Bible Study series: Acts 15:1-35. How can Jewish new converts get along with Gentile new converts? And should Gentiles be circumcised to seal their membership in the New Covenant?
The Jerusalem Council
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Monthly Archives: December 2025
Jesus’s Great Prayer of Consecration
John 17:1-26. It has also been called the Great High Priestly Prayer. He prays for himself, his immediate disciples (the eleven) and the church. He even prays for people in the world. The church is called to live in unity.
Jesus Visits Mary and Martha
Bible Study series: Luke 10:38-42. Mary and Martha have two different responses to Jesus’s visit. Do you see yourself in one of them?
Jesus Predicts His Coming-In-Judgment on Jerusalem and Temple in Mark’s Gospel
Bible Study series: Mark 13:1-31. This is not his final Second Coming, but his judgment on Jerusalem and the temple. It happened from A.D. 66-70, in Jesus’s generation, just as he said. It would have been odd if he had not predicted this major upheaval. Roman generals stomped all over the temple and committed the “abomination of desolation.”
Two Short Parables
Bible Study series: Matthew 13:44-46. The Parable of the Hidden Treasure and the Parable of the Pearl of Great Price. You have to give up all you have to get the better thing.
Paul and Barnabas Return to Antioch in Syria
Bible Study series: Acts 14:24-28. A positive and victorious report. Then they got back to work with the disciples.
“Cheer Up! I Have Overcome the World!”
Bible Study series: John 16:25-33. “I have spoken these things to you so that in me you may have peace.”
Greatest Commandments and Parable of the Good Samaritan
Bible Study series: Luke 10:25-37. These verses are important because they define what the greatest commandments are, and the parable is very beloved and admired.
Jesus Praises a Widow’s Offering
Bible Study series: Mark 12:41-44. She challenges us to be generous.
Parable of Weeds among Wheat, Explained
Bible Study series: Matthew 13:36-43. As noted in the companion post, leave judgment of the world up to God. Don’t cut down the weeds that look like wheat. You may damage the wheat.
The ‘Third Way’ Is Obsolete Now
The Third Way, in previous times, may have been legitimate.
Persecution, Recovery, and Appointment of Church Leaders
Bible Study series: Acts 14:19-23. Paul was stoned and left for dead. The disciples gathered around him, and he recovered.
“You Will Grieve, but Your Grief Will Turn into Joy”
Bible Study series: John 16:16-24. “In a little while you will not see me, and again in a little while and you will see me”
The Seventy-Two Return, and Jesus Rejoices
Bible Study series: Luke 10:17-24. Their mission trip was a success. Demons were subjected to them in Jesus’s name
Jesus Denounces Teachers of the Law
Bible Study series: Mark 12:38-40. They deserved it. In today’s Big Church Corporations, they need to hear the same thing.
The Use of Parables
Bible Study series: Matthew 13:34-35. The hidden things are now being revealed to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 