The Virtual Preacher

Good Friday sermon: Watching Jesus die – Part 3 (Final)

This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series Watching Jesus die

Watching Jesus die

Introduction

We have come to final part of the series of “Watching Jesus die”. Today we are paying our attention to verses 45-54. Lets allow the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts.

1. The darkness – God’s judgment, (Matthew 27:45-46)

A. Jesus forsaken by the heavenly Father

I. A heaven sent darkness that lasted for 3 hours. A sign of divine judgment.

II. There were three days of darkness in Egypt before the Passover (Exodus 20:21-23)

III. Jesus: silent for these three hours while He became the sin offering for the world (John 1:29) and was forsaken by the father.

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7 Qualities of an effective Worship Leader

Guest post by Gangai Victor

Worship Leading

While today’s worship leaders are expected to possess a great many abilities, spiritual or musical, there are a few, which are above styles or fads that come and go. I believe these 7 qualities come under this category and are therefore essential for any worship leader to retain and practice consistently.
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What does the Bible say about speaking in tongues? – Part 3 (Final)

This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series What does the Bible say about speaking in tongues?

Worship

Image by: Paul M. Walsh

Not a Sign of the Spirit’s Abiding Presence

Speaking in tongues is the initial sign of receiving the Spirit, but by itself it does not prove the abiding presence of the Spirit. Many more important evidences of the Spirit’s abiding presence exist, such as the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). In particular, love is the ultimate test of true discipleship (John 13:34-35). The true child of God will love God, obey His commandments, walk after the Spirit, and be led by the Spirit (I John 2:3-5; Romans 8:4, 14). In the absence of these characteristics, speaking in tongues does not guarantee that the Spirit dwells in one and controls his life.

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Good Friday sermon: Watching Jesus die – Part 2

This entry is part 2 of 3 in the series Watching Jesus die

Watching Jesus die 2

Introduction

In part 1 of this sermon we covered verses 1-23 of Matthew’s narrative on Jesus’ crucifixion. Lets pick up from where we left.

1. The benefits of Christianity – Dividing Jesus’ clothes, (Matthew 27:35b)

A. The custom of the soldiers

I. The Romans always crucified convicted criminals naked. The clothes of the victim customarily became the perquisite of the executioners.

II. They gambled for the seamless robe.

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2011: The year churches move to the cloud? Free eBook

Cloud Computing for Churches and non-profits

I have had the joy of guiding the church in the area of information technology for the last 14 years. One important truth I learned during this time is that unawareness and fear of failure are major reasons why churches and other non-profits delay or altogether deny adopting new and awesome technologies like “Cloud Computing”.

If the title “Cloud Computing” sounds complicated, then the book “2011: The year churches move to the cloud?” by Ben Sinclair is for you. It’s a free E-book that explains the concept of Cloud Computing and how churches and non-profits can enjoy its vast array of benefits free of charge or at very affordable rates. Given below is a short excerpt from the book.

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