As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
“Most American Christians think of Easter as only a day and of Ascension Day as barely a blip on the calendar. However, in different times and places, Christians put a high priority on the Ascension. In the first few centuries of the Church, it was celebrated, along with Pentecost, as part of the Easter season.” - Breakpoint
“The Bible doesn’t say Jesus was nailed to a cross. Telling the story of Christ’s death, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John simply say that Roman soldiers crucified him. They don’t say how.” - CToday
“Priests and people had turned worship into a racket (in more ways than one). And both leaders and laymen were culpable. As it turns out, there is nothing new under the sun.” - BJU Seminary
Christians around the world will remember and celebrate the essence of the gospel during this week ahead — “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4).
We believe that the Apostle Paul’s inspired summary statement is true, and we are certain that these events actually happened in real history, providing the basis of our salvation.
“…there’s a whole lot more you can learn about someone by reading four stories of their life, rather than just one.” - P&D
“I love the way Jesus responds to Mary’s beautiful, useless gesture and recognises it as something that is always worthwhile, something that will live forever, for all the carping and criticism of Judas, then and now.” - Malcolm Guite
Read the series.
(Luke 4:16-30 with Isaiah 61:1-2)
Jesus applied Isaiah 61:1-2a (below) to Himself. At first, this garnered praise from the synagogue crowd, but their praise quickly turned to scoffing. The Isaiah passage reads:
Read the series.
Yeshua was in His small hometown, Nazareth. He had probably read the Scriptures aloud in the local synagogue many times before, and would have been known to all. Yet this was the first time He read thusly after His ministry had been launched and His fame widespread.
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