Tag: Questions

In this verse we read that a woman who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years touched Jesus' garment and was instantly healed. Jesus then said, "Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me" (Luke 8:46). At first glance, it might seem that Jesus was unaware of the identity of the wo...

In Mark 11:23-24 we read, "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have receiv...

In ancient times, Christians used to make pilgrimages to Jerusalem for Holy Week. One popular activity while they were there was to walk the route from Pilate’s house to Calvary, stopping for devotionals to commemorate various events that took place along the way. Of course most people didn’t do thi...

There are two types of sermons—prewritten and extemporaneous. There is no particular value in one type or the other, but there are occasions when it is handy to be able to preach a well organized sermon off the cuff. So if you prewrite your sermons, but you want to learn to speak extemporaneously, h...

If you are a lay person, use this page only to satisfy your curiosity. The instructions on this page are for clergy who have an occasion to baptize by immersion, but don’t customarily do it that way. Special Cautions You can cause serious problems if you attempt to immerse infants or people who are ...

In Luke 12:49 Jesus said, "I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!" Scholars have interpreted Jesus' words differently, and all agree that it is hard to know precisely what He had in mind here. Some scholars point out that in Old Testament times fire often sym...

Many New Agers say that Jesus went to India as a child to learn from Hindu gurus. He allegedly later went to Israel and performed miracles learned from these gurus, and taught doctrines He derived from them. Such an idea is preposterous. To begin with, Jesus' teaching about God was not pantheistic (...

In John 14:12 Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." Does this mean you and I can do even more amazing miracles than Jesus performed while He was on earth. No way! In ...

Jesus answered a group of Jews and said, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, you are gods'?" (John 10:34). Does this mean that humans can become God? New Agers cite this verse to support their doctrine of the deity of man. Mormons also cite it to support their view that humans can become gods. ...

Matthew 27:5 tells us that Judas died by hanging himself. Acts 1:18 tells us that Judas fell onto some rocks and his body burst open. Is there a contradiction here? No. Both accounts are true. Apparently Judas first hanged himself. Then, at some point, the rope either broke or loosened so that his b...

In Jesus' instructions about prayer, He taught His followers: "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words" (Matthew 6:7). These words of Jesus were aimed straight at the Pharisees. These individuals always made a public show ...

The Revised Common Lectionary is an ecumenical list of scripture readings for use in Sunday worship. There are many, many advantages to using the lectionary. You don’t get stuck in a rut of your favorite passages.Your congregation gets a balanced exposure to the entire Bible over a three-year cycle....