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Bible Study: The Wild and Woolly Book of Jude
“Jude” is a Hebrew name and is an alternate of “Judah.” Sort of like Al or Albert, or Mike or Michael. The Greek form of the name is “Judas.” Two of the 12 of Jesus’ disciples were named Judas – Judas the Zealot, NOT to be confused with Judas Iscariot, who may or may not have been a Zealot. Naming of the Twelve Luke 6:12-16 Mark 3:13-19 Mt. 10:2-4 John doesn’t list them together, and names 9 of them. He does refer to the Twelve. One of the names is Judas the Zealot (sometimes called Simon the Zealot,) who is NOT the same person as Judas Iscariot. The Zealots were…
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Saving Grace by Way of the Holy Spirit
The center of Wesley’s theology is the grace of God, which is the redeeming activity of divine love. , Wesley called the study of grace “practical theology,” or living out our Christian beliefs in our daily lives. Practical theology is not only the study of a particular faith. A non-Christian can be a theologian, and some of them are. But practical theology is what every Christian should practice: to understand how God has saved us through Jesus Christ, and to live out our new life in love and service to God and others. Grace Grace is central to the Christian life. Grace arises from the love of God, if God…
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Letters to the Revelation Churches, Part 1
John wrote the book of Revelation while in exile on the Isle of Patmos. The letters to 7 churches occurs early in the book. Churches were not buildings; church building didn’t start until the early 200s AD, and John wrote around 90 AD. All of these churches took place in people’s homes or in public places, including the outer court of Jerusalem’s Temple (Acts 2:46) or in Rome, public places that were probably warehouses or apartments. Most of them were in people’s homes; usually the homes of the wealthy or well-to-do because they would have the room. This explains why James was so mad about rich people getting treated specially…