| BY SEAN CAVENDER | Immediately after Peter testified of the identity of Jesus of Nazareth and the truth that Jesus was the Christ, Jesus began to teach of His death (Matthew 16:16-21). Jesus understood that His whole purpose in being sent to earth involved His death. Death was certain, yet it was not something…
| BY SEAN CAVENDER | One of the greatest blessings Christians have to enjoy is communing with our heavenly Father through prayer. There are several “giants” of praying men recorded for us in the Scripture. Nehemiah, Daniel, and Jesus each have some of the most beautiful, thought-provoking prayers that can be read in the Scriptures….
| SEAN CAVENDER | Hebrews chapter 11 is the quintessential chapter on faith. First, faith is defined as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Secondly, faith is how people “gain approval” before God (Hebrews 11:2). Third, faith gives us an understanding of the things that we cannot…
|By Sean Cavender| The biblical word ‘fellowship’ is used in the New Testament in a variety of ways. Generally, it means “an association involving close mutual relations and involvement” (Louw Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains, 445). Louw Nida also defines fellowship as “one who participates with another in some enterprise…
| BY SEAN CAVENDER | In the Bible, Abraham becomes a model of true, saving faith. The Scripture testifies of Abraham’s faith in Genesis 15:6, “Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” Although this verse explicitly states Abraham’s faith in God’s promise, this is not the first expression…
| BY SEAN CAVENDER | In Genesis 14, the author introduces a priest-king named Melchizedek. Unfortunately, he only appears in that section of the book of Genesis. He does not make any return to the biblical narrative. However, throughout the rest of Scripture, Melchizedek becomes a model of the Messiah. King David authored Psalm 110,…
| BY SEAN CAVENDER | Last week we noted how the book of Genesis is a fascinating read. It shows how God interacts with His creation, especially God’s inclination to grieve over sin, judge sinful humanity, but also providing salvation by grace. All of these elements are seen in the flood story in Genesis 6-9….
| BY SEAN CAVENDER | The book of Genesis is incredible and fascinating. It tells the beginning of the world and God’s interactions with people. It is a book that shows the beginning thread of our hope in Jesus Christ to redeem us from sin. However, the book of Genesis also reveals God’s treatment of…
| BY SEAN CAVENDER | Paul uses a powerful agricultural metaphor in the letter to the Galatians. He refers to “sowing and reaping” to the Spirit in Galatians 6:8. In keeping with the agricultural metaphor in Galatians 5:22-23, he refers to the “fruit” of the Spirit. Agricultural metaphors are commonly used throughout the Scriptures. Jesus…
| By Sean Cavender| A too often neglected area of study is the Holy Spirit’s relationship with the child of God in respect to their salvation. Peter is clear that our salvation was planned in the mind and foreknowledge of God, along with the necessity of Jesus’ death (1 Peter 1:2). However, it should not…