This week’s message is based out of John 10:1 – 18, and is entitled, “Jesus:  the Door of the Sheep.”  This passage depicts the third and fourth of the “I AM” statements made by the Lord Jesus— “I am the door of the sheep,” and “I am the good shepherd.” This teaching revealed in John 10:1 – 18 grew out of Jesus’ confrontation with the Jewish leaders over His previous “I AM” statements made in chapter eight.   There Jesus used the image of light and darkness in His discourse with them, declaring that He was “the light of the world” (8:12), and that “before Abraham was, I AM” (8:58).  The teaching here in chapter ten also follows His miracle of healing the blind beggar whom the Pharisees excommunicated from the Jewish temple.  Now, as we proceed into this tenth chapter, we recognize that Jesus chose to use the image of a shepherd and his sheep to both contrast His ministry against that of the Jewish leaders, and to further His claim of deity to His people.  Why was this significant?  Because to the Jewish mind, a “shepherd” was any kind of leader, whether one’s role was spiritual, or political, in nature.  The Jewish people of that day looked upon their kings and prophets of the past as shepherds.  Israel was privileged to be counted as “the sheep of His pasture” (cf. Psalm 100:3)  [Warren Wiersbe, Be Alive, p.119].    Consequently, the truth that is declared in this passage may be expressed in these words:  Jesus Christ is the door that leads to salvation, and the Shepherd of our souls. I want us to examine three

Over the last few weeks, we have been focusing upon God’s offer of salvation to all of humanity through His Son, Jesus Christ.  This study is entitled, “Come to the Door.”  This week’s message is the third in a collection based upon seven different passages which relate to this theme.  It is based upon various passages from the New Testament book of Hebrews, one that I have simply entitled, “Jesus:  Our Great High Priest.” The passages from Hebrews which we shall point you towards depict for us various truths and insights regarding Jesus’ role as our Great High Priest.  The foundational truth which we will glean from these passages of Scripture we is this:  as our Great High Priest, Jesus serves as the doorway to granting us full reconciliation with the Father. This week’s column will be a little different than most of the ones I write for you each week.  This summation is one which is not going to appear in a full manuscript form as you have become accustomed to reading.  Instead, this particular article will require you to take the initiative to read through the various passages from listed from the book of Hebrews.  I encourage you to take the time necessary to carefully, thoroughly, prayerfully read through each segment of Scripture as it relates to each major truth we will examine.  Do not be nervous, or hesitant, to do this.  Ask the Holy Spirit to illumine your mind to the truths which these respective passages teach us in relation to Jesus’ role as our Great High Priest, and make them real within your heart and

This week we resumed our journey into the series, “Come to the Door,” which focuses upon the salvation of God through His Son, Jesus Christ.  This week’s message is based upon the passage of Exodus 12:21 – 28, and is entitled, “Jesus:  the Ultimate Passover Lamb.”  Exodus 12 depicts for us the institution of the Lord’s Passover.  God gave these instructions to Moses and Aaron to share with the Hebrew people in the context of their final night in Egypt.  The tenth and final plague from God’s hand was about to be carried out upon Pharoah and the land of Egypt.  This plague was one in which the Lord Himself struck all the firstborn sons and animals of the Egyptians with death.  In preparation for their exodus from the nation of Egypt, God instituted this Passover observance— not only for that particular generation of Hebrew people, but for every generation of those who belong to the nation of Israel.  The observance of the Lord’s Passover even today plays a vital role among the people of Israel.  It does so because of its connection to… a) Egypt, which reminds Israel of her former bondage as slaves to another nation; b) the exodus, which reminds Israel of her deliverance by God’s own hand; and c), the Promised Land, which reminds Israel of her covenant with God. When God delivered His people of Israel from their bondage in Egypt, it marked the dawning of a new day and the beginning of a new life for them.  When God delivers a soul from the bondage of his or her sin through the redemption provided

Friday, September 27th, 2024, will be remembered by many, many people from the gulf coast of Florida to southwest Virginia as one of the darkest days of their lives due to the overwhelming impact and destruction caused by Hurricane Helene.  For just a little more than a week now, families and communities have been attempting to pick up the broken, shattered pieces of their lives.  However, there is so much destruction— so much devastation— caused by that storm system that most people are still overwhelmed by the magnitude of it all. I have found myself wondering these last few days, “What must the people within those communities such as Damascus, Virginia, and Unicoi, Tennessee, and much of western North Carolina as well, be feeling as they look out over the destruction that now surrounds them?”  I am convinced that only those of us who have experienced some similar tragedy can possibly identify with the overwhelming emotions and sense of loss those families must be under right now. Then, too, I have thought of another aspect of this time of turmoil.  For those of us who live outside of those affected communities, we all seem to possess an urgent desire to help our neighbors during a time such as this, don’t we?  We want to know how we can help those displaced by Helene’s terrible force in practical ways.  Admittedly, the administrative – political side of being able to get involved in a “boots on the ground” sort of way can prove to be frustrating.  Because responding to