The Story
The End of Time
March 31, 2019 • Mark Ashton • Revelation
Of the original apostles, only John remained to hear these words. He had experienced the climax of salvation history, but God was not yet finished. He had one more message to share with John and the growing churches to show His servants what must soon take place.
Paul’s Final Days
March 24, 2019 • Glenn Lawson • Acts
While visiting church in Europe and Asia Minor, Paul takes an offering for the poor in Jerusalem. He wants to bring back the offering in person, even if it means facing former colleagues with old scores to settle—the Pharisees. Sure enough, they have him arrested. Paul, a Roman citizen, exercises his legal rights and appeals to Rome. He is going to plead his case—and preach the gospel—to the most powerful man on earth. [Paul remained keenly focused on being faithful to the end of the mission Jesus gave him.]
Paul’s Final Days (Gym)
March 24, 2019 • Joe Jensen • Acts
While visiting church in Europe and Asia Minor, Paul takes an offering for the poor in Jerusalem. He wants to bring back the offering in person, even if it means facing former colleagues with old scores to settle—the Pharisees. Sure enough, they have him arrested. Paul, a Roman citizen, exercises his legal rights and appeals to Rome. He is going to plead his case—and preach the gospel—to the most powerful man on earth. [Paul remained keenly focused on being faithful to the end of the mission Jesus gave him.]
Paul's Mission
March 17, 2019 • Mark Ashton • Acts
This week we look at Paul’s mission to the gentiles. It involves a number of missionary journeys and a bunch of letters Paul wrote to churches he started to encourage them when he was gone and to address specific issues in these fledgling congregations.
New Beginnings
March 10, 2019 • Mark Ashton • Acts 1:8, Acts 2:38
The new church continued to grow rapidly. The apostles were even able to perform miracles similar to those Jesus had done! As the apostles spread the word of the resurrection in Jerusalem, they incited outrage and opposition from the Jewish rulers. Peter refused to be silenced and continued to speak in spite of orders to stop.
The Resurrection
March 3, 2019 • Alex Ehly
His enemies thought they had finished Jesus off. But despite their great pains to discredit him and keep him in the tomb, he returned, just as he said he would - just as the prophets said he would. His own victory over death gives everyone the same opportunity to live forever with God, which has been the plan from the beginning. Jesus' mission on earth has been completed. Now it was up to a small group of men and women who believed.
The Resurrection (Gym)
March 3, 2019 • Craig Walters
His enemies thought they had finished Jesus off. But despite their great pains to discredit him and keep him in the tomb, he returned, just as he said he would - just as the prophets said he would. His own victory over death gives everyone the same opportunity to live forever with God, which has been the plan from the beginning. Jesus' mission on earth has been completed. Now it was up to a small group of men and women who believed.
The Hour of Darkness
February 24, 2019 • Mark Ashton
Knowing that His time had come, Jesus spent His last few hours with His disciples. Scripture tells he knew everything that was going to happen to him. His dread was so palpable that even as an angel came and ministered to Him, His horror at enduring the full fury of God was such that he sweated drops of blood. This condition, known as hematidrosis, is the effusion of blood from veins. Under extreme distress, capillaries just under the skin dilate and burst, mingling blood with sweat. When He said, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," it was literal.
Jesus, Son of God
February 17, 2019 • Mark Ashton
He never invited neutrality. His followers called Him the Christ. His contenders called Him a blasphemer. Some were drawn to Him, while others could muster nothing in His presence but contempt. His teachings were revolutionary and His miracles undeniable. He claimed nothing less than equality with God and proclaimed Himself as the long expected Messiah.
Jesus' Ministry Begins
February 10, 2019 • Mark Ashton
If God’s prophets were meant to be peculiar, John the Baptist did not disappoint. Eccentric is too mild a description for this wilderness dwelling preacher who wore odd clothes and lacked both a sense of tact and a balanced diet. His message, though, was right in step with a long line of prophetic predecessors. He called for Israel’s repentance and baptized the penitent in the Jordan River.
The Queen of Beauty and Courage
January 13, 2019 • Mark Ashton • Esther
King Xerxes of Persia had reason to party. His vast empire was powerful and prosperous. His queen was lovely. His palace was ideal for a celebration befitting such a monarch. His merrymaking continued for six months when Xerxes summoned Queen Vashti so he could put her on display for the inebriated revelers. She refused. With his advisers’ support, he stripped Vashti of her crown and banished her from his presence.
The Return Home
January 6, 2019 • Mark Ashton • Ezra
After generations of idolatry, God’s people had been defeated by the empires that controlled the ancient world. The Assyrians had conquered the Northern kingdom, deported the people, and re-populated the land with exiles from other countries. Their practice was to redistribute people from conquered nations throughout their vast empire. The foreigners who were resettled in northern Israel intermarried with the few remaining Jews and became the half-breed Samaritans.