The Old and New Testaments use a variety of words to refer to prayer. Each conveys a different shade of meaning and helps us understand a different aspect of our prayer life. These words can be grouped under three separate concepts, each of which is important and should be part of our regular relationship with God.
Course Spotlight From Tools for Christian Growth: Prayer
The parable of the sower is one of the few parables of which the Bible records Christ’s explanation. The parable itself is recorded in Matthew 13:3-9, but Christ’s explanation of it to His disciples is found in verses 18-23. The fact that the meaning is written out for us, means it must be especially important for us, as Christians, to consider.
Course Spotlight From The Life, Ministry, and Teachings of Jesus Christ: (Unit 2) The Galilean Ministry
The journey from Passover to Pentecost is one in which we have opportunities to truly come to know God and to develop the trust and dependence that is to be the basis of our ongoing relationship. The seven weeks of their journey from Egypt to Sinai, from the wave sheaf offering to God’s thundering from Mount Sinai taught them seven lessons.
Course Spotlight From God’s Feast Days: Pentecost
What are “firstfruits”? Do they have spiritual significance in God’s plan? In order to understand the concept of “firstfruits,” we need to understand the physical harvest pattern in ancient Israel.
Course Spotlight From God’s Feast Days: Pentecost
Peter told his listeners on the day of Pentecost that following repentance and baptism they would “receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). What is receiving the Holy Spirit intended to accomplish in our lives?
Course Spotlight From The Life Ministry and Teachings of Jesus Christ: (Unit 1) The Early Life of Christ
The focal point of the Pentecostal movement is its emphasis on speaking in tongues, or “glossolalia”—a term derived from the Greek words for “tongue” and “speaking.” But just what does the Bible mean when it mentions speaking in tongues? Is it identical to what happens in the modern charismatic movement?
Course Spotlight From Acts of the Apostles (Unit 1) The Church Begins
We know from secular history that James died a martyr. Exactly how that happened is unclear, as there is more than one account describing his demise.
Course Spotlight From The General Epistles: (Part 1) The Letters of James and Peter
The epistles of 2 Peter and Jude share many common themes. View the comparison between each epistle and identify the key concepts!
Course Spotlight From The General Epistles: (Part 2) The Letters of John and Jude
There are many instances in the Bible where God’s people ask Him for a sign. Does God want us to look for signs for Him in everything that we do?
Course Spotlight From The Life, Teachings, and Ministry of Jesus Christ: (Unit 3) The Judean Ministry
In some of our online courses, we have a “Student Thoughts” section where we ask a question to see what the students think. In our course on the Biblical Passover, we asked the question:
If you had to defend why you don’t keep Easter, and the reasons you keep the Passover to someone in the world, how would you explain your beliefs in a concise way while keeping in mind the principle from Matthew 10:16, “be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.”?
Take a look at some of the responses below!
“I would politely explain that I kept the Feasts God instructed us to keep, as we were instructed in the pages of the Bible. This would give me an opportunity to explain my joy of finding the answer to what had always puzzled me even as a child since I could count — How I could not reconcile Friday crucifixion and Sunday morning as being three and one half days, and that I also found how rabbits and eggs sneaked into the picture…Depending on my listener’s reaction I would also add the prophecy Christ Himself gave of Jonah and the fish.”
-MS
“If I were confronted about why I keep the Passover instead of Easter, I would explain that I keep the Feasts and Holy Days that Christ and the Disciples kept in the New Testament. I would explain that Easter is not in the Bible and if it is, it is a mistranslation of the word Pascha which means Passover. Also God tells us that He will not accept pagan rituals in worship of Him and when people keep the traditions of Easter, they are not keeping God’s commandment to keep the Passover. They are in fact worshiping a fertility goddess called Eostre who’s origin is pagan. I would tell them to do some research on the origin of Easter.”
-AL
“My defense for observing Passover instead of Easter would be that mathematics rules out my observance of Easter. In Matthew 12:40, Jesus said, ‘For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.’ Easter keepers are saying that Jesus was in the heart of the earth only two nights and one day, which is only half of the time He stated would prove him to be the Messiah. Concisely stated, I observe Passover because I really do believe that Christ was the promised Messiah, who now sits at the right hand of the Father as our intercessor. Stated another way, if Easter depicts the actual time between Christ’s burial and His resurrection, we have no Savior!”
-RM