REVIVAL TALK

Hebrews 11:1-3 – “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”             As believers we are called to infuse our faith into an unbelieving culture.  Faith is a powerful force. Phillip Yancey defines faith as “believing in advance something that will only seem logical when seen in reverse.”  Faith is pleasing to God. In a recent time of prayer, I had the thought, “faith has a voice.”  In Hebrews 11:4 we learn, “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.” We must learn to align our thoughts and our words with the Word of God.  How do we align our thinking?  How do we bring our thinking into al

Matthew 27:33 – “And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull.”              Outside the old city walls of Jerusalem in an Arab neighborhood is a place called, “Gordon’s Calvary,” or the “Garden Tomb.” It is surrounded by an Arab Bus Station and on the top of the sight believed to be Golgotha, the Place of the Skull, there is a Muslim cemetery.   Outside the walls of this serene place is all kinds of activity. People are consumed with their everyday life. Like any other city in the world the   people are trying to survive. When we made our journey to what is believed to be the place where Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the dead, there were several things that captured my attention. There were a number of birds that were singing. There were many signs of life in the garden. I experienced such peace as we spent time in prayer and communion with our guides.    Perhaps those who live in the surrounding neighborhoods only see this

            Thursday night of the Lord’s Passion Week is filled with different events.  Jesus shares the Passover Seder meal with His twelve disciples in an Upper Room in Jerusalem. The Christian world refers to this day as Maundy or Holy Thursday.  It is the time set aside on the Christian calendar to commemorate the Lord’s last Supper.             It was during this supper that He instituted Holy Communion or as it is called in some churches, “The Lord’s Supper.”  At the Passover meal we learn that He broke the bread, distributed it to His disciples, and said, “This represents My body which will be broken for you.”  He then took up the cup and told them, “This cup represents my blood that will be shed so that a new covenant will be instituted.  Christian’s today celebrate Holy Communion and commemorate the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord.             On this busy night we learn that before they sat down to share in the Passover meal that Jesus took off His outer g

Luke 22:1-6 – “ Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people. Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.”             The events of this passage of Scripture took place on Wednesday of the Passion Week of our Lord.  In these verses, we learn that Judas conferred with the chief priests and officials to betray the Lord for money.  Verse six reveals that Judas “sought opportunity to betray Him.”             Judas looked for an opportunity to betray Him.  He was one of the twelve.  He had traveled with our Lord and he knew who Jesus was.  He had seen him in all kinds of situations.

Luke 21:1-4; Mark 12:41         One of the most fascinating studies in the Word of God is the study of what transpired on each day of our Lord’s passion week.  On Sunday He rode into Jerusalem on a lowly donkey to exuberant praise.  On Monday He cleansed the Temple and overturned the tables of those who were exchanging money and selling doves.           On Tuesday, the next day, He is again in the temple.  In Mark’s Gospel we learn that Jesus sat near the offering box and He observed how the crowd tossed money in for the collection.  We learn that those who were rich gave large gifts.  In verse 42 from the Message Bible we learn, “One poor widow came up and put in two small coins – a measly two cents.”            In verse 43 this became a teachable moment.  “Jesus called His disciples over and said, ‘The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together.’”   Most today would scoff at such an insignificant gift.  We would celebrate t

Jesus Passion Week – Monday Matthew 21:12-16       On Monday of His passion week, Jesus entered into the Temple at Jerusalem.  The Jewish Temple was very important in the life of the Jewish believer.  It was the center of their worship.  The Jewish male was required to come to the Temple at least three times a year to worship, offer sacrifices, and to celebrate the different feasts the Lord had given to them in the Law of Moses.      This event is recorded in three of the four Gospels.  We learn that He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who sold doves.  The outer court of the Temple had become a place of merchandising.  The merchants were profiting from God’s people at the expense of their worship.       Notice Jesus words, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’”  The reference to “den of thieves,” has to do with those who would hide themselves in caves and steal from innoce

Matthew 21             The twenty-first chapter of Matthew gives a vivid word picture of the Triumphant Entry of Christ into the Holy City of Jerusalem just five days prior to His death. The timing of His entry into Jerusalem was very important. His entry occurred on the tenth day of the month in the spring. Five days later on the fourteenth day of the month, Passover was to be celebrated. This entry was important because the Passover lamb was taken up and set apart on this day.  The lamb had to be set apart for four days to make sure there were no blemishes. Jesus is our Passover lamb.  He was our substitute and sacrifice for sin on the cross at Calvary. The law of Moses commanded that the Passover lamb be set apart and inspected by the priest on the tenth day of the month before Passover in Exodus 12:3. When He made His public entry into Jerusalem He was presenting Himself to the world as our Passover lamb. Thirty-two times in the Word of God the lamb is used as a symb