Tanglewood Bible Fellowship » Messages

The Seven Signs of the Gospel of John Sign #7: Raising of Lazarus John 10:40-11:57 Take This To Heart Spiritually Hardened People Will “Explain Away” Any/All Evidence that Jesus is the Christ Spiritually Open People Can Move From Biblical Evidence to Believe that Jesus in the Christ Believers Have Been Promised Everlasting Life by Him Who Raised the Dead/Healed the Blind and Who Made Atonement for Sin on His Cross/Validated by His Resurrection from the Dead. Salvation is Not Something […]

The Seven Signs of the Gospel of John Sign #6: The Healing of a Man Born Blind John 9:1-41 Take This To Heart The reason the vast majority of the people of Israel in Jesus’ day (including 98% of the religious leaders) rejected Jesus was not due to a lack of opportunity or an absence of information/validation. It was a matter of hardened hearts. Important to Note: this was not a matter of secular thinkers vs spiritual thinkers, it was […]

The Seven Signs of the Gospel of John Sign #4: Jesus the Water-Walker John 6:16-40 John 6:16-40 Jesus the Water Walker is the Bread of Life Jesus walking on the water of the Sea of Galilee was a unique sign miracle validating the truth that He is the Issue/Issuer of Everlasting Life to all who believe in Him. This truth is comforting to those who do believe but confounding/offensive to those who do not. The Ultimate Question Who Was/Is Jesus?   […]

How Should Christians Respond When Our Society is in Spiritual/Moral Freefall? Psalm 11 For the Choir Director, a Psalm of David Take This To Heart Even in perilous times, Christians should punt panic and positively persevere. Even when the spiritual/moral foundations of a society are destroyed, believers in the Lord Jesus Christ can continue to build our lives, our families and our churches on those (vilified/rejected) truths as we trust and obey the LORD walking with Him one day/one step […]

The Seven Signs of the Gospel of John Sign #3: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished John 5:1-18     Take This To Heart Truth IS Stranger Than Fiction: Christ and Christ-Centered Christianity Always Has and Always Will Have Both Secular and Religious Opponents Because the Good News of Jesus is Gross Nonsense to Many!?! Those in Christian Circles Who Try to Take the “Scandal” Out of Christianity By Becoming “Politically Correct/Culturally Seeker Sensitive” are Theologically Incorrect and Repudiating the Example […]

The Seven Signs of the Gospel of John Sign #2: A Remote Miracle Catalyzes Real Faith John 4:43-54   Take This To Heart 1: When we come to the LORD with requests (“whats”) we should not demand specific mechanisms (“the hows”) by which He should respond to us. 2: Prayer is a grace channel of communication by which we seek and submit to His God’s will (what/how) realizing that “No!” and/or “I will respond in a different way than you […]

The Seven Signs of the Gospel of John Sign #1: Water Into Wine   Take This To Heart Through the 1st Sign of the Gospel of John Changing Water into Wine: Our Lord Jesus Demonstrated His Supernatural Power over Creation/Chemistry And in a Way that Honored Both His Human Mother and His Heavenly Father True Biblical Disciples of Jesus Should Realize Doing the “Right Thing” Must Be Done the Right Way with the Right Reason(s)

Rome Sweet Rome (or “There’s No Place Like Rome”) The Israel to Italy Trek Concludes (in a Timeframe/after Events Arranged by God’s Providence) with Paul Safely in Rome Waiting for His Appeal To Come before the Emperor v11-16 Take This To Heart Even Though Being a Christian Often Involves Being Part of a Misunderstood and Marginalized Minority Group, Believers are to Live and Share Our Faith

God’s Miracle Man on Malta Unique Apostolic Miracles: A Foundational Part of the NT Church Many of the events recorded in the Book of Acts are descriptive not prescriptive. This is true because the book describes a UNIQUE period and UNIQUE persons. The Apostles had a UNIQUE foundational place in Church History-which cannot be reproduced, but… …the ULTIMATE Apostolic miracle was the production of the New Testament books! Ultimately the Cornerstone of the Foundation of the Church is our Lord […]

When God Doesn’t Get Us Out of Storms… Paul’s Vexing Voyage to Rome 27:1-28:10 Phase 1: Before the Shipwreck (27:1-26)      From Caesarea to Myra v1-5      From Myra to Fair Havens in Crete v6-8      Heading for Phoenix, a Perfect Storm Overtakes the Ship v9-26 Phase 2: The Shipwreck (27:27-44)      Escape by the Sailors Blocked v27-32      Final Meal on Board v33-38      The Ship Runs Aground Offshore v39-41      All are Saved Through Not From the Storm […]

The “Reason” Isn’t Necessarily the Real Reason Paul’s Final Defense in Caesarea v 1-23 Rather than being a violent threat to Rome or to Jerusalem, the REAL reason so many Jewish VIPs hate me is because I believe in and proclaim the truth that Jesus really has been resurrected from the dead v1-8 I was a violent threat against Christianity before my conversion v9-18 Now, I am dedicated to sharing Christ (primarily) to Gentiles v19-20 Rather than being a violent […]

Wisdom from the Word about Waiting Paul’s years in Caesarea, including his two appearances before Governor Festus were part of the providential process of God’s timing by which he would arrive in Rome Godly Patience Comes by Resting in God’s Providence Waiting (doing “nothing”) is a major part of life under the sun. DVP believers can and should refuse to be constantly frustrated about this (after and/or while we do all we  reasonably can do) if/as we rest in God’s […]

For Christians, Our Lives Aren’t Just about Us …Ultimately They are About Him Bottom Line: This status quo continued for a period of two years, until Governor Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. Wanting to make points with the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem, he left Paul imprisoned… (and the story continues see Acts 25-28)   Take This To Heart For Christians, Our Lives Aren’t Just about Us… …Ultimately They are About Him We see this in the Paul’s life in […]