Restitutio

Historical Jesus 4: Baptism and Temptations

Before he began his ministry, Jesus first had to receive John’s baptism and then overcome Satan’s temptations.  After briefly explaining his baptism, we’ll go into detail exploring why Satan’s temptations were so tempting as well as what we can learn from Jesus’ example.  How does Jesus defeat Satan where Eve failed?

Course notes are available here.

Historical Jesus 3: Rulers in Christ’s World

Life was very different in the world of Jesus, especially politics.  In this lecture you will learn about the three main leaders that shaped Jesus’ time: Herod the Great, Herod Antipas, and Pontius Pilate.  Drawing on the Jewish historian, Josephus, you will discover the cut-throat way that Roman rulers managed provinces like Galilee and Judea in the first century.  Understanding how leaders wielded power sets a glaring contrast to how Jesus carried himself.

Course notes are available here.

Historical Jesus 2: Birth of the Messiah

Drawing on the promises God gave Abraham and David, and the historical events prior to Jesus’ life, we can get an idea of what messianic expectations were like when Jesus of Nazareth was born.  In this lecture, learn how the birth of the messiah both fulfilled prophecy as well as set the stage for what Jesus’ ministry would be like.  After seeing all of the remarkable events surrounding the birth of this baby, we can’t help but ask the question: “Who will this child grow it to be?”

Study notes available here.

The Historical Jesus: What the Bible Says about the Life of Christ

In this 16 lecture class I seek to answer the question: “Who is Jesus?” Join me as we journey through Gospels to see what the bible says about Jesus’ life. It is my hope that this class will inspire you to love Jesus, teach you to follow Jesus, help you to understand Jesus, and empower you to navigate the Gospels on your own.  Throughout I will seek to situate Jesus within his own historical context to enable you to see him as clearly as possible.

Historical Jesus 1: Sources for Jesus’ Life

How do we know what we know about the life of Jesus of Nazareth?  Join me as I cover the non-Christian sources that mention Jesus, including Josephus, Pliny, and Tacitus.  Next discover the reasons why the four biblical Gospels are such good and credible sources.

Download the course notes here.

by Victor Gluckin

In this fantastic evangelism sermon, Victor Gluckin lays out a biblical case for why we should reach out and share our faith with others.  His zeal is contagious, his reasoning cogent, and his passion inspiring.  If you are anything like me, you need to be encouraged in this area of your Christian walk.  All too easily I lose focus from the mission Jesus gave his followers–the Great Commission.  In this sermon Gluckin focuses on the parable of the minas, showing that Jesus has put us in charge of the “family business” while he is gone.  He urges us to take responsibility for our part of the Great Commission, rather than just burying what we’ve received in the ground.

by Sean Finnegan

In Genesis 1.26, God says, “Let us make man in our image.”  Since this is the creation of humanity, he couldn’t have been speaking to any humans.  So whom was God speaking to?  One common interpretation is to say he was speaking to another person within his being–God the Son.  But, this is quite a strange idea.  Honestly, it sounds like a multiple personality disorder.  In any other literature, when we encounter the word “us” we know it means the speaker and whomever he or she is speaking to.  Why do we suddenly, go into theology land when God says “us.”  Who else was there?  The angels.  Join me as I present the case for why Genesis 1.26 (and the other “us texts”) should be taken as God speaking to his heavenly court.

The word “person” has multiple meanings.   In normal conversation, it means simply a human being. However, in theological terminology (thanks to the council of Nicaea in AD 325) “person” means a being that has a mind (an independent consciousness).   According to this definition, God is a person because He (note the personal pronoun) thinks, acts, and feels demonstrating his unique personality. Even so, the Trinity states that there are three persons in one God. Thus, each person － the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit － are independent in mind but are thought to share the same substance ( i.e. they are all considered to be fully God).

“The Hebrew Bible and the New Testament contain well over twenty thousand pronouns and verbs describing the One God.”*[1] In order to grasp this statement, perhaps a brief grammar lesson will clarify.   Personal pronouns are those little words that are used to refer to a person rather than repeating his or her name. There are both singular and plural personal pronouns.   Plural personal pronouns include: we, us, our, ours, they, them, their, and theirs. Singular personal pronouns include: I, me, my, he, him, his, she, her, and hers. Back to the Bible: God is referred to by the words “he,” “his,” and “him” thousands of times.   For example, perhaps the most famous verse in the whole Bible is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son….” Notice the type of personal pronouns used for God － “he” and “his.” These pronouns are singular; thus, God is a singular person ( i.e. He is one). If God were a Trinity (three persons), then John 3:16 should read: “For God so loved the world that They gave Their only begotten Son….”   Thus, the simple fact that God is always** referred to by singular personal pronouns is strong evidence that God is a single person!

This is exactly what one would expect if the central creed of Jesus (the Shema) is taken seriously: “Hear O Israel, the LORD your God is one LORD” (Deut. 6:4; Mark 12:29).   Yahweh is in a class by Himself (Deut. 4:35, 39; Is. 45:5 and 6). There is no one that even comes close to Him － He has no equals.   He alone is the uncreated One, and He alone deserves all of our worship (Matthew 4:10; Luke 4:8; John 4:23 and 24).

There are four “us” texts in the Bible (Genesis 1.26; 3.22; 11.7; Isaiah 6.8). These are verses in which God uses a plural pronoun when referring to something He will do. The most common example of this phenomenon is quoted below.

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness’…God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1.26-27)

The traditional understanding is that these places prove that God is composed of multiple persons (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) who are conferring together to act.

by Blair Wingo

Authentic Christianity requires both believing the biblical gospel as well as following Christ.  Too often today we want to believe in Jesus as savior without following as lord.  In this moving poem Blair Wingo sets the record straight.  She appeals to the bible as the source for reintroducing the real Christ rather than what pop-culture teaches.  Never has there been a man who is at once so universally loved and lauded while simultaneously ignored and marginalized as Jesus in America today.  Listen in as Wingo courageously exposes the rampant hypocrisy in Christianity.

Most Christians never give worshiping Jesus a second thought.  However, as biblical unitarians–those who believe the Father is the only true God–we do need to wrestle with this question.  Some have argued that worshiping Jesus is tantamount to idolatry since we should only worship God.  Others have taken the view that we can worship Jesus on a different level than God and that doing so is not only permissible but encouraged by God.  I go through some of the words translated worship and serve, list out worship acts, and handle objections and limitations in an effort to see what the bible actually says about this important practice.  Listen to the message to find out more.

This sermon has a corresponding prezi, available here.

Introduction

Worship Vocabulary

Worship Acts

Objections[2]

by Paul Washer

In this convicting sermon Paul Washer exposes the unholiness that pervades much of Christian youth culture.  Although I do not agree with much of what Washer stands for, this message of his significantly affected my life.  It not only inspired me to live for God wholeheartedly, but also exposed the sneaky ways in which my culture subtly pulls me towards unholiness and sin.  This sermon is a wake up call.

by Sean Finnegan

What happens when people die?  In this sermon I mention show the biblical “evidence” for heaven, hell, purgatory, ghosts, and reincarnation before revealing the overwhelming number of texts supporting the sleep of the dead.  Focusing on John’s Gospel, I establish that (1) the dead are in their tombs asleep until they hear Christ’s voice to awaken in resurrection, (2) that resurrection will not occur until the last day, (3) that Jesus called Lazarus “asleep” when he was really talking about him being dead, and (4) that Mary was looking for Jesus not merely his body when she discovered the empty tomb.  In the end we must ask ourselves, “Why should there be a resurrection of the dead if no one is really dead?”

I used a prezi for this sermon, which you can access here.

Acts 17:11

Bereans are not only noble-minded but courageous as well. They did not immediately accept Paul’s message about Jesus, nor did they reject it out of hand. They listened; then they checked it against the Scriptures to see if it was valid.

What Happens at Death?

As Christians, we can test ideas to see which are correct by a standard − the Bible.

John 5:26-29

The dead are in their tombs asleep. However, when they hear his voice, they will awaken. This is resurrection.

John 6:38-44, 54

Four times over, Jesus clearly teaches that he will raise the dead on the last day, not the day of their death.

John 11:11-27, 43-44

When Jesus spoke of Lazarus’ death, he said he was asleep and that he was going to awaken him, and yet he was really talking about death and resurrection. Did Jesus tear Lazarus away from bliss in heaven to return to this old earth? No, he brought him back to life—woke him up!

John 20:11-18

Mary looked for Jesus, not merely his body. Jesus clearly says he had not gone to the Father in death. If Jesus did not go to heaven at death, then why should we think we will?

Why should there be a resurrection of the dead if no one is really dead?