Pastor Prince

What motivates our greatest generosity?  Guilt?  Duty?  Need?  In John 12:1-6, we find that the motivation for the most profound generosity is love. It was the Saturday before the Friday on which Jesus was crucified.  Jesus' friends Martha, Mary, and Lazarus were having a dinner in Jesus' honor.  Jesus recently raised Lazarus from the dead.  It must have been a joyous celebration, though Jesus knew the time of his passion was near. When they ate in those days, they didn't sit in chairs.  Instead, they reclined on pillows or couches around low tables.  Their heads were at the table, while their feet were away from it.  Martha was serving the meal.  Lazarus was at the table with everyone else. While dinner was going on, Mary entered the room, carrying an alabaster jar.  She went to Jesus' feet, broke open the jar, and poured its contents on Jesus' feet.  The smell of fragrant perfume filled the room where they were gathered, along with the whole house

The Bible's Big Story about God's mission to save the world comes to a climax in the last 3 chapters of the book of Revelation.  At the end of chapter 20, God resurrects the dead, and they stand in judgment before him as he sits on the great white throne.  He has great books opened, which record the deeds of each person.  But the final determination of judgment is whether the person's name is recorded in the book of life.  The book of life contains the names of those who've followed Christ. At the beginning of chapter 20, God resurrects creation, which has been subject to decay because of human sin.  Then he sends down the New Jerusalem, the eternal home of his resurrected people.  This city comes down to earth, where his people will live.  God is present in this city, so no temple is needed.  The divine and human realms come together. God declares that a new time has come, in which he will wipe every tear from every eye, and there will be no more sicknes

How do we gain a right relationship with God?  This is a fundamental religious question.  In Acts 15, we find the early church wrestling with it. The debate started in the church in Antioch.  Paul and Barnabas were working there and the church was growing rapidly.  Gentiles were entering the church through faith in Christ.  God had already shown that he accepted Gentiles as they were, and that they didn't need to become Jews in order to be saved (see Acts10:1ff).  Yet a group of Jewish Christ followers from Jerusalem arrived in Antioch and began to teach the Gentiles that they needed to be circumcised and follow the Old Testament law to be saved. This discouraged and confused the new Christ followers in the church.  Paul and Barnabas promptly travelled to Jerusalem to consult with the apostles and elders to get clarity on the situation.  When they arrived in the city, they shared with church leaders what God was doing in Antioch and elsewhere.  But some in the church r