1033. Jesus: "Who Do You Say That I Am?"

"So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you'" (John 6:53).

This was one small piece of a passage that had people trying to figure out just exactly what Jesus was saying. This not only included those opposed to Jesus but also those who had been following Him. In fact, many of the disciples left at that point.

Jesus asked the twelve who were left if they also wanted to depart. There are things Jesus said that contained words of truth where the understanding with the mind was unfruitful ... but something within their hearts that had been revealed about Jesus caused them to realize that He was their only hope for eternal life.

The same is true today with people who lack understanding about spiritual things, statements from Jesus, and Bible writings. But this will not prevent God from revealing truth to us when it comes to Jesus. Believing doesn't require intellectual comprehension.



   
Get the book

735. Hebrews 1: God Has Spoken to Us Through His Son

Welcome to a series where we will provide an overview of the book of Hebrews. We will sift and skim some highlights to help provide context of these very important writings when it comes to realizing the grace and truth that came through Jesus Christ … and the differences between an expired Old Covenant and a New and better covenant.

The writer starts off in Chapter One by pointing out to Jewish believers that God had formerly spoken to them—their ancestors—through the prophets (and the writings related those prophets). But now in these days, He has spoken through His Son, who has been appointed an heir of all things, through whom the world was made.



   
Get the book

690. Christian Catch Phrase Alert: Identifying Ourselves as Followers of Jesus

One of the things that we often focus on here at Growing in Grace is built around helping believers in Christ to understand the identity we now have in Him as a new creation. Sadly, people are seldom taught they are righteous, holy, complete, forgiven, perfected, saints, etc.

But a catch phrase that is often used to identify us as believers: We are “followers of Jesus.” Just exactly what is a follower of Jesus today? Get ready for a wide variety of different answers because it’s one of those talking points within Christianity which people don’t think too much about. Typically, we might think it has to do with following the teachings of Jesus. But as previous programs have revealed, Jesus often taught things related to the Old Covenant which targeted Jewish people who were under the law - impossible demands - now made obsolete since the cross.

Almost all references to those who were followers of Jesus are found in the four books of the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)… people who literally and physically followed Jesus from one place to the next. But their following ceased at the cross as they were relocated to a New Covenant where they would be led by God’s Spirit. You’re not merely a follower, you are a child of God, living in union with Him.



   
Get the book

683. Merry Christmas from the Growing in Grace Podcast

After another year of talking about God’s goodness and grace, Christmas gives us a week to reflect upon the birth of Jesus and the miracle of His birth. But on this week’s program, we also discuss his human boyhood and how He grew in wisdom and stature. Other topics this week include The Three Stooges, Adam’s age when he was first created… also the wise men and how tradition has “photoshopped” them into the manger scene.

We're looking forward to returning in the new year with a whole bunch of brand new Growing in Grace podcast episodes, talking about the Good News of Jesus! We're taking a short break from recording next week, but do come back here to GrowingInGrace.org, as Mike and Joel will reflect on 2018 by sharing a few of their favorite episodes from the past year.



   
Get the book

579. God With Us: Merry Christmas

We know Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus as the savior of the world.  But it can be a challenge to grasp the idea of God becoming human, becoming one of us and enduring temptation in the same way we do, yet without sin.  Why is it that it would require a man who would bring redemption to a fallen human race?  We know this occurred, but we don’t always stop to think about why.  We often think of Jesus as the Son of God but He was also the Son of man.  This week, we have a conversation that takes a closer look at the human side in the life of Jesus.