Why is the resurrection of Jesus Christ important?

Answer: The resurrection of Jesus is important for several reasons. First, it witnesses to the immense power of God Himself. To believe in the resurrection is to believe in God. If God exists, and if He created the universe and has power over it, He has power to raise the dead. If He does not have such power, He is not a God worthy of our faith and worship. Only He who created life can resurrect it after death, only He can reverse the hideousness that is death itself, and only He can remove the sting that is death and the victory that is the grave’s (1 Corinthians 15:54-55). In resurrecting Jesus from the grave, God reminds us of His absolute sovereignty over life and death.

Second, the resurrection of Jesus is a testimony to the resurrection of human beings, which is a basic tenet of the Christian faith. Unlike all other religions, Christianity alone possesses a founder who transcends death and who promises that His followers will do the same. All other religions were founded by men and prophets whose end was the grave. As Christians, we take comfort in the fact that our God became man, died for our sins, and was resurrected the third day. The grave could not hold Him. He lives, and He sits today at the right hand of God the Father in heaven.

Our Resurrection Bodies

(from Gotquestions.org)
Question: "How will our resurrection body be different from our current body?"

Answer: In his first letter to the church in Corinth, Paul discusses the great differences between our earthly bodies and our resurrected bodies (see 1 Corinthians 15:35-54). Contrasting our earthly bodies with the splendor of our heavenly (resurrected) bodies, Paul says, “The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body” (vv. 42-44, emphasis added). In short, our resurrected bodies are spiritual, imperishable, and raised in glory and power.

What are the duties of an elder in the church?

(from gotqestions.org)
Answer:
The Bible spells out at least five duties and obligations of an elder:

1) The elders help to settle disputes in the church. “While Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch of Syria, some men from Judea arrived and began to teach the Christians 'unless you keep the ancient Jewish custom of circumcision taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.' Paul and Barnabas, disagreeing with them, argued forcefully and at length. Finally, Paul and Barnabas were sent to Jerusalem, accompanied by some local believers, to talk to the apostles and elders about this question” (Acts 15:1-2, NLT). The question was raised and forcefully argued, then taken to the apostles and elders for a decision. This passage teaches that elders are decision makers.

Nice People Go To Hell

(Written by Grant Phillips)

The title of this article is a tragedy of all tragedies, because it is true. Apostate ministers, ignorance of God’s Word and a “warm, fuzzy, make me feel good” society is providing information that is completely antithetical to the Truth.                 

I cannot begin to count the times that I have heard someone make a statement that basically states their deceased loved one was with God because …….. (You fill in the blank.) I would keep waiting for, “Because …….. They believed in Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour and asked Him to save them, but that isn’t what is said.” Sad, Sad, Sad!

The Bible says.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

“8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

The Groom Returns For His Bride

(Written by Kathy Overshiner)

When I was a small child at Christmas time, I would thumb through the pages of the Sears, JC Penny and Montgomery Catalogues. I was looking at the Christmas toys. My eyes would focus on the doll section and one particular doll. I admired the beautiful bride doll. My heart was set on this doll. There was a time that I had to leave during the middle of school as I was ill and I had to go to my great grandmother’s for her to take care of me until it was time to go home. During my visit with my great grandmother, she took me to her neighbor. This lady made dolls. I was taken into her crafts room and to my surprise the room was filled completely of dolls. It was a little girls dream. On each wall there were many shelves that went to almost the ceiling and on each self, there were dolls that lined it. But once again, my eyes and heart focused on the bride doll. There was only one there. A year or two later, my great grandmother asked my parents if she could see me. So my folks took me to her. She was by then in a wheel chair. She told me she had something for me that I had wanted. She looked for it, but she could not find it. The only thing that I remember wanting was the bride doll. I never was told what she had wanted to give me. I am left with the mystery, was it the bride doll I had been waiting for?

The Apple Of God’s Eye

(Written by Grant Phillips)

 “For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.” (Zechariah 2:8)

“And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3)

“For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.” (Deuteronomy 14:2)

Our country, the United States of America, has always been a supporter of the nation of Israel, until this current administration. Never, in its short modern history has Israel and its leaders been treated with such disrespect; such outright contempt, by a “friend.” If we were descendants of Ishmael it could be expected, but we are not.

Union And Fellowship Expanded

(Written by Jack Kelley)
I’m frequently asked why I believe we should continue confessing our sins after being born again, since all our sins are already forgiven. People who ask point out that 1 John 1:9 is the only place this is mentioned and if it was so important wouldn’t Jesus have taught it?

Well it turns out 1 John 1:9 isn’t the only place confession is mentioned for believers and as a matter of fact Jesus did teach it. But before we get into that, let’s review what I call the two sided nature of our relationship with the Lord so you can see where the idea came from in the first place.

We Will Have A New Body

(Written by Grant Phillips)
One of the most exciting Scripture passages in the Bible is written by the Apostle Paul and found in 1 Corinthians 15:35-58. For your convenience, I will include this passage below in the New Living Translation (NLT).

The Resurrection Body

³⁵ But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” ³⁶ What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. ³⁷ And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. ³⁸ Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed. ³⁹ Similarly there are different kinds of flesh—one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.