Tag: Age to come
These videos below reference the Tag: Age to come.
Discipleship 101: You'll look foolish and you'll be hated
In this third video about basic discipleship, I talk about what we ought to expect as a true disciple of Jesus as we obey him and imitate him in this world.
Discipleship 101: Nobody notices you, and that’s a good thing
In this second video about basic discipleship, I discuss an "easier said than done" aspect of following Jesus. We are prone to seeking the praise of man more than praise from God. How we live when no one is looking matters deeply to God.
Discipleship 101: Bench the bar
No, this video isn't about weight training. But my weight training story definitely applies to being a disciple of Jesus. How do we grow and mature as followers of Christ? It's not mysterious, and has so much to do with how we relate to the people around us every day and what we're looking forward… Read More »
The Passover and the Kingdom of God
On the night Jesus was betrayed, he took bread and wine and associated the Passover (Exodus 12) with his death. But he also connected it with his return and the establishing of the kingdom of God (Luke 22:14-23). This short teaching was given to a group of students at Texas A&M University in April 2022.
Fight sin with a clear vision of the future
In Romans 13, the Apostle Paul exhorts the disciples in Rome to "cast off the works of darkness" and to live "as in the daytime", because "the night is far gone" and "the day is at hand". Paul understands that what motivates discipleship - right belief and right living in light of that belief -… Read More »
Instead of worrying, make THIS your priority
In Matthew 6, Jesus tells his followers to not be anxious or worried about their lives in this age, but instead to "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness" - to look ahead with anticipation to all that God had promised in his covenants with Israel. Even 21st century Gentiles who have been… Read More »
Jesus gave himself for our sins to deliver us... from what, and when?
What does Jesus' death on the cross deliver us from? Is his sacrifice primarily about our forgiveness so that we can have a restored relationship with God now and go to heaven when we die? When we see the words of Jesus and the apostles from within a first century Jewish apocalyptic worldview, the story… Read More »
Biblical hope: The world will NOT be this way forever
Though trials come to our lives and when wickedness prevails in the world, the hope that the Bible holds out for disciples of Jesus is far from ambiguous. The apocalyptic hope of the first century Jew focused on the coming day of God and the resurrection of the dead, and with a clear picture and… Read More »
This is the hardest thing about being a disciple of Jesus
Following Jesus is costly. In Luke 14, Jesus says that if we don't count the cost from the beginning, we won't be able to be his disciple. This message is rarely heard in Western Christianity because we've lost the hope and expectation that first century Jews had for the future.
Treasures in heaven, bad eyes, and the age to come
In Matthew 6, Jesus encourages the Jews to store up "treasures in heaven". Is Jesus telling his hearers that when they get to heaven he will give them a box of Legos or a gold necklace or a white stone if they stop looking at pornography? Jesus' original Jewish hearers would have understood the phrase… Read More »