Tag: God
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Sermon: The 10 plagues: water into blood
In this passage, we see a clash of world views as Pharaoh is commanded to release the Israelites. When he refuses, the first of the ten plagues befalls Egypt. Pharaoh was viewed as a quasi-divine person in Egypt, but we see he’s no match for the Lord, nor are the Egyptian pantheon a match for…
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Why the world missed Jesus (and why we miss him today) – Exploring John 1:4-13
In one of his stand-up specials, the comedian Jim Gaffigan talks about camping. In the monologue, Gaffigan mentions that his wife enjoys camping and says that it’s a tradition in her family. But he points out that it used to be a tradition in everyone’s family before we invented the house. He asks “If it’s…
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How is Jesus God? 4 life-changing truths from John 1:1-3
I was always a curious person. Growing up, I didn’t go to church, but I always thought “there’s gotta be something out there.” As a kid, I had cousins who were raised Catholic and who went to mass every week. They had a crucifix in their house, and there was this person on it. I…
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Jesus is the God of creation and new creation – Exploring John 1:1-18
Jesus is the Lord of creation and new creation. I’m going to highlighting a few words and phrases in this opening prologue to John. “In the beginning.” “Word.” “Life.” “Light.” “Darkness.” Just to name a few. These are all found both in John 1, but also in Genesis 1. The Word of God Opening phrase…
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Joseph, Mary, and a huge test of faith
In the Gospel of Matthew, a young couple named Mary and Joseph receive some truly shocking news. Mary is expecting! Despite the fact that they have never consummate their relationship and that Mary is a virgin. Joseph faced a dilemma.What does he do? They lived in a small village. Inevitably Mary was going to start…
Josh Benner 