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Did Jesus lead the first youth group?

...life and faith. I am especially reminded of Paul’s encouragement to Timothy in this regard: 1 Timothy 4:12“Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” As we come to see the connections between Exodus 30:14 and Matthew 17:24–27, we gain a nuanced perspective on discipleship — one that appreciates the diverse ages and stages within the community following the footsteps of the Messiah.  I hope that this may encourage you in your faith if you are young still, or if you are a youth leader or pastor that you can hopefully see that even juvenile teenagers can still be entrust...

Keeping Christ in Xmas

...Christian faith. The Chi Rho Symbol The Chi Rho symbol, a monogram for Christ, combines the Greek letters Chi (Χ) and Rho (Ρ). This symbol has been employed in various contexts, including manuscripts, frescoes, and architectural elements of Christian basilicas and churches (and as the logo for this website). Its use spans different regions and periods, reflecting the symbol's enduring significance in Christian history. The Chi Rho symbol Understanding the linguistic history of “Xmas” and the symbolism of the Chi Rho provides a clearer perspective on these aspects of the Christmas tradition. Far from modern inventions, both are rooted in ancient lin...

Raised in the Heavenlies!

...m through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.   Colossians 3:1So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.   Ephesians 2:5-6 …[God,] even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus   Romans 6:4Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. While these verses (and many...

Lent Day 19: Cyprian: On the Unity of the Church: 10-18

...iscordant faithlessness does not maintain unity”. 1 John 2:19 They went forth from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, surely they would have continued with us. He goes on to say that the “Lord permits and suffers these things to be” so that personal liberty may still exist, but that God will use these for his own glory to show that which is genuine in contrast to the false, as Paul wrote to the Corinthians: 1 Corinthians 11:19Indeed, there have to be factions (Gk. Heresies) among you, for only so will it become clear who among you are genuine. Of these people, Cyprian makes reference to Psalm 1 as those who sit “in the...

The Coming of Jesus: Our Future Hope - What Now?

...ld to the faith until the end were warned by angels before this destruction came so that they could escape the city and survive.   This was the culmination of all things! The old world with its sacrificial system and priestly laws and rules for pleasing God and removing sin was done away with; now Christ has come, a new law and rule had also come: the Law of Christ/Love (Gal 6:2; 1 Cor 9:21). Grace abounds and love rules. Sin and death are defeated (2 Tim 1:10) and those who believe on Christ are given new life and right to be heirs to eternal life (Titus 3:6-7)! The old has passed and the new has surely come (2 Cor 5:17)!   Through baptism we are born ag...

The Eighth Day

...ng of the faith, we reconcile the world back to God as co-workers with Jesus (1 Corinthians 3:9)! 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.   Resting with God This is God showing that things work differently now. No longer is he only found in a physical brick and mortar temple, or a specific holy place (as Jesus points out in John 4:21) – now God dwells with us and in us because our bodies ARE the temp...