The Heart of Jewish Discipleship (Part 3)
In the previous two articles of this series, we began exploring discipleship in 1st century Israel; how this important topic may have been understood by Jesus’ Jewish disciples. In Part 1 we learned that the heart and core of Jewish Discipleship is the art of...
The Heart of Jewish Discipleship (Part 2)
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26) When Jesus said go and make disciples, it was a Jew speaking to other Jews within the...
The Heart of Jewish Discipleship (Part 1)*
The heart and core of Jewish Discipleship is the art of imitation!! In Luke 6:40, our Rabbi Jesus said, “Every disciple, after he has been fully trained, will be like his Teacher.” When the disciple was fully trained, he became a carbon copy of his teacher, a mirror...
SALVATION AND IMITATING OUR RABBI*
In order to gain a fuller understanding of salvation, I want to, first, examine how it was viewed by the ancient Greek mind compared to the ancient Hebrew mind. Second, I want to consider how our salvation is to be lived out accordingly. GREEK MIND To the ancient...
JESUS’ JEWISH NEIGHBORHOOD–Part 2
GREEK THOUGHT VS. HEBREW THOUGHT In Part 1 we began our study of Jesus’ Jewish Neighborhood by looking at the importance of context when studying the scriptures. We learned that we must never forget that the Bible is essentially a Jewish document. Therefore, studying...
JESUS’ JEWISH NEIGHBORHOOD–Part 1
By Bill Venard Author Ken Bailey is a prominent biblical scholar, known for his insights into the gospels based on his long familiarity with Middle Eastern culture and languages. He was once asked the question, “why is it important to study the Jewish roots of...
Be The Difference — Lesson 11: “Warning: Deal Quickly With Discouragement”
Elijah was the man of the hour. He courageously and fearlessly confronted King Ahab and the 850 false prophets on Mt. Carmel. He trusted God, prayed and fire fell from heaven. Then he prayed a short time later and skies that had been cloudless, suddenly filled with...
Be The Difference — Lesson 8: Pursue Personal Holiness (excerpt)
God’s Central Attribute The holiness of God is the central attribute of all of His attributes. All of His attributes reflect His holiness. His wisdom is a holy wisdom. His power is a holy power. His faithfulness is a holy faithfulness. His goodness, justice, mercy,...
Be The Difference — Lesson 7: Hate Your Sin (excerpt)
Maybe you have never given much, or any, thought to what it means to hate your sin or why. Let me give you five reasons why you must hate your sin. First, the simple answer is because God hates sin. We must learn to hate what God hates and love what God loves. God...
Be The Difference — Lesson 6: Practice Repentance Daily (excerpt)
About one hundred fifty years ago, a man named Charlie Peace was arrested and convicted of murder. He was sentenced to die in Armley Jail in Leeds, England. On the morning of his scheduled execution, he slowly walked behind the prison chaplain on his way to the...