Tag Archives: church

John the Baptist’s testy interaction with the religious establishment – John 1:19-34, Part 4

Because John the Baptist said the darndest things, you can imagine it did not sit well with the religious leaders, especially when he called them snakes.  And that brings us back to the passage we are studying this week: John 1:19-34. We learn in John 1:19 that the religious elite back at their HQ inContinue reading “John the Baptist’s testy interaction with the religious establishment – John 1:19-34, Part 4”

Was John the Baptist a wild man? – John 1:19-34, Part 3

Did John really go wild? In the previous post, I mentioned that much artwork depicting John the Baptist has him looking like a caveman.  Why?  Because in Matthew 3:4 we read this about John, “John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts andContinue reading “Was John the Baptist a wild man? – John 1:19-34, Part 3”

The backstory of John the Baptist – John 1:19-34, Part 2

Who was John the Baptist? In this post we begin to learn the backstory of John the Baptist. While our current blog series is studying the Gospel of John, and while this week we are learning about John 1:19-34, to get the backstory of John the Baptist, we need to turn elsewhere. The full accountContinue reading “The backstory of John the Baptist – John 1:19-34, Part 2”

The Prophet who said the darndest things – John 1:19-34, Part 1

The TV Show Kids Say the Darndest Things has been on the air for decades.  The title of the show uses the word “darndest,” and that’s a catchy title, but what is the title really getting at? Well, take a look: The word “darndest” is getting at the fact that kids have that wonderful quality ofContinue reading “The Prophet who said the darndest things – John 1:19-34, Part 1”

Prophets who don’t know how to be prophets – John 1:19-34, Preview

Are there still prophets in the world today?  No doubt there are people who claim to be prophets.  Do you remember Harold Camping of the Family Radio Network?  He predicted Jesus was returning in 1994.  When Jesus did not return that year, Camping went on to predict Jesus would return in May 2011.  In fact,Continue reading “Prophets who don’t know how to be prophets – John 1:19-34, Preview”

The problem and solution of God’s invisibility – John 1:1-18, Part 5

How many of you wish that God were visible?  How many of you wish that you could just have a little miracle of Jesus showing up at your doorstep to give you some reassurance that he is right there?  How many of you look back at some of the miracles recorded in the Bible andContinue reading “The problem and solution of God’s invisibility – John 1:1-18, Part 5”

The identity of The Word in… – John 1:1-18, Part 4

Who was God in the skin?  In our study of John 1:1-18, we learned in the previous post that John writes in verse 14 that God, who John calls The Word, took on human skin. But John hasn’t told us yet who The Word is, so let me introduce another word. God in the skinContinue reading “The identity of The Word in… – John 1:1-18, Part 4”

The amazing news that God wants to adopt you – John 1:1-18, Part 3

So far, John hasn’t told us the identity of the Word.  He continues now in verses 6-9 by giving us some history.  Verses 1-5 have been very theological, kind of vague, maybe hard to understand.  John knows he needs to start getting more specific.  So he introduces us to a man named John.  He isContinue reading “The amazing news that God wants to adopt you – John 1:1-18, Part 3”

In the beginning…God had help creating? – John 1:1-18, Part 1

Do you like your skin?  Do you feel comfortable in your skin?  I mentioned in the preview post here that we are going to talk about Jesus’ skin. I’m sure each of us has thought more than our fair share about our skin.  The ways we don’t like it, especially.  The blemishes.  The wear andContinue reading “In the beginning…God had help creating? – John 1:1-18, Part 1”