"My kingdom is not of this world.” So Jesus stated when He stood before Pilate, the Roman governor. The reality of God’s kingship and sovereignty in the world is best understood by taking into account the Jewish thinking of Jesus’ day. This will help every Christian come to a deeper understanding of the Kingdom of God as proclaimed, illustrated and demonstrated by Jesus of Nazareth. “I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” (Luke 4:43)

[11/13/24, 10:21:58 AM] John Arnold: The readings today should remind us of true generosity. However, if we aspire to be hospitable and generous, both in our thanksgiving to God and our love towards our neighbours, we must also understand our own hypocrisy.

[11/13/24, 10:22:11 AM] John Arnold: Maybe?

In a day and age when sainthood seems impossible we must not lose sight of our ongoing relationships with those faithful Christians who have gone before us. While we do not venerate or pray to saints, those who died in Christ are still very much alive and their faithfulness continues to show us how it is possible to finish the race that is set before each one of us. This reality is strengthened when we remember that when the Church gathers we join them as they continually worship around God’s throne.

The road of recovery, whether personal or corporate, is not easy. Yet, the end result is well worth the sacrifice and the hardships we endure.

Many of us think of joy as a spontaneous emotion, and perhaps some of us recognize that it’s the mature fruit of the Spirit. Yet God commands all His people to be joyful during the Feast of Tabernacles as they remember His provision in the wilderness. Psychologists and therapists now recognize that joy comes to the grateful, something the Hebrew Bible has been teaching for millennia in the most practical of ways, showing us what it means to be made in God’s image.

The encounter between Jesus and a rich young man often causes Christians a good deal of distress. Over the centuries we have found ways to interpret this text so that it doesn’t apply to us. Whether we are rich, not so rich, or poor, the words of Jesus are a warning about those things that would hinder us from entering the Kingdom of God. Just as Jesus honestly but lovingly spoke to that young man, we also must allow Him to address us in the same way so that we can truly repent and fully enter that place where God can rule and reign over us.

The Lord Will Provide | Rev. John Arnold by Christ Church Jerusalem

The Feast of Michael and All Angels highlights the spiritual warfare that Satan continues to wage upon the earth. His goal is not only to create chaos in “the world” but also among the saints. Never before in history have we been so bombarded by lies, fake news and deception that even we can become confused, demoralized and inactive. Let us not fall for this trickery but remember that God has given us all we need to resist the devil, live the truth, and bring Him glory.

More than any other gospel writer Mark writes that Jesus was a teacher, yet unlike the others he records very little teaching. But what Jesus was teaching and how He taught can be recovered once we begin to understand the principles that guided First Century Jewish discipleship. That context is more than just historically interesting and remains relevant for Jesus followers today.

Believer vs Disciple | Bro. Eyal Friedman by Christ Church Jerusalem