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Thanks for joining our Bible study. The headline teases a miraculous occurrence on the “road to Damascus” that changed the world. Later, the phrase was incorporated into our language. Here is the background.A Jewish scholar named Saul was persecuting Jewish followers of Jesus Christ. But Jesus intervened (as only He can). He unleashed His heavenly power on Saul, who converted to believing that Jesus was Lord. Saul, who was renamed “Paul,” traveled extensively in the name of Jesus, enduring suffering, hardship, and martyrdom.Paul’s prolific writings formed much of the New Testament. His impact on Christianity evolving into the world’s largest...

Left-wing actress Rosanna Arquette imagined what it would be like if Jesus were walking around in modern-day America and concluded he would be “murdered by police officers because of the color of his skin.” “If Jesus were alive today he’d be murdered by police officers because of the color of his skin,” the Pulp Fiction star said in a tweet to her 188k Twitter followers on Wednesday.

As His Second Coming approached, Jesus taught, “many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many” (Matthew 24:11; all references KJV). That has certainly come to pass. We have had many false secular prophets over the past two hundred years or so, from Marx to Freud to Foucault, whose toxic, dehumanizing ideas have alienated people from God and led to much human pain, suffering, and death. Indeed, they have deceived many. The most dangerous false prophets, however, are those who wrap themselves in the cloak of religion, who “come to [us] in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravening wolves” (Matthew...

Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as woolWWII U.S. Army Officer and California Berkeley professor emeritus Irving Janis spent 50 years studying why groups of intelligent, knowledgeable people sometimes make very poor decisions. He coined the term, Groupthink: a detrimental psychological condition and practice of reasoning / decision-making that afflicts groups. It is characterized by uncritical acceptance or conformity to prevailing points of view where members of the group suspend reasoning faculties...

Due to the “clickbait” headline, some readers might accuse me of denigrating Jesus by equating Our Risen Lord to a rock star. Well… He is a rock star! Jesus rose from the rock tomb and stars forever on earth and in heaven. For the earth part, I recommend reading “What If Jesus Had Never Been Born?” for an in-depth understanding of the miraculous impact Jesus had (has) on humankind.Moreover, the headline ties into this Bible study's mission to attract readers unfamiliar with the Bible (or who have fallen away). And, on any given Sunday while surfing this popular secular political...

Flowers are springing up, birds are singing, and all around us, we sense that we’re finally crawling out of the gloom of the deadly global pandemic. We have lost loved ones, income, businesses, and education. What seems certain is that we will never truly recover. But is it actually certain? Or is that just today’s headline, and there’s more to the story? The power of Easter is the power of resurrection. Resurrection means the triumph of life over death. Because of the miracle of Easter, we have a promise, and the power, of resurrection life. No headline was gloomier 2000...

We live in a dark hour of human history. The COVID-19 pandemic demands we distinguish between that which is essential and that which is not. With that being said, I am reminded that more than 2,000 years ago, a woman named Mary ran, while it was still dark, towards an empty tomb. She ran not when things were pristine or perfect. She ran while things were still dark. It's what we do in the darkest hour that truly defines us. The darkness of depression cannot impede us from running towards the empty tomb of joy. The darkness of despair cannot...

For many years, scholars and skeptics and psychologists and sociologists have told us that the disciples experienced a form of cognitive dissonance after Jesus died. It so rocked their world and crushed their expectations that they went into deep denial to the point of believing that Jesus really rose from the dead. To be sure, other scholars have attacked this theory from a number of powerful and persuasive angles, but my book Resurrection tackles it from a different angle. Specifically, I focus on a modern-day, parallel test case that completely demolishes this argument. To give the relevant background, in 1994,...

How are you dealing with the turmoil and uncertainty of these days? For some, this is a theological question. Some see the clear imprint of the End Times in our current events. Maybe so. We should always be ready to walk outside and see Jesus coming on the clouds of heaven. Today may well be the Day.History, however, gives me pause. Eighty-two years ago, world war broke out in Europe. If Hitler did not look like the anti-Christ back then, I’m not sure who would. The war’s end revealed 50 million dead, with extraordinary and widespread suffering for the survivors....

Today we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ — the world’s greatest miracle that changed the course of human history. If you do not believe the Resurrection happened, that is your opinion, but it did happen, and what follows is supporting evidence.The Resurrection is a gift that keeps on giving from God to humanity. Jesus explained this gift: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).That familiar verse is the foundational doctrine of faith — believing in Jesus as the...

At the independent, fundamentalist Baptist church I grew up attending in the 1980s, legalism was a staple, and the ‘rules’ were seemingly endless. Skirts (or something called ‘culottes’) for women and girls, long pants only for men and boys, and dresses and ties on Sunday morning. Good Christians didn’t dance or go to Hollywood movies. They didn’t smoke, cuss, or drink or hang around with those who did. Music wasn’t allowed unless it was Christian, and regardless of the lyrics, it wasn’t ‘Christian’ if it had drums, an upbeat tempo, or was written after 1895 (or thereabouts). And the “thou...

The Sermon on the Mount 5 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the...

For most of us, the last week has felt like a lifetime. In the course of eight days, we've lost the Senate and an election challenge, watched as angry people stormed the Capitol and equally angry leaders impeached the president. We've seen the crushing of our voice, the silencing of our freedoms, and felt the wave of corporate punishment start to roll across the country. Americans are so badly shaken that 80 percent of them think the country is falling apart. And church leaders, political leaders, and Christians aren't far behind. The choice before us is as plain as it...

"But my message to a watching world right now is simple: John 3:16 will remain true long after the Trump reelection prophecies are forgotten. Don't confuse what is written in the Word with some alleged prophetic words,” Dr. Michael Brown writes. I am really glad that Dr. Brown wrote all of this down. I really need to get this out there to this prophetic, praying community of Believers in the Body of Christ in particular, but I share these words to the world at large, too. There is too much interest in prophecies on the earth, and not enough interest...

And no, because of the slander that Trump supporters have replaced Jesus with him, I will leave no room for the slander. I'm talking about Jesus Christ, of course. It is so incredibly sad to see how humanity in its natural state of sin fights off their Savior, Jesus Christ, and runs to Satan, and accuses Jesus of being Satan, and embraces Satan as savior instead. It's so sad to see when people persist, and succeed in doing throwing off the Lord for good, and without some drastic intervention from the Lord Himself, there will be no coming to the...

The actions of Joseph teach men how to be virtuous and women and children that they deserve to be protected, trusted, and cared for.Pope Francis, the spiritual father of the Roman Catholic world, recently declared that church body will journey through “A Year of St. Joseph” from Dec. 8, 2020, through Dec. 8, 2021. Proclaiming a year in the name of some person or theme is a method several popes have used to highlight an all-important message they believe to be critical for both the church and the entire world at that time. In 2014, Francis did something similar when...

Christmas is the most wondrous day of our calendar in any year of our lives. The bright lights, smells, and smiles discernible even to an infant quickly grow into a sense of hope, awe, and mystery as young boys and girls crane their necks on the car ride back from papa’s house to look out the window for a sign of that bright red nose in the sky. As time moves on, our hopes turn to the company of friends and family, and our awe to the sacred mysteries of God made man for our sake. Our experience of Christmas...

Source: Credit: Myra Adams: Archaeological findings thought to be Mary’s house in Nazareth, Israel.The verses we study today preface “the reason for the season” — the birth of Jesus Christ. However, months before Christmas Eve, there occurred two fascinating conversations with world-changing implications. The first is called “The Annunciation,” and the second conversation is known as “The Visitation.”The Annunciation, better known in secular culture, is recorded in the New Testament Gospel of Luke. The Christmas story begins when the angel Gabriel visits Mary — an unmarried Jewish teenager at her home in Nazareth, Israel — saying, “Greetings, you who are...

The Bible says that Pilate couldn’t care less about Jesus. Pilate actually interviewed Jesus and also sent him to King Herod for examination. The testimony of the Bible says that none of these men, rulers in Judea, were able to corroborate the false claims... “Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him. I...

I am walking you through every jot and tittle of My Word as my fire dresses and consumes you in My Glory for you have overcome as Enoch and Elijah. So now I shall walk with you as Enoch and My fire will come down for you when you call upon my name as it did for Elijah for now you are My Holy place of rest and my healing hands saturated in the oils of Exodus shall bring healing to all you touch and speak over with the oil of Unity for As I was with Moses now I...