Church of the Rock pastor, Geng Zejun, served just over a year after ‘refusing to join state-run Three-Self Church’ Pastor Geng Zejun from the Church of the Rock in in Shizuishan city of China’s Ningxia Hui province was released from prison after more than one year for allegedly conducting Sunday services. (Photo: ChinaAid via Weibo) Published: March 27,... Continue Reading →
Jesus Calls Us into His Wonderful Light
During World War II an American airman named John was blinded in an airplane explosion. He was discharged from the Army Air Corps, and for the next twelve years he couldn’t see a thing. During these years he lived for a time with his parents in Texas, and then he married, had two children, and got along... Continue Reading →
From Nazareth to Capernaum: Walk the Jesus Trail
Tourists who wander around the Holy Land often do so by bus. They visit some landmarks, get off the bus, take a good look around, pray, buy some souvenirs, and hop back into their seats. Whereas there is nothing wrong with that, Jesus’ experience was quite different. The Gospel of Matthew states that he “went... Continue Reading →
How Can I Love My Enemies?
Jesus gives a very clear example of what it means to be the light of the world in Matthew chapter 5. This example is seen in Mt. 5:43-48 which states, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for... Continue Reading →
Who Is Jesus? A Brief Look At The Incarnation
In sacred scripture we read that man was created he had a perfect relationship with God. Man is the pinnacle of creation, and God gave man everything. In return the Lord asked man not to each of one tree in the garden. Man did not listen, rebelled, and had to face the consequences of sin... Continue Reading →
Receive Jesus as He is and not as we Want Him to be
Tarsish Marak csc – Readings: Gen 9:1-13; Mk 8:27-33 The role of a teacher is to teach the students and to make sure that the students learn the lessons well. In today's gospel reading, I see Jesus being a good teacher, after knowing the opinions of the people about his identity asked the disciples to... Continue Reading →
Samaritans, The Woman at the Well, And The Background Of John 4
The Gospel of John is one that greatly helps us understand exactly who Jesus is. John has a higher Christology than the synoptics and was the last written. In the Gospel of John, we have many key doctrine such as the personification of God’s Word in the person of Christ, as well as a synthetic... Continue Reading →
The Pool of Siloam will open to the public for the first time in 2,000 years
The Pool of Siloam is the place where, according to the Gospel of John (Jn 9:1-12), Jesus healed a man who had been blind since birth. The text reads: As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was... Continue Reading →
Propitiation: A Greek Word Study
When looking at a passage of scripture it is helpful to look at words within the passage for clues to meaning. This is important because, though a word may seem straightforward in English, in the original language it may have a multitude of meanings. The words that will be studied is contained within Romans which... Continue Reading →
Jeremiah 29 And A Message Of Hope
The book of Jeremiah is a book filled with tragedy, beauty, and redemption. Jeremiah 29 takes place after the exile of the people to Babylon. In 597 B.C., the king Jehoiachin surrendered to the conquering Babylonian empire and the nobility were exiled to Babylon[1]. To fully understand the context of Jeremiah 29 it is helpful... Continue Reading →