Paul’s letter to Philemon is his shortest and most personal. It contains no doctrinal statements, no warnings about false teachers, and no mention of apostolic titles. The reason for writing was extraordinary. We look to author Paul Ellis for insight into this quiet voice.

Scripture is not given to us, I believe, as a guidebook for behavior modification. The Bible teaches us about the character of God. The Bible give us glimpses into the lives of ordinary men and women who followed Christ. How He changed them and used them, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to bring the message of the Gospel through time to us. 

We are currently working on a series of those quieter voices. This one is about Jude, the half-brother of Jesus.

We’ve talked about Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Jesus as part of the group of women following Jesus. Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha were also included. So many of the other women remain unnamed, but we choose to remember that they existed and were essential partners of His earthly ministry. Today we focus on three more whose names we know: Joanna, Susanna, and Salome.

Mary was the young woman chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus. She must have felt the great weight of this, as much as she could understand at the time. She obviously had a great love for and trust in God.

Jesus engaged with women. He listened to them. He SAW them. Women weren’t part of the Twelve, but they were part of His group and ministered with Him. How Jesus loved and valued women is an example for the church today! For the next few weeks, we focus on the women who followed Jesus. Today we take a second look at Mary Magdalene.

For our final episode of “5 Minute Interviews” we introduce you to these grace-full people!

Zach Rasmusson of Zach Rasmusson Ministries in FL; Rick & Judi Manis of Rick Manis Ministries in Winter Garden FL; Claudia Jackson, grace-y lady attending from Sachse TX; Eliza Schultinge, originally from and missionary to Taiwan, from Atlanta GA; and Stephanie Felts, counselor with ChristianCoaching.org

(We apologize in advance for the camera issues with a couple of these interviews! Things can happen when you’re on location…)

https://zachrasmusson.com

https://www.rickmanis.com

https://christiancoaching.org

In Part 2, meet Janet Newberry of John 15 Academy; Kyle Winkler, author & host of the Shut Up, Devilpodcast; Andrew Nelson, author & campus pastor at The Grace Church, Lubbock TX; and bible teacher Larry Eiss at E3 with Larry Eiss. So much brilliance and grace in these people! 

https://www.john15academy.com

https://www.kylewinkler.org

https://thegracechurch.org

https://www.larryeiss.com

Today we invite you to meet our first four attendees – and friends - from the convention: Maddy Lawson & Rachel Aasheim, both of New Haven Ministries in Sioux Falls SD; Kevin Anderson of Freedom Counseling Group in Vacaville CA;  and Erick Martin of Echo Tango Marketing in Baton Rouge LA. Enjoy their stories of grace!

https://newhavensf.org

https://www.freedomcounseling.group

https://www.echotango.co

Probably most shocking in Jesus’s choices (besides choosing the man who would betray Him) was that of including a Zealot. Simon the Zealot would likely have rather died (or murdered someone) than to compromise with Rome. But he laid down his devotion to violence to learn the Way— the Way of Jesus.

Nathanael, also referred to as Bartholomew in the gospels, was one of Jesus’ original twelve disciples. Though not much is known about Nathanael’s background or personality, he is seen in the gospels to be an honest, insightful, and faithful servant of Jesus and student of the Old Testament. After the resurrection, Nathanael would go on to be a key leader in the early church.