Restitutio

Historical Jesus 8: Paradoxical Submission Jesus enjoyed an intimate relationship with his Father.  He often spent time with him in prayer, sometimes all night long.  Throughout his ministry Jesus frequently spoke about how his words and deeds were not his own, but the Father’s who sent him.  Paradoxically, by utterly submitting himself to God, he experienced the greatest exaltation in human history.  Learn from Jesus the true path to greatness. Course notes are available here.

Historical Jesus 7: Disciples of Jesus What does Jesus expect of his followers?  What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus?  What is the cost of discipleship?  Join me as I work through what Jesus said about his expectations and requirements of his disciples as well as the rewards he promises.  This is a topic you’ll want to take seriously, after all what would be worse than thinking you were Christ’s disciple when in fact, you are deceived.  You can gather an army of theologians together and survey their opinions, but in the end, all that really matters is what Rabbi Jesus says he requires. Course notes are available here.

Historical Jesus 6: Rabbi Jesus Jesus was a Jewish rabbi who gathered disciples and taught them how to interpret the Torah–the sacred Scriptures of Moses.  Learn how Jesus’ compared to other famous Jewish rabbis like Hillel and Shamai.  In this episode, we’ll look at Jesus’ emphases and style in his teaching ministry.  Anyone seeking to understand the historical Jesus, cannot hope to genuinely grasp him apart from his role as rabbi. Course notes are available here.

Historical Jesus 5: Kingdom Saturated Ministry How should you understand Jesus’ miracles, healing ministry, and exorcisms?  Surely, these are acts of compassion, but they are so much more.  In this lecture, learn how Jesus’ deeds and words coalesce around his primary ministry focus–the kingdom of God.  By examining three ancient Hebrew prophecies, you’ll see how Jesus’ own self-understanding helps make sense of his kingdom saturated ministry. Course notes available here.

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.