So, why did Jesus have to die? To be a “RANSOM” for Adam, so that everyone who has ever died will have the opportunity to come back to life in God’s future kingdom. We offer an explanation for our youngest listeners in this short animated video.
It's hard to understand where God came from, but this short video for kids answers an important question about our Creator.
Betrayal devastates us because it violates trust...and trust is sacred. What do we do when we are betrayed? How do we cope? Is it even possible to rebuild?
Mercy or justice? Both! Mercy and justice are not only inseparable but fully dependent upon one another. Look at God’s impartiality. It’s clean. We can see His integrity ONLY when we connect what He did in biblical times to what we know about His motives and plan. Simply stated, God’s justice is restorative. It not only provides consequences for wrong actions, but teaches the wrongdoer how to become righteous. Watch this short vlog and then listen to the full podcast of the same name.
Mercy or justice? We want people we think are "bad" to be punished and people we think are "good" to receive mercy (and normally that includes ourselves!). Too often our judgments are based on emotions. Is God both merciful and just, even though everyone around us suffers and dies?
God’s character is all-encompassing, but we generally think of Him as having four main attributes that everything rests on: Justice, Love, Wisdom and Power. How do those attributes work together? How does God's plan tell us more about who He is? Watch this short video to learn a little bit more about our amazing Creator.
What would you think of a powerful leader who sanctions rape, pillaging, the destruction of thousands of lives for the wrong doings of one, racism and genocide? No matter who we are, if we have a conscience in any way tuned to the sanctity of human life, we would have to label them a monster – a maniacal psychopathic egotist. Sadly, there are many who read certain parts of the Bible and handily conclude that the God of the Bible – the Creator of all things - is such a being. They call Him out for the horrible and harsh things written in the Old Testament and boldly claim that a God who presides over those things is no god at all – He is instead a monster. Now look – there are terrible things written in the Old Testament, but do they point to a heartless dictator or is there another explanation?
To know who God is means we would know His character, His mind and what drives Him. Can we know these things? Can we know His heart and mind? Can we know His plans and purposes? Will knowing God help us to better know ourselves?
We all know that Jesus taught us to forgive. If your brother trespasses against you seven times in a day, Jesus says to forgive. Okay, while this may be difficult, we can see its value and strive to live up to that standard. But, but what about when someone commits a horrible crime – what about when someone guns down in cold blood, innocent God fearing people in church – at a Bible study? Is the same lesson of forgiveness relevant? Do the teachings of Jesus include forgiving those who are simply and purely evil in their actions?
The Old Testament Law provided a way for Israel to function as an individual society as well as a society that interacted with the world around it. So, how did this Law treat the less fortunate, the sick, the indebted, the slaves, the aliens, and so on? What kind of “social programs” were available and how did they operate? Was there justice? Was there mercy? Did the Old Testament Law promote individual accomplishment at the expense of others? Did it promote a socialistic approach of spreading the wealth evenly to everyone? Stay with us as we take a fascinating walk through God’s unique Old Testament model for society.
