Author Archives: John Paine

About John Paine

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This blog is topical and devotional--we post whatever interests us, whenever. If you want to follow in an orderly fashion, please see our Kaqexeß page.
April 7, 2014

The Case For Easter Wrap-up

By John Paine

The Case for Easter

We had a very interesting evening of apologetics last night at the Williamsburg Community Chapel. Lee Strobel, Mark Mittelberg, and Michael Licona presented the Case for Easter in a simulcast to churches throughout North America.

Please use this post to make comments, ask follow-up questions, or share anything related to this event.  We also offer the following materials and resources from the simulcast producers:

Based upon questions from attendees after the event, here are a few apologetics resources we recommend:

For larger lists, check out our Toolbox, or this post.  If you’d like to dive into apologetics, here’s a sampling of Veracity’s apologetics posts.

For those new to—or unsure of—the Christian faith, here is a presentation of the Gospel in an interactive ebook that uses apologetics to share the joy of personal discipleship.

Confidence in Jesus Christ

Have a question, comment, or something to share? Please use the “What do you think?” box in the Comments section below. We look forward to sharing with you!

 

HT: Shirley Vining, Judy Williamson, Martha Karam, Dave Rudy, Clarke Morledge, Cliff Roebuck, Arlene Vander Loon, Eileen Grant, Andy Flint, Kevin Wilkins, Steve Flanary

 

 

 

8 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Apologetics

April 2, 2014

Painting Jesus

By John Paine

John Paine's avatarLessons in Lent

Christ Driving the Merchants from the Temple Christ Driving the Merchants from the Temple by Jacob Jordaens, c. 1650

Left to your imagination, what would Jesus look like?

In Matthew 21:1-22 we see Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, with an adoring crowd shouting praises and laying palm branches on the road. They shout “Hosanna!” which is a Hebrew expression for “Save!” and an exclamation of praise.

If  you would like to get a sense for the setting of the Palm Sunday processional, here’s a brief video on the Golden Gate in Jerusalem that documents an extraordinary archaeological find.

One theme throughout the Gospels is that Jesus is on a mission, and that mission includes the fulfillment of prophesies made centuries before He appeared on earth. In this case, the parade was foretold by the prophet Zechariah—who prescribed a donkey for the processional. Not some big chariot, not with a military escort as a show of power, not…

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March 26, 2014

The Lesson of Tyre

By John Paine

Matthew 15:21-28 is an example of Scripture that is difficult to understand, until we put the verses in context with other passages. It works on multiple levels to reveal the love of God for all of us. It can be a little too easy to paint this as a story of a woman’s persistence, and miss the deeper lesson that Jesus gave the disciples.

John Paine's avatarLessons in Lent

Limts Of Tyre The Limits of Tyre by Vasily Polenov, 1911

Today’s Lenten devotional by N.T. Wright (Week 3, Wednesday), focusing on Matthew 15:21-28, describes one of those passages in Scripture that is difficult to grasp in isolation. What’s really going on here? What does the text tell us about the values of Jesus Christ? Why didn’t He just heal the Canaanite woman when she asked? Is Jesus calling this woman a ‘dog’? Did this woman talk Jesus into changing His mind?

Thankfully we have a parallel text in Mark 7:24-29, and a clue about what life was like at this point in Jesus’ ministry in Luke 6:17-19, so let’s put them all together.

And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and…

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March 20, 2014

The Pulpit and the Pew Mini Series

By John Paine

Here’s an outstanding plumb line for any pastoral search committee, from Pastor Walter Bright.

walter bright's avatarWalter Bright

Allow me to introduce a six part mini series entitled, “The Pulpit and the Pew: 6 Cultures bringing the American Church to its knees.”

Here is an outline of the 6 parts. I am going to devote three parts to the pulpit and three parts to the pew. Here is and idea:

The Pulpit:
1. The Culture of Swagger without Substance
2. The Culture of Pastoral Notoriety
3. The Culture of pastoral Isolation

The Pew:
1. The Culture of Hooking up
2. The Culture of Shacking up
3. The Culture of Cozying up

Part 1: The Culture of Swagger without Substance

Today, all around America, there is a lot of swag going on in pulpits of every denomination and every church. We even have what some call – “hipsters and celebrity pastors.”  There is a culture of swagger in the pulpit but there is not enough substance to back it…

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March 19, 2014

Framing John the Baptist

By John Paine

John Paine's avatarLessons in Lent

The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist, Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1499 The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist, Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1499

Today’s Lenten devotional by N.T. Wright (Week 2, Wednesday), focusing on Matthew 11:1-19, explores the character and mission of John the Baptist, and the love of our Lord.

Two Gospel writers (Matthew and Luke) relate the account of John the Baptist sending his followers to ask Jesus if He was indeed the true Messiah. So John had doubts when the heat was on. Got it—he was human.

In response, Jesus cited His miracles as proof of His messianic authority. (You can’t get away from the purpose of miracles in the Bible.) But Jesus went further than merely answering the question—he set John the Baptist apart as the greatest man born of women. He recognized John’s doubt, addressed it, and restored John’s reputation. That grace in the face of doubt reveals how…

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