Some profess Christ without the Spirit of Christ. The "missing ingredient" for many folks today is the same thing the Apostles didn't have... for a while. Jesus had told them not to try to fulfill the Great Commission on their own, but to "wait for the Promise of the Father." That promise was power, in the Person of the Holy Spirit. Today we begin a new series in the book of Acts. As distant as first-century Jerusalem may seem to us, it might start to look pretty familiar.
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Scripture References: Acts 1-2
Reader discernment is advised. In the concluding portion of our concluding message on the Gospel of Mark, we have some challenges: What to do with the content, and what to do with the text itself. If modern scholarship casts doubt on the authenticity of Mark 16:9-20, how can we tell what to trust? Apart from that question, what about those "signs" mentioned in verse 17? And how do we proceed if the answers are not as firm as we'd like?
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Scripture References: Mark 16
The problem with signs. "And these signs will accompany those who believe...," Jesus said. Or did He? We're pretty sure Mark didn't write the last section of the Gospel of Mark. "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign" - we know the Lord said that. "The Jews ask for signs," Paul informs us, but they don't understand or accept the proofs God has provided. What are we to think about miracles in general, and about this passage in Mark 16?
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Scripture References: Mark 16
We know the evidence for Jesus; what's the evidence for you? We're confident that the Lord was raised to new life because of the Empty Tomb, because of the eyewitnesses who died rather than change their story, because of the changed lives and the changed world. But do you and I have any evidence that we've come back from the dead, to "walk in newness of life?" What is our resurrection story? How are we different - and who can tell? We're back in Mark, chapter 16 with Jim.
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Scripture References: Mark 16
Maybe we can't know what the Resurrection is, but we can see what it does. It's a weird thing about life: People argue about when human life begins, or how all life began, but we have to admit that we can't define it. We can only see its effects. Maybe it's the same way with the special kind of life we call "resurrection." That would explain why our friend Mark ends his Gospel not with a discussion of how Jesus was raised, but by showing us the impact it had on people.
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Scripture References: Mark 16
Jesus did not die for Himself, and He did not rise for Himself! Jim has given this message the provocative title, He's Alive - So What? "What does that mean to me?" as we're always asking. Well, a lot. Because the Lord's resurrection wasn't the only one of its kind, just the first of its kind. We might call it a prototype. The Apostles used phrases like, "firstborn among many brethren," and "firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." We're in Mark, chapter 16.
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Scripture References: Mark 16
The women trudging to the tomb of Jesus on that Sunday morning didn't expect an angel - but he was expecting them! Our expectations and assumptions have a lot to do with what we see, and what we believe. And with what sinks into our ears, too. All of these factors were in play in those holy hours when Christ had risen, but no one knew it! Mark has four things he wants to lay out for us, simply and clearly. Jim will tell us about those in his sermon, He's Alive - So What?
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Scripture References: Mark 16
There is comfort in suffering. When we deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus, surprising things happen. Oh, the expected things happen, too: God is glorified, observers have their eyes opened to a higher kind of life, the gospel advances, believers earn eternal rewards. But there are less-obvious benefits to our suffering, as well. Today Jim will look at the life of Jesus to find some of those. Here's Part 3 of, The Day that Changed Eternity.
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Scripture References: Mark 14
What does it mean to take up our cross and follow Jesus? Yesterday we got a glimpse of Simon of Cyrene, the foreigner who was honored to carry the cross of Christ up that hill. We'll think some more about him today, from chapter 15 of Mark's account and beyond. But that crossbeam - the one the Savior hung on - is not literally our cross. Jim will talk about what our cross is, and what it is not, on today's episode. It's the middle part of his talk, The Day that Changed Eternity.
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Scripture References: Mark 14
The divine plan must have looked totally random to Simon of Cyrene! Everything about that last day of Jesus' life was "by the Book" - I mean, according to what was written in the Scriptures. And people created in the image of God were making free choices. Somehow these cosmic forces intersected on a busy street right in front of a dark-skinned foreigner named Simon. He was chosen to ease the burden of a condemned man.
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Scripture References: Mark 14
Our "rogues' gallery" is about to get some rouge! As Mark describes the trials and crucifixion of Jesus, several characters are suddenly thrown into the stream of events: Pontius Pilate; a very nasty criminal named Barabbas; and others who were encountering Christ for the first time. But today we'll see two more who had a chance to observe the Lord for a while. One of them is a woman, Mary Magdalene. Here's Jim with the conclusion of his sermon, The Week That Changed the World.
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Scripture References: Mark 14-16
Confronted by the Truth. The Disciples had gradually come to know Jesus over a period of time. But for a handful of people, Christ suddenly burst into their lives, and they had to try to come to grips with Him as best they could. Those folks make up the majority of the case studies we'll examine today and tomorrow. Their lives were all changed, but were they all changed for the better?
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Scripture References: Mark 14-16
There is more than one "End." We talk about "the End of the Age" as if it were the same experience for everyone, happening at the same time. Today Jim will unconfuse us about that! But to follow this thread we'll have to widen the discussion beyond Mark's record (which we've been studying), and bring Luke, Paul, and even Daniel onto the panel. Once we see the distinction between what Jesus said about the "Kingdom of God" and our "redemption," things will start to fall into place.
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Scripture References: Mark 13
Signs of the End: Lies, and persecution. Falsehoods have been loose in our world since that late unpleasantness in the Garden. False Christs were luring people after them even before the real one appeared, 2,000 years ago. And let's reluctantly add one more sign: Persecution of the people of God. So what's different about these phenomena in the Last Days? How can common, "normal" things be signs? Here's Jim in Mark, chapter 13.
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Scripture References: Mark 13
Let's get chunky! Recognizing the structure of what we're reading is crucial to understanding the material. We've mentioned it, and you've noticed it in your own studies and even casual reading. When we're trying to grasp what Jesus was telling us in Mark 13 about the End Times, we notice that He's built His discourse in "chunks." It isn't just a list of events; there are stages to watch for. Today we begin a sermon called, Signs, and the End.
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Scripture References: Mark 13
Signs in the Earth, signs in the Heavens! Mark informs us that it was Peter, James, John and Andrew who got a private audience with Jesus. Christ had just foretold the destruction of the Temple, and the four wanted to know about Heaven's timing. What the Lord told them surely shattered all their notions about the End, and the coming Kingdom. Today we'll look at what they learned, and how today's headlines may start to look like old news.
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Scripture References: Mark 13:4
Today we'll look at what Jim calls the "greatest prophetic passage in the Bible." The Disciples thought they had asked an easy question, but Jesus gave them an answer that we're still sorting out today. Some of them wanted to know, "What will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?" And the Lord gave them a very detailed reply. It would cover the destruction of Jerusalem, the Antichrist's blasphemy, and the return of Christ. Here's Jim to open his sermon, What is the Sign?
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Scripture References: Mark 13:4
Not everyone in the Temple was there for the wrong reasons! The merchants and moneylenders had come to church to line their own pockets. Paul would later write about those who confuse godliness with gain, religion with riches. The Jewish leaders had come to strut their superiority, it seems, and to police everyone else's religion. But at least one woman had come to the place of worship to worship - with her offering. And of course, Jesus noticed. Here's Jim, reading from Mark 12:43.
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Scripture References: Mark 11 & 12
One bride for seven brothers! Oh, those soft-headed Sadducees! They weren't just hostile to Christ, like most of the religious VIPs around them - that was bad enough - these fellows were opposed to one of the foundational teachings of their own scriptures! But they thought they had enough brainpower to trap the Lord, and so they came up with a trick question for Him. One bride, seven brothers - and no fractions allowed! Here's Jim with part 3 of, The Authority of Jesus.
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Scripture References: Mark 11 & 12
Your boss ... the king ... God: Three people you don't cheat! We've been reading from Mark chapter 12, and what has been called the Parable of the Tenants. By the time it was done, the Pharisees were practically indicting themselves as "wretches," "worthless" and "corrupt" - information that we get from Matthew's account. The parable and Jesus' later answers are connected, as Jim will show today.
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Scripture References: Mark 11 & 12
Your gifts won't save you. The Jewish leaders thought they were sitting pretty on a five-legged stool... until Jesus knocked each leg out from under them, one by one! These five things were gifts from God, given uniquely to the Hebrew people. That's surely evidence that they were on the road to Heaven! And all of these gifts were real. And their recipients were not on the road to Heaven. We're in the Gospel of Mark. Here's Jim to open a sermon called, The Authority of Jesus.
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Scripture References: Mark 11 & 12
"I can't recall, Senator." In the 11th chapter of his Gospel, Mark describes a scene with "the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders." These prominent men lied in their answer to Jesus about John the Baptist. He knew they'd lied. Everyone knew they had lied. And they knew that everyone knew they had lied. Such beacons of righteousness! But just when we're about to write them all off, there is one - just one - scribe with a good question.
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Scripture References: Mark 12:1-12
Just who do you think you are?! When Jesus dared to do some much-needed housekeeping in the Temple, the religious elite were furious. They challenged His authority. He challenged their authority... and identity... and destiny. Before the day was over Christ would checkmate the scribes, the elders, the Pharisees, the Sadducees and even the Herodians. It was a bad day to be a hypocrite. Here's Jim to open a sermon from Mark 12 called, Who Owns the Vineyard?
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Scripture References: Mark 12:1-12
There will be another mountain after this one. We're rejoining Jesus, Peter, James, John, Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration. There will be One more joining us. And then we'll make our way down to the challenges of our daily lives. And we'll face away from this mountain, and toward the much less impressive hill called Golgotha, or Calvary - only 777 meters high. Here's Jim with the final segment of his message, The Transfiguration.
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Scripture References: Mark 9
Mountain men! Moses received the Ten Commandments on a mountain. Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. The elevation of Carmel, by the way, is about 1800 feet. Sinai rises 7500 feet above sea level. So, on the day we're about to study, Moses and Elijah were higher than they'd ever been: If this is Mount Hermon, it's 9,000 feet. That's a "high mountain," as Mark calls it in chapter 9 of his Gospel.
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Scripture References: Mark 9
If Jesus is the king, when is the coronation? Peter had declared to Jesus, "You are the Christ (the Anointed, the coming King)." But then the King says some very strange things: "Tell no one," and, "I'm going to be rejected and killed. But the kingdom is coming." The death of the prince before He can ascend to the throne is not defeat... it's the plan.
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Scripture References: Mark 9
"I'll take one large-size salvation, please - hold the suffering." Once the Disciples finally understood who the Lord is, He could disclose some more things to them. Yesterday Jim described three imperatives - three "musts" - that follow from the revelation that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah. One of those is that we must deny ourselves and take up our cross - pretty much the opposite of the popular, "your best life now" gospel. We're in Mark, chapter 8, with Jim.
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Scripture References: Mark 8:29
If Jesus is the Christ... so what? As we've followed Mark's Gospel - and now would be a good time to remind ourselves that this is most likely Peter's Gospel - it's become clear that the Disciples' training has been leading up to this moment: "Who do you say that I am?" That will prove to be the defining question of their lives, our lives, and the course of the world. But, once we've answered that question in unison with Peter, what follows?
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Scripture References: Mark 8:29
What is the lesson of the loaves? Whatever the lesson was, the Disciples were not grasping it. Maybe it was that the God who had made the wheat, as well as the Sun to shine on it and the rain to fall on it, could just as easily make the loaves. Maybe it was that, if you give your little bit to the Lord, your next problem is going to be where to put all the leftovers. We're in Mark 6, looking at the Feeding of the Five-Thousand. Here's Jim to round out his sermon, He Sent the Twelve...with Power.
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Scripture References: Mark 7
The Disciples were doing it, but not getting it! If you feel like you're just taking the same life-lessons over and over again, this message may help you. The Twelve had the same problem. Jesus would show them a miraculous sign... they would marvel at it... but their minds didn't click into a new gear. So they went 'round again. In fact, Mark writes that their hearts were hardened! Jim has asked a young man to read the text for his message, He Sent the Twelve...with Power.
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Scripture References: Mark 7
Mark gave us the most powerful parenthetical of all time! "Thus He declared all foods clean" is the way it's most often translated. And it's not even the main thought of the sentence, just a little aside, a little "oh, by the way," usually set off in parentheses. But wow! What a potent tangent! That's enough geeking out about words. What was Jesus saying in the seventh chapter of Mark, and how does it apply, not to the Pharisees, but to us?
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Scripture References: Mark 6 & 7
Lip-syncing isn't as easy as it looks! The people in Jesus' audience were giving a very bad performance. Their lips were out-of-sync with their hearts, just as Isaiah had prophesied. Their leaders had taught them to break God's Law in order to keep their traditions (and line their pockets). They were defiling themselves in an effort to make themselves clean. How can Christ untangle this mess? We'll read about it today, as our survey of the Gospel of Mark moves forward.
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Scripture References: Mark 6 & 7
What does it mean to be clean? There is physically clean - and that's good. It's a sign of mental illness to prefer to be grubby. Karl Marx was infamous for his horrible hygiene. Then there's spiritually clean. But the Scribes and Pharisees were focused on another type of purity - the ceremonially clean. And for some reason they thought their cleansing ritual should be endorsed by God, and mandated for everyone. Jesus had other thoughts.
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Scripture References: Mark 6 & 7
Worries, wealth, and the Word. In the field - I'm talking about a farmer's field - the crops are competing with other things for the resources of the soil. Thorns, Jesus called them. When the soil is the human heart, the good seed of God's Word is contending with just about everything else that will cross your mind today. As we've studied Jesus' Parable of the Sower in Mark chapter 4, we've talked about the hard ground and the rocky ground. Today Jim will help us think about the thorny ground.
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Scripture References: Mark 3-5
Most people are lost, and getting "lost-er." Jesus' Parable of the Sower went right over the heads of the crowd. But the Disciples would have missed the meaning, too, without the Lord's explanation. It's that relationship between the Teacher and His learners that we'll bring out today. We're continuing a message called, Teaching the Twelve. If you were with us on Friday, you'll remember that Jim is helping us hunt for 7 pivotal events in the Gospel of Mark. And we were talking about the Scribes, and the unforgivable sin.
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Scripture References: Mark 3-5
Have you ever gone hunting... in the Bible? We're not talking about hunting for a verse - I know you've done that. There are insights in the Word of God that are like deer walking around in a forest, to borrow a picture from Augustine. We'll never see them if we're not looking for them carefully, and if our souls are not still. Jim will help us spot seven of these wild and beautiful creatures, these revelations roaming the Gospel of Mark, in the sermon he'll begin today. It's called, Teaching the Twelve.
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Scripture References: Mark 3-5
The Disciples got prime teaching, but they also became prime targets. We imagine what it must have been like, to be a Disciple; to see those miracles with our own eyes, to hear Jesus' parables and their explanations. But we must include in our daydream the persecution of the Twelve. Satan wasn't going to take the assault on his kingdom lying down! Being a disciple isn't something we can volunteer for; it starts with a call.
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Scripture References: Mark 3:13-19
A "superstar" is what Jesus refused to be. The crowds were coming to see a show. Standing-room-only crowds. The kind of multitudes that any ministry would love to have. But the Lord shut that down, hard. He wasn't trying to gain an audience to watch, listen, and get a free sandwich on the way out. Christ was after commitment. Everything He said and did made a claim on our lives. And that's not the road to celebrity; it's the road to the Cross.
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Scripture References: Mark 3:13-19
God's New Thing is not going to fit in your old religious box! Jesus said that He had not come to abolish God's Law, but to fulfill it. Human traditions, on the other hand - oh, those have got to go. And some of those traditions seemed pretty sacred and solid, like the customs that had accreted around fasting and the Sabbath. They were opportunities for the King to illustrate how the new Kingdom works. Here's Jim at Mark chapter 2, verse 18.
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Scripture References: Mark 2
Jesus starts an argument! The author of the second Gospel apparently had never met the greeting-card version of the Savior: the "gentle Jesus" who finds merit in all religious ideas. No, Mark tells us of a Christ who liked to stir things up. He wanted us to know the truth, and that required Him to expose falsehood - especially sanctimonious falsehoods. The reality behind this argument is central to Jesus' ministry - and it is shocking.
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Scripture References: Mark 2
Children, and humility. To conclude our thoughts about Jesus and youngsters, we'll look at a couple of heartbreaking encounters. Nothing touches us more deeply than seeing one of our children sick or in danger, and today we'll meet two parents desperate to find help for their kids. Their faith became very simple and child-like. But let's revisit a lighter moment, to begin.
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Scripture References: Mark 9 & 10
We can understand Jesus ministering to children, and sometimes He did that. What about Jesus ministering with children? Because sometimes He did that! In Mark 9 and 10 we see a few incidents involving youngsters. The Disciples' instinct was to push them away: We're having a grownup discussion here, let's keep the rug rats out of the way, please. But the Lord welcomed them. What can we learn - not from children - but through the way Christ treated them?
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Scripture References: Mark 9 & 10
Christ loves - and the religion of Christ loves - children. To Molech or Allah or the Aztec god Tlaloc, a child is a worthy sacrifice. To worshipers of the American god of materialism a child may be an inconvenience (and a potential sacrifice), or a god itself. Careful not to cross that one. But to Jesus, a child is neither a god nor a sacrifice, but a valuable member of His kingdom.
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Scripture References: Mark 9 & 10
12 years is a long time to be sick... but a very short time to be alive! In chapter 5 of Mark's Gospel we have those two intertwined stories of the woman and the girl who needed Jesus. And the lesson of faith over fear is brought to us repeatedly in this passage. 12 years -is- a long time to be sick; would we have given up after a decade or so? And it's a short time to be alive. But death is death. Isn't it?
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Scripture References: Mark 3:13-19; 4:35-41; 5
There are three stories in Mark, chapter 5. We'll look at all of them today. The man on the other side of the lake was tormented by multiple demons - we'll finish our survey of that account. And back on the near shore we'll read about two members of the fair sex who needed divine interventions of their own. What ties these different episodes together is the need for Faith, Not Fear.
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Scripture References: Mark 3:13-19; 4:35-41; 5
Squatters. They can be difficult to get rid of. We've seen how only a few small concessions in the law, or in the justice system, can cause big problems with illegal tenants. It's the stuff of nightmares: Someone moves into your house and refuses to leave. The nightmares are worse when a human being is the dwelling place, and the trespassers are demons. Today we'll look at Mark, chapter 5 for Part 2 of, Faith, Not Fear.
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Scripture References: Mark 3:13-19; 4:35-41; 5
Have you ever felt like God is sleeping while your boat is sinking? The Disciples' literal boat was actually filling with water, and God the Son was literally asleep in the back. But they didn't know His full identity yet, or they might have let Him slumber on. Does God know about my situation? Is He really with me? Does He care? Why doesn't He do something? The challenge to us is to override our natural fear response, and believe.
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Scripture References: Mark 3:13-19; 4:35-41; 5
Today we're a fly on the wall - watching Christ in His "unguarded moments." When we began this study of the Gospel of Mark, I promised that we would see the real, historical, Jesus. Well, because of Mark's association with Peter, we can learn not just what the Lord said and did in public, but what He revealed to the Twelve in private. In this episode we'll complete that list of Jesus' public demonstrations of authority, then we'll follow Him where the crowds could not go.
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Scripture References: Mark 1
Separation... isolation... estrangement. They're all part of the old kingdom! When the new King arrived, we found out quickly that He was not like other kings. Not like the fraudulent puppet Herod, certainly. Not like any monarch the world had ever seen. In the kingdom of Jesus, barriers between men and women, between Jews and Gentiles, and even between clean and unclean, would come down. Here's Jim, back in the Gospel of Mark.
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Scripture References: Mark 1
Do you ever feel like you're just wandering around with Jesus? The evangelist Mark puts us in the huddle with the Disciples. We see what they saw, and hear what they heard. It wasn't a life of unstructured "hanging out" with the Lord for three-and-a-half years. There was a lesson plan. There was a progression to their training, even though the "hands-on" learning started pretty early in the course! Even the Master was on a timetable. There's a structure to our training, as well.
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Scripture References: Mark 1
What if it's the Kingdom of God versus your kingdom? In the opening pages of the Gospel of Mark we see a Messiah who just couldn't care less about people's expectations. He was on a mission. It was more effective to demonstrate what the Kingdom of God is, than to deconstruct their false imaginings. The effect was divisive. Some people were being set free from the devil's kingdom; others were strengthening their allegiance to him. We're in Mark, chapter 1 with Jim.
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Scripture References: Mark 1:14-3:12
"Jesus is Lord!" Oh, yeah? This young rabbi from the "sticks" didn't build gravitas gradually, over the course of a 40-year ministry; He burst onto the scene as the Boss. "With authority," was the phrase people used about Him. And that authority extended over many things, as Jim will show us today. Jesus -is- Lord, but when He demonstrated that lordship, a lot of people didn't like it. Our message is called, Preaching God's Good News.
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Scripture References: Mark 1:14-3:12
What is the "Good News?" Yesterday we opened Mark's Gospel to learn about the real Jesus. But what's the meaning of that word "gospel" that we throw around? What exactly were the glad tidings that John the Baptist had come to announce? If we answer that it's the message of a Savior, of reconciliation with God, of eternal life, we're right... but there's even more to the Good News than that! Pastor Jim will walk us through some of the major headlines in that news, in Part 2 of this message.
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Scripture References: Mark 1:1-15
The search for the "real" Jesus! A few years ago a popular author wrote a book about Christ without any reference to the Gospels! He used "historical" sources only, he said. But there's no reason to believe that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are not historical records - accurate historical records. They've been validated many times, over thousands of years. Today we'll begin a series in the Gospel of Mark. And in those pages, we will see the real Jesus.
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Scripture References: Mark 1:1-15
When man broke fellowship with God, it broke humanity. God is Life. And separation from Him is death. That disconnection fractures all our other relationships, including the one with ourselves. During the darkest of all tragedies, recorded in Genesis 3, we see more than a Judge administering justice. We see a Father repairing things, protecting us, and promising restoration.
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Scripture References: Genesis 3:22-24
That snake is still lying to us about what is good. We've been studying the goodness of God, but we'll never understand it if we take the devil's definition of "good." There are people today who say it was Satan who told Eve the truth - despite the disastrous consequences of the Fall that we can see all around us. What was God's intention in allowing humans to sin? How can that possibly be "good?" Again we'll open the program with a skit, to illustrate a point.
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Scripture References: Genesis 3:22-24
Solomon wrote, "Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil." A blessed New Year and welcome to Right Start with Jim Custer, Pastor Emeritus of Grace Polaris Church in Columbus, Ohio. Our God is so kind that He gives people time to change their minds, and change their ways. But we mistake His kindness for indifference, and we use that time to descend deeper into evil. In Romans 1 and 2 we see what happens when divine patience meets human hardness.
Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.
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Scripture References: Romans 1:32-2:11
When good things happen to bad people.... Many have asked why bad things happen to good people, but we'd say they're peering into the wrong end of the telescope. When we look through the lens of the Bible we don't see any good people; only a good God actively lavishing His goodness on bad people. If that sounds like it could stir up some problems of its own, you're right. Here's Jim to fill us in.
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Scripture References: Romans 1:32-2:11
Did the Good Teacher give the student a good lesson? The Rich Young Ruler, as we find him in Matthew 19, barely gets the greeting out of his mouth before he's challenged. And Jesus will keep challenging him until his eyes are opened. There is good, and there is Good; gold, and fool's gold; God, and idolatry. Will we do better than this fellow when the Lord confronts us about our false "goods?" Here's Jim with Part 2 of, The Only Good God.
Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.
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Scripture References: Matthew 19:16-22
"If you know what's good for you...." It's a threat couched as advice: "If you know what's good for you, you'll take your hand out of that cookie jar right now!" But the truth is, we don't know what's good for us. And we really, really want that cookie. This is a problem for children, grownups, and even rulers. We open today's program with a skit, then Jim will tell us about The Only Good God.
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Scripture References: Matthew 19:16-22
We can't go back to that night in Bethlehem. Can we? The divine incursion into our world is history; it's past. We can re-enact it, but we can't actually see it happen again. Or can we? Each time a man or woman (or boy or girl) is born again, isn't that a divine incursion? Isn't that a "Bethlehem event" that we can observe? Here's Jim to conclude his message, The Witness.
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Scripture References: John 1
It was the eternity before Christmas.... That baby in the manger - you know the one - what was His name? Careful: Luke tells us He was officially named at 8 days old, at His circumcision. So what was He called that first week of His human life? Could we use John's name for Him before the world began: "The Word?" The Apostle takes us back to the beginning, and then back a little further.
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Scripture References: John 1
To the shepherds He was a savior; to Herod He was a threat. If we take advantage of this yearly opportunity to peer into the Manger, we may see a Friend or a Foe bundled there in the swaddling clothes. It's imperative that we know His true identity, and His mission. Here's Pastor Jim with Part 2 of, The Reason for the Season.
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Scripture References: Luke 1:30-37
There's some kind of big holiday coming up, but what are we celebrating? It often feels like the world has almost completely hollowed-out Christmas. All the tinsel and lights and food and music are still there, the package is brightly wrapped - but there's nothing inside. Of course Jesus is The Reason for the Season. And His followers are rejoicing about the Incarnation. But who exactly is this Being who has come to us... and who will come again?
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Scripture References: Luke 1:30-37
How are you holding up? With only a few days to go until the Big One, are you exhausted yet? Stressed out? Depressed? Anxious? Frustrated? Or peaceful? If we could see things from Heaven's perspective - and that's what we're instructed to do in Colossians 3 - we would find pretty much the opposite of what the world's offering. And we would feel that "heavenly peace" that we sing about. Here's Jim with the rest of his sermon, The Mystery: Christ in You.
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Scripture References: Colossians 1 & 3
It's not about Christ in the manger; the objective is Christ in you! For all those who think they can fit God into their puny, broken minds, or neatly graph His eternal plan in their seminar, we have Colossians, chapter 1. There we read that the divine strategy was a "mystery," a glorious secret, revealed only to His "holy ones." And to solve that enigma will take us all the way to death, and a new life.
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Scripture References: Colossians 1 & 3
Today we'll look at God's baby picture. It's a paradox, isn't it? The uncreated God had no beginning, but He gave Himself a human beginning. And that's what we celebrate at Christmas. Jesus is "the image of the invisible God," a kind of living photograph to bring the Transcendent One down into the realm of our senses. And He is much more, as we began to see yesterday in the first chapter of Colossians. Let's continue there, with Pastor Jim.
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Scripture References: Luke 2; Colossians 1:15-23
You didn't get to choose where you were born - but Jesus did! "The barn out back" wasn't Joseph's and Mary's first choice for a "birthing suite" - or their second choice, or their one-hundredth choice. To them it must have seemed like an emergency, makeshift solution. But all was going according to plan. Today Jim will help us see the Lord's birth from Heaven's perspective.
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Scripture References: Luke 2; Colossians 1:15-23
The stronger Christian is obligated to the weaker - but doesn't the weaker one have some responsibilities, too? We've been looking at Romans 14, and "doubtful things," to use the old term, matters of individual conscience. We're going to have higher expectations of those who are more mature, but even the most fragile believer has something to do, something to offer.
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Scripture References: Romans 14 & 15
You can't judge someone into joy. If righteousness, peace and joy are the land, sea and sky of the Kingdom of God, then what are we doing worrying about our brother's diet? Or have we forgotten which kingdom we're in? Paul writes very clearly about these things in Romans 14; the challenge is applying them to our day, and our concerns.
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Scripture References: Romans 14 & 15
The first obstacle to Christian unity is my pride. That's a real "Dog Bites Man" headline, isn't it? Of course our pride ruins everything - but especially our ability to bond with others. And that's essential for the church to flourish, and carry out God's program. The lesson we learned in Romans 12, about not thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to think... that'll be needed here, in chapters 14 and 15. Here's Jim to open the final sermon in our Romans series.
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Scripture References: Romans 14 & 15
Are the "strong" really as strong as they think they are? When the Apostle Paul divides us into those strong in the faith, and those who are weaker, what are we to make of that? Is this a proper way to promote unity - by splitting people into categories? Or does he want us to reflect more deeply on who we are, and what is our real position relative to our spiritual relatives? It isn't the position of "critic." Here's Jim to complete his message, Tolerance that Pleases God.
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Scripture References: Romans 14:9
There are just too many opinions these days... that's my opinion. Everyone has a point of view. In the church we even have opinions about other people's opinions - but we don't call them that. No, we have "convictions." And when other people's convictions about how to honor God conflict with our convictions, they're just wrong. Obviously. In Romans, Paul is very concerned about that attitude, because it leads to dysfunction in the Body of Christ.
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Scripture References: Romans 14:9
What is "good?" Governor Pilate famously asked, "What is truth?" But he, and every political ruler, should also be asking every day, "What is good? How should the force of government be rightly applied?" As we're looking into Romans 12 and 13, we're finding a lot of good insights into how Christians ought to relate to the state, to society, and to our circumstances. Here's Jim with Part 2 of his message, Delivered by Deferring.
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Scripture References: Romans 12-13
In the junkyard the meanest dog wins. But we're not in the junkyard anymore. Early in Paul's letter to the Romans we meet a different kind of God: The incorruptible Judge who does not wink at sin, but who also saves from sin. In chapter 12 we're charged with being a different kind of worshiper. We have duties not just to Heaven, but here on Earth. We'll talk about 4 of those obligations in a message called, Delivered by Deferring.
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Scripture References: Romans 12-13
Look... Present... Renew. If we've understood the truths spelled-out in the first 11 chapters of Romans, a response should be rising inside us. In chapter 12 Paul shows us how to shape that response: Take a good look at God's good mercies, make a rational offering of our bodies, and renew our minds. The Apostle gets more specific as he goes on. Here's Jim with the conclusion of his sermon, Living the Good Life.
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Scripture References: Romans 12:1-18
Have you laid your 67 percent on the altar? If God has my spirit and my soul, but not my body, isn't He missing about a third of me? Well, we can't split ourselves up into percentages that way. So the question is, if we've given Him less than all, are we really "His" at all? In Romans 12 Paul urges us to give a kind of offering that involves all 3 dimensions of our being. And it's all because of the mercies of God.
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Scripture References: Romans 12:1-18
The pill that cures your disease is in your mouth. Salvation - achieving right standing with God, and receiving all the benefits that go with that - is hard. It's harder than hard, if you try to do it yourself. But if we let God give us His rightness, then it's easy. Yesterday we began to look at Romans 10, and we saw that salvation is available to everyone. Jim has two more points to bring out, today. But we open with a prophecy by Isaiah.
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Scripture References: Romans 10
Could salvation be that easy? The devil would like us to imagine righteousness as something high and far-off; difficult to attain, even difficult to understand - as if salvation were a kind of sadistic and impossible puzzle. But God exposed that lie way back in Deuteronomy - in the passage Paul quotes in Romans 10. We'll look at that passage today, and Jim will help us make 3 discoveries from this chapter. Here's part 1 of, Mercy for All.
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Scripture References: Romans 10
This wasn't Israel's first catastrophic failure. If you want to know what God's going to do with His chosen people now that they have unchosen Him, just leaf backwards in your Bible to one of the many times it happened in the past. Paul is doing that in Romans 9. He picks a couple of scenes from the life of Moses to show that God is sovereign in His mercy, and God is just in His sovereignty. Here's Jim with the final part of his sermon, Can God be Trusted?
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Scripture References: Romans 9-11
Can you steal a promise? God's promises to Israel - can the church just "appropriate" them? After all, they're not using them. It's hardly even theft. No, as we saw yesterday, God has not disowned the Jewish people. Despite their rejection of the Promised One, His promises stand. In Romans 9 through 11 Paul gives some illustrations of the faithfulness of God. These are historical events that every Hebrew - and every Christian - should know.
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Scripture References: Romans 9-11
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Scripture References: Romans 9-11Your mentor is the Holy Spirit - if you'll listen to Him! We've been examining Romans, chapter 8, learning to be led by the Spirit rather than leaning on the Law. The Spirit of God is speaking to us, and He's speaking to God for us. And right in the middle of this chapter of freedom and comfort and wonderful promises, is the hard reality of suffering. Yes, the Spirit is here to help us with that, as well. Here's Jim to conclude his sermon, Missing Link II.
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Scripture References: Romans 6-8
If you're going back to the Law, Jesus isn't going with you! Romans 3 through 8 reminds us of the letter to the Hebrews - because Jews and Gentiles alike feel the tug of rules and commandments. Maybe it's pride that tempts us to "add our good deeds" to the finished work of Christ. Maybe we like to sit in judgment of others who don't check the legalistic boxes that we check. Here's Jim at the first verse of Romans 7.
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Scripture References: Romans 6-8
For the next half-hour Jim would like to speak to the dead people in the audience. Everybody still with us? All of us are either dead in our sins, or dead to sin. To be "dead in our trespasses" (as we read about in Ephesians and Colossians) is to be cut off from life, the life of God. It's the other kind of Dearly Departed that Jim would like to address today: Those who have been resurrected from that death, and are now dead to sin. Let's listen.
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Scripture References: Romans 6-8
Confirmation, and conformation. When "Christians" don't want to become holy, we have to question whether they're truly born again. But when believers try to sanctify themselves through obeying the Law of God, there's no question they'll fail. In Romans 8 we find the solution: living by the Spirit. He will confirm to us that we belong to Him, and He will conform us to the image of Jesus.That's a process. Here's Jim reading Romans 8, verse 2.
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Scripture References: Romans 7-8
Trying, versus dying. The answer to our recidivism problem - Christians like to call it "besetting sin" - is not to try harder to be good! That didn't work for anyone under the Old Covenant, and it still doesn't work. Yes, God's Law is good, but we won't become good by keeping the Law. The solution is much more radical than that. Today we'll look at some of the most mind-blowing, most glorious words ever written, in Romans 7 and 8.
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Scripture References: Romans 7-8
Have you been scammed by a fake Christianity? Were you promised that if you prayed a certain prayer, or came forward at a meeting, Jesus would take you to Heaven - but leave you in your sin? Were you told that you could accept Christ as Savior, and not as Lord? Were you sold Justification and Glorification, but when you got the package home and unwrapped it, there was no Sanctification inside? We're back with Jim in Romans 7, thinking about the Genuine Article.
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Scripture References: Romans 5-8
We're peeking behind the scenes into how God's transfer process works! In Romans 5 and 6 we see the transmission of Adam's primal guilt to us through our "DNA," if you will; the transfer of Jesus' innocence to us through faith; our change from spiritual death to life... and, as we mentioned yesterday, our graduation from being pardoned on paper, to becoming a functional citizen of the Kingdom of God. Here's Jim with more.
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Scripture References: Romans 5-8
"You're not just declared righteous, you're empowered to be righteous!" Believers here-and-now have the first chapter of our salvation mastered: Jesus paid the penalty for our sin. We stand clean before our holy God. But if we have PhDs in Justification, many of us are back in preschool on the subject of Sanctification. We're missing some knowledge on how to turn our right status into right actions. Pastor Jim is here to help us find that information.
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Scripture References: Romans 5-8
God's righteousness is bad news for us... and good news. In Romans 1, Paul lays out his topic for the letter: righteousness: The absolute perfection of God's moral character. We discover that we're immoral, impure, even rebels against the Right; and we realize that we have no future. We corrupt ones cannot coexist with His incorruption. But then Paul tells us that the righteousness that condemns us, can save us.
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Scripture References: Romans 1-5
God's ultimate goal is not to keep you out of Hell... but to take the Hell out of you! When we surrendered our lives to Jesus our accounts were cleared with God. Our negative moral balance was wiped out, and we were reckoned as righteous. So far, so good. But if we think that's all God has to say to us about the matter of right-ness, we're in deep trouble. The whole point of the exercise is to take that holiness on the ledger, and make it real in our lives.
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Scripture References: Romans 1-5
You're telling me that all the things I'm worried about right now, gripping my mind and dominating my feelings - these are just "distractions?" A lot of our bad decisions come from worry, and a desire to "do something" about the troubling situation. We've been taught better! Yesterday we began to look at five characteristics of a Christian who's becoming more like Christ. Dealing with disagreements graciously, and having a Disposition of joy were the first two.
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You can purchase a copy of this message, unsegmented for broadcasting and in its entirety, for $7 on a single CD by calling +1 (800) 984-2313, and of course you can always listen online or download the message for free.
Scripture References: Philippians 4
Worry and Peace. That would almost be a good title for a novel! All of us would trade our anxiety for inner peace. And that would surely lead to more interpersonal peace, more social harmony - which is especially important in the church. And that would bring joy to everyone. But how? Paul talks about these qualities and more, within just a few lines in his letter to the Philippians. We've all read them, but have we seen the purpose behind them?
Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.
You can purchase a copy of this message, unsegmented for broadcasting and in its entirety, for $7 on a single CD by calling +1 (800) 984-2313, and of course you can always listen online or download the message for free.
Scripture References: Philippians 4
What'cha thinkin' about? On Friday we were thinking about fence posts - some metaphorical pillars that can help steady our minds when they start to go wobbly. And Jim will bring that idea home on today's broadcast. But the Apostle Paul has some more general advice for the Philippians: Reflect on the good. The encouraging, noble, inspiring things in life - whatever they are - are worthy of our contemplation. Let's join Pastor Jim at Philippians 3, verse 15.
Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.
You can purchase a copy of this message, unsegmented for broadcasting and in its entirety, for $7 on a single CD by calling +1 (800) 984-2313, and of course you can always listen online or download the message for free.
Scripture References: Philippians 3-4
What if I've never seen an anchor? In the troubled waters of November, 2025, hope is still our anchor. Even us landlubbers know what an anchor is. Basically. But in this sermon Jim will employ a metaphor that's a bit closer to home: fence posts. If you sink your posts deep into the ground, and get the concrete just right, you can build a fence that will last. We'll be testing the strength of our posts in Paul's letter to the Philippians.
Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.
You can purchase a copy of this message, unsegmented for broadcasting and in its entirety, for $7 on a single CD by calling +1 (800) 984-2313, and of course you can always listen online or download the message for free.
Scripture References: Philippians 3-4
The creation groans... but it will sing! "...the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God." That's a promise that could be overlooked among all the blessings we find in Romans 8. But it has its seed in John 3:16, the verse we've been inspecting so carefully. God's wants to redeem not just you (though you're important), not just humanity, but everything!
Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.
You can purchase a copy of this message, unsegmented for broadcasting and in its entirety, for $7 on a single CD by calling +1 (800) 984-2313, and of course you can always listen online or download the message for free.
Scripture References: John 3:16
The world is bigger than you think! "For God so loved the world..." we read. But what is the world? The Earth? The humans on it? The Greek word is kosmos, so maybe it embraces the divine order of the stars, and all of Creation! Question: If God loves the heavens and the earth, why will He destroy and replace them? These are things we'll think about in this message. It's the final installment in our study of John 3:16.
Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.
You can purchase a copy of this message, unsegmented for broadcasting and in its entirety, for $7 on a single CD by calling +1 (800) 984-2313, and of course you can always listen online or download the message for free.
Scripture References: John 3:16
We can't see God - directly. "No man has seen God at any time," but we can see His work. We can discern Him through His vast and wondrous Creation. But on a more personal level, we find evidence of God in the lives of people. An unselfish, upright, truly compassionate person makes us pause. There is a work of God to be witnessed here, just as there is in the pattern of the stars. Here's Jim with more about Living Above Limits.
Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.
You can purchase a copy of this message, unsegmented for broadcasting and in its entirety, for $7 on a single CD by calling +1 (800) 984-2313, and of course you can always listen online or download the message for free.
Scripture References: John 3:16
Some people don't want eternal life! Many of us have been laboring under the misconception that if we just explain the Good News to people clearly - if we can get them to understand the benefits of trusting Jesus - then of course they'll choose life over death! But there's more to everlasting life than Heaven. And that "more" is the sticking-point. Our study of John 3:16 continues with a sermon called, Living Above Limits.
Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.
You can purchase a copy of this message, unsegmented for broadcasting and in its entirety, for $7 on a single CD by calling +1 (800) 984-2313, and of course you can always listen online or download the message for free.
Scripture References: John 3:16