Resources by Topic: Christ

Tomorrow, May 21, is Ascension Day. A reader asked me, “I hear talk about Christ’s death and resurrection, but seldom about his ascension. Why is that?” It’s true the ascension is a neglected doctrine today, perhaps because we fail to explore the full implications of it.

I’ve been thinking lately about the resurrection of Jesus. It is the rock-solid foundation for our faith, and we should ponder it not just at Easter, but throughout the year. It is, among other things, essential to Christ’s victory over sin and death, and therefore essential to our deliverance from the Hell we deserve.

In this video clip, Randy gives a message on what it means to be the light of the world. Jesus as the source and primary light, believers as a secondary light and reflection of His glory. 

The Christmas season is Nanci’s and my favorite, even in a year—no, especially—in a year that has brought significant trials, including in the last three weeks the bad news about the spread of Nanci’s cancer and the death of our best friends’ thirty year old son. What better time to celebrate the good news than when you’re dealing with bad news?!

God is the Great Storyteller. With grand artistry, He brings forth a beautiful world in a spectacular universe. As the culmination of His creativity, He fashions Adam and Eve. They rebel against God, and evil enters the world. God promises a Redeemer, and with eagerness His people look for one to come forth triumphantly, overthrowing their enemies and set­ting up His kingdom. But the centuries pass without the Redeemer’s appearance.

As we enter the Advent season, there’s no more worthy subject to set our minds on than Jesus Himself. He is “the Alpha and the Omega…the Beginning and the End” (Revelation 22:13), the One this Christmas season is all about. (And the One the rest of the year should be about too!)

In his book Basic Christianity, John Stott—one of my favorite writers of all time—points out that Jesus’ claims and self-advancing words are part of what set Him apart from any other religious teacher.

Given our culture today, is there a reason “effeminate” would be inappropriate to use in a sentence like this when describing a picture of a gentle and meek Jesus (I picture a pale, long-haired man with delicate hands, etc.)?

The most astonishing sight we can anticipate in Heaven is not streets of gold or pearly gates or loved ones who’ve died before us. It will be coming face-to-face with our Savior.

Does any evidence exist for Mary, the mother of Jesus, being the "Black Madonna"? I have a Bible that shows illustrations and says most art depicting Mary as black was destroyed by Caucasian church leaders.

I’d like to share some thoughts that might help put Good Friday and Easter Sunday in eternal perspective.

In this excerpt from his book Good and Angry: Redeeming Anger, Irritation, Complaining, and Bitterness, David Powlison talks about the gentleness of Jesus, and how it’s been commonly misunderstood as a weakness, rather than a demonstration of God’s strength.

What do we really believe about the Jesus we follow? Is the Jesus we claim to know the real Jesus, or a Jesus of our own invention, who doesn’t match up with the biblical and historical realities?

The following is an excerpt from The Knowing Jesus Study Bible, edited by Edward Hindson and Ed Dobson. I hope this might encourage us to consider where at times we too might be like Peter, who attempted to fit Jesus within “the parameters of his own expectations.”