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The Light of Life

Dennis McCallum

John 8:12-59

Jesus interacts with the Pharisees again and compares himself to the Light of the World, as opposed to the darkness and confusion that the Pharisees were living in. Jesus warns the Pharisees clearly while also trying to communicate with the multitudes of people gathered around them. They argue back and forth, with the Pharisees and some of the people listening still missing the point that apart from Jesus, they are in complete darkness and alienation before God the Father. Others, on the other hand, come to believe in Jesus, who instructs them to continue on in his word. Jesus came to offer real freedom for those enslaved to sin through his work on the cross.

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Foundations of Faith

Jim Leffel

1 Thessalonians 2:13

The Bible presents the Word of God as distinct from the ideas of people. God's Word has the unique capacity both to answer fundamental questions about life and to transform our lives. All of us should become truth-seekers who dwell and act on truth.

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The Woman Caught in Adultery

Dennis McCallum

John 8:1-11

This instance in Jesus' ministry has not been found in earlier manuscripts, calling into question the validity of this part of John and why it is in Scripture. The best manuscripts for the Book of John are from the 4th century, but don't include this interaction. However, other early witnesses corroborate what we see in this chapter of John, including: the Didascalia; Apostolic Constitutions; Papias; Didymus the Blind; Ambrose; and Jerome. When the Pharisees brought this woman before Jesus for punishment according to the Old Testament Law, they were trying to trick Jesus so they would have grounds to accuse him. Jesus does not condemn the woman, but uses this as an illustration of his grace to contrast the legalistic and hypocritical attitudes of the Pharisees. His call to the woman is similar to us, that because of the forgiveness he offers, we should live under his grace and live a life of love as opposed to sin. Even when we do sin, we have the freedom to move forward under his grace.

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Three Distinctives of Biblical Christianity

Gary DeLashmutt

Philemon 1:1-25

The letter of Philemon was written by the Apostle Paul to Philemon, another Christian worker who is fairly wealthy and is a slave owner. Onesimus, a slave owned by Philemon, ran away, met Paul in Rome, and came to faith in Jesus Christ. Paul is writing to Philemon, urging him to forgive Onesimus and allow him to be sent back to Paul for help with God's work. Within this letter, we see three distinctive elements of Christianity: 1) coming to faith in Christ and the positive effects on one's life; 2) the outcome of faith of Christ being others-centered love towards other Christians; and 3) the importance of reconciliation and maintaining peace among believers.

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The Bread of Life

Scott Risley

John 6:14-69

Jesus performs miracles to show God's power and point to deeper spiritual truth. His claim, "I am the bread of life" was misunderstood and didn't meet the expectations of the disciples or the crowd that followed him. The disciples wanted to influence and significance while the crowd wanted their physical needs met. Properly understood, Jesus' message means we will experience hunger until we come to him. He knows our deepest need for spiritual life and can meet it if we choose to believe in him.

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The Bread of Life

Dennis McCallum

John 6:22-69

After feeding the multitude, Jesus approaches the crowds and calls out their attitude for following him to receive temporal blessings. Jesus explains he is worth pursuing because he offers eternal life to those who believe. Jesus then shows how he is the Bread of Life, a metaphor showing the he is the ultimate source of fulfillment in our lives. People need to consider if they will look to Jesus to meet their needs or try and run their lives by themselves. It's important to note that this passage is not describing communion or needing to replace Jesus with human priests, based on the text itself, along with the historical, conceptual and theological context.

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Faith, Hope and Love

Jim Leffel

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Faith, hope, and love are the three New Testament values which demonstrate how what we believe, what we long for, and how we live intersect. All of this is based on the message of the gospel. The natural result of these things for the Thessalonians was to spread this message to others.

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Feeding the Multitude

Dennis McCallum

John 6:1-14

Jesus is with his disciples near the Sea of Galilee with a great multitude of people come seeking him. When Jesus presented his disciples with the opportunity to feed them, two attitudes from his disciples appear. The first comes from Phillip, who left God's power out of the scenario, and was simply looking to how he on his own could feed the people. The second, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, demonstrates the inadequacy to perform the work, and what little he does have he presents to Jesus. Jesus takes the loaves and fish presented by Andrew feeds the multitude so they are satisfied and even have leftovers. These attitudes are similar to the attitudes Christians can have today when attempting to be used by God, and as we look to move to love others, we ourselves are satisfied.

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Feeding of the Five Thousand

Conrad Hilario

John 6:35

A crowd of 5,000 men gathers around Jesus near the Sea of Galilee. Jesus and His disciples discuss how they will feed this crowd. This passage reveals the differences between having a horizontal and vertical perspective on life. Through the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 Jesus shows He wants to meet humanity's innermost needs and use His followers to do this work.

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