Truth Encounter: Hisstory New Testament

It’s the stuff of a Hollywood horror movie. A woman screams in agony seeking to give birth to a child. Instead of a kind obstetrician, a dragon waits to destroy her son on delivery. Will her son live? This is the question of the ages. The question only the bible can answer and it does in its closing book—Revelation chapter 12.

Islamic Fundamentalists call for jihad against the infidels. America calls for a War against the terror. Who actually is in control of this planet? As we turn to the closing books of the New Testament—James-3rd John, we are faced again with a penetrating analysis of the source of hatred in the world, the explosive violence that results and the struggle for power. James, Peter and Johns answer to this question: What does the Evil one’s present world look like and what is Christ doing about it?

If you have ever worked with computer? Then you have experienced the frustration of –Access Denied. Everything is locked down because you don’t have the right password. How can you be sure that you won’t get an Access Denied when it comes to God’s presence in Eternity? Today we want to discover the only password that opens the program to heaven from Hebrews chapter 9.

Christian leaders continue to drop like flies all around us. Faced with this crisis of stained spiritual fathers, how will the biblical faith be carried to the next generation? For the answer we don't need a blue ribbon panel of Ivy League experts. It’s time to get back to the Pastoral Epistles and learn from the Apostle Paul what a real spiritual father has to say to his sons in the faith.

The Apostle Paul was only able to spend a short time—weeks or a couple of months with the Thessalonian believers. The majority of them had been idolaters when they trusted Jesus. Intense persecution was seeking to snuff out their new life. Paul writes two letters to them that proclaim the fundamentals of survival—faith, love, and hope.

This Thanksgiving I thanked the Lord for family, freedom, and faith. Many of you joined me in this gratitude. But suppose your family had all rejected you, you were imprisoned for a capital offense, and the religious faith you were born into now considered you a blasphemer who deserved to die? How much gratitude do you think you could muster up when there is obviously no turkey and dressing in your prison cell? In Philippians Paul tells us the “one thing” he still had that gave him a reason to bubble over with joy.

In the New Testament books of Galatians, Ephesians, and Colossians the Apostle Paul could easily be labeled as intolerant, opinionated and worse—arrogant. In Galatians he claimed that there is only one Gospel, in Ephesians there is only one church, and in Colossians there is only one Messiah. Paul rules out all other ways to God, all other religious connections, and all other Saviors. Was he intolerant, bigoted, and arrogant?

Little girls murdered in a schoolhouse in peace-loving Amish country! A Congressman soliciting sex on the Internet from Pages! Experts spout off their insights about the causes, the cures, and what we need to do to solve the problems. The Apostle Paul in Romans faces us with the truth--human beings are fundamentally evil and there is a God who is justly angry about their actions. It's time to face the truth of God's wrath so that we can open our hearts to the power of His forgiving love.

He made audacious claims! He was rejected both at home and in the capitol! A mob arrested and then murdered him. This story has been lived thousands of time, but there is one man who is never forgotten! Today there are more than two billion people who worship him. Why? Dave takes us to the New Testament book that can give us the answer to this question.

Have you ever had trouble placing a face--you know you should remember them and their name is right on the tip of your tongue, but nothing registers. Two of Jesus' disciples had this experience on the road to Emmaus, and their experience challenges us to ask, Do I recognize Jesus? Do I know who He really is? Both the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of John seek to help us to be certain about the identity of Jesus and then they challenge us to trust Him.

President Bush has succeeded so far in keeping us safe from terrorists on our home soil, but he could not handle the attack from Katrina. For his successes he is loved. For his failures he is hated, but the universal passion for a leader who will solve all of our problems remains. The Bible is a story about God's promise to send this great Leader, a Serpent slayer. The first two books of the New Testament seek to prove that Jesus is God's promised Messiah. Today, Dave Wyrtzen picks up the pieces to the puzzle that prove that Jesus is the Leader who alone can make us safe.

What could be better on a rainy day than to pull out one of those 1500 piece puzzles and get to work!! There's just something about getting down to those last few pieces and placing them to perfectly fit in the last places. But there is something far better--collecting all the pieces of God's puzzle about the promised Serpent Slayer in the Old Testament, fitting them all together, and then putting in the last pieces. Whose picture does the OT portray? That's the most important question you will ever answer Join us for the Introduction to our continuation of our study titled, HisStory- New as we begin to put the pieces together.