Teaching Archives - Page 4 of 7

Posted on May 7, 2020May 7, 2020 by Michael Reilley

The End of Forever

Question: When was the end of forever?

Throughout the Torah (commonly known as “The Law”), God clearly and repeatedly declares His commandments are eternal, forever, perpetual, or to be observed throughout our generations for all time.

But…

Popular doctrine and tradition teaches that Jesus put an end to The Law, and those “Old Testament” commandments don’t apply today.

This creates a logical dilemma:

If God said His commandments are forever, how could they have come to an end?

If God’s commandments came to an end, how could He have said they are forever? Continue reading The End of Forever

Posted on April 4, 2020April 4, 2020 by Michael Reilley

Why We Observe Passover

It’s not the “Jewish Passover”. The Bible calls it The LORD’s Passover. God created the holiday to be observed by both the native and alien, so long as we believe Him and walk in His ways.

And when your children say to you, “What do you mean by this service?” you shall say, “It is the sacrifice of YHWH’s Passover, for He passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped. (Exodus 12:26-27)

The immediate, obvious, purpose of Passover is to remember God’s deliverance of His people from slavery and genocide in Egypt. During the Passover observance, we meditate on such concepts as: How did our forefathers become enslaved in a land of darkness? How did they turn back to God and call on His name? How did God remember His promises and respond to His people?

Remembering what God has done for His people in the past is an important part of revering Him and maintaining our relationship.

Applying the lessons of the past prepares us for when history repeats. Continue reading Why We Observe Passover

Posted on February 16, 2020February 16, 2020 by Michael Reilley

The Broken Church

The church is divided and broken by a failure to properly address sins and conflicts. I see it all the time, at every congregation. This person takes issue with that person, then there are bad feelings, then bad talk, and it eventually reaches its breaking point. People leave, congregations split, and the name of God is profaned. Continue reading The Broken Church

Posted on August 31, 2019September 10, 2019 by Michael Reilley

Bible Study is Not Dinner and a Movie

Back in the 1990’s I would go to a congregation, meet people, and I would be invited to a Wednesday night Bible study. When I went to the study group, I took my Bible and everyone else brought theirs. Someone led the group, we’d pray, then we’d open our Bibles and read them. The group leader would provide some insights into the text, and we’d pause here and there to discuss the interpretation of the text. That was Bible study.

Twenty years later, in the 2010’s… I go to a congregation, I meet people, and they tell me they have a “small group” on Wednesday night. I go to the small group, and I’m the only one bringing my Bible. We pray to bless the food, we eat, we make small talk, then we watch a video. When the video is done, we have a short and shallow discussion of what we thought about the video. Then the evening is over.

What happened to studying the Bible?! Continue reading Bible Study is Not Dinner and a Movie

Posted on August 3, 2019January 16, 2021 by Michael Reilley

What was Jesus’ Beef with the Pharisees?

There is often a misunderstanding of the Pharisees and Jesus’ issue with them. People commonly think the issue Jesus had with the first century leadership is they were “religious” or “works-based”. That was not the issue. God actually did tell us to do stuff, and He actually does require us to obey His commandments. So, obeying God’s commandments can’t be the problem Jesus had with the pharisees.

The problem is many people today fail to distinguish God’s commandments from man-made doctrines. Continue reading What was Jesus’ Beef with the Pharisees?