Foundations

The Book of Acts records the founding, beginning and work of the Church as it obeyed the Great Commission. The promised Comforter-the Holy Spirit- arrived to indwell believers, with signs that have never been duplicated. Luke shows the Purpose of the Church, the Promise and the Power given to the Church, and the Performance that resulted from the Preaching of Peter. Acts has no ending, so in a way every believer is part of the last chapter today!

Jesus shared deep truths with His disciples on the night before His crucifixion, known as the "Upper Room Discourse." Jesus, their Lord and teacher, washed His disciples' feet and gave them a new commandment: to love each other. He compared Himself to a vine and His disciples to branches, branches that bear fruit because of the life in the Vine. Jesus prayed for His church to live in unity with Him and with each other; to know and demonstrate His love.

After giving sight to a blind man, Jesus preached He was the Light of the world. Many of the religious leaders realized He was accusing them of rejecting Him. Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd", and as the Good Shepherd He protects His sheep. One of Jesus' most dramatic miracles occurred when He raised Lazarus from the dead. Those who believe in Jesus recognize Him as the Light of the world, the good Shepherd, and the Resurrection and the Life.

After healing the lame man at the pool of Bethesda, Jesus told the religious leaders that they had enough evidence to recognize Him as the promised Messiah. He said Moses, John the Baptist, God's voice from heaven, and scripture all supported His claims. Jesus fed over 5,000 people and claimed to be the Bread of Life. Jesus taught that those who come to Him with a willingness to do what He says will know that His teaching comes from God.

Jesus encountered a Samaritan woman at a well and offered her living water that would quench her thirst forever. She accept His offer and became a spring of living water. In other words, she was born again and showed others how to receive eternal life in Jesus Christ. Jesus made bold claims: that He was the Son of God, and the scriptures testify of Him. His words gave people a choice: they either had to reject Him or believe in Him.

Jesus' first recorded miracle was turning water into wine. This symbolized what happens when we believe in Him. He takes the ordinary and miraculously transforms us - new birth. Many believed when Jesus did miracles, but they did not follow Him. In John 3, Nicodemus came to Jesus at night to ask Him questions. Jesus told this teacher the only way to see God's kingdom is by being born again. Jesus made it very clear that He was God's only Son and only solution.

The Gospel of John is unique in many ways: its purposes, its literary style, and its content are different than those in the other gospels. John's gospel was specifically addressed to those who do not believe, in order to bring them to faith. John answers basic questions in each chapter: Who is Jesus, What is faith, and What is life? He records many signs or miracles that encourage and strengthen faith and prove that Jesus is God's Son.

Jesus told a parable that tells of repentance and of the refusal to repent. The parable describes a Pharisee and publican (a tax collector) praying at the temple. The Pharisee was focused only on himself, while the tax collector humbled himself and begged for God's mercy. Jesus encountered a repentant tax collector named Zacchaeus, who showed what repentance looks like. He changed his ways and promised to pay back everyone he had defrauded. Only the sinner who repents is forgiven.

Many of Jesus' parables teach us how to approach and how to respond to His teaching. Jesus used metaphors from common, everyday life that His listeners would understand. Yet most of the religious leaders rejected His teaching and opposed His work. With metaphors and illustrations, like new wine in new wineskins or new material for mending garments, Jesus shows us how to hear and obey His Word. Jesus' teaching is intended to transform our minds, our lives, and our values.

When God intersected human history and became a man, He invited certain people to participate in the miracle: Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth, a girl named Mary, and shepherds who went to see the newborn King. The miracle of Christmas is God becoming man so He could bring salvation to mankind. The Old and New Testaments tell of the miracle of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ: the blessed hope of the Church and the only hope of the world.