Category Archives: doctrine

Jesus is alive and well!

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15_30_47-sunrise-northumberland_webHistory points to an empty grave. The Bible declares His Resurrection from the dead!

24:1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” 8 And they remembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, 11 but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.
Luke 24 ESV

Let us marvel still!
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A word about PRIDE

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Today’s sermon at CPCC, on Isaiah 47, was on the subject of pride. How timely to read this brief article by Jon Bloom of the Minneapolis ministry, Desiring God.

Jesus and Nazareth are inseparable. Jesus spent most of his life in Nazareth. The prophets had said, “He shall be called a Nazarene” (Matthew 2:23). History would remember him as Jesus of Nazareth. Even the demons called him that (Luke 4:34).

That’s why this verse is one of the saddest observations made during Jesus’ public ministry:

And he did not do many mighty works [in Nazareth], because of their unbelief. (Matthew 13:58)

It’s a great irony that the Pride of Nazareth was rejected by the Nazarenes because of pride.

You know who this is? It’s Joseph the carpenter’s son! We know his family. I mean, they’re respectable enough people. But I know for a fact that none of them received formal religious education. Where in the world is Jesus getting this teaching? Does he really think he’s somebody great?

They were deeply offended. Why? Because he was one of them. So if he thought he was superior to them, he had another thing coming. Familiarity bred the pride of contempt in them.

What is frightening in this account is the power of pride to blind and deaden the soul. Just consider the consequence of such pride for the Nazarenes: the merciful power of the Messiah was withheld from them.

Pride is to be feared and treated like a cancer. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). We do not want to miss out on any gift of God’s grace because we are nurturing pride in our hearts.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24)

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