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“Receive the Kingdom of God like a Child” (Mark 10:2-16; Hebrews 2:1-18) How would you like to enter the kingdom of God? I know I would. After all--literally, after all--the kingdom of God will be the only thing going. It is an everlasting kingdom, filled with peace and joy and life and blessing, and it will last forever. So who would not want to enter it? You’d have to be a fool not to. No, the kingdom of God--it’s the best thing going, and there’s nothing else like it. So the question arises: How do you get in? How do...

Who Really Discovered America? Did ancient Hebrews reach the shores of the North and South American continents thousands of years before Christopher Columbus? What evidence is there for Hebrew and Israelite occupation of the Western Hemisphere even a thousand years before Christ? Was trans-Atlantic commerce and travel fairly routine in the days of king Solomon of Israel? Read here the intriguing, fascinating saga of the TRUE DISCOVERERS OF AMERICA! William F. Dankenbring A stone in a dry creek bed in New Mexico, discovered by early settlers in the region, is one of the most amazing archaeological discoveries in the Western...

Israeli archaeologists have unearthed a rare sarcophagus featuring a slender face and a scarab ring inscribed with the name of an Egyptian pharaoh, Israel's Antiquities Authority said Wednesday. The mystery man whose skeleton was found inside the sarcophagus was most likely a local Canaanite official in the service of ancient Egypt, Israeli archaeologists believe, shining a light on a period when pharaohs governed the region. "This is a really beautiful face, very serene," said Edwin van den Brink, an Egyptologist and archaeologist with Israel's government antiquities authority. "It's very appealing." Van den Brink said archaeologists dug at Tel Shadud, an...

Archaeologists unearth 3,300-year-old coffin at Tel Shadud thought to hold Canaanite official in service of Egyptian pharaoh :snip: Found alongside the new sarcophagus was a scarab seal ring encased in gold, carved with the name of Pharaoh Seti I, who ruled ancient Egypt in the 13th century BC. Seti I conquered the region of today's Israel in the first year of his reign in order to secure Egyptian trade routes and collect taxes for Egypt, said Ron Beeri, an archaeologist who participated in the dig. The man buried in the sarcophagus might have been a tax collector for the pharaoh,...

A massive 3,800-year-old fortress that protected the Gihon Spring was uncovered in the City of David. Photo: Eli Mandelbaum, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority.Excavations around the Gihon Spring in the City of David have uncovered a massive 3,800-year-old fortress. Called the “Spring Citadel” by archaeologists, the discovery is part of a 15-year excavation led by Professor Ronny Reich of the University of Haifa and Eli Shukrun of the Israel Antiquities Authority. This enormous 18th-century B.C.E. structure that isolates and protects the Gihon Spring is believed to be the fortress described in the Book of Samuel that King David...

LINK:http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-hollywood-helped-hitler-595684?goback=%2Egde_38303_member_262328248 The Chilling History of How Hollywood Helped Hitler In devastating detail, an excerpt from a controversial new book reveals how the big studios, desperate to protect German business, let Nazis censor scripts, remove credits from Jews, get movies stopped and even force one MGM executive to divorce his Jewish wife. This story first appeared in the Aug. 9 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. The 1930s are celebrated as one of Hollywood's golden ages, but in an exclusive excerpt from his controversial new book, The Collaboration: Hollywood's Pact with Hitler (Harvard University Press, on sale Sept. 9), Harvard post-doctoral...

“The Miracle of Faith” (Genesis 15:1-6; Hebrews 11:1-16)Sometimes I think about the impossibility of faith. I mean, if you stop and think about all the things that are working against faith, it’s amazing that any of us have it. To believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ and all that that involves, to trust in the goodness and the promises of God, in spite of all that would cause us to not believe--it’s simply amazing. And so today we’re going to talk about “The Miracle of Faith.” Consider our Old Testament lesson for today, from Genesis 15. It relates a...

“Jesus Is Our Great High Priest--Now What?” (Hebrews 10:11-25)Today is the seventh straight Sunday when the assigned Epistle for the day comes from the Letter of Hebrews. We lost a couple of those readings due to observing Reformation and All Saints, but even so, we’ve been hearing a lot of Hebrews. I used Hebrews as a sermon text a couple of times back in October, once on the verse, “Today, if you hear his voice,” and the once on Jesus as our Sabbath rest. But there is a major aspect of this epistle I haven’t touched on yet, and that...

“Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise” (Hebrews 4:1-16; Mark 10:23-31; Ecclesiastes 5:10-20)You’ve all heard the old saying: Early to bed And early to rise Makes a man healthy, Wealthy, and wise. And there’s some truth to that--although, right now, it’s a little hard to get “early to bed” when you’ve got three-and-a-half-hour playoff games to watch! Even so, the point remains: A good, self-disciplined routine of rest and work, each in its own proper place, can lead to an increased opportunity for the good life. But today I want to speak to you about something more than just “the good life,” as...

“Today, If You Hear His Voice” (Hebrews 3:12-19; Mark 10:17-22)What day is it? It is . . . today. And since it is today, that means that this is the most important day for you to hear God’s voice. To hear his voice means to receive it and respond to it in repentance and faith. And this morning we will look at a couple of examples of those who had the voice of God speaking to them, but they did not repent or believe. One was a nation that fell in the wilderness. The other was a man who went...

“A Faith Worth Imitating: C. F. W. Walther” (Hebrews 13:7)Reading from Hebrews 13: 7: “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” This is our text. Fifty years ago, “Walther” was a household name in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. After all, the synodical youth group was called the Walther League. Today, however, the league is long gone, and for many so is the man for whom it was named, Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm Walther. In fact, there are probably some here today who are wondering...

Dr. Eilat Mazar of Hebrew University, one of the most prominent Israeli archaeologists, believes that remains from the First and Second Jewish Temple periods are currently below the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Mazar believes that the remains do include the Second Temple itself, in fact, and that with the technology available today, archaeologists can, at minimum, ensure that artifacts are not disturbed until a future excavation can be safely conducted. "I am absolutely sure,” said Mazar in an interview with “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio” on New York’s ABC Radio, “in light of my very rich experience excavating Jerusalem for 30...

This is a very interesting subject. Many peoples have claimed to be one of the 10 lost tribes of Israel. There are some in Africa, India, and parts of China, but this is the first time I have heard about Japan.

Ryan recites Hebrews from memory making the gospel as found in Hebrews come alive http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M52nUtfk3Jw

“The Hall of Faith Adds Mary” (Hebrews 11:1 – 12:3; Luke 1:26-55)The Hall of Fame, in any sport, is the place for honoring and showcasing outstanding individuals from the history of that sport. The person is honored in an induction ceremony, with all the other members of the Hall present. That player’s plaque is added to the wall, and people can read and see what a standout that person was. This year, for instance, the Baseball Hall of Fame added two new members familiar to many of us here: Whitey Herzog, the great manager from the St. Louis Cardinals, and...

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit...

“The Day Is Drawing Near, So Let Us Draw Near” (Hebrews 10:11-25)“The day is surely drawing near,” as we just sang in the hymn of the same name. And the hymn is merely echoing the thoughts of our readings for today, especially the Epistle reading from Hebrews, which closes with the words, “as you see the Day drawing near.” “The Day”? What day? Sounds important. Not just “a” day, but “the” Day. So let’s find out what “day” this is talking about. And let’s also consider what the implications are for us--we who know and see that that day is...

JERUSALEM – Archaeologists digging in Jerusalem have uncovered a 3,700-year-old wall that is the oldest example of massive fortifications ever found in the city, the Israel Antiquities Authority said Wednesday. The 26-foot-high wall is believed to have been part of a protected passage built by ancient Canaanites from a hilltop fortress to a nearby spring that was the city's only water source and vulnerable to marauders. The discovery marks the first time archaeologists have found such massive construction from before the time of Herod, the ruler behind numerous monumental projects in the city 2,000 years ago, and shows that Jerusalem...

Hebrews 13:15 15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

“There is far more violence in the Bible than in the Qur’an; the idea that Islam imposed itself by the sword is a Western fiction, fabricated during the time of the Crusades when, in fact, it was Western Christians who were fighting brutal holy wars against Islam.” So announces former nun and self-professed “freelance monotheist,” Karen Armstrong. This quote sums up the single most influential argument currently serving to deflect the accusation that Islam is inherently violent and intolerant: All monotheistic religions, proponents of such an argument say, and not just Islam, have their fair share of violent and intolerant...