Serving God is one of the greatest privileges of the believer. We serve an awesome God, and the blessings are enormous. But it isn’t always easy. At times God’s servant can find that ministry can become a burden and personally unrewarding. The problems can seem much greater than the rewards. And serving God in humility is even more difficult, especially when conflicts or opposition come.
We all hate the word favoritism. And we resent those who are picked as favorites—in school, at work, or anywhere else. Why? Because we instinctively know that favoritism is unfair. The Bible teaches that God is impartial to all and that he shows no favoritism. So, if that’s true, why were the Israelites his “chosen people?” And how does this conform to the fact that only those who believe the gospel are saved?
To some people, the teachings of Jesus and those of the apostle Paul don’t always agree. Critics of the Bible and of the Christian faith like to point out what they see as glaring differences. Even solid believers are known to gravitate toward the teachings of either Jesus or Paul. But are Jesus and Paul really at odds? Is there a conflict between the two?
Prayer is such an important part of our relationship with God. But is there a right way to pray? Can prayer be misguided? If so, what can we use as a guide? Let’s look at how Jesus taught his disciples to pray to our Father.
The apostle Paul’s sermon to the Athenians stands out as one of the great sermons in Scripture. Once a Pharisee, Paul now found himself preaching about the Savior to arrogant philosophers, idolaters, and the sexually immoral. These were people, who in his earlier life, he would have despised. But now he boldly reached out to them with the love and mercy of God.
One of the greatest disputes in the Church today is how Christians should relate to the Mosaic laws. Some maintain that none of the Mosaic laws apply to us anymore because we are under the New Covenant. Others say they all apply since the Old Testament is God’s eternal Word and doesn’t change. Should Christians obey the Law of Moses? Or, are there some that apply to us and others that don’t?
Our Lord began his famous Sermon on the Mount with we now call the Beatitudes, arguably some of the most beautiful words ever spoken. What are the Beatitudes? They are promises of blessing to God’s people.
The world needs to know the truth of the gospel, that the Messiah—Jesus the Savior, the Son of God—has come. And they need to know who God is, what he is like, and what he has done to prove his love for us. But how can they know? By true Christian witness—by word and deed.
The gospel is the good news to the condemned and sinful. Those who believe it are acquitted of their guilt before God and set free! But how can God set free those who are clearly guilty of sin? There must be a fair and just basis for the acquittal. We learn the answer from the gospel story itself—that Jesus Christ was our substitute.
Jesus had spent three years ministering to the people and training his disciples. Now the time had come for him to fulfill the main purpose for which he had come to earth: to sacrifice his life as payment for our sin. He would then rise again so that others could be raised to live with him. To prepare for his death, he arrived with his disciples at the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. During Jesus’ time in the garden, he faced the most difficult trial of his earthly life.
