Good News to Hear and to Share! Jesus Can Save You! Here's How!

Here is a clear, straight-from-the-Bible way to understand the good news of Jesus Christ for yourself and for others you know! In Acts 2 in the Bible we can "listen in" on the simple, powerful message that the apostles of Christ presented on the Day of Pentecost just a few days after Jesus returned to heaven. 

Below you will see their actual words from the Bible in bold print, one point at a time. Then there are yes-or-no questions based on each section. Consider this passage carefully for yourself. If you can answer “yes” to each question that follows, keep reading. If you need to answer "no" to any question, please stop there and post a comment to express your thoughts.

Or email Cory directly: CHCFB24atoutlook.com. (Substitute @ for at in the address above.)

Acts 2:22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—

Do you believe that Jesus performed miraculous deeds, and that these deeds prove His identity as the One attested by God?

23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross as part of God’s plan to save you?

Do you believe that you personally helped crucify Jesus, because of your sin?

Do you know what sin is? Do you know what YOUR sins are? Can you list the attitudes, words, and deeds in your life that the Bible describes as sin?

24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

Do you believe that God raised Jesus physically and bodily from the dead?

25 For David says concerning him, “ ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; 26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. 27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’ 29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.

Do you believe that King David, 1000 years before Christ, predicted that Christ would rise?

32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.

Do you believe that Peter and the other apostles witnessed the truth of the resurrection?

33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, 35 until I make your enemies your footstool.” ’

Do you believe that Jesus ascended to heaven, and that He has been enthroned and exalted to the right hand of God?

Do you believe that all Jesus’ enemies will be overthrown and placed at His feet?

36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Do you believe for certain that Jesus is Lord – God and Master of your life and all things?

Do you believe for certain that Jesus is Christ – the promised Messiah and Savior?

37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Are you cut to the heart – convicted of your own sin and your part in crucifying Jesus?

Do you believe that you are lost because of your sin?

Do you believe, unless you respond to the gospel of Christ, you could die and spend eternity in hell?

Do you believe that it is urgent and absolutely essential for you to respond at once?

Are you asking, “What shall I do?”

Are you prepared to do whatever the Bible teaches you to do, at once?

38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

Do you understand that you must both repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins?

Do you believe that, until you repent and are baptized, you have not been forgiven of your sins?

Do you understand that to repent is to turn away from sin and surrender your heart and life to the Lord?

Do you understand that to be baptized is to be immersed or submerged in water, “buried” and “raised?”

40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”

Do you understand why Peter kept exhorting and urging them to be saved?

Do you believe that God through His Word is exhorting and urging you to be saved, as soon as possible?

41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

Have you received God’s Word as presented here?

Are you ready to do what they did, to be baptized?

Do you understand that, when you are baptized, God will add you to His church?

Do you realize that this is the church that belongs to Christ, that He said He would establish?

Do you understand that this is the non-denominational church of Christ, belonging to Christ, as the New Testament describes it?

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Will you devote yourself to the worship assemblies and teaching activities of the local congregation, emphasizing these same four matters - biblical teaching, fellowship with others in the church, breaking bread in the Lord's Supper, and praying to the Lord?

43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Will you commit yourself to spiritual growth and active service and sharing in the local church?

Will you be a participant in the church, busy and productive in the church’s work?

Will you share with others, praise God, and seek to influence people for Him?

Do you believe that, through you, God wants to add others to the church day by day?

If, after completing this study, you are convicted of your need to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins, God bless you! Please comment below, and we will put you in touch with someone who can assist you.

Or email Cory directly: CHCFB24atoutlook.com. (Substitute @ for at in the address above.)

“The Chosen” – Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up?

 What is “The Chosen”?

According to gotquestions.org, “The Chosen is a television show about the life of Christ. Season 1, released in 2019 (with a pilot episode on the birth of Christ released in 2017), garnered attention for several reasons: it is the first TV show of its kind, presenting the life of Christ over multiple seasons (it plans seven seasons total); it was crowd-funded, bringing in more donations (over $40 million as of 2023) than any other media project ever; it is the first series to be launched in every country simultaneously via its own app (with over 108 million views so far in 180 countries); and it is being praised for its engaging storytelling.” https://www.gotquestions.org/The-Chosen.html

According to imdb.com, “The Chosen is a historical drama based on the life of Jesus and those who knew him. Set against the backdrop of Roman oppression in first-century Israel, the series shares an authentic look at Jesus' revolutionary life and teachings.” 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9471404/

Why and How do Many Promote “The Chosen”?

Again, from that same source: “As with all storytelling based on historical events, some artistic license is evident. In The Chosen, there is often a tremendous amount of artistic license. In retelling the gospel accounts, the writers have inserted or modified some characters, storylines, and details of the inspired original. The changes are designed to give each episode a feeling of being grounded in real life.

“One example of these artistic choices is that the disciple Matthew is depicted as a young man on the Asperger’s/autism spectrum. There is no direct biblical evidence that Matthew had this disorder, but it is a plausible detail, so the writers felt comfortable using artistic license to insert this additional trait to Matthew’s character.

“Since no one is claiming that the show is God’s Word or that it is on par with the Bible, the creators of The Chosen believe such license is acceptable, and even expected in a medium such as television. As long as viewers remember that what they are seeing is art and not real life—and they compare what they view with Scripture—there is no danger of confusion. We should all know intuitively that, for all its historical accuracy and attention to cultural context, The Chosen is simply one idea from one group of people about what they think it might have been like to be near Jesus.

“Dramatizations of biblical events such as are presented in The Chosen provide an opportunity for sharing the gospel with those who otherwise might not be exposed to the Bible. For believers, such dramatizations can promote spiritual growth, reminding us that the Bible is more than just a story—it relates actual events in the lives of real people who had emotions, relationships, and concerns similar to ours.”  

https://www.gotquestions.org/The-Chosen.html

Movieguide.org reports the show’s description as given by Dallas Jenkins, the creator/producer of the series. “[The Chosen] starts working through the storyline of how Nicodemus attempts to exorcise Mary Magdalene’s demons and fails. Then he comes across her later and sees that she is a different person, and so we’re like, what are some of the things he would say and how would she describe it,” Jenkins said.

“What we try to do with The Chosen is not only give you these moments from scripture but set them up in a way that when they happen, they really make sense and they really have an emotional resonance in addition to spiritual resonance,” Jenkins added.

Jenkins believes that this emphasis is what makes The Chosen good TV rather than a Bible narrative that has little reach outside of the Christian audience.

“In TV and movies, if all you’re doing is just reenacting a historical moment that you know about from history, or from the Bible, it might be interesting to watch but it probably won’t emotionally resonate because you don’t have a connection to the characters. You don’t know the why of what they’re doing,” he explained. “If you can help [audiences] understand what the stakes are for each of the characters in the scene, it makes it even more personal.”

https://www.movieguide.org/news-articles/what-the-first-line-ever-written-for-the-chosen-tells-fans.html

Why be Concerned About “The Chosen”?

According to Dallas Jenkins, the added elements in The Chosen cause the actual scriptural events to “make sense” in a way that they would not if one simply read and studied the four gospel accounts. These non-biblical inventions provide an “emotional resonance” that is lacking in inspired scripture. They make the true accounts of Jesus’ life “even more personal.”

When a biblical “dramatization” is primarily fictional in content, there are, to me at least, some serious implications. One is that the four inspired gospels themselves are lacking something. They need enhancement and improvement in order to make Jesus more real, more personal, and more authentic. God’s inspiration needs man’s imagination to be truly effective. The gospel’s uniqueness is minimized.

The supportive statements quoted above suggest that the fiction in The Chosen serves to enhance and improve the non-fiction of the gospels. Simply retelling the material in the Spirit-given gospels would have “little reach outside of the Christian audience.” Think about that! Adding man-made ideas, thoughts, background and characters makes the life of Jesus more attractive and more interesting to non-Christians.

Let's say we want to make Jesus more “relatable,” and we know that many people have family members with autism. How can we connect these people and families to Jesus? The solution in The Chosen is to pick an apostle - why not Matthew? - and then to depict him as autistic. And for added emphasis, let’s have Jesus involve Matthew in His preparation of the Sermon on the Mount. That may be interesting, but is it true? Do we need fictional material to add dimensions to Jesus' life and the lives of others in order to attract those in our world who do not know the biblical Jesus?

How much extra fictional material, one may ask? Jenkins stated without apology that, as of July, 2022, “Those extra-Biblical portions comprise 95% of what's been in the show thus far.”

https://www.christianfilmblog.com/post/harsh-criticism-of-the-chosen-draws-emotional-response-from-dallas-jenkins

Again, to Dallas Jenkins, the overwhelming portion of made-up stuff – 95% – is a good thing, to the show’s credit, because the made-up stuff makes Jesus more appealing.

A second concern has to do with the resulting confusion as to what is true (biblical, the 5%) and what is untrue (fiction, the 95%). When one who is new to the Bible sees a scene in The Chosen that really “speaks to their heart,” and then asks me, “Is that true? Where is that in the Bible?” I would have to say, “No, it’s pure fiction, and it’s not in the Bible.” The newcomer may then ask, “Well, what about this … or that … or the other?” Time and again, I would have to respond, “No, it’s not in the Word of God. It’s just something that human scriptwriters thought would make Jesus more real, authentic, and personal.” From that point on, the newcomer may be more devoted to watching The Chosen than to studying the truth about Jesus in scripture.

In our age, video with sights and sounds can seem more engaging than printed materials. Many of us would rather see a movie than read the book on which that movie is based. Television is a powerful medium, and we would do well to recognize its influence.

Another implication is that viewers may decide to follow a filtered Jesus, one who is seen, edited, and interpreted by modern scriptwriters. Of course, our goal is for each person to meet the real Jesus, unedited and unfiltered, as seen and described by the original, first-century eyewitnesses. The old, reliable question, “Have you studied the Bible?” gives way to the new, exciting question, “Have you watched The Chosen?”

Let’s ask some more specific questions.

Think of the details added to the gospel accounts. Should it bother us, for example, for people to be taught that Nicodemus attempted to exorcise Mary Magdalene’s demons but failed? Or that Nicodemus’ wife was named Zohara? Has anyone ever told you that Jesus’ disciple Thaddeus was a stonemason … that “Little James” (James the son of Alphaeus) was a member of the “288 Jerusalem Temple Choir” … that Thomas (the doubter) was a caterer … or that Ramah was a former winemaker from Tel Dor, the deceased partner of Thomas, and one of the women helping Jesus's ministry?

Should others be told that Eden was the wife of Simon Peter, the daughter of Dasha … that Nathanael was a former architect … that Judas Iscariot was a former business apprentice … that the healed paralytic in Capernaum (Mark 2:1-12) was named Ethan … or that this same Ethan had an Ethiopian friend named Tamar?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Chosen_characters

Would it be okay to show Jesus needing to take time to write down and rehearse the Sermon on the Mount … or Jesus asking for Matthew’s assistance with it … or Matthew himself as a person who was actually on the Asperger’s/autism spectrum? The claim is that Matthew’s autism makes Jesus more “relatable,” but does that justify adding it?

https://www.christianfilmblog.com/post/harsh-criticism-of-the-chosen-draws-emotional-response-from-dallas-jenkins

Has This Kind of “Improvement” Been Offered Before?

Actually, using pure human fiction to “fill in the gaps” in Jesus’ life is not new. Since the gospels provided no details about Jesus’ youth before age 12 or His life between ages 12 and about 30, others stepped in to complete what was seen as lacking, using their imagination as to what they thought “might have happened.”

Way back in the second century a fictional work appeared, called The Infancy Gospel of Thomas. It describes Jesus as a child having a dialogue with his teacher in front of other pupils about the nature of the Greek alphabet. In one episode Jesus makes clay birds, which he then proceeds to bring to life. There are other miracles, in which Jesus carries water on cloth, produces a feast from a single grain, and stretches a beam of wood to help his father finish constructing a bed. In this fictional writing, Jesus heals James from snake poison, resurrects a child who died of illness, and resurrects a man who died in a construction accident.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infancy_Gospel_of_Thomas

If one were to publish The Infancy Gospel of Thomas or another ancient apocryphal book and suggest it be added to the Bible, of course it would be flatly rejected by most Bible-believing people. Why? Because it’s uninspired fiction, of course!

If promoters argued that such a book made Jesus more real, relatable, authentic, or personal, such an argument would not change the fact that it was of human origin.

How Can “The Chosen” Advance the Gospel?

People are talking about “The Chosen!” You can easily ask your friends if they have seen it. If they have, then ask them what you like about it. Explain to them its nature (fiction) and its purpose (to arouse interest in Jesus). Perhaps offer to watch a couple of episodes with them to see what’s in it and what they like about it.

Ask them if they want to know more about Jesus.

Then ask them something like this. “Wouldn’t it be fascinating to learn about Jesus from the eyewitnesses, those people who knew Him, who watched Him, and who followed Him in person? Let’s pick either Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John and begin reading and studying about Jesus from those who were there with Him!”

 

"No Other Gospel!" - Initial Steps for Studying Galatians

After Paul left Galatia, false teachers arrived who undermined his authority and the free gift of God’s grace. They tried to force these Gentile converts to be circumcised, and the new Christians fell for it! Paul was astonished. He reacted with the fieriest words he was ever inspired to write. Why would anyone trade freedom in Christ for bondage to the Law of Moses? Those clothed with Christ in baptism are free from the curse of the Law. We are free to serve, to love, and to give.  We dare not turn from Christ to sin, fall from grace, and be lost.

As you prepare for this study:

Read all of Paul’s letter to the Galatians at one sitting, and write down several of your observations.

Read Acts 13 and 14, and use your Bible maps, to study and review the cities Paul visited as part of his mission efforts in Galatia. List the events that took place there.

Place:                    Event:                    Significance:

Read Acts 15, and keep this “Jerusalem Conference” in mind as you read Galatians.

How does the letter compare or contrast with Paul’s other letters – in its greeting, its content, and its style?

What is the tone of the letter? Positive? Disciplinary? Gentle? Firm?

What is Paul’s state of mind? Is he happy? Fired up? Surprised?

What does Paul say about himself in the letter?

In what ways, and with what words, does Paul compliment the Galatians?

In what ways, and with what words, does Paul criticize the Galatians?

What major concerns and questions are addressed in the letter?

What false teachings does this letter seek to correct?

What doctrines and truths are taught?

What leadership principles emerge? What leadership challenges?

What words stand out as you read?

          Words that are repeated:

Words that express shock or dismay:

Words that rebuke or correct:

Words that commend:

Words that condemn:

How would you outline the letter?

What title would you give the letter as a whole?

What does Paul want the Galatians to do – or to stop doing – after reading the letter?

If you were to teach Galatians to someone else, how would you go about it?

 

 

Digging for Gold – Bible Study Resources

Ps 19:9b The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether. 10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

We have begun a Wednesday class in which we are learning to study the Bible inductively. In our first session we noted some tools that Christians have found helpful. Here are a few of them.

First Choose Your Equipment!

A Bible / text made for personal study. Options:

Durable, intended for serious use. Binding, paper.

Comfortable, with easy-to-read type size.

Attractive, with an eye-pleasing layout.

Single-column or double-column format.

Thick paper, wide margins, space for notes or …

Separate sheets, a notebook, or journal for notes.

Advantages to each note-taking approach. Combo.

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Text-only Bible: brief book intros, limited tools.

Reference Bible: columns, links to other verses.

Study Bible: outlines, commentary, interpretation.

Specialty: (Leadership, Archaeology, Apologetics).

Try several types. Which one attracts you most?

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Abbreviated aids in many Bibles: outlines, charts, timelines, atlas (maps), topical index, concordance (word list).

Concordance: Strong’s, Young’s, New American Standard Exhaustive Concordance

Atlas: Moody Bible Atlas or Baker Bible Atlas

All-in-one Bible: Thompson Chain-Reference

Bible software and apps:

Logos – can get a basic version for the cost of a nice Bible.

e-Sword – free, with many books and tool modules.

YouVersion – Bible versions and reading plans.

OliveTree – free phone / tablet app with split screen available. Can see both ESV and Greek or Hebrew text at once and scroll them in sync.

Websites:

Bible Hub – parallel translations, Greek and Hebrew interlinear.

https://biblehub.com/

Bible Gateway – read almost any translation, listen to it, copy and paste Bible text into your computer document for taking notes.

https://www.biblegateway.com/

Blue Letter Bible – multiple tools.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/