Loving the Scriptures

In the days of Jesus and for some time beyond, the Jews did not really fathom the reality that God had an equal intention of drawing Gentiles to faith just as He did to to them. Even the disciples, as we will see in this episode, didn't fully understand the eventual unity that Jesus would initiate between believing Jews and believing Gentiles through His death and resurrection. We will explore wha...

As we approach Easter, we take a break from our study of John to talk about the importance of Christ's resurrection for us and our faith.   Order a copy of my book:  Signs of the End : What Jesus Taught His Disciples in the Olivet Discourse Amazon: https://a.co/d/0592Fozu    Please be sure to leave a review!   Music: http://www.purple-planet.com   Reunited   Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) License...

In this episode, we talk about the triumphal entry as recorded in John 12 and the external attitude of the people who gathered around Jesus to welcome Him into Jerusalem. While there seemed to be an acknowledgement of His Messiahship and His position as king, is the praise that the people exhibited something that can be taken at face value? We will explore this question, as well as the significanc...

In this episode, we talk about the tremendous act of worship demonstrated by Mary of Bethany in anointing Jesus with expensive nard. Why was this so special, and what does it say about the disciples (and particularly Judas) who objected and scolded her for what she did?   Order a copy of my book:  Signs of the End : What Jesus Taught His Disciples in the Olivet Discourse Amazon: https://a.co/d/059...

After Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, some people who witnessed the miracle believed in Him; yet others still continued to persist in unbelief. In this episode, we talk about how this persistent rebellion and unbelief leads to a finalized plot to kill Jesus, and how it also leads to a prophecy being spoken through the mouth of Caiaphas, an unbeliever. How are we to understand that?   Order a c...

In this episode, we contiue looking at the attributes of God by talking about His omnipotence and the different ways His power is displayed in Scripture.   Order a copy of my book:  Signs of the End : What Jesus Taught His Disciples in the Olivet Discourse Amazon: https://a.co/d/0592Fozu    Please be sure to leave a review!   Music: http://www.purple-planet.com   Reunited   Kevin MacLeod (incompet...

In this episode, we return to talking about one of the attributes of God, this time focusing our attention on the immutability of God. Hopefully through this episode you will come to know what the Bible says about God's unchanging nature and why it is important for us to understand.   Order a copy of my book:  Signs of the End : What Jesus Taught His Disciples in the Olivet Discourse Amazon: https...

In this episode, we talk about the emotional display of Jesus Christ, as He is moved by the weeping and mourning of those people who were grieving Lazarus' death. What do those emotions tell us about our Savior, especially given the fact that He is going to raise Lazarus from the dead? Also, we will talk about the matter of faith in light of who Christ is and what He is about to do in this miracul...

In this episode, we explore Jesus' own words about His fifth "I am" statement in the book of John ("I am the resurrection and the life") and how this term connects to His miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead, as well as with believing in who Christ is and what He can and will do.   Order a copy of my book:  Signs of the End : What Jesus Taught His Disciples in the Olivet Discourse Amazon: http...

In this episode, we explore how Jesus sets the stage for one of His greatest signs: the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Why did Jesus delay for two days after He heard that Lazarus was ill? And what was the purpose of Jesus doing what He was doing (and would do) as it relates to Mary, Martha, and His disciples?   Order a copy of my book:  Signs of the End : What Jesus Taught His Disciples in the...

In this episode, we talk about how Jesus, in the midst of a situation where people are seeking to kill Him, shows them how He can legitimately make claims to being God and how they have no rightful reason to want to stone Him. We also talk about the opposite reaction from people who surrounded Jesus after He escaped stoning, who believe in Him. What can account for the different responses from the...

Can a Christian lose their salvation? While there are beliefs on both sides of the issue, John 10 makes clear that the true believer (Christ's sheep) is fully protected in the hand of God. Why can we be so confident in such security? We answer that question and address other things in this episode as we continue our study of John.   Order a copy of my book:  Signs of the End : What Jesus Taught Hi...

In this episode, we explore the wonderful passage in John 10 about Jesus as the good shepherd. What is it about Christ as our shepherd that makes Him good? And what does this all say about the salvation that we have in Christ? We talk about some great things in this episode, so take a listen!   Order a copy of my book:  Signs of the End : What Jesus Taught His Disciples in the Olivet Discourse Ama...

In this episode, we begin to study John 10, and talk about Jesus' identification as the door of the sheep. What does He mean when He says this? And how is His figure of speech connected to what we have seen with the Pharisees and the man healed of his blindness in John 9? Take a listen as we talk about some wonderful things related to our Savior!   Order a copy of my book:  Signs of the End : What...

In this episode we finish our examination of John 9, exploring what it means for Jesus to give sight to the blind not only physically, but spiritually, as well as what it means for those who claim that they see to actually remain in blindness.   Order a copy of my book:  Signs of the End : What Jesus Taught His Disciples in the Olivet Discourse Amazon: https://a.co/d/0592Fozu    Please be sure to...

In this episode, we begin to examine John 9, where Jesus heals a man blind from birth. We explore the investigation of this miracle by the Pharisees and the extent of unbelief in  their denial of this miracle (which is the same kind of unbelief we see today). We also begin to make the connection between the healing of physical blindness and the healing of spiritual blindness.   Order a copy of my...

In this episode, we continue to explore the attributes of God sermon series by talking about the self-sufficiency of God.   Order a copy of my book:  Signs of the End : What Jesus Taught His Disciples in the Olivet Discourse Amazon: https://a.co/d/0592Fozu    Please be sure to leave a review!   Music: http://www.purple-planet.com   Reunited Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative C...

This episode features another sermon from my Attributes of God series from 2023. In this sermon, I talk about the mercy of God. Note: About 15 minutes into the sermon, I lose microphone audio for about 1 minute, though you may still be able to faintly hear me in that minute.   Order a copy of my book:  Signs of the End : What Jesus Taught His Disciples in the Olivet Discourse Amazon: https://a.co/...

In this episode we look at the last section of John 8, where we see the unbelieving Jews ready to take stones to stone Jesus. What has set them off so that they desire to off Jesus right then and there? And what are some of the things they have previously discussed that leads up to this climax of unbelief?   Order a copy of my book:  Signs of the End : What Jesus Taught His Disciples in the Olivet...

When Jesus said to His enemies, "You are of your father, the devil," it may sound to our ears like He is dishing out an insult. But we know better. In tihs episode, as we continue to work our way through John 8, we explore the unbelieving Jews' deluded belief of being children of Abraham and God, and how Jesus lays forth a theological truth regarding who they, as unbelievers, really belong to.   O...

What does it mean to abide in the words of Christ? What does it mean to be set free by the truth? And how did Jesus' enemies miss the meaning of these terms so that they were still considered slaves to sin? This and much more we discuss in this episode, as we continue our examination of John 8.    Order a copy of my book:  Signs of the End : What Jesus Taught His Disciples in the Olivet Discourse...

In this episode, we take a break from our study of John and look at the wrath of God from our "Attributes of God" series. While God's wrath is a topic people may shy away from, what we see in this study is that when you take away the wrath of God, you no longer have the God of the Bible. Additionally, we talk about how God's holiness demands that God judge sinners, as well as how there is a link b...

What does it mean for someone to die in their sin? And what are the consequences of dying in sin? Jesus declares to His enemies that they will die in their sins, but their belief is that they are morally better than Him. In this episode, as we continue our study of John, we talk about dying in sins (not to be confused with dying "to" sin), and what Jesus says to His enemies that demonstrate that H...

In this episode we talk about Jesus' claim to be the light of the world. What was Jesus communicating when He said these words? What significance did this have during the Feast of Tabernacles? And how does Jesus' enemies respond? The words of our Savior in this passage are glorious and should bring encouragement as we discover how His teaching highlights His divine work and ministry that has posit...

In many modern English translations of the Bible, the first eleven verses of John 8 (the account of the woman caught in the act of adultery) are said to be verses that do not appear in the earliest Greek manuscripts. So how do we explain its inclusion in later Greek manuscripts? And does this mean that this passage is not inspired? We answer these questions in this episode, while exploring some of...