Christian Persecution in TURKEY

TURKEY
Young Muslims Murder Three Christians – Compass Direct News
On April 18, five Muslims entered a Christian publishing company and killed three believers in the Southeastern province of Malatya. Two of the victims were Turkish converts from Islam and the third man was a German citizen. It is reported that four of the five attackers admitted that the killings were motivated by both "nationalist and religious feelings." Pray for comfort for the families of the deceased. Pray the testimony of their loved ones will lead others into the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Ask God to give Christians in Turkey perseverance to serve Him in the midst of immense challenges.

Matthew 5:3-4
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.


Every month The Voice of the Martyrs reports on what is really happening around the world where our brothers and sisters are persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ. Now you can receive a free subscription to The Voice of the Martyrs award winning monthly newsletter. You will be inspired, and even discover practical ways to get involved.

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Twisting Scripture Part 3

How often have you encountered some bizarre doctrine only to be stunned to hear a Bible verse quoted to support it? With new religious cults springing up almost daily and old ones growing rapidly, this is more and more common. How are they seemingly able to twist Scripture to mean something Christians have never believed it to mean in two thousand years?
James Sire, author of the Universe Next Door and How to Read Slowly, has isolated twenty separate kinds of reading errors which are characteristically made by cultists as they interpret the Bible. He covers the full range form simple misquotation to complex argumentation which links one slightly eccentric interpretation to another, mixes in a few orthodox readings and ends with a conclusion totally foreign to the biblical world view. Sire also handles twisted translation, over specification, virtue by association, ignoring the context and others. Scripture Twisting is a great book to pick up and read. I recommend it!


11. Selective Citing:
To substantiate a given argument, only a limited number of texts is quoted: the total teaching of Scripture on that subject would lead to a conclusion different from that of the writer. Example: the Jehovah Witnesses critique the traditional Christan notion of the Trinity without considering the full set of texts which scholars use to substantiate the concept.


12. Inadequate Evidence:
A hasty generalization is drawn from too little evidence. Example: the Jehovah Witnesses teach that blood transfusion is non biblical, but the biblical data which they site fails to either speak directly to the issue or adequately substantiate their teaching.


13. Confused Definition:
A biblical term is misunderstood in such a way that an essential biblical doctrine is distorted or rejected. Example: one of Edgar Cayce's followers confuses the Eastern doctrine of reincarnation with the biblical doctrine of being born again.


14. Ignoring Alternative Explanations:
A specific interpretation is given to a biblical text or set of texts which could well be, and often have been, interpreted in quite a different fashion, but these alternatives are not considered. Example: Erich von Daniken asks why in Genesis 1:26 God speaks in plural ("us"), suggesting that this is an oblique reference to God's being one of many astronauts and failing to consider alternative explanations that either God was speaking as "heaven's King accompanied by His heavenly hosts" or that the plural prefigures the doctrine of the Trinity expressed more explicitly in the New Testament.


15. The Obvious Fallacy:
Words like obviously, undoubtedly, certainly, all reasonable people hold that and so forth are substituted for logical reason. Example: Erich von Daniken says, "Undoubtedly the Ark [of the Covenant] was electrically charged!".


TO BE CONTINUED....

Technorati:scripture twisting,bible study,cults

Dicovery Channels "Jesus Tomb" FLIP FLOPS!

Oh! Of course! This clearly says "Mary Magdalene"


I have my suspicions that the Discovery Channel seems to be more and more Anti-Christian...but those are my opinions. What is obvious is that Discovery promotes their documentaries in the tone that their documentary was "so-well-founded in scientific fact you are a buffoon if you don't believe it". One of these marketing bombardments began on the RECENT documentary on the "miraculous" discovery of Jesus' tomb which was actually discovered OVER 20 years ago. Cameron and his cronies stood vehemently behind all of their irrefutable scientific evidence and when their own researchers and scientists began changing their statements....what does Discovery do? They do nothing to let their audience know about the changes! Now that's a great example of UN responsible reporting and more foolish science. How many people saw the Great James Cameron's documentary and believed everything they said? Plenty...and really that is the audiences fault. Who's fault is it for deceiving people and making theory sound like fact?
The blame is on the Discovery Channel...

Notice that this article found below first appears in the Jerusalem Post. Would our mass media in the West devote time to print this article?
NO WAY!

Jesus tomb film scholars backtrack
By ETGAR LEFKOVITS


Several prominent scholars who were interviewed in a bitterly contested documentary that suggests that Jesus and his family members were buried in a nondescript ancient Jerusalem burial cave have now revised their conclusions, including the statistician who claimed that the odds were 600:1 in favor of the tomb being the family burial cave of Jesus of Nazareth, a new study on the fallout from the popular
documentary shows.

The dramatic clarifications, compiled by epigrapher Stephen Pfann of the University of the Holy Land in Jerusalem in a paper titled "Cracks in the Foundation: How the Lost Tomb of Jesus story is losing its scholarly support," come two months after the screening of The Lost Tomb of Christ that attracted widespread public interest, despite the concomitant scholarly ridicule.
The film, made by Oscar-winning director James Cameron and Emmy-winning Canadian filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici, prompted major criticism from both a leading Israeli archaeologist involved in the original dig at the site as well as Christian leaders, who were angered over the documentary contradictions of main tenets of Christianity.

But now, even some of the scholars who were interviewed for and appeared in the film are questioning some of its basic claims.
The most startling change of opinion featured in the 16-page paper is that of University of Toronto statistician Professor Andrey Feuerverger, who stated those 600 to one odds in the film. Feuerverger now says that these referred to the probability of a cluster of such names appearing together.
Pfann's paper reported that a statement on the Discovery Channel's Web site, which previously read "a statistical study commissioned by the broadcasters...concludes that the probability factor is 600 to 1 in favor of this being the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth and his family," in keeping with Feuerverger's statement, has been altered and now reads, "a statistical study commissioned by the broadcasters... concludes that the probability factor is in the order of 600 to 1 that an equally 'surprising' cluster of names would arise purely by chance under given assumptions."

Another sentence on the same Web site stating that Feuerverger had concluded it was highly probable that the tomb, located in the southeastern residential Jerusalem neighborhood of Talpiot, was the Jesus family tomb - the central point of the film - has also been changed. It now reads: "It is unlikely that an equally surprising cluster of names would have arisen by chance under purely random sampling."
Israeli archaeologists have said that the similarity of the names found inscribed on the ossuaries in the cave to the members of Jesus's family was coincidental, since many of those names were commonplace in the first century CE.

The film argues that 10 ancient ossuaries - burial boxes used to store bones - that were discovered in Talpiot in 1980 contained the bones of Jesus and his family. The filmmakers attempt to explain some of the inscriptions on the ossuaries by suggesting that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, and that the couple had a son, Judah.
One of the ossuaries bears an inscription reading "Yeshua son of Yehosef" or "Jesus son of Joseph;" a second reads "Mary;" a third is a Greek inscription apparently read by one scholar as "Mary Magdalene;" while a fourth bears the inscription, "Judah, son of Jesus." The inscriptions are in Hebrew or Aramaic, except for the one in Greek.

But Shimon Gibson, who was part of the team that excavated the tomb two and half decades ago and who appeared in the film, is quoted in Pfann's report as saying he doubted the site was the tomb of Jesus
and his family.

"Personally, I'm skeptical that this is the tomb of Jesus and I made this point very clear to the filmmakers," Gibson is quoted as saying.
"We need much more evidence before we can say that the Talpiot tomb might be the family tomb of Jesus," he added.
In the film, renowned epigrapher Prof. Frank Moore Cross, professor emeritus of Hebrew and oriental languages at Harvard University, is seen reading one of the ossuaries and stating that he has "no real doubt" that it reads "Jesus son of Joseph." But according to Pfann, Cross said in an e-mail that he was skeptical about the film's claims, not because of a misreading of the ossuary, but because of the ubiquity of Biblical names in that period in Jerusalem.

"It has been reckoned that 25 percent of feminine names in this period were Maria/Miriam, etc. - that is, variants of 'Mary.' So the cited statistics are unpersuasive. You know the saying: lies, damned lies, and statistics," Cross is quoted as saying.

The paper also notes that DNA scientist Dr. Carney Matheson, who supervised DNA testing carried out for the film from the supposed Jesus and Mary Magdalene ossuaries, and who said in the documentary that "these two individuals, if they were unrelated, would most likely be husband and wife," later said that "the only conclusions we made were that these two sets were not maternally related. To me, it sounds like absolutely nothing."

Furthermore, Pfann also says that a specialist in ancient apocryphal text, Professor Francois Bovon, who is quoted in the film as saying the enigmatic ossuary inscription "Mariamne" is the same woman known as Mary Magdalene - one of the filmmakers' critical arguments - issued a disclaimer stating that he did not believe that "Mariamne" stood for Mary of Magdalene at all.

Pfann has already argued that the controversial inscription does not read "Mariamne" at all.

The burial site, which has been contested from the start by scholars and church officials alike, is some distance from the Church of the Holy Sepulchrr in the Old City, where many Christians believe Jesus's body lay for three days after he was crucified.
According to the New Testament, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion, and an ossuary containing Jesus's bones - the explanations of the movie director notwithstanding - would contradict the core Christian belief that he was resurrected and then
ascended to heaven.

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Twisting Scripture--PART 2

How often have you encountered some bizarre doctrine only to be stunned to hear a Bible verse quoted to support it? With new religious cults springing up almost daily and old ones growing rapidly, this is more and more common. How are they seemingly able to twist Scripture to mean something Christians have never believed it to mean in two thousand years?
James Sire, author of the Universe Next Door and How to Read Slowly, has isolated twenty separate kinds of reading errors which are characteristically made by cultists as they interpret the Bible. He covers the full range form simple misquotation to complex argumentation which links one slightly eccentric interpretation to another, mixes in a few orthodox readings and ends with a conclusion totally foreign to the biblical world view. Sire also handles twisted translation, over specification, virtue by association, ignoring the context and others. Scripture Twisting is a great book to pick up and read. I recommend it!

6. OVERSPECIFICATION:
A more detailed or specific conclusion than is legitimate is drawn from a biblical text. Example: The Mormon missionary manual quotes the parable of the virgins from Matthew 25:1-13 to document the concept that "mortality is a probationary period during which we prepare to meet God." But the parable of the virgins could, and most probably does, mean something far less specific, for example, that human beings should be prepared at any time to meet God or to witness the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

7. WORD PLAY:
A word or phrase from a biblical translation is examined and interpreted as if the revelation had been given in that language. Example: Mary Baker Eddy says the name Adam consist of two syllables, A DAM, which means an obstruction, in which case, Adam signifies "the obstacle which the serpent, sin, would impose between man and his Creator."

8. THE FIGURATIVE FALLACY:
Either (1) mistaking literal language for figurative language or (2)mistaking figurative language for literal language. Example of (1): Mary Baker Eddy interprets EVENING as "mistiness of mortal thought; weariness of mortal mind; obscured views; peace and rest." Example of (2): The Mormon theologian James Talmage interprets the prophesy that "thou shalt be brought down and speak out of the ground" (Isaiah 29:4)to mean that God's Word would come to people from the Book of Mormon which was taken out of the ground at the hill of Cumorah.

9. SPECULATIVE READINGS OF PREDICTIVE PROPHESY:
A predictive prophesy is too readily explained by the occurance of specific events, despite the fact that equally committed biblical scholars consider the interpretation highly dubious. Example: The stick of Judah and the Stick of Joseph in Ezekiel 37:15- 23 are interpreted by the Mormons to mean the Bible and the Book of Mormon.

Here is the scripture verse out of the KJV:

15 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 16 “As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it: ‘For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.’ Then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.’ 17 Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand. 18 “And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Will you not show us what you mean by these?’— 19 say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Surely I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will join them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand.”’ 20 And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes. 21 “Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; 22 and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. 23 They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

10. SAYING BUT NOT CITING:
A writer says that the Bible says such and such but does not cite the specific text (which often indicates that there may be no such text at all). Example: A common phrase "God helps those who help themselves" is not found in the Bible.

TO BE CONTINUED....

Technorati:scripture twisting,bible study,cults

Rose from the grave!! Easter Sunday Message

Gospel
Jn 20:1-9

On the first day of the week,
Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we don’t know where they put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
For they did not yet understand the Scripture
that he had to rise from the dead.

SERMON:
Good and wise teacher? Not the Messiah? Then...How could He rise?

His Life poured out for us...the ransom was paid. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

On the third day He said He would rise from the grave...AND HE DID RISE FROM THE GRAVE! (Mark 9:31, Mark 16:16)

What? Wait!
Some say that Jesus is just a good and wise teacher or just a prophet!

Good & WISE?
Wise in the context that He said He would rise from the grave?
No, you should say that Jesus is Good & CRAZY...instead of calling Him good & wise!

A prophet?
No, a Lunatic!
What prophet said that they could rise from the dead?

No mortal man can say that they can conquer the grave...

Good and wise...How could He rise? Either Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, the I AM, the Creator...OR NOT

BUT NO MAN HAS EVER, COULD EVER, OR WILL EVER RISE FROM THE GRAVE ON HIS OWN!

Luke 24:34
and saying, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon."

IF JESUS DID NOT RISE...THEN OUR FAITH IS IN VAIN!!!

Thankfully, Christianity IS BASED ON FACT!

Some of these facts are:

1) BROKEN ROMAN SEAL (Matt 27:66)

The consequences of breaking the seal were extremely severe. If they were apprehended, it meant automatic execution by crucifixion upside down. People feared the breaking of the seal.

2) EMPTY TOMB (John 20:1)

The disciples of Christ did not go off to Athens or Rome to preach that Christ was raised from the dead. Rather, they went right back to the city of Jerusalem, where, if what they were teaching was false, the falsity would be evident. The empty tomb was "too notorious to be denied." Both Jewish and Roman sources admit an empty tomb.

3) LARGE STONE MOVED (Matt 28:2)

On that Sunday morning the first thing that impressed the people who approached the tomb was the unusual position of the one and a half to two ton stone that had been lodged in front of the doorway. All the Gospel writers mention it.

4)ROMAN GUARD GOES AWOL (Matt 28:12-15)

The Roman guards fled. They left their place of responsibility. How can their attrition he explained, when Roman military discipline was so exceptional?

5)GRAVE CLOTHES TELL A TALE (John 20:4-8)

In a literal sense, against all statements to the contrary, the tomb was not totally empty--because of an amazing phenomenon. John, a disciple of Jesus, looked over to the place where the body of Jesus had lain, and there were the grave clothes, in the form of the body, slightly caved in and empty--like the empty chrysalis of a caterpillar's cocoon. That's enough to make a believer out of anybody. John never did get over it.

6)JESUS' APPEARANCES CONFIRMED (John 20:1-31)

Christ appeared alive on several occasions after the cataclysmic events of that first Easter and there where MORE THAN enough witnesses who saw him after HE ROSE TO CONFIRM IT AS A FACT!

7) In Paul's day, there were 500 or so people who personally saw Jesus after He rose on the third day!

These eyewitnesses TESTIFIED to this FACT. 500 people in Paul's day alone! (Acts 2:32)

There are more facts...but a question to the doubter...What more proof do you want?

What more does Jesus have to do in order for you to have faith?
If He did do what you ask, Would it really change your mind or would you doubt what you saw also?

THERE IS ONLY ONE JESUS!

Either He is a FRAUD, a NUT, OR Jesus is the Messiah!

EVERYONE LIVING TODAY MUST TAKE A HONEST LOOK AT THE FACTS FOR THEMSELVES...THE FACTS OF HIS RESURRECTION

DID JESUS RISE FROM THE GRAVE ...OR NOT??

JUST DON'T CALL HIM A GOOD AND WISE TEACHER OR A PROPHET!

This Easter, let us realize the truth found in John 1:10-14:

10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.

11He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him.

12 Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed (faith"eth") in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—

13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

14 The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only,who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 11:25
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth (faith"eth") in Me, though he were dead,yet shall he live:

If you seek a human teacher who will come up with a human philosophy on how to live a moral life and "be good enough" then for heavens sake find some one other than Jesus!
Why believe in a "man" who exorcised demons from people, ran around calling Himself the "I AM" and told people He would rise from the grave?

If you know there is a spiritual side of this universe and know that you are a sinner, understand why we are all sinners and can understand that this is not a guilt trip but a way of humility and seek to be forgiven and hear the call to Christ... then rejoice!!! For the problem has been solved and your faith lead to salvation in Christ who is the only path to eternal life.
Rejoice for the price of your sins past, present, and future has been paid for.
No one comes to the Father unless they come through Jesus...that is the message and that is the Truth.

God Bless you this Easter Sunday.


Technorati:sermons,sermon,Christianity,preaching,bible,bible reading,bible-reading,john 2

Good Friday Message--Why Jesus died for us

Gospel
Jn 18:1—19:42

Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valleyto where there was a garden, into which he and his disciples entered.
Judas his betrayer also knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.
So Judas got a band of soldiers and guards from the chief priests and the Pharisees and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him, went out and said to them, “Whom are you looking for?”

They answered him, “Jesus the Nazorean.”
He said to them, “I AM.”
Judas his betrayer was also with them.
When he said to them, “I AM, “
they turned away and fell to the ground.

So he again asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” They said, “Jesus the Nazorean.”
Jesus answered, “I told you that I AM.

So if you are looking for me, let these men go.” This was to fulfill what he had said, “I have not lost any of those you gave me.” Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave’s name was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter,
“Put your sword into its scabbard. Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?”

So the band of soldiers, the tribune, and the Jewish guards seized Jesus, bound him, and brought him to Annas first. He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas,who was high priest that year.
It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews that it was better that one man should die rather than the people.

Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Now the other disciple was known to the high priest,and he entered the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus.
But Peter stood at the gate outside.

So the other disciple, the acquaintance of the high priest, went out and spoke to the gatekeeper and brought Peter in. Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter, “You are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.”

Now the slaves and the guards were standing around a charcoal fire that they had made, because it was cold, and were warming themselves. Peter was also standing there keeping warm.

The high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his doctrine. Jesus answered him, “I have spoken publicly to the world. I have always taught in a synagogue or in the temple area where all the Jews gather, and in secret I have said nothing. Why ask me?
Ask those who heard me what I said to them. They know what I said.” When he had said this,
one of the temple guards standing there struck Jesus and said, “Is this the way you answer the high priest?”

Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong; but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?” Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm. And they said to him, “You are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.”

One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said,
“Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?” Again Peter denied it. And immediately the cock crowed.

Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium. It was morning. And they themselves did not enter the praetorium, in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and said, “What charge do you bring against this man?”
They answered and said to him, “If he were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.” At this, Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.” The Jews answered him, “We do not have the right to execute anyone, “

in order that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled that he said indicating the kind of death he would die. So Pilate went back into the praetorium and summoned Jesus and said to him,
“Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?” Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?”

Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not here.”

So Pilate said to him,“Then you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”

When he had said this, he again went out to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in him.
But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at Passover. Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews? They cried out again, “Not this one but Barabbas!”
Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged. And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head, and clothed him in a purple cloak, and they came to him and said,
“Hail, King of the Jews!”And they struck him repeatedly. Once more Pilate went out and said to them, “Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.”
So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak. And he said to them, “Behold, the man!” When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out,
“Crucify him, crucify him!”

Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him.”
The Jews answered, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.” Now when Pilate heard this statement, he became even more afraid,
and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus,

“Where are you from?”
Jesus did not answer him. So Pilate said to him, “Do you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?”
Jesus answered him,
“You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above. For this reason the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”
Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out,
“If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar.
Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”

When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out and seated him on the judge’s bench
in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha. It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon. And he said to the Jews,
“Behold, your king!” They cried out, “Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!”
Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your king?”
The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself, he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross.
It read, “Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.”

Now many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate,

“Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews’.”
Pilate answered,
“What I have written, I have written.”

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four shares,
a share for each soldier. They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top down.
So they said to one another,
“Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be, “
in order that the passage of Scripture might be fulfilled that says:
They divided my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots. This is what the soldiers did.
Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary of Magdala.
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved
he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”
Then he said to the disciple,
“Behold, your mother.”
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
Jesus said, “I thirst.” There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth.
When Jesus had taken the wine, he said,
“It is finished.”
And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.


Now since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and that they be taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first
and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out.

An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth,
so that you also may come to believe. For this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled: Not a bone of it will be broken.
And again another passage says:
They will look upon him whom they have pierced.

After this, Joseph of Arimathea, secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews,
asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus.And Pilate permitted it.
So he came and took his body. Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night,
also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds.

They took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices,
according to the Jewish burial custom. Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried. So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by.

SERMON:

Our Lord God is all forgiving and all powerful.
Our Lord God is also JUST and RIGHTEOUS.

Our Lord God's righteousness and justice demand that sin be punished (Romans 3:23; 6:23).

Since all sin is ultimately committed against God (Psalm 51:4), the only just punishment for sin is death (Roman 6:23).

We know this fact well...BECAUSE WE ALL DIE.

Question:
How will you ever be righteous in the eyes of God?

Do you think that your works, forgiveness of sins by a man, long and repetitive prayers, or even the saints will help you become righteous in God's eyes?

Really? If you do not know who Jesus is and why He died for your sin, then these acts do nothing! Faith is your actions based on the belief of Jesus as the Messiah and sustained in your life every 24 hour period. It is not a blindness to the Truth or a slight understanding of who Jesus is or who you think He is. The Truth is found in the Holy Bible and only by studying it will you learn the Truth. Your works, confessions, prayers, and holy saints do not take your sin away. There is only one way that can be done. Its time for some action...YOUR ACTION.

Thank the Lord that He has provided salvation beyond the ways of man!!
HOW?

1. Jesus Christ was God in the flesh (John 1:1, 14)

2. When Jesus died on the cross, He died WITHOUT SIN...and the world (with Satan), OWES THE LORD GOD HIS LIFE BACK. (Hebrews 9:15-17 15).

3. The world (with Satan) CANNOT give the Lord God His life back...for no one but the Lord God is the Creator of Life. (John 1:1-5, 14, 17 and 18)

4. Because Jesus was PERFECT and He was CRUCIFIED for being SINLESS... the world owes Him HIS Life...HE GIVES YOU LIFE BY YOUR FAITH"ing" IN HIM...
ASK HIM...KNOW HIM...READ HIS WORD...LIVE BY HIM! TOTAL FAITH"ing"!!!

5.
John 11:25
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life:
he that believeth (faith"eth") in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

6.
Jesus’ death was sufficient to pay for all the sins that have ever been committed (2 Corinthians 5:21).

7.
John 3: 16-21

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

"He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

"And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

"For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

"But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

A GIFT OF GIFTS...FROM THE LORD OF LORDS AND KING OF KINGS!
This gift is available only by your action of accepting it and living through it.
That's the beginning of faith! Walk with Him and know Him.

For another uplifting lesson on this Good Friday...
Read the sermon: GO AND SIN NO MORE!



Technorati:Christianity,preaching,bible,bible reading,bible-reading,sermon,sermons


GOOD FRIDAY

Question to Dr. Dobson--A commentary by SELAH

Dr. Dobson has a problem with Fred Thompson?
A commentary by Selah from www.bibletruthonline.COM

A few days ago, I ran across this article from CNN:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- As senator turned actor Fred Thompson considers a presidential run, his Christian credentials are being questioned by Dr. James Dobson, a major voice among Christian conservative voters.

Republican strategist Rich Galen saw this as a positive thing.

"If I'm advising Fred Thompson, which I'm not, I'd say 'Good news! We're big enough that someone like Dobson has to pay attention to us,' " he said. (Watch why some in GOP think actor is Mr. Right )

In an interview with "U.S. News & World Report," Dobson said, "I don't think he's a Christian."

A Thompson spokesman quickly contested Dobson's statement, saying "Thompson is indeed a Christian. He was baptized into the Church of Christ."

But a declaration of Thompson's religion will not be enough for Dobson, who is viewed as being widely influential with evangelical Christians, a key Republican voting bloc.

"We were pleased to learn from his spokesperson that Sen. Thompson professes to be a believer," said Nima Reza, a Dobson spokesman. "Thompson hasn't clearly communicated his religious faith, and many evangelical Christians might find this a barrier to supporting him."

Why did that come up now, even before Thompson, a star of NBC's "Law and Order" and a former GOP Tennessee senator, has committed to running for president?

Dobson has shown so far he's not a believer in any of the front-running Republican candidates. He gave Mitt Romney a lukewarm review and said he couldn't support Sen. John McCain or front runner Rudy Giuliani. It signals a split among evangelicals.

"They're looking for someone to head off Rudy Giuliani. Some evangelicals want Thompson to be that person. But others want Newt Gingrich," said Dr. Charles Dunn of Regent University.

Dobson recently had Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House, on his radio show, where the former house speaker admitted an extramarital affair.

"I asked you if the rumors were true that you were in an affair with a woman, obviously, who wasn't your wife at the same time that Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky were having their escapade?" Dobson asked.

"Well, the fact is the honest answer is yes," Gingrich said.

Dobson has not endorsed any candidates. He told "U.S. News & World Report" that he thinks Gingrich is the "brightest guy out there" and "the most articulate politician on the scene today."

(End of CNN article)

QUESTION TO DR. DOBSON

WHAT WAS THE MAIN PROBLEM WITH THE CASE OF JUDGE ROY MOORE AND THE 10 COMMANDMENT ISSUE?

---IF YOU CAN NOT UNDERSTAND THIS PROBLEM; THEN HOW WILL YOU EVER BE ABLE TO GIVE ADVICE ON ANYTHING RELATED TO SOMEONE BEING A CHRISTIAN!?

ANSWER……THE PROBLEM WITH THE JUDGE ROY MOORE CASE WAS AND IS WHAT THE {SO-CALLED} RELIGIOUS LEADERS OF TODAY {YOU INCLUDED} HAVE ALLOWED THE 10 COMMANDMENTS TO REPRESENT!

YOU HAVE ALLOWED THEM TO REPRESENT A MORAL STANDARD {TRUE ENOUGH} BUT YOU HAVE NOT TOLD THE WORLD THAT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO KEEP THEM ALL; AND THE VERY PURPOSE OF THE 10 COMMANDMENTS WAS TO ACT AS AN MIRROR
SO THAT EACH PERSON COULD SEE THAT THEY WERE A SINNER!

AFTER COMING TO JESUS {LIKE PAUL SAYS } THAT OLD MAN STILLS SINS { I KNOW WHAT IS RIGHT AND I KNOW WHAT IS WRONG; I TRY TO DO RIGHT ; BUT I DO WRONG; WHO WILL SAVE ME? }

THAT MESSAGE SUMMED UP; IS THE BODY DIES; {that’s WHY WE MUST BE RE-BORN OF THE SPIRIT} NOT SO THAT THE BODY PERFORMS BETTER {FOR IT does NOT}

BUT SO THAT WE MAY FOLLOW JESUS AND WORSHIP IN THE SPIRIT.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

QUESTION #2

IS IT RIGHT {FOR THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT} TO BE RUN ONLY BY A CHRISTIAN? IN A TIME WHEN CHRISTIAN'S CAN’T EVEN EXPLAIN THE JUDGE ROY MOORE CASE PROPERLY?

THERE IS “NO DOUBT” AMONG THE PEOPLE OF THIS NATION THAT “CONGRESS” AND THE WHITE HOUSE IS A SELF-SERVING, EGOTISTICAL BEAST; TOO STUPID TO GET OUT OF ITS OWN VOMIT.

BUT TO THE RELIGIOUS SPEAKERS;WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO SWIM IN THAT VOMIT?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

YOU ACCUSE FRED THOMPSON OF NOT BEING A CHRISTIAN. IS THAT THE CRITERIA FOR BEING PRESIDENT OR A MEMBER OF CONGRESS?

HAVE YOU NAMED EVERY CONGRESS MEMBER OR WOMAN WHOM YOU FEEL ARE NOT CHRISTIAN ?

---WHY NOT? AND YET, WITH YOUR LACK OF CRITICIZING THE “CHURCH LEADERS",

WHICH OF THOSE "CHURCH LEADERS" DO YOU FEEL ARE NOT CHRISTIANS?

DON’T LIE ---YOU KNOW YOU HAVE YOUR FAVORITES IN THIS CATEGORY!!!

WORSE THAN THAT, THESE ARE YOUR OPINIONS---THEY {AS YOU REPRESENT

THE CHRISTIAN VIEW} TELL THE UNTRAINED OR NON-CHRISTIAN WORLD

HOW JUDGEMENTAL CHRISTIANS ARE.

------------------AND THIS IS “NOT THE CHRISTIAN MESSAGE”!!!!

YOU HAVE CROSSED A LINE ; IF YOU WISH TO JOIN JERRY FAREWELL;SO BE IT! REVEREND JACKSON; HAVE FUN !!! ----IN FACT; RUN FOR PRESIDENT!

FOR YOUR CHRISTIAN ADVICE; IS NOT CHRISTIAN, ANYMORE

YOUR AMBITION IS NOT OF MY CONCERN, ANYMORE

IS FRED THOMPSON A CHRISTIAN?

IS THE PRESIDENT REQUIRED TO BE A CHRISTIAN?

SHOULD I LISTEN TO YOU?

--------------------------------------------WHAT WOULD JESUS SAY?

Technorati:us history,politics,christian history,christian-history,history,learn from mistakes

Chrisitan Persecution in NIGERIA

NIGERIA

Teacher Killed by Muslim Students -

Compass Direct News/VOM Sources

On March 21, 2007,

Christianah Oluwasesin, a teacher at a secondary school in Northern Nigeria was beaten, stoned and burned by Muslim students over claims she desecrated the Quran. According to a Compass Direct News report, Oluwasesin was supervising a final examination on Islamic religious knowledge when she collected papers, books and bags from the all-girls class and in accordance with school procedure and dropped them in front of the class to prevent cheating. According to another teacher, soon after Oluwasesin dropped the bags in front of the class, one of the girls began to cry. She told her classmates she had a copy of the Quran in her bag, that Oluwasesin touched the bag and by doing so had desecrated the Quran, since she was a Christian. This led to a riot which was joined by Muslim extremists, resulting in Oluwasesin being beaten to death. They brought old mats to where her body was, placed dirt on her corpse and then burned it. The Voice of the Martyrs has met with her husband and is supporting her family. Pray God will comfort Oluwasesin's family and for her testimony to those that killed her, that it will bring them into the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:5
5For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

Every month The Voice of the Martyrs reports on what is really happening around the world where our brothers and sisters are persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ. Now you can receive a free subscription to The Voice of the Martyrs award winning monthly newsletter. You will be inspired, and even discover practical ways to get involved.

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