TRUTHS ABOUT CHRIST

“To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities” (Acts 3:26 NKJV).

From this text, we learn three significant things about the Lord Jesus Christ.

The resurrection of Christ – “God, having raised up His Servant Jesus.” Our text begins with the power of God seen in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Jesus is still in the grave. Our faith is built on the resurrection of Christ. The Apostle Paul declared, “And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” (1 Cor. 15:17). But thank God, the power of God resulted in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Without the power to raise up Christ, there would be no resurrection.

The reason for Christ – “Sent Him to bless you.” Gal. 3:13 states, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree).” The majority of folks in this world reject and despises the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet, those who reject Christ reject the greatest blessing of all; they are rejecting the one Person who can bless us like no other can. By rejecting Christ, man is saying that he desires to be cursed instead of blessed.

The righteousness in Christ – “In turning away every one of you from your iniquities.” The blessing of Christ results in righteousness. Christ came to die on Calvary for our sin so we could be forgiven, pardoned, cleansed. The world excuses sin, call it by nice names, play down the seriousness of sin, legalize sin and glamorize it in movies and in their lifestyle. However, Divine blessings, can only bestowed on the righteous. And only Jesus Christ can make a person righteous. Rejecting Christ is to reject the greatest blessing of all.

(Adapted from Butler Sermon Starters - Vol. 1)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Christ showed His love by dying for us; we show our love by living for Him!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Resurrection

In 1 Peter 1:3 we read, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead!” (NKJV)

Resurrection is the is the Greek word anastasis (ἀνάστασις = an-as'-tas-is). It is made up of two words: “ana” which means up, again, and “histemi” which means to cause to stand. The word means rise, rising, resurrection. Literally, it means to stand again or to cause to stand again.

The normal meaning of anastasis in secular Greek is to rise, stand up. In both the Septuagint and the New Testament the idea of anastasis is to arise, stand up, to set up, raise. Following His resurrection, the body of Jesus was uniquely different from His body before His death. And unlike Lazarus or the widow’s son, He would never experience death again. Further, resurrection is to be distinguished from reincarnation, which usually involves a series of rebirths from which the soul seek release.

Resurrection is also the central, defining doctrine and claim of the gospel. Paul wrote “And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty” (1Cor. 15:14). Further, the resurrection of believers is inseparably tied to the resurrection of Christ. Christ Himself is the firstfruit (1 Cor. 15:23) and is called the firstborn from the dead (Col. 1:18). Christ’s resurrection is therefore the first of the harvest to eternal life and guarantees that all the saints who have died will be resurrected also.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – That He would be a man of sorrows (Isa. 53:3)

Fulfillment – Matt. 26:37-38

Bible Facts

The earth is a sphere (Isaiah 40:22). At a time when many thought the earth was flat, the Bible told us that the earth is spherical.

Bible Quiz

From what city did Jesus ascend into Heaven?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: What was the name of one of the disciples with whom Jesus spoke on the road to Emmaus? Cleopas (Luke 24:13-18).

That’s in the Bible

"Wheels within wheels”

“The appearance of the wheels and their workings was like the color of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. The appearance of their workings was, as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel” (Ezek. 1:16 NKJV).

“Wheels within wheels” is a graphic illustration of the complexity of a situation which isn’t readily apparent to those on the outside. Literally speaking, “wheels within wheels” depicts the operations of modern clocks, transmissions, and other mechanical inventions.

Ezekiel’s visions of living creatures appeared to him as “wheels within wheels,” not only for what they looked like, but also how they operated together. It’s also an excellent analogy of the operations of God in our lives. He does things for different reasons and purposes that we don’t always understand. However, as we continue to trust Him, we eventually see that He carries out His purposes “like a well-oiled machine.”

Did You Know – Christian History

Joshua Marshman was born April 20, 1768, at Westbury Leigh in Wiltshire, England.

He was a Christian missionary in Bengal, India. His mission involved social reform and intellectual debate with educated Hindus such as Ram Mohan Roy.

There was nothing extraordinary about Marshman’s early life. Eventually, he enrolled at Bristol Academy where he studied and advanced himself in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Syriac. Through the Periodical Accounts of the Baptist Missionary Society, Marshman learned about William Carey's work in India, and volunteered to join him.

Marshman was an accomplished scholar, linguist, and theologian and was a prolific author and debater. After learning Bengali and Sanskrit, Carey and Marshman published the Bengali form of The Ramayuna of Valmeeki, which Ward would see to completion. Marshman also has the honor of being the first to have translated the Bible into Chinese. Marshman also published A Dissertation on the Characters and Sounds of the Chinese Language (1809), a translation of Confucius (1809), and Clavis Sinica (1814).

Marshman and his wife also ran boarding schools. These attracted so many paying students that they helped keep the mission afloat. In 1811, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, awarded Marshman an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree. In 1818, Carey, Marshman, and Ward established Serampore College and became known as the ‘Serampore Trio.’ Marshman was the last of the three to die. As the 69 year old lay dying, he exclaimed that he had experienced sweet communion with God, despite light-headedness and other unpleasant symptoms. He then prayed in the Bengali language and spoke of his “precious Savior." Few men can claim to have achieved as much good as Joshua Marshman.

A Little Humor

The Sunday school teacher was telling her 5th grade class about Easter and that Jesus was buried in a borrowed tomb. One student quickly put up her and said that she knew why. “Jesus only used it three days.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Empty cross - empty tomb - full salvation!”