Book: Mark

Our information from scripture about Philip is limited, so we need to infer what we can about Philip from these few mentions of him taking care not to read anything into the scripture. We see that Philip was called directly and individually by Jesus to be one of His apostles…. read more

John – who refers to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” – was the human scribe who wrote five books of the New Testament. John was part of Jesus’ inner circle of chosen apostles who was present at the Mount of Transfiguration along with his brother James, and Simon… read more

Jesus gave the two sons of Zebedee – James and John – the nickname Boanerges meaning “Sons of Thunder.” Although this name is found only once in scripture, we are intrigued by it because we can imagine several reasons why Jesus might have tagged the brothers with it. James (sometimes… read more

Simon – whom Jesus named Peter (or Cephas) – is found listed first in all the Biblical listings of Jesus’ chosen apostles. So it is appropriate for us to begin our study of “The Twelve” with Simon Peter. For many of us, Simon Peter is the apostle with whom we… read more

The Twelve apostles of Jesus were not outstanding in any way, at least before they met Jesus. However, Jesus called these men personally. He knew all their flaws, faults, and apprehensions, yet He still chose them.

Before we launch into our study of the twelve men Jesus chose from among His disciples to be apostles, it is important to make a distinction between Jesus’ hundreds or thousands of disciples and the twelve He chose to empower and send forth as His representatives in the ancient world…. read more

 “What is the church?” Most people respond with some reference to a building, but what would be a more succinct answer? The church is not a building but is instead THE PEOPLE who gather at a building for the sole purpose of worshipping God.

From the very beginning, God wanted every person to become more than what we ended up as. God wants us to be more than sinners. More than self-centered. More than simply good people, doing good things. Therefore, the plan was always Jesus. He wants every believer to embrace this idea… read more

When we take the time to consider Mary’s background, and the manner with which she managed the big assignment from God, we learn some things about her character and can use these lessons to help us grow in our relationship with God.