Topic: Jesus: Lessons and Parables

What were the last days of Jesus on earth like? How did His followers understand His message? Did Jesus have to go to the cross? What messages are there in the struggles of Jesus for us today? What can we learn from the betrayals of Judas and Peter? What was so significant about the Passover and the time of Jesus' death? How was the last supper similar to a marriage covenant? This week we explore the fulfillment of the prophecies surrounding the death of Jesus and what He accomplished on our behalf.

Why did Jesus warn the religious leaders of His time? What was the response of the religous leaders? What did God do with the gospel? What events lead up to the second coming? What hope exists in the midst of the troubles of the last days? What will people, society, and other conditions be like in those times? How do we know there is a dual fulfillment to Jesus' prophecy? As Jesus began to expound on how the temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed (in 70AD), He intermingled events that had an immediate fulfillment and a fulfillment to come in the last days.

What can we learn from Jesus' entry into Jerusalem? Why was He accepted by some and rejected by others? In what way was the glory of the second temple more than the glory of the first temple? What did Jesus intend to teach through the cursing of the fig tree, His parable about the Lord of the vineyard, and His parable of the wedding feast? Is the church today in danger of making the same mistake as the religious leaders in Israel?

What was the relationship between Peter, Jesus, and the church? How should we understand Jesus' words that upon the rock would he build his church? Who was this rock? Protestants and Catholics have long debated this passage but what secrets do the Greek manuscripts hold that make the matter more clear? In this study John Spellman goes into depth explaining the passage Matthew 16:18 in a way you may never have heard before. Why does it matter who Jesus is to us? Why is it important that we see Him as the rock?

How did Jesus relate to people who weren't Jewish during his ministry on earth? Was He Lord of the Jews only? How can we understand Jesus' interactions with Gentiles and Jews? What messages might these interactions have for us today? Why did Jesus challenge the traditions of His time? Should we too challenge traditions that go against God's commands today? What can we learn from Jesus' interactions with His disciples? This week we explore the ministry of Jesus focusing on Matthew 14 and 15.

Why did Jesus have run-ins with the scribes and pharisees? Were the accusations against him true? Was Jesus a breaker of the Sabbath? Did He view the Sabbath as important? What was His message regarding the Sabbath and the legalistic regulations of the religious leaders? What message might this have for us today? Jesus invites us to take part in His rest. But what kind of rest was He talking about?

Is there a war going on that we may not see but experience the effects? Is the idea of the great controversy Biblical? Who are the key players in this conflict? Who will ultimately be the winner in this contest? How does God prepare us for spiritual warfare? Does being a prophet of God mean that one will not experience difficulty or oppression? Does God prevent His people from suffering all the time? How did misconceptions about Jesus' first arrival play a role in the lives of His people? Why did John the Baptist have a moment of doubt? What evidence was given that Jesus was the Messiah?

John Spellman preaches on the 7th church of Revelation. What is Jesus' message to the church of our time? How does Jesus introduce Himself to the church of our time in a unique manner that addresses the unique problems and challenges of today? Jesus: the amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God calls the church to recognize its true condition. As a forest of trees would be unstable and unsafe if each of those trees was not rooted in the soil, so today God's people must be rooted in Jesus and anchored in truth.

How influential was Jesus' sermon on the mount? What did these powerful words mean? What was the purpose behind the sermon and what did it mean for believers? What was so radical and different about the words of Jesus? Do they still apply to us today? How did Jesus establish the relationship between law and grace? Did Jesus use this sermon to replace the law? Did His sermon replace a system of legalism? Or was salvation always by grace? What did Jesus mean by exceeding the righteousness of the Pharisees and Scribes? This week we explore Jesus' sermon on the mount.

Pastor Michael Mirra hosts Ever-Present, an interactive Bible based talk show which explores how God is invested in the affairs of humanity. God cares about people. While sometimes we don't always understand why things happen a certain way, God is Ever-Present in our lives working on our behalf in ways we don't always realize. In this episode Pastor Mirra focuses on how human beings often have stormy moments in life that take us by surprise. When disaster strikes or bad things happen, where is God?

Dr. Andy Nash joins us this week as we study the beginning of the ministry of Jesus. Why was Jesus led into the wilderness? How did Jesus fulfill prophecy as He went to different places during His ministry? What did Jesus' life reveal about the character of God in contrast to the character of Satan? What message did both Jesus and John the baptist preach, and how would that compare with the message that the world needs to hear today? How can we gain comfort and encouragement looking at the early days of Jesus' ministry according to the gospel of Matthew?

How does Matthew introduce the gospel? Who exactly was Matthew and why was his perspective on Jesus' ministry unique? Why does he use a genealogy to introduce Jesus as the Messiah and what does this ancestral record say about who Jesus is? What can we learn in the Bible about who Jesus is as a person, what God is like, and His mission here on earth? Was Jesus really divine? What did Jesus reveal to the world about God? What can we learn about God through the people Jesus was related to? What hope might be in all this for us today?