale, and make final preparations for the end. The day arrives and then the day ends with nothing to show for it. Yet people who believe in Premillennialism and “date setting” continue to hope for one of these dates to be correct. Some won’t be deterred if a date comes and goes, while others might their own life in depression or give up on God and religion altogether. The question to ask then is: What is Jesus waiting for? Is he a slacker? What is a slacker?   The dicti

This week's sermon is titled A Tale of 2 Paths by Dave Stewart, guest preacher from Las Cruces, New Mexico.

  Introduction         Imagine if you will, the account of Jesus; after the resurrection in Jn. 20:19-20, when he appeared to his disciples. Instead of telling them that he is the resurrected Christ, he would say, “April Fools!” How different would their lives be if Jesus had, in fact, faked his own death? There are many skeptics out there, even today, who believe that Jesus never really died on the cross. We will look at a few of them. The Swoon Theory         The idea here is that Jesus didn’t die but merely passed out on the cross. And that later, when he was placed in the tomb, he managed to escape. He would then clean himself up and then appear to his disciples on the first day of the week.         To understand everything that Jesus went through, including the burial, we consult the scriptures: 1.    Scourging—Matt. 27: 26 2.    Crown of Thorns—Matt. 27: 29-30 3.    Carrying cross—John 19: 17 4.    Piercing of Hands and Feet—John 20: 25