All of this happened to the men to whom Jesus first said these words. The Book of Acts records how Peter and John were arrested and beaten, and how James was put to death with a sword. John wrote the Book of Revelation from an island called Patmos, where he…

How do you feel about those who do not yet follow Jesus? In our increasingly polarized culture, it is easy for us to ignore one another, as we retreat into our social-media echo chambers, only interacting with people who think the way we do. And those who live in large…

What do you need for successful ministry? We usually think in terms of buildings and budgets, but find neither of these things in Jesus’ instructions to His disciples as they set out on their first mission trip. Instead we find three much more important things. In verse 7, we notice…

Have you ever tried to make your life go in a direction that just wouldn’t work out? Maybe you were just sure that a special someone was the right mate for you, but he or she didn’t see it that way and kept you firmly in the “friend zone.” Maybe…

How do you treat people who have hurt you? At best, we tend to be polite to them in person, while doing our best to avoid them at all costs. At worst, we lash out in anger and perhaps even hatred. But how many of us would take a risk…

Is God calling you to speak for Him? If you know anyone who needs to know Christ or to know Him better, the answer is “Yes!” After all, Jesus told His disciples to carry the gospel to all the nations, so there’s no one who doesn’t need to hear about…

So, what does Christian ministry include? Well, once Jesus called His disciples, what sorts of things did He do? What did His ministry involve? In the first place, He was a teacher, and we see a sample of His teaching in chapters 5 through 7, which have come to be…

What sorts of things do you find tempting? Now, to be sure, there’s nothing wrong with pleasure in itself – after all, God invented it! But when we let our desire for pleasurable sensations override our understanding of right and wrong, that’s when we’ve fallen into temptation. And sometimes, we…

“Who is Jesus?” That’s the critical question for all of us. His own disciples didn’t understand Him at first, but John the Baptist was different. Before John was even born, he leapt in his mother’s womb for joy when Jesus’ mother came for a visit (Luke 1:41). And in today’s…

Peter had a big idea, perhaps an obvious one. In the passage immediately previous to these verses, he had finally realized who Jesus is – the Christ, the promised Messiah. And now, right before his eyes was the evidence of the coming Kingdom of God the Jewish people had been…