In the first two chapters of Luke, we find four reactions to the news of the Gospel. These reactions are not if/then statements of logic, but rather poetic expressions in song. Sung by Mary, Zechariah, a host of angels, and Simeon, these songs witness to the birth of Jesus, representing the...
“‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!’” (Mark 1:15) When Jesus spoke these words, He made it clear they were rooted in redemptive history (“The time …”), He made it clear something was about to happen (“… is near …”), He made it clear...
Genesis means “beginnings.” This title is derived from the opening line of the book, which is the opening statement of the whole Bible: “In the beginning…”
The mission statement of our church comes directly from Matthew 28:18, where Jesus calls us to “make disciples.” In the context that Jesus first uttered this command, it was a radical statement. No one made disciples.
In this series we will look at the Gospel of John through the framework John offers his readers in John 20:30-31: “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the...
We start our new year with an old question: “Why?” Why follow Jesus? With so many options to choose from concerning what we may follow in life, why choose to follow Jesus? The book of Ephesians lays out a compelling case for why following Jesus is the only appropriate response to God’s decisive...
In Scripture we see that part of God’s nature is that He is self-disclosing or self-revealing. God longs not only to know His creation but for His creation to know Him. Advent anticipates and celebrates God’s full self-revelation in Jesus. Throughout Scripture, God reveals glimpses of His...
As we learned in Mark 10:52, a disciple is someone who follows Jesus. The Gospel of Mark helped us answer the question, "Who am I following?" We will now ask and answer the second question of discipleship, “How do I follow?” The Bible’s blueprint for how a disciple is made can be summarized in...
The mission of the Williamsburg Community Chapel is to make disciples. Simply put, a disciple is someone who follows Jesus. Natural questions that arise from such a declaration are, "Who is this person that I am following? What is He like? Is He worthy of my life?"
Judges gives us the picture of a community that attempts to lay its own foundation apart from Jesus: foundations of control, comfort, greed, self-reliance and subjective morality.