Revealing Christ

Jesus goes back to His hometown of Nazareth.  They know Him there as the 'Carpenter'.  He gives His first sermon that's recorded in the Bible, less than a minute long and  He was rejected immediately by His own people!

Why would Jesus help this guy out?  Why would one of Herod’s elite seek Jesus?  Because he has bigger problems than politics, his child is dying.

She's a lesser race and a lesser gender!  Why's Jesus talking to her?  She's about to win the prize of salvation though, and the apostles are about to get schooled.

The religious world considered her worthless because she was a foreigner and she’d been married 5 times.  

Luke 2:35 “…a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

The second time John exclaimed "Behold the Lamb Of God"! The First Disciples Were Andrew and ???  Jesus asked them "why are you following Me?"  Why did I come to Christ?  Why do you follow Him?  

Most people don't know that John the Baptist said this two days in a row.  John states "I did not know Him".  Even later on John struggled with who Jesus was.  How many of us struggle to 'know' Him?

Greedy church leaders turning church into money!  That's a good way to make God mad.  This is the first time Jesus Cleanses the temple, at the beginning of His ministry.  This was prophesied in the book of Malachi, ironically a book that money-loving preachers twist to collect money to this day.

Is your church better than others? Jesus is just getting started in His 3-year ministry, and there are already problems among believers who see each other as 'competition'.   John The Baptist has the cure "He must increase, but I must decrease".

If anyone didn't need to partake in the baptism of repentance, it's Jesus.  John tried to stop Him.

The cross Jesus was crucified on... it belonged to Barabbas.  That cross should have been ours.  It should have been written over it "Murderer".   What would be written over your cross as your crime?   Instead, that sin was erased and replaced with this inscription: Jesus Christ, The King of the Jews.  Pilate took credit for it, "What I have written, I have written".  For once he was correct.  Written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. 

Two sisters married to the same guy?  What a mess.  Rachel was hot. Leah was not... is that true?  Did Leah have the face of a horse?  No.  Study it with me and you may be surprised to see how God worked this out for Leah to be greatly loved by Jacob.

As Jesus stumbled through the streets carrying His cross, He said something very terrifying!  Luke 23:27-29 And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him. 28 But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’

My favorite text in all four gospels.  The greatest worship service the earth had ever seen, and not a word was spoken!  No longwinded prayers, no music, no flag-wavers, no drums, no fog machines.  Just Jesus and one woman who knew Him and knew who He really was!  In a room full of men and not one of them joined in, all they did was judge.  

The slavery of kidnapping someone and forcing them into chains is an abomination and condemned by God.  Becoming a bond servant -as the bible mentions- has nothing to do with the crime of slavery this country was guilty of almost 200 years ago.  Give this short teaching a chance to show you some of what the bible actually says about this sensitive subject.  You'll be glad you did!

Genesis 24:67 ...and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her.  This is the first mention of a woman being loved in the bible.  This marriage is a beautiful picture of Christ's love for His Bride, the church.  The imagery in this text reveals multiple infallible typologies that testify of Jesus' perfect love and what it requires to have a relationship with Him.

This world is made a mess by people claiming to follow God's plan.  My own family included.  None of this mess with Abraham was Hagar's idea.  She was abused, used, and rejected... Yet she was dearly loved by God and blessed by Him.  It makes me sick when some preachers disparage her and also her son because of the symbolism applied to them thousands of years later.  How many times did God appear to her?  How many times did God appear to you?  Don't be a jack wagon.  Get over yourself.

The first to be with Christ at His birth... a woman.  The last to be with Christ at His death... a woman.  The first to be with Him at His ressurection... a woman.  The first to declare a risen Christ... A woman!

Deep Dark depression.  Darkness that hurts so much you'd just assume die.  I can’t feel God anymore!  Ever feel like you're getting the silent treatment from God?  Jesus can relate.  Psalms 88:14 My soul cast off, Your face is hidden from Me.  Why does God allow it?  For what purpose?

Do you ever feel like God is far from you?  Christ experienced the same thing… but did the Father really forsake Him?  Did Jesus need to be 'perfected'?  Did Jesus have a lesson He needed to learn?  Here we take an honest look at some of the most disturbing texts in the bible.