Tag Archives: Jesus Christ

Can You Believe What the Bible Says About Jesus (Part 1)?

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The New Testament makes some very strong claims about Jesus. That he was born of a virgin. That he worked many miracles. That he died by crucifixion, and was resurrected three days later. That he has the authority to forgive sins, and thus remove their penalty. That he was God in the flesh.

None of us has seen Jesus, but does that mean God wants us to have blind faith, faith without evidence? We’re told that Jesus offered convincing evidence to those who became apostles, commissioned to preach the gospel to the world. He did not expect them to believe he was who he said he was without evidence to back up his claims.

If we are to believe not by blind faith, but in accordance to supporting evidence available to us, what is the evidence? In this message, we discuss evidence available that the New Testament testimony concerning Jesus is a reliable foundation for faith in him as the Messiah promised in the prophesies of the Bible. This message, is part one of a two part series.

“Can You Believe What the Bible Says About Jesus? (Part 1),” presented by Rod Reynolds, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Copyright © 2023 by Messenger Church of God

Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are from the New King James VersionTM
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.

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Messenger Church of God
PO Box 619
Wentzville, MO 63385
USA

Make Your Calling and Election Sure

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Scripture warns of perilous times to come in the “last days” of this age (2 Timothy 3:1-5). We need to be prepared spiritually to meet the challenges we face in an age of increasing lawlessness and conflict (1 Peter 1:3-11).

We are warned by Jesus Christ not to let ourselves become spiritually lethargic, lukewarm, lacking in zeal (Revelation 3:14-19). While we do not know the precise time of the second coming of Christ, we should be able to discern the signs of the times we live in (Matthew 16:3). We cannot afford to allow complacency to cause us to stumble as the world becomes ever more hostile to and removed from genuine reverence toward God, and respect for his commandments.

In this message trends in the world are reviewed, and we consider encouragement and admonitions from the Bible to help us make our calling and election sure (cf 2 Peter 1:10).

“Make Your Calling and Election Sure,” a sermon by Rod Reynolds, COGMessenger is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Copyright © 2023 Messenger Church of God

cogmessenger.org

Messenger Church of God
PO Box 619
Wentzville, MO 63385
USA

How Can You Know the Truth?

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We live in a world in which confusion abounds. In every major facet of the world’s society: education, politics, religion, or whatever, contradictions, conflict and confusion prevails. Almost every subject of consequence is controversial these days.

There is a continuous struggle going on for our attention. Whether you realize it or not, your mind is under siege. All kinds of elements, groups, individuals, with a point of view to sell are struggling to capture your mind—attempting to win it over to their point of view. Your mind is constantly being bombarded by conflicting ideas, beliefs and opinions.

Even something as obvious as one’s sex is controversial. Are you male or female? An increasingly popular idea these days is that it’s not your DNA, nor the sex organs you are born with, that determine your sex. It’s whether you “feel” that you are male or female. Confusion about one’s sexual identity is being deliberately sown among even very young children by prevailing forces in our society. We can feel compassion for those who are confused about their sexuality, which often results from abuse or other kinds of mistreatment. But I have a hard time feeling anything but contempt for willful proponents of such confusion.

Paradoxically, in a world where the very idea of objective truth is increasingly under assault, powerful institutions are becoming more and more intolerant of any opinions on controversial matters which do not concur with their own.

Powerful social media companies routinely censor or deplatform those posting material which runs counter to opinions they favor, even though they are supposed to be content neutral platforms. Internet browser algorithms often tend to give preference in their search engine results to websites expressing viewpoints in favor with the left-wing Establishment.

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Messiah and the Throne of David — Part 4

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This message continues the series “Messiah and the Throne of David” with a discussion of the reign of Solomon. During his reign the kingdom of Israel reached the apex of its wealth and influence in ancient times as a global “superpower.”

In certain respects the reign of Solomon and Israel’s status at the time is a type of the coming Kingdom of God, when Jesus Christ will rule all nations, the world will enjoy universal peace, and the knowledge of God will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.

It was only after the end of Solomon’s rule, when the kingdom was divided because of Solomon’s apostasy, that Assyria began to become ascendant in the Mideast, and eventually powerful enough three centuries later to destroy the northern kingdom of Israel and take its inhabitants into a captivity in foreign lands, a precursor to what is prophesied to happen to the unrepentant modern descendants of Israel near the end of this age.

“Messiah and the Throne of David — Part 4,” a sermon by Rod Reynolds, COGMessenger is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Messiah and the Throne of David — Part 3

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A number of prophecies foretold that the Messiah would become heir to the throne of David (2 Samuel 7:11-13; Psalms 132:11; Isaiah 9:6-7; Jeremiah 23:6-7; et al). The Bible identifies, and confirms by its testimony, that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah. and that he, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, would be heir to the throne of David (Luke 1:31-33; Acts 2:30).

The link between David, king of Israel, and Jesus Christ the Messiah is a significant theme in Scripture, and understanding the historical and prophetic link between the two ought to be of interest to any student of the Bible.

David, though human, and one who committed sins and mistakes at times, nevertheless was on the whole faithful to God. David was a great king, under whose rule Israel prospered, and the kingdom of Israel became a great Empire, far more significant than many realize.

“Messiah and the Throne of David — Part 3,” a sermon by Rod Reynolds, COGMessenger is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.