Jesus Confirmed as God's Son

Chuckle: Two Bookies came to church -- as they left the Preacher heard one of them say to the other -- "Stupid, it's Hallelujah, not Hialeah!"

Quote: "Each time we take a step toward God we discover that He has already taken two steps toward us." --William Arthur Ward

"This Good News was promised long ago by God through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures. It is the Good News about his Son, Jesus, who came as a man, born into King David's royal family line. And Jesus Christ our Lord was shown to be the Son of God when God powerfully raised him from the dead by means of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 1:2-4 NLT).

Prior to their witnessing Jesus' resurrection, the disciples believed Jesus was the Son of God. After His resurrection, their belief was confirmed -- to the extent that they put their lives on the line to tell others of His saving grace and His divine love. When Jesus was baptized in the Jordan river, by John the Baptist, the voice of God declared, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17 NIV). The power that raised Him from the dead authenticated every claim that Jesus is the Son of God.

Without reservation, Paul states that Jesus is the Son of God, the promised Messiah, and the resurrected Lord. He calls Jesus a descendant of King David to emphasize that Jesus truly had fulfilled the Old Testament Scriptures that predicted the coming of the Messiah. Not only does Scripture declare Jesus to be the Son of God, it declares Him to be God. Perhaps the clearest statement on this subject comes from the apostle John: "In the beginning the Word (Jesus) already existed. He was with God, and he was God. He was in the beginning with God. He created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn't make" (John 1:1-3 NLT).

His resurrection served to confirm Biblical accounts of who Jesus is -- God himself revealed through His Son in human form. Only by the empty tomb was an apparent defeat and public disgrace changed to reveal that Jesus' death, as God's one and only Son, was the ultimate demonstration of God's power and His love. It's not the kind of love we deserve or can earn -- it is God's free gift to all who will accept it. All people around the world need to hear this good news!

Many people are like Juanito Piring. He is a former hoodlum, from the slums of Manila, who wanted to make up for his sins and had himself nailed to a cross each Good Friday for twelve straight years. He was trying to earn something which is totally free. It took the blood of Jesus, His death, burial, and resurrection to assure us that God's gift of the abundant and eternal life is available to us all through faith in our Risen Lord. If it had been possible for us to earn God's favor in our own strength, the death of God's one and only Son would have been totally unnecessary.

Love, Jerry & Dotse