God

First Look at the Evidence of the Resurrection

/ Bob

The first to give witness and testimony to the birth of Jesus were the shepherds. The first to give witness and testimony to the resurrection of Jesus was a woman. You would be hard pressed to find two groups of people lower in social standing within the 1st century Jewish community than shepherds and women. No offense to either group – that’s just the way it was. The shepherds first beheld and worshiped the new born king and a woman, Mary of Magdala, first beheld the empty tomb after the resurrection and worshiped the One she called Rabonni.

The first few verses of John 20 give great insight into the mindset of those who were following Jesus. At first, they just didn’t get it. Nothing made sense.. John 20:9 says, “As yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.” They didn’t get it then . . . but that was then. What happened after that transformed them into a Spirit-led force that couldn’t be silenced. What they saw at the beginning of John 20 was just a beginning of the things they would witness after the resurrection of our Lord – things that undeniably prove that Jesus did, in fact, rise from the dead. Hallelujah!

The next 3 sessions will be devoted to events which followed the resurrection. We will see more evidence of His resurrection and direction of how we are to live because Jesus died and rose again.

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, February 6, 2022. It is part of a series of Bible study sessions from The Gospel Project – a Bible study curriculum developed by Lifeway Christian Resources. Handouts with slide content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com

Website – FromTheBackPorch.org
Twitter – From the Back Porch @ nationalfast
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Jesus Is Tried and Crucified

/ Bob

In the Old Testament we find God’s Law which provides a way for God’s people to be reconciled to Him. And even though that Law provided for blood sacrifices as a necessary part of that reconciliation (Leviticus 17:11) it was the heart and faith behind the sacrifice that God was most interested in. “For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” (Hosea 6:6)

Jesus fulfilled the Law on both counts. His blood, shed on the cross – as the spotless, perfect Lamb of God – met the requirement for the shedding of sacrificial blood and His heart, acting in perfect obedience to the Father, met the requirement for the heart behind the sacrifice. He paid the price for our sin and reconciled us to our holy Father. In so doing, He turned what was a ghastly, horrible means of execution – the cross – into a beautiful, glorious symbol of God’s love for us.

That is why, when we survey the wondrous cross, we sing:
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

Next week we will see and glory in the resurrection of our Lord.

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, January 30, 2022. It is part of a series of Bible study sessions from The Gospel Project – a Bible study curriculum developed by Lifeway Christian Resources. Handouts with slide content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com

Website – FromTheBackPorch.org
Twitter – From the Back Porch @ nationalfast
Facebook – From the Back Porch in Texas

Beauty from Ashes

/ Bob
https://www.kentucky.com/news/state/kentucky/article256586146.html?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter

I read this article and listened to this man play “Something About That Name’ and immediately thought of Isaiah 61:1-4. This message was given to the people of Israel but it is a Messianic prophecy that Jesus used as His first “sermon” so the proclamation is the same for all believers. Thank you, Jordan Baize, for reminding us of this truth.

1“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,Because the Lord has anointed MeTo preach good tidings to the poor;He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,To proclaim liberty to the captives,And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

2To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,And the day of vengeance of our God;To comfort all who mourn,

3To console those who mourn in Zion,To give them beauty for ashes,The oil of joy for mourning,The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;That they may be called trees of righteousness,The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

4And they shall rebuild the old ruins,They shall raise up the former desolations,And they shall repair the ruined cities,The desolations of many generations.”

https://www.kentucky.com/news/state/kentucky/article256586146.html?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter

What Does “Noel” Mean? And Other Christmas Queries

/ Bob

What Does “Noel” Mean? And Other Christmas Queries

Was Jesus born on December 25? Did Mary ride a donkey to Bethlehem? Were there 3 kings who visited the baby Jesus and did they ride camels? What does “Noel” mean? What does “Gloria in Excelsis Deo” mean? What is the difference between Immanuel and Emmanuel? Were Mary and Joseph married when they went to Bethlehem? Did Mary give birth to Jesus in a barn or stable or a cave or none of the above? All of these questions and many others were answered in this Agape Life Bible Study. Some of the answers might surprise you.

When we consider the facts surrounding the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, it is important to remember the facts about the birth and life of Jesus that are truly important – that in the fullness of time, Jesus was born of a virgin and that He lived a perfect life so that He could be offered up on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for our sin and that 3 days later He rose from the grave – victorious over death – and is now seated at the right hand of the Father interceding on our behalf and waiting for the day when He will return once again in power and in glory.

In short – Jesus was born to die so that we might be born again to live. Hallelujah!

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, December 12, 2021. Handouts with slide content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com

Website – FromTheBackPorch.org
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The Curse of Death

/ Bob

Death. Not a subject we like to dwell on and yet, it is something that hangs over us for all of our living days. People from the beginning of time have tried to dodge death and cheat death, but no one has been able to avoid death. It’s as much a part of life as is birth. Jesus knew this and He wanted to give the people an object lesson that demonstrated that He had authority over death and that their greatest concern in life – their own death – was something He could provide answers for and even THE answer for.

The resurrection of Lazarus, as we see in John 11, was a precursor to the resurrection of Jesus which would happen a short time later. It was the object lesson that settled the question of whether or not Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life and whether or not eternal life is found anywhere else other that in the Savior, Jesus Christ. (John 11:25-26)

The Resurrection Power of God is more than our feeble minds can comprehend and, as wonderful as it is, we have become lackadaisical – lacking life or spirit – in our walk with the Lord. Because we have been given eternal life in Christ, we must glorify God always, even in sickness and in death, trusting in His power to raise us from the dead. (1 Corinthians 15:55) And because we posses the very power that raised Lazarus and Jesus from the dead, we must walk in victory in every area of our lives. (John 14:12-14) We are told that we use only a small percentage of our brain’s capability, but I am of the belief that we use even a smaller percentage of our faith given the enormous storehouse of power available to us through God’s Spirit within us. May God open our eyes to see what He would have us do with such power and may He give us boldness to do those things in His strength and for His glory.

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, November 28, 2021. Handouts with slide content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com

Website – FromTheBackPorch.org

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Inconvenient Truths

/ Bob

During this time of Thanksgiving let us above all else be grateful for a path of restoration between sinful humanity and the Holy God – through Jesus. There is only one way, but HALLELUJAH – there is a way! In our study of the 6th Chapter of John we find Jesus referring to Himself as the Bread of Life. He goes on to assert that the eating of this bread is necessary for salvation as is the drinking of his blood. It wasn’t the most pleasant of images and actually caused many to turn away from Him. However, the inconvenient truths were truths nonetheless and continue to be so today.

While the culture today worships inclusiveness as the ultimate test of morality, the words of Jesus Himself testify to the exclusivity of Christ as Savior:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. – John 14:6

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” – John 3:16-18

“The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” John 3:35-36

Peter and Paul reinforced Jesus’ claim of being the only way to eternal life.

This is the “stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.” Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. – Peter in Acts 4:11-12

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus. Paul in 1 Timothy 2:5

Jesus Is the Only Way!

This Bible study was presented to the Agape Life Bible Study Class of the First Baptist Church in Brenham, Texas, on Sunday, November 21, 2021. Handouts with slide content can be requested at: fromthebackporchintexas@gmail.com


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