Pastor Prince

The Big Story of the Bible is about God's mission to save the world.  In the first chapter of his gospel, Luke gives signs that something huge was about to happen in that story.  In the first part of that chapter, he tells about the birth of John the Baptist.  In the second part, he tells about a visit of the angel Gabriel to Nazareth in Galilee.  Gabriel goes to a young virgin named Mary and tells her that God has chosen her to be the mother of the Messiah, God's Anointed One.  He will sit on the throne of his father David and reign forever. In the second chapter of Luke, the huge thing happens.  It's the event to which everything in the Big Story has been leading up to: the birth of Jesus Christ! Joseph and Mary have to go to Bethlehem, King David's ancestral home, to register for a census.  While there, Mary gives birth to Jesus.  He has to be born in a dwelling for animals because there was no other place in the town for them to...

Matthew 16:17-19 gives us a glimpse into God's dream for his church.  Jesus quizzed his followers about who they thought he was, and Simon Peter confessed that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Jesus blessed him and give him a nickname.  The disciple's real name was Simon, son of Jonah.  But Jesus gave him the nickname Peter ( petros ), which means "rock."  Jesus said, "You are Rock, and on this rock I will build my church." Jesus continued by saying, "And the gates of Hades will not prevail against it."  Many people misunderstand what Jesus meant.  They picture the church as an unassailable fortress on a mountain.  The forces of hell gather against it, but they can't prevail.  But that's not Jesus' picture.  Gates don't attack.  They're defended!  The picture is of the church attacking the gates of death itself. Those gates won't prevail against it! How would the church prevail?  By using ...

Many of us learned the story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-100 when we were children.  We know about the "wee little man" who climbed the sycamore tree to see what he could see.  We know that Jesus told him to "come down" because he was going to his house that day. But if that's all you know about this story, you're missing a lot!  Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and wealthy.  He was an outcast who worked with the hated Gentile government.  Also, tax collectors were notoriously corrupt.  Most likely, Zacchaeus had said no to God and to his people. Despite the tax collector's reputation as a social outcast, Jesus invited himself to his house.  He said yes to the tax collector.  He loved him, was for him. When Jesus said yes to Zacchaeus, the people said no, no, no!!!  They derisively said of Jesus, "This guy welcomes sinners and eats with them!"  Decent people said no to people like this tax collector.  To love him, to say ...

The Bible presents at least four foundational truths that are critical to the church's mission.  Truth one is that God loves you as your are.  John 3:16 says that God loves the world so much, he gave his unique Son so that those who put their faith in him will have everlasting life.  1 John 4:7 says that God proved his love for you by sending his Son to die for you.  He loves you as you are.  He's for you! Truth two is: God has given you a group of people who are for you.  It's the church!  A church isn't a building.  It's group of people gathered to continue Jesus' work in the world.  John 13:34 says Jesus commanded his followers to love each other as he loved them.  God gave you the church to love and nurture you.  He also wants you to love and nurture others in the church.  You should be for your brothers and sisters in Christ! Truth three is God loves everybody.  He's for everybody. John 3:16 emphasizes th...

One of the most remarkable stories in history is the return of the Israelites to Judea after their exile in Babylonia.  The two main heroes of that time were Nehemiah and Ezra, and the books named after them are our primary sources of information about what happened during that time. The book of Nehemiah tells the story of how an Israelite official in the court of the Persian King Artaxerxes became concerned about the desperate situation of his people in Jerusalem.  The king granted him permission to go to Jerusalem and assist in rebuilding the city.  Despite meagre resources and opposition from non-Israelites in the region of Jerusalem, Nehemiah rebuilt the walls of the city. The book of Ezra focuses on the story of the rebuilding of the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem.  Ezra 1:1ff tells how the Persian King Cyrus, who had conquered the Babylonians, ordered that the Israelites be allowed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild its temple.  The slow, dif...

Covenants are critical parts of the Big Story of the Bible.  They include God's covenant with all living after the great flood in Noah's time, his covenant with Abraham, his covenant with the nation of Israel at Mt. Sinai, and his covenant with David.   God's covenant with Israel at Mt. Sinai governed his relationship with the nation of Israel.  The Bible describes that covenant in Exodus 19:1ff.  God came to his people and entered a special relationship with them.  He said he would be their God and they would be his people as long as they obeyed his commands. God's most important commands required his people him alone.  Since he was committing himself to them, worshipping other gods would be spiritual adultery. Sadly, the Israelites failed to worship the Lord alone.  They engaged in idol worship, including horrible practices like child sacrifice.  For this reason, the Lord sent prophets to warn his people that if they didn't change, ...

Part of the Big Story of the Bible concerns suffering.  The earliest idea about suffering seems to have been related to the idea that God blesses the righteous and punishes the wicked (See Psalm 1).  If people were suffering, it was because God was punishing them for their sins. But then Job comes along.  The book of Job is a deep dive into suffering.  Job suffered, yet he was a righteous man.  His friends say he needs to acknowledge his sin.  But he debates with them, maintaining his innocence and protesting his suffering.  In the end, God appears and condemns Job's friends, who had been standing up for him.  The final message of the book is that sometimes the righteous suffer, but they may never know why. Then, Isaiah 52:13-53:12 comes along and takes the conversation about suffering to a whole new level.  This passage is part of a group of "Servant Songs" in Isaiah.  As they begin, they appear to describe corporate Israel....