An old Persian Proverb reads It's harder to ask a sensible question than to supply a sensible answer Many times our questions to God are reactive based on a sort of knee-jerk reaction to painful circumstances Peter asked Jesus two questions of this sort But whenever we ask God questions we must hang around to get the supplied answers The questions Peter asked are similar to ones we frequently ask Let's consider and apply Jesus' outstanding answer [... more]

To follow Jesus is to have a brand new way of life When these twelve men sitting around the dinner table started hanging around Jesus they had no idea just how new and different their lives would become At this final meal on that last night they were still learning just how new their lives should be Jesus can still teach old dogs new tricks As present-day followers of Christ let's consider three aspects of life that become new once we become His disciples [... more]

When a doctor loses a patient on the operating table there is a deep sense of remorse and sadness in the surgical theater Doctors are trained to save lives but sometimes even the best trained physicians are unable to control complications that lead to death But here we discover that Christ the Great Physician not only knows that His patient is sick--He allows him to die Here are three principles about Divine Medicine that we can all learn [... more]

In all unbelief there are two things a good opinion of one's self and a bad opinion about God Horatius Bonar It's true isn't it Humanism is man-centered and rejects God's existence or His relevance But Jesus appealed to two things the plain evidence of His supernatural works and the testimony of those who witnessed them Jesus here asserts His deity and the reaction is predictable some believed while others did not believe Which camp do you fall into [... more]

What's so great about being a Christian some people ask The answer lies in the kind of care provision and protection we get from Jesus Christ our Shepherd Have you ever stopped to make a list of the benefits that are yours as a follower of Christ Consider this short list of advantages that you as a child of God have When was the last time you thanked Him for being your Shepherd This would be a great week to do that [... more]

What's so great about being a Christian some people ask The answer lies in the kind of care provision and protection we get from Jesus Christ our Shepherd Have you ever stopped to make a list of the benefits that are yours as a follower of Christ Consider this short list of advantages that you as a child of God have When was the last time you thanked Him for being your Shepherd This would be a great week to do that [... more]

This is one of the most beloved passages to be found anywhere in Scripture But it's not a stand-alone passage The healing of the blind man in chapter was more than a miracle It was part of the process of Jesus forming His flock The leadership had cast the healed man out of the synagogue Jesus found him accepted him saved him and placed him in His own fold [... more]

This is one of the most beloved passages to be found anywhere in Scripture But it's not a stand-alone passage The healing of the blind man in chapter was more than a miracle It was part of the process of Jesus forming His flock The leadership had cast the healed man out of the synagogue Jesus found him accepted him saved him and placed him in His own fold [... more]

When you drive you encounter blind spots it could be part of your own car or it could be a tree that hides traffic on the other side Those blind spots hinder both progress and ultimately safety When Jesus healed a blind man in Jerusalem the same man was also healed of his spiritual blindness But others who thought their spiritual perception was keen were as blind as a bat As we consider this story can you think of any blind spots in your spiritual journey [... more]

Why is there so much pain in the world is the most frequently asked question ever We hate it when we or those we love are in pain Today we see Jesus confront a hurting world As we do consider these words by Elizabeth Elliot whose husband was murdered If God is in charge and loves us then whatever is given is subject to His control and is meant ultimately for our joy [... more]

Jesus had friends and He had enemies But besides those He also had some frenemies enemies who pretended to be friends To this crowd who at first pretended to believe v Jesus is both confrontational and controversial This paragraph highlights three possible identities of Jesus two of them were his enemies' accusations and one was Jesus' own claim [... more]

Everyone has an opinion on what The Good Life is For some it's financial independence For others it's autonomy from government control For still others it's the ability to do whatever you want whenever you feel like it Jesus offers a different kind of freedom and a better brand of life Here Jesus tells us what the best way to live really is It's the freedom to be a genuine disciple And He tells us what the worst way to live really is It's the slavery of a sinful lifestyle Today consider how free you really are and what areas [... more]

One person put it this way Death is the big flaw Sometimes we can postpone it lessen its physical pains deny its existence but we can't escape it Since that is universally true why don't people take death seriously enough to plan for it While we are alive in this world everyone should be thinking more about the next But what's the best and worst way to die [... more]

When the sun shines right in your eyes your immediate inclination is to squint turn away or put sunglasses on Light can be blinding Though light penetrates our world providing illumination and energy for our very existence big doses of it can be difficult to handle That's true spiritually as well Jesus by His teaching and work illuminated this world darkened by sin Some rejoiced in that light able to see where they were going But others who'd been so accustomed to spiritual darkness could only wince when Jesus was around [... more]

When the sun shines right in your eyes your immediate inclination is to squint turn away or put sunglasses on Light can be blinding Though light penetrates our world providing illumination and energy for our very existence big doses of it can be difficult to handle That's true spiritually as well Jesus by His teaching and work illuminated this world darkened by sin Some rejoiced in that light able to see where they were going But others who'd been so accustomed to spiritual darkness could only wince when Jesus was around [... more]

Can you imagine what a surviving copy of Jesus' autograph would be worth today Or what about a letter to His disciples The fact is there is no existing document or copy of anything Jesus ever wrote We only have this story of Him scribbling something in transient dust on the Temple stones Though John doesn't tell what Jesus wrote that day his account does reveal a lot about Jesus Himself and how He interacted with three different kinds of folks [... more]

All the diverse and assorted experiences offered by this world can never satisfy the deepest longing of the human soul What we really want isn't what we really need The rest of John chapter illustrates this truth In the midst of a crowd of people clamoring for deep spiritual satisfaction stands the only One who can provide it He offers them the drink that really satisfies and all but a few refuse it preferring rather to die of thirst How painfully ironic [... more]

All the diverse and assorted experiences offered by this world can never satisfy the deepest longing of the human soul What we really want isn't what we really need The rest of John chapter illustrates this truth In the midst of a crowd of people clamoring for deep spiritual satisfaction stands the only One who can provide it He offers them the drink that really satisfies and all but a few refuse it preferring rather to die of thirst How painfully ironic [... more]

Jesus clashed with religious leaders more than any other group of people He went against their spiritual grain and challenged their legalistic ideas Christ made it clear that He hadn't come to establish a new religion but rather to show the way to God His Father He didn't give people another system of beliefs and practices instead He said that He Himself was the way truth and life In this public confrontation we learn how to follow Christ in truth and not be religious [... more]

Mark Twain once remarked that A lie can travel halfway around the world while truth is still lacing up its boots This section of John's Gospel has generated much confusion and misunderstanding Even Jesus' original audience had trouble understanding His meaning and when they did they found the truth was difficult to bear These hard truths however are the words of eternal life v Let's look at these four realities today [... more]

The Hostess Company has for years advertised that its Wonder bread helps build strong bodies ways and that just two slices has the calcium of eight ounces of milk and the fiber of whole wheat Wow The crowd that Jesus was speaking to would have loved that But our Lord presents something to them far greater than what they were wanting He knew what they needed [... more]

Have you ever been on the ocean in a raging storm If so you know that a well-trained crew follows an immediate protocol until the storm is over Their knowledge and experience about violent weather are invaluable for those who want to survive Using the story of Jesus walking on the waves to His disciples let's discover a few things about the stormy trials of life [... more]

The most important question you could ever ask is not Who am I but rather Who is Christ That was the supreme question Jesus presented to His disciples when He said Who do you say that I am Matthew Jesus made the most astonishing claim ever when He confronted the Jewish leaders of Jerusalem here in John What do these claims have to do with us today Absolutely everything [... more]

One of Jesus' most distinguishing characteristics in His earthly ministry was His mercy toward people who were hurting This is not astonishing for the prophet Micah announced that God delights in mercy Micah Jesus standing among the squalid misery of sickness and hopelessness while at a feast in Jerusalem is a perfect setting to show how Christians can show mercy to a world in misery But be warned not everyone will be sympathetic to your cause [... more]

Like any muscle in our physical body our faith too must be exercised in order for it to develop Faith is developed in virtually every circumstance in life but especially in hard times Peter put it best These trials are only to test your faith to show that it is strong and pure It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold--and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold Peter Let's look at a real-life story of one who came to Jesus in his trial and had his faith lifted to a higher dimension [... more]

Farmers live for the harvest season--a time when their crops are taken in and profits are made But crops don't grow on their own Seeds must be sown and plants must be garnered by a whole group of active farm workers God is the head Farmer and we are His farmhands all working together to produce a bumper-crop of people who believe that Jesus is the Savior--Are you in [... more]

Farmers live for the harvest season--a time when their crops are taken in and profits are made But crops don't grow on their own Seeds must be sown and plants must be garnered by a whole group of active farm workers God is the head Farmer and we are His farmhands all working together to produce a bumper-crop of people who believe that Jesus is the Savior--Are you in [... more]

Worship conferences worship seminars and worship experiences abound within the landscape of the American church but in all these there's something that seems to be always lacking worship is confined to the activity of singing songs When the subject is brought up in this chapter Jesus talks plainly and openly about true worship what it is and what it isn't Let's explore these few verses to discover what God is seeking after and how to be part of fulfilling that [... more]

The world is thirsty and doesn't even know it or won't admit it or will look to be satisfied by everything else but Jesus Christ So your job and mine is to lead them to water living water that is Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman illustrates perhaps the best approach for personal evangelism to be found anywhere Leading someone to the place of spiritual satisfaction is a process that rests upon two pillars the pillar of attitude and the pillar of approach [... more]

Imagine if everything you valued was in a sack hanging on the wall from one nail It surely must be a strong nail or you're lost If life could all be boiled down to one thing or one word or one most important principle what would it be What is the irreducible minimum for everything and everyone John answers that here saying that Jesus Christ is the nail that everything hangs on He determined what has been and what will be Thus our knowledge of Him and relationship to Him is paramount above everything else [... more]

They that know God will be humble and they that know themselves cannot be proud That's what British Puritan John Flavel once said And that's how John the Baptist once lived John the Baptist and his followers provide some great applicational fodder for how Christians should get along and humble themselves before one another and God For any Christian believer who wants to spiritually grow up and grow strong he must first grow down [... more]

The meeting of Jesus and Nicodemus at night is one of the most famous and compelling stories in Scripture This man's inner curiosity and spiritual thirst drove him to want to know more What he heard puzzled and astonished him but he heard from Jesus' own lips the only way to be saved Jesus' words here divide all of humanity into two groups those who are born again and those who are not [... more]

These three verses are some of the most unusual in the New Testament They describe a scene in the life of Jesus that explains His popularity and fame The response of people to the miracles of Jesus is understandable What is not readily understandable is Jesus' response to the interested and excited crowd Though they believed in Him He was not too energized over their kind of faith Understanding this will help us to understand Jesus and His mission [... more]

These three verses are some of the most unusual in the New Testament They describe a scene in the life of Jesus that explains His popularity and fame The response of people to the miracles of Jesus is understandable What is not readily understandable is Jesus' response to the interested and excited crowd Though they believed in Him He was not too energized over their kind of faith Understanding this will help us to understand Jesus and His mission [... more]

When the first disciples encountered Jesus they chose to follow Him--only to discover that they had already been chosen by Him Without getting drowned in that theological tide pool let's consider and marvel at how both of these realities work together The Bible teaches that God sovereignly elects people for salvation while at the same time teaches our responsibility to believe in Christ Let's see how both Philip and Nathanael encountered Jesus for the first time [... more]

When the first disciples encountered Jesus they chose to follow Him--only to discover that they had already been chosen by Him Without getting drowned in that theological tide pool let's consider and marvel at how both of these realities work together The Bible teaches that God sovereignly elects people for salvation while at the same time teaches our responsibility to believe in Christ Let's see how both Philip and Nathanael encountered Jesus for the first time [... more]

It may be difficult to say what the most important word is in any language but not for the Apostle John He begins his gospel with the identification of Jesus as The Word Starting with the very beginning of beginnings John shows us the fundamental truths about the Jesus that he writes about in the rest of this book The language is simple and unmistakable and yet the truths presented are deep and extremely profound Let's see how John presents Jesus and Who Jesus is according to one who was closest to Him [... more]

When you go to a doctor s office you are typically asked nbsp quot So what brings you here quot nbsp The answers may range from having a sore throat to something far more serious The same is true of coming to church Not everyone comes for the right reason to worship The first earthly church was committed to it and the church in heaven will continue it Let s get some Scriptural pointers This teaching is from the series Church Who Needs It Links Website https connectwithskip comDonate https connnectwithskip com donateThis week's DevoMail https connnectwithskip com devomail [... more]

What did the very first church look like If we can answer that question we can determine two things nbsp First nbsp we will be able to see the model we are expected to follow as a church nbsp Second nbsp we will be able to see why we need the church since these things speak to core needs that we all have The first church in Jerusalem was a nbsp learning church a nbsp caring church a nbsp worshipping church nbsp and a nbsp generous church Let's consider the first mark today and the place that apostolic teaching and [... more]

I m a churchman I freely confess that Yet I m also painfully aware that the culture around me incessantly asks the above question when it comes to the church Who needs it Why should I belong to something so archaic and so narrow In the next several weeks I d like to take a fresh look at us--the church of Christ--and answer this question Today as we begin our series let s jump right in and deal with this question head on Who needs the church and why This teaching is from the series Church Who Needs It Links [... more]

I know I ve gotten your attention with the title This is one of our culture s driving goals--to look trimmer healthier younger and stronger than we are The solution happens to be in the future with the resurrection of our bodies--it will be the body you ve always wanted Scripture gives some wonderful descriptions of the future strength beauty and permanence of our resurrected body Let s consider what the Bible says about how you ll look then This teaching is from the series From the Edge of Eternity Links Website https connectwithskip comDonate https connnectwithskip com donateThis week's [... more]

Affluenza is a highly contagious social and spiritual condition that is result of over-abundance The cause of this malady of the soul is covetousness the very thing the tenth commandment forbids So what is the cure What is the spiritual antidote to this widespread illness It is a lifestyle of contentment--the satisfaction that God knows my needs and provides for them This teaching is from the series God's Top Ten Links Website https connectwithskip comDonate https connnectwithskip com donateThis week's DevoMail https connnectwithskip com devomail [... more]

Myron Boyd wrote quot A half-truth is a dangerous thing especially if you have got hold of the wrong half quot I'd venture to say that we have a whole lot of half-truths bouncing around in our brains that we've picked up without ever trying to find out the rest The ninth commandment is about telling the truth the whole truth We'll find that this mandate infers at least three things This teaching is from the series God's Top Ten Links Website https connectwithskip comDonate https connnectwithskip com donateThis week's DevoMail https connnectwithskip com devomail [... more]

quot You shall not commit adultery quot is God s way of putting a protective hedge around marriage Every married couple needs to tend the garden of their love That means of course pulling out the weeds that would lead to unfaithful behavior Many a married couple has been quot burned quot by the fire of Adultery The flame of passion must burn only for one s spouse Let s consider how our marriages can stay quot Adultery-proof quot This teaching is from the series God's Top Ten Links Website https connectwithskip comDonate https connnectwithskip com donateThis week's DevoMail https [... more]

You are alive You will die Those two absolutes are as basic as it gets But since life is a gift from the Creator what right does anyone ever have in taking it from another One of the commandments on God's Top Ten list is quot Thou shalt not kill quot Is there ever a time to kill Does the justice system of a land or an army ever have the right to kill How can we as responsible Christians ever come to a balance regarding this very difficult issue This teaching is from the series God's Top Ten Links [... more]

People are getting away with murder every day I don t just mean the violent premeditated and vicious slaying of innocent lives but also by deep seated attitudes of hatred and spite Murder has always been a problem with our race but there s something much deeper and more profound than the act of taking a life Today and next week we will examine this commandment and it's ramifications into several areas of society This teaching is from the series God's Top Ten Links Website https connectwithskip comDonate https connnectwithskip com donateThis week's DevoMail https connnectwithskip com devomail [... more]