Articles | a New Testament church

June 6, 2021December 21, 2024

Is The Covid-19 Vaccine The Mark Of The Beast? What You Need To Know

For the past 14+ months, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought with it a lot of restrictions and constraints. For a good part of that time, we in Ontario have been under lockdowns, shutdowns, or stay-at-home orders. When the CDC and other drug regulatory agencies across the globe began to give the green flag for vaccines from various pharmaceutical companies, there was an understandable prospect of hope, the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel.” At the same time, there has been skepticism and uncertainty about the safety of the vaccines, given the speed with which they were developed or the efficacy they will have on the virus variants. And then for some, there is concern that it is not just a vaccine, but could it be the mark of the beast?

May 30, 2021December 30, 2024

Zechariah: Anticipating The Messiah And God’s Kingdom – Bible Overview

Zechariah was the son of Berechiah and grandson of Iddo, who himself was a prophet (Zechariah 1:1). He was a priest who went to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel (Nehemiah 12:1, 4, 16) at the end of the Babylonian captivity. He and Haggai were contemporaries and worked together to urge the people to rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem (Ezra 5:1; 6:14). The message he bore to the people from God was, “Return to Me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you” (Zechariah 1:3). Evidence of their return would be the rebuilt temple (4:6-10) and their ongoing obedience to the Lord (7:4-7).

May 23, 2021December 19, 2024

Spiritual Olympians: How To Train For A Life Of Faith And Victory

Exactly two months from today, the 2021 Summer Olympic games are set to begin in Tokyo, Japan. I don’t know about you, but I am excited to watch the best athletes from across the world participate in various of sports and athletic disciplines. The agility and ability of the men and women who will compete will be wonderful to see. There are some spiritual lessons we can learn from the Olympics to help us grow in faith.

May 16, 2021December 19, 2024

Haggai: Restoration Of Jerusalem After Babylonian Captivity – Bible Overview

When the Jews were carried away captive to Babylon it occurred in three phases. Likewise, they left their place of bondage in three stages. In 538 B.C., Darius, the Persian king, issued a decree for the Jews to go back to their homeland—to Judah. The first returnees were led by Zerubbabel (536 BC), the second by Ezra (458 BC), and the third by Nehemiah (444 BC). Haggai was in the first group. He began to prophesy 16 years later, during the second year of King Darius (1:1) in 520 BC.

May 2, 2021December 18, 2024

Salt of the earth and Light of the World

“You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-16)

April 25, 2021December 18, 2024

Zephaniah: The Great Day of the LORD – Bible Overview

Zephaniah prophesied “in the days of Josiah” (1:1), between 641-610 BC. Not only was Zephaniah of the tribe of Judah, but his ancestry was of royal blood. His great-great-grandfather was king Hezekiah (727-698 BC).

April 18, 2021December 18, 2024

To Be Sin For Us: Exploring The Depth Of Jesus’ Love And Sacrifice

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
– – – – 2 Corinthians 5:21 – – – –

April 11, 2021December 18, 2024

Habakkuk: A Prophet’s Struggle With God’s Plan – Bible Overview

We know nothing about the man Habakkuk except he was a prophet of God. Habakkuk doesn’t tell us who was king in Judah when he wrote, but from 1:5-6, we can determine it was sometime before Babylon had risen to prominence as a world power (626 B.C.), but after the Lord had decided the condition of Judah warranted destruction and captivity which happened in the reign of Manasseh (2 Kings 21:1-16).His reign was from 698 to 643 B.C..

April 4, 2021December 18, 2024

Saul’s Radical Conversion: A Life Made New In Christ

In the New Testament, we read about crowds of people being converted to Christ. Many of them are unnamed—we don’t know their stories—just that they heard the gospel and responded in obedience to the Lord. However, the Spirit of God gave us several details about the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, and not just his conversion but what he did thereafter. Let’s spend a bit of time considering Paul, the convert to Christ.

March 28, 2021December 18, 2024

Nahum: The Complete Destruction Of Nineveh – Bible Overview

Two of God’s prophets were commissioned to address the Assyrian capital of Nineveh directly. Jonah was sent to proclaim a message of judgment and to provoke repentance (approx. 760 BC). God would then employ the Assyrians to judge Israel for her sins, resulting in the eventual destruction of the northern kingdom in 721 BC. Approximately 100-150 years later, Nahum proclaimed “the burden against Nineveh” (1:1). Unlike the former prophet, Nahum’s message was not to provoke repentance. Nineveh had returned to her old ways, and so the prophet pronounced judgment upon them. There are two details which help us know the timing of the book; the prophet mentions the destruction of the Egyptian city No Amon (3:8, better known as Thebes) which took place in 663 BC, and Nahum foretold Nineveh’s fall, which happened in 612 BC. Thus, the book was written sometime between these two dates.