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Course Spotlight: The Sign of Jonah

Christ’s miracles were amazing signs of God’s power and ministry. His works testified of Him (John 14:11). To the disciples of John the Baptist, Jesus showed signs of healing the blind and cleansing the lepers—which the Messiah was prophesied to do (Isaiah 61:1). Yet Christ said that the primary sign to identify Him as the Messiah would be “the sign of Jonah.”

What was the sign of Jonah—and what does it have to do with us today?

Course Spotlight From The Life, Teachings, and Ministry of Jesus Christ: (Unit 3) The Judean Ministry

Course Spotlight: Lessons from Kingdom Parables

There is much to be gleaned from Christ’s parables in Matthew 13 regarding the Kingdom of God. Christ spoke in parables, not so that the people would understand, but so they would not understand (Matthew 13:11-15). It was only given to a few to know what they mean at this time: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matthew 13:43).

Course Spotlight From The Life, Ministry, and Teachings of Jesus Christ: (Unit 2) The Galilean Ministry

Course Spotlight: Joel’s Prophecy

The Apostle Peter quoted the prophet Joel: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy” (Acts 2:17–18).

What was the meaning of this prophecy? What was fulfilled…and what is left for the future?

Course Spotlight From God’s Feast Days: Pentecost

Course Spotlight: By Prayer and Fasting

Scripture tells us what our Savior did to acquire spiritual strength, in connection with the devil’s attack on Him: “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted [or tried] by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry” (Matthew 4:1–2). Notice—He fasted!

Course Spotlight from The Life Ministry and Teachings of Jesus Christ: (Unit 1) The Early Life of Christ

Course Spotlight: How to Pray When You Are Discouraged

Do you find it difficult to pray when you are discouraged or depressed? It is ironic that just when we need God’s help the most, we may have our greatest difficulty in reaching out to Him for the help that we so desperately need. Why is this?

Course Spotlight From Tools for Christian Growth: Prayer

Course Spotlight: The Holy Spirit

On the night of His final Passover, Jesus Christ told His disciples that He was going to return to the Father. “I will not leave you comfortless” (John 14:18 KJV). He went on to explain, He would send them another Comforter or Helper. In what way could the Holy Spirit be considered as a helper or advocate?

Course Spotlight From The General Epistles: (Part 2) The Letters of John and Jude

Course Spotlight: The Great Commission

Jesus Christ instructed His disciples to “go into all the world and preach the gospel” (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15). How does His church have an impact in fulfilling this commission?

Course Spotlight From The Life, Ministry, and Teachings of Jesus Christ: (Unit 4) Passover to the Resurrection

Course Spotlight: The Genealogy of Christ

Have you ever wondered sometimes why the Bible mentions two genealogies of Christ – one in Matthew 1 and another in Luke 3? The most confusing thing about them is that they are totally different! Why are these two genealogies both in the Bible? Can we learn anything from them?

Course Spotlight from The Life Ministry and Teachings of Jesus Christ: (Unit 1) The Early Life of Christ

Course Spotlight: Lessons from Forgiveness

In some of our online courses, we have a “Student Thoughts” section where we ask a question to see what the students think. In Unit 4 of the Life Ministry and Teachings of Jesus Christ course, we asked the question:

As He is dying, Christ asks the Father to forgive the people (Luke 23:34). What lessons can we learn from Christ’s attitude during His crucifixion? 

Come take a look at some of the Student Responses below!


By Christ asking for God to forgive those who were crucifying Him, He showed exactly what He meant in Matthew 5:44 where He said to ” Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” If we all could learn to do this today, we would be showing that Christ is indeed living through us.

-GW

Jesus Christ had compassion on the world when He was suffering, because He saw the big picture of the Kingdom coming ahead. Suffering has a way of humbling a person to a point of understanding that cannot be understood by any other means. When we suffer, we draw close to God and He gives us a peace and clarity that helps us see beyond our suffering. Jesus had the ultimate vision of the Kingdom and could see that in the resurrection, the hearts of those that crucified Him would be cut deeply by their wrongful condemnation of Him. We as His followers have to forgive those that sin against us also in order to have our sins forgiven and be able to enter into the Kingdom.

-AL

Christ shows us through the recording of this statement the heartfelt love He has for His family, not wanting any to be lost. He taught this during His entire ministry in many ways, but He was so very concerned for these people who were treating Him in such a vile way during the scourging and crucifixion that He felt compelled to beg the Father to have mercy on them. I’ve felt, as most of us probably have, this overwhelming concern at times for my children and for others, because of the deep desire to see them succeed, that I’ve cried out on their behalf, sincerely, that the Father and Christ will have mercy, and not at all concerned at the time for myself.  Christ desires this heart in us to always care, to be quick to forgive, to be merciful, to teach, to guide, and to protect the rest of our family – in essence to think outside of ourselves.

-MA

Course Spotlight: Horsemen of Revelation

What do the white horse and its rider represent in Revelation 6? Some commentators mistakenly say that these represent Christ, because the imagery appears similar to the description of Christ given in Revelation 19. But when we compare the Revelation 19 description to the first horseman, we find notable differences.

Course Spotlight From The Life, Teachings, and Ministry of Jesus Christ: (Unit 3) The Judean Ministry