New Palestine Bible Church

“Are you the King of the Jews?”…  Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let Him be crucified!”… “I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.” Matthew 27:11, 22, 24 I hope this finds you reflecting on our message last Sunday — Pilate, prophecy, and the astonishing truth that led to our King being crucified. We walked through Matthe...

“I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” Matthew 27:4a Sunday, we began Matthew 27 and considered the conclusion on Jesus’s trial before the Council and Judas’s regret in betraying Him. The Council disregards its own legal safeguards and presses on with a plot rooted in blindness to Christ’s identity; Jesus remains sinless even as the leaders pursue condemnation. Judas, confronted by that cond...

And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly. Matthew 26:75 Matthew 26:69–75 recounts Peter’s threefold denial in the high priest’s courtyard and exposes the raw interplay of fear, presumption, and grace. The narrative shows Peter following Jesus at a distance, warming himself by a fire as questioners press fo...

And the high priest said to Him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” Matthew 26:63-64 Tell us if You are the Christ Sunday, we resumed our study of Matthew’s gospel and saw how the arrest...

Pastor Bill Henderson addresses the persistent question of why God allows suffering and offers a gospel-centered framework for understanding pain. Opening with candid honesty about changing course to meet the congregation’s needs, the talk maps four common responses to affliction—denial, anger, blame, or acceptance—and urges Christians to move from victimhood to apprenticeship under God’s providen...

This exposition centers on Romans 8:1—“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”—and unfolds both the comfort and the rigor of that declaration. It explains katakrima (condemnation) as a legal sentence: the pronouncement of guilt and the penalty that follows, and insists that in Christ believers are forever pardoned. The Greek emphasis on the strong negative undersc...

And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:39 (ESV)   The account unfolds the arrest of Jesus in Gethsemane with sober clarity: a familiar place, a determined betrayal, and a sovereign Savior. Judas — one of the twelve — leads an armed party to identify Jesus...

And going a little farther [Jesus] fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” 40 And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And He said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with Me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh...

Sunday we resumed our study of Matthew, specifically verses 26:1-29. The narrative moves decisively into the King’s passion and triumph. After teaching on the end of the age, Jesus redirects attention to the immediate: within two days, Passover arrives—and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified. Passover’s calendar and symbols become the frame for understanding his death. The lamb who...

Key Takeaways 1. Life is frustratingly enigmatic—trust God. Life won’t submit to our spreadsheets. The Hebrew havel names life’s vapor-like nature: real, present, but impossible to grasp fully. God designed it that way to draw hearts into faith, not control. Trust becomes the pathway through puzzles we cannot solve.  2. Embrace the season God appointed. There is a time for everything—and not all t...

1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, Christmas hope is not a wish or a mood; it is a living hope anchored in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Peter says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ… He has caused us to...

So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:10 Five Key Takeaways: 1. Give—because love takes action. God doesn’t leave generosity to our moods; He commands it as love with sleeves rolled up. Withholding good when it’s in our power forms us in the wrong direction. Obedience here trains our hearts to mirror the...

What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. Acts 17:23b December invites us to remember the first coming of Christ. Like Paul in Athens, I want us to see how we can use what people already know—their stories, songs, and traditions—as bridges to the gospel. Paul began with the Athenians’ “unknown god,” quoted their poets, and then pointed them to the true Creator and the risen Ju...