How many times have you tried to change a behavior only to find yourself doing the same thing again? Do these phrases sound familiar? "There I go again!" "I've had this struggle for years, and I just can't seem to win." "I do okay for awhile, but then I get caught in the same old sin." It's easy to be discouraged when we fall into the same old sins, but God, in the Bible, offers hope to repeat offenders.
Authority and influence are essential in pastoring and counseling; however it brings with it the burden of knowing people's intimate thoughts and opening the door to the vulnerability of leaders falling into sexual misconduct. This elective will explore how pastors and counselors can safeguard their integrity and that of the Cross, and outline a path of help and restoration for those who have been victimized.
In this Good Friday sermon, Ray Dillard sets before us the cup of God’s wrath, takes us to the cross where Jesus drank it on our behalf, and then points us to … the other cup. Dr. Ray Dillard, now with the Lord, was a beloved professor of Old Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary. He was co-author of one of the most widely-used Old Testament introductions in print.
I suppose if we were to find the passages in the Bible most familiar to us, Matthew 26:1-46 would have to rank very high among them. Jesus prepares for death. He is anointed and then betrayed. He and His disciples eat their last supper together, and bread and wine represent Jesus’ body and blood. Jesus prays in the garden. We celebrate these passages again and again in the church. We read them with some frequency. Yet I wonder how many times you have read through the account of what takes place in the garden of Gethsemane without stopping to think exactly what it was that Jesus was praying about.