just as God had rested on the seventh day after He completed this tangible, easily corrupted world, Jesus endured the cross unto death and now rested in a borrowed tomb. John chapter 20 begins with, “The first day of the week.” J. A. Macdonald states, “Since in the week there are seven days, the “eighth”…
Read morethe eighth day of creation – part 1
John begins his gospel with the opening words from Genesis. “In the beginning” was easily recognizable by the Jewish community and, as we learned in class, “the Word” held great significance to them as well. the Greeks recognized the words of John chapter 1 as the expressed mindset of a master planner; God’s wisdom personified…
Read morea shhh and a stone (part 2)
we can now see preparations and things going on that the disciples were unaware of, but through revelation, Simon speaks and declares Jesus’ Christ-hood. this is the part of the story that is usually preached to show that Simon, now renamed Peter (meaning a rock), has been blessed to receive insight to the identity of…
Read morea shhh and a stone (part 1)
Matthew 16:13-20 has been an essential passage in the lives of all Christians. many denominations use these verses to teach of the revelation of Simon and the critical role that he played during his discipleship and the upstart of the church. we have heard it preached using the entire passage and using quotes from one…
Read morepersonally impacting parables
two of my favorite parables that Jesus taught are “The Prodigal Son” and the “Hidden Treasure.” there is no doubt that i gravitate toward these two passages due to personal experience. i want to define a parable and explain its purpose. i will also share relevant testimonies and take some time to go through the…
Read moreMarkan sandwiches
the “markan sandwich” is a unique style that the author of The Gospel According to Saint Mark incorporated within his writings. essentially, the stylistic term refers to the way Mark starts to convey a story, stops abruptly to detail another event that, by all outward appearances, seemingly has nothing to do with the first event, and…
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