Questions - Week 7: How Should I Read the Bible?
Awake Us Now
Today’s question, “How should I read the Bible?” is often asked by new believers, church going people who’ve never read the Bible and those questioning what they’ve heard about the Bible. It is often stated this way: ⁃ Which is the best Bible translation? ⁃ Where should I start as I begin reading? ⁃ What schedule should I follow? ⁃ Where can I find extra help and resources? And the often not asked question, but should be asked: ⁃ What are...
info_outline
Rescued by Truth: Week 47
Awake Us Now
How do we deal with worry that threatens to overwhelm us? Be it money, job security, relationships, health, current events... the list goes on! How does a believer deal with these? There is clear guidance and Godly wisdom in the Scriptures. Scripture testifies to this truth: God cares for His Children. He calls on us to TRUST in Him, REJECT the lies of the Enemy, ACT on His promises, and GROW in the new nature He has given us through faith in Christ Jesus.
info_outline
Two Year Gospel Study Week 99
Awake Us Now
The Gospel of John Week 21 Scripture: John 16:1-5. This week we head into more of the final hours before Jesus’ arrest. We open with John 16:1-5 ““All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, but now I...
info_outline
Real People, Real God - Zechariah: Faith
Awake Us Now
God's promises require faith on our part. But what does faith look like?
info_outline
Real People, Real God - Josiah: Revival
Awake Us Now
When King Josiah could have relaxed and coasted through the remainder of his life, instead he relentlessly pursued revival. Why?
info_outline
Real People, Real God - Hezekiah: Intercession (Part 2)
Awake Us Now
When under attack from enemies, is God our last resort... or our first resort?
info_outline
Kings & Prophets: From Solomon to Jeremiah - Week 11
Awake Us Now
Pastor beings today’s class with a Flashback to twelve years earlier from where we left off last week in order to take a look at the prophet Elisha. Elisha’s name means “God is my Salvation.” Even in this dark time of history, God uses Elisha to draw people back to Himself. Elisha’s Ministry ⁃ Moab revolts (2 Kings 3) against Israel. ⁃ Widow’s olive oil (2 Kings 4) God shows His love for individuals ⁃ Naaman healed (2 Kings 5) “The God of Israel is the God of the world!” ...
info_outline
Real People, Real God - Hezekiah: Intercession (Part 1)
Awake Us Now
When under attack from enemies, is God our last resort... or our first resort?
info_outline
Real People, Real God - Elijah: Angel Armies
Awake Us Now
Are we mere pawns of geo-political forces? Or is there more to this world than meets the eye?
info_outline
Questions - Week 6: Why Read the Old Testament?
Awake Us Now
Today’s question, “Why read the Old Testament” is often asked by church going people. It is often stated this way: ⁃ The Old Testament is so hard to understand. ⁃ I like the New Testament better than the Old. ⁃ God seems so angry and mean in the Old. ⁃ Hasn’t the New Testament replaced the Old? ⁃ All those animal sacrifices are a huge turn off. Why read the Old Testament? Here are four main themes which Pastor will use to answer today’s...
info_outlineThe Gospel of John Week 18
Scripture: John 13:21-14:6.
We pick up with the rest of the story of the Lord’s Last Supper that Passover evening. Pastor shares what the layout may have looked like at this meal. Where people were at around the table, that they were reclining vs sitting, that they ate with their right hands and laid on their sides resting their heads in the left hands.
As the story continues, Jesus shares that He knows one of His disciples is going to betray Him. John asks who it is that will do that and Jesus says that it is the one I give this bread to. And then Jesus hands the dipped bread to Judas and he takes the bread and leaves.
After Judas leaves Jesus says, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.” What strange words to say after exposing that He will be betrayed…..
Why say them? Jesus is going to be arrested, beaten, scourged and die - how does this bring glory? It’s because Jesus is looking ahead, He’s looking beyond the immediate to what lies ahead - His glorification. Hebrews 12:2 tells us, “For the joy set before Jesus, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Jesus’ glorification is accomplished in following the Father’s will, the path to Victory and in glorifying the Father by doing so. When Jesus is on the cross the Father is glorified because everything the Father had intended, everything that He had planned is now coming to fulfillment through His obedient Son, Jesus, the Messiah.
Jesus goes on in John 13:34-35 telling them to love one another as He has loved them. And then He tells Peter that he will deny knowing Him before the rooster crows.
Pastor shares great info on what “rooster crow” is and that it wasn’t a rooster crowing, but that was the way they told time. The Romans divided the evening watch into four watches:
6-9pm = evening
9-12am = midnight
12-3am = rooster crows
3-6am = dawn
We can see Jesus use these four terms here: “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’” (Be Awake!)
Jesus is telling Peter that sometime between midnight and 3am he will deny knowing Him three times.
Then we move into John Chapter 14 where Jesus tells the disciples “Do not keep allowing your hearts to be troubled any longer. You believe in God. Believe in me.”
When we face troubled times, we believe in God - meaning we are to trust Him. And Jesus is saying believe in Him, Messiah, - trust in Him, He’s our Savior.. And then He tells them “I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” And what the disciples understand from the Jewish scriptures is that Jesus is talking in wedding language.
Pastor shares Jewish tradition around wedding planning and weddings and what we see in the Bridegroom (Jesus) and His bride (the body of believers.) This wedding/marriage talk is Jesus’ way of expressing Hies deep love for us. Jesus is the groom and He is calling us to realize how much He loves us.
Thomas says, “Where are You going, Lord?” And Jesus says, “I am the way. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Getting to heaven is not about being a good person, because no one is truly good - all have sinned. It’s only through faith in Jesus and what He did for us on the cross and His resurrection that we go to heaven.
Our website – https://www.awakeusnow.com
Watch the video from our website! https://www.awakeusnow.com/2-year-study-of-the-gospels-upper
Watch the video from our YouTube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTaaqrC3dMOzMkhPyiNWwlJRpV6Bwpu01
⁃ The Gospel of John study is part five of five of our Two Year Study of the Gospels.
⁃ The Gospel of John may be one of the most powerful books ever written. Many people have come to faith after reading only this book of the Bible. Scholarly and archeological discoveries in recent decades give us new insight on details in the Gospel of John. We can now understand it as the most Jewish rather than the most “Gentile/Greek” of the Gospels, and when we do that we see many things that we missed before.
Our 2 year study of the gospels is great for large group, small group or home group study and can be started at any time!