Lessons from the Resurrection Appearances, Part 2: The Resurrection Transforms Grief to Purpose.

Little is known about Mary Magdalene whose name bears her origin, a town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. John depicts Mary as a woman of strength, faith, and unwavering devotion.

The Resurrection Appearances of Jesus.

The resurrection is a necessary belief of the Christian faith. Everything crumbles if the resurrection is not true. There would be no hope. Because of the resurrection, the church rearranged its worship schedule to the first day of the week to weekly remember and encourage one another that Jesus is alive.

The Critical Transforming Nature of the Resurrection

All Scripture is founded on the truth and reality of the resurrection. God through the Word of God by the Spirit of God desires each of us to be transformed by the truth of the resurrection.

The Joy of Discipleship in Unity.

John 17 contains Jesus’s longest prayer, known as the high priestly prayer, which He prays after the upper room discourse, after telling the disciples to not let their hearts be troubled because He is going away and they cannot come. Jesus prays this prayer with the agony of the cross before Him.

The Power of Jesus Even Over Death

Many scholars have called the raising of Lazarus, Jesus’s seventh sign and last public sign, the climax of Jesus’s ministry and the greatest of His public signs. In this chapter, John is preparing the reader for the cornerstone of our faith in Jesus Christ, which is the resurrection of the dead. We cannot have Christianity without the resurrection, and there cannot be resurrection without Jesus having authority over death.

Our 75th Anniversary Celebrating God's Faithfulness.

The Doctrine of the Church.

There are many sources of pressure in our lives. Job, school, deadlines, finances, expectations, marriage, family, singleness, success, athletics – all these can exert pressure on us in ordinary life. Cultural circumstances and social situations can add more pressure on top of that. What do God's people focus on prioritizing when living under intense pressure?

Happy Resurrection Day!

Continue to Trusting God When Oppressed.

When culture moves away from God’s truth, calling right wrong and wrong right, what happens to the Christian caught in that gap? Our Psalm today tells us that Christians must continue to trust in the sovereignty and goodness of God. Since our God is sovereign and good, all who trust in Him will be rewarded.

Focusing on Spiritual Realities to Find Spiritual Renewal and Productivity.

The world's allurements and performance-based external religion distract us from Gospel productivity. Paul instructs the Corinthians to enjoy working together in Gospel living and focus on their confident hope so they will avoid distraction, find renewal, and keep being spiritually productive.

God wants us as a church to live life in transformative newness.

If anyone owns the word "new," the church does. Those who have been transformed by the Gospel and have been given a new nature know the true meaning of the word. In a new year when much is uncertain, we know the Lord is still on the throne, and we are qualified and equipped for whatever may come our way.

Nothing we can gain in this world remains for the next, but we have an enduring treasure in our relationship with Jesus Christ.

We’ve all delighted in new things—new things that ultimately God has gifted to us. But our delight in new things quickly fades. New becomes old. The universal, unescapable truth is that nothing stays new—not things, people, or relationships. Psalm 49 addresses this readily apparent yet rarely apprehended truth.

Surviving and Thriving While Living Out of the Depths.

The psalmbook of Israel was divided into 5 sections. Book 5 contains many anonymous psalms and some by David. A common theme of these authors is deriving hope from the guaranteed future for the nation of Israel. Their eschatological message is, "it's going to be okay."

Keep Relating While Waiting.

2 Corinthians finds its author, Paul, defending his mission against threats to Gospel progress. His goal with the Corinthian believers to whom he was writing was to remain ministry partners even through relational difficulty while enjoying mutual comfort from God. Their unity in Christ was greater than anything that would divide them.

The Beauty of the Body of Christ.

God places us in each of our specific contexts for an eternal purpose (1 Corinthians 12:18, Matthew 28:19-20).

The Wisdom of Anticipation: Old Testament.

The longer you walk with the Lord as your Savior, the more you long to see Him face to face. This was true of both Simeon and Anna in Luke 2.

From sorrow to singing, Psalm 13 reflects our human emotional shifts and points us to stability.

Psalm 12 expresses how David felt when he had been abandoned by godly friends. In Psalm 13, David is so alone, he feels he has been abandoned by God Himself. This feeling is prompted by the length of his suffering. Perseverance in a long time of difficulty is perhaps the most trying to our minds and hearts.

David's struggle will feel familiar to many people of God. In a marathon of trust, we often ask similar questions. Is God one who abandons? Through David's wrestling, we will learn that God's character and work confessed in prayer sustains us during long, drawn-out periods of suffering.

Healthy, Loving Unity Becomes the Platform for All Gospel Advancement.

The Gospel will advance from a healthy church. There is nothing sensational or extraordinary about it. It is actually abnormal for a church not to realize Gospel advancement according to Acts 1:8. Rome was not the largest church in the first century, but they enjoyed Gospel influence because they were healthy and unified.

Embracing Our Omnipotent Support in Knowing and Doing the Will of God.

Romans 8:26 is another often-quoted verse from this chapter. Remember that its truth must be understood in the context of the spiritual security and assurance of the believer.

The Worshipping Heart Is a Thankful Heart.

God is a God of second chances for those who have been redeemed. Though they fall, believers are always welcome back to fellowship with God and ministry service. Psalm 146 rehearses many truths to make sure we walk with God faithfully.