We have implicit and explicit information about Xerxes from the book of Esther, but the extra-biblical archives aid our understanding about this man and how God used him. 

When parents drop their little ones off at Sunday school, they trust the people teaching the lessons will make sure the curriculum is pure and points to God. It’s a given that the Sunday school teachers will lead the littles in songs because youngsters love to sing and it’s a great way to keep them occupied. But what’s included in the popular songs they sing as their parents are worshiping in the sanctuary? Do the songs often sung in this environment speak the Gospel to the children?

We’re going to take a look at ten time-honored Sunday school songs, and then we’ll view five purely Gospel-oriented songs.

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The Bible tells us Jesus was and is an innocent man, completely pure and sinless. Yet He suffered and died in our place. One innocent man took the place of all of history’s sinful souls.

We are given cause to rejoice and be awestruck by God’s faithfulness, love, plan of redemption, and His holiness and sovereignty. He’s given us much to learn through even this one verse. Jesus is He who comes in God’s name, and He is blessed. 

When we begin with a me-centered vision, we will always experience dissatisfaction. We expect God to answer our prayers at the moment we petition Him to fulfill our need for immediate gratification. The Bible tells us in Isaiah 55:8-9 that God’s thoughts and ways are not ours; they are higher and they fit His standard, not ours.

As with anything we Christians engage, we submit to our biblical worldview first and foremost. Our chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Everything (worship, evangelism, service, etc.) comes under the huge umbrella of what brings glory to God. AI does, too. We must carefully assess the benefits of AI according to the precepts of the Bible. 

The Old Testament sacrifices show us it’s the blood which makes atonement. The life (blood) of the animal is poured out in its death, which brings peace between God and the people (Leviticus 17:11). Jesus’ blood poured out on the cross purifies us from our sin — all our sin.

The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. You can’t have one without the other to come to as full an understanding of Scripture (and Him) as God intends. 

This is an overview of the Last Supper Bible story as told in the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

We can rest in Who He is and be thankful because we are made in His image and because throughout every adversity He allows, He is changing us from one degree of glory to another or to mold us more and more into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29a; 2 Corinthians 3:18).

How could Jesus’ disciples spread the word about Him without speech? How can we make disciples if we do not speak? How can we teach without talking? How could Jesus give commands without saying them? How indeed? 

When the film “Jurassic Park” premiered in June 1993, it became the highest grossing movie ever at the time. The dinosaurs were created with pioneering computer-generated images and life-sized animatronics. We are fascinated with dinosaurs, especially the huge ones which eat people. No doubt sales of amber containing fossilized mosquitoes reaped big money after that movie was released. People still believe in the Loch Ness monster (Nessie) and continue to search for and find dinosaur bones.

The presence of their bones means they did exist, but what happened to dinosaurs?

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Though death is genuine, Christ, by His death and resurrection, claimed victory over it. We who love and cherish Him need have no fear of those who kill the body (Matthew 10:28). In that very moment of earthly death, we will forever be with Christ, basking in His glory and enjoying His love, with the complete knowledge we are finally home.