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The Bible In Paintings ~ Encouragement for Appreciating and Applying God's Word ~ T H E L O S T S H E E P ֎ Featuring 38 Paintings, 2 Mosaics and 6 Windows ֎ L U K E Chapter 15 Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the...

Boston, Mass., Jan 13, 2023 / 14:00 pm A team of Israeli archaeologists has discovered a sixth-century Byzantine church with highly decorated mosaic floors. The Civil Administration’s Archaeology Unit, which oversees historical sites in Judea and Samaria, announced Wednesday that the church was found in Jericho, a Palestinian town located in the West Bank, according to The Times of Israel. The agency is part of the government of Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, which is part of the Ministry of Defense. The outlet reported that the church is 250 square meters large, which would have made the...

The Bible In Paintings ~ Encouragement for Appreciating and Applying God's Word ~ JESUS HEALS A CRIPPLED WOMAN ON THE SABBATH ֎ Featuring 22 Paintings, 2 Photographs and 2 Reliefs ֎ L U K E Chapter 13 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands...

The Bible In Paintings ~ Encouragement for Appreciating and Applying God's Word ~ JESUS VISITS MARY & MARTHA ֎ Featuring 42 Paintings, 1 Relief and 4 Windows ֎ L U K E Chapter 10 Jesus and his disciples came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to...

The Bible In Paintings ~ Encouragement for Appreciating and Applying God's Word ~ JESUS TELLS OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN ֎ Featuring 36 Paintings ֎ L U K E Chapter 10 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as...

St. Louis, Mo., Jan 10, 2023 / 10:30 am (CNA). The Vatican promoter of justice announced Monday that the investigation into the vanishing of Emanuela Orlandi, a teenaged Vatican citizen whose disappearance in the 1980s has since spawned myriad conspiracy theories, will be reopened. In a brief statement posted to Vatican News, the Holy See Press Office director, Matteo Bruni, reported Monday that the decision to reopen the investigation was made partly in response to several requests made by Orlandi’s family. Bruni said the promoter of justice — essentially the prosecutor — for the Vatican, Alessandro Diddi, had confirmed this...

The Bible In Paintings ~ Encouragement for Appreciating and Applying God's Word ~ JESUS TELLS OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN ֎ Featuring 38 Paintings, 2 Reliefs and 2 Windows ֎ L U K E Chapter 10 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’;...

The Bible In Paintings ~ Encouragement for Appreciating and Applying God's Word ~ JESUS HEALS A MAN BORN BLIND ֎ Featuring 28 Paintings, 1 Mosaic, 2 Reliefs and 4 Windows ֎ J O H N Chapter 9 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. Said Jesus, “This happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. While I am in the world, I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.” He spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go, wash in the...

CNA Newsroom, Jan 7, 2023 / 09:00 am The excavation site of the Pool of Siloam in Jerusalem, the place where Jesus restored sight to a blind man, will be open to the public for the first time. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), the Israel National Parks Authority, and the City of David Foundation announced the start of excavations that will allow the complete exposure of the Pool of Siloam. Visitors will be able to see the stage of the excavation of the pool that in the coming months will form part of the tourist route from the City of...

The Bible In Paintings ~ Encouragement for Appreciating and Applying God's Word ~ JESUS, AN ADULTERESS, AND SOME OVERLY EAGER ACCUSERS ֎ Featuring 23 Paintings and 1 Statue ֎ J O H N CHAPTER 8 Jesus appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to...

The Bible In Paintings ~ Encouragement for Appreciating and Applying God's Word ~ JESUS, AN ADULTERESS, AND SOME OVERLY EAGER ACCUSERS ֎ Featuring 34 Paintings ֎ J O H N Chapter 8 Jesus appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women....

The Bible In Paintings ~ Encouragement for Appreciating and Applying God's Word ~ JESUS PLAYS A JOKE ON PETER ֎ Featuring 32 Paintings ֎ M A T T H E W Chapter 17 After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?” “Yes, he does,” he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own sons or...

The Bible In Paintings ~ Encouragement for Appreciating and Applying God's Word ~ JESUS IS TRANSFIGURED ֎ Featuring 25 Paintings, 1 Relief, 6 Windows and Peter’s Testimony ֎ M A R K Chapter 9* And he said to them, “I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.” After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than...

Israel's new national security minister earlier visited the Jerusalem holy site, drawing condemnation The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency session to discuss the recent visit by Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, which sparked international backlash, a report said Tuesday. An unnamed senior diplomat told The Times of Israel that a date has not yet been set, but the meeting could take place as early as Thursday. Earlier on Tuesday, the United Arab Emirates and China asked the UN Security Council to meet shortly after Ben-Gvir's controversial visit, according to diplomats. The Temple...

The Bible In Paintings ~ Encouragement for Appreciating and Applying God's Word ~ JESUS IS TRANSFIGURED ֎ Featuring 28 Paintings and Peter’s Testimony ֎ M A R K Chapter 9* And he said to them, “I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.” After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world...

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s longtime personal secretary has written a tell-all book that his publisher on Monday promised would tell the truth about the “blatant calumnies,” “dark maneuvers,” mysteries and scandals that sullied the reputation of a pontiff best known for his historic resignation. Archbishop Georg Gaenswein’s “Nothing but the Truth: My Life Beside Pope Benedict XVI” is being published this month by the Piemme imprint of Italian publishing giant Mondadori, according to a press release. Benedict died Saturday at age 95 and his body was put on display Monday in St. Peter’s Basilica ahead of...

The Bible In Paintings ~ Encouragement for Appreciating and Applying God's Word ~ PETER WALKS ON THE WATER? ֎ Featuring 37 Paintings, 1 Relief and 2 Windows ֎ M A T T H E W Chapter 14 Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind...

FULL TEXT: Benedict XVI shares his final thoughts with the Church By Hannah BrockhausRome Newsroom, Dec 31, 2022 / 13:28 pmThe Vatican on Saturday evening published the Spiritual Testament of Benedict XVI, written on Aug. 29, 2006, one year and four months into his pontificate. Each pope writes a spiritual testament to be made public only after his death. Below is CNA’s translation of the full testament from Italian:My spiritual testamentIf in this late hour of my life I look back at the decades I have been through, first I see how many reasons I have to give thanks. First...

Jordanian authorities have unveiled ambitious plans to build a biblical site where is believed Jesus was baptised. The $100 million project will seek to turn the ‘Bethany Beyond Jordan’ site into a “tourist city” that will recreate how Jesus would have lived. They will build a first-century Palestinian village, along with hotels and restaurants. "We will supply Arab-style tents and all sanitary services that will provide an authentic feeling," Sam Murad, chair of the new foundation created by the government, told Reuters. "This allows us to be in concert with the theme yet at the same time provide housing at...

The desire of this note is to appeal to those who hold to cessationist doctrine; who believe the miraculous gifts of the Spirit are not operational in the Church today. My hope is that this does not come off as an attack, but as an appeal or open letter. Perhaps, opening your heart for further evaluation of continuationism. I’ve noticed in my discussion with those who hold to cessationist doctrines a few words that typically draw criticism, one particular word being, “experience.” Now, my theology indeed is affected by experience but this in no way ought to devalue it, if,...