Different branches of the American church have different ideas about miracles - the more rationalistic branches of Christianity don’t place a high value on miracles, while more charismatic churches consider miracles to be a vital part of their Christian life. But all Christians believe that miracles are a part of scripture, and scripturally speaking, miracles happen all the time, as long as we understand that the line between “natural” and “supernatural” is a modern invention. Every part of creation is God’s, and he is intimately and sovereignly involved in every one of those parts. In other words, what we often think of as “natural” events are really miraculous, just so ordinary that we don’t notice their supernatural character.

In the Bible, miracles are a demonstration of God’s power. Jesus’ miracles are a demonstration that God’s power is upon him, and they lend credence to his prophetic claims. They do not prove he is God, anymore than Elijah’s miracles prove that he is God, but they are signs that God is at work in Jesus’ ministry, and his personal claims to be the one through whom the creator God is rescuing his world.

Hosts: Aaron Mueller and Chuck Rathert

Subscribe to the show at https://cacg.saintjamesglencarbon.org.

To comment on this episode, visit https://saintjamesglencarbon.org/cacg-ep122.

The great redemptive event of the Bible is the exodus from Israel out of Egypt. God’s plan and actions to rescue his people from slavery form the foundational backdrop for how we understand his heart. But then why do so many texts in scripture seem to accept slavery as a permissible fact? We can find the main answer to this question in the difference between how contemporary people try to solve problems and how God actually solves problems.

Unlike modern politicians or social media users, the Bible hardly ever tries to solve problems through statements or public posturing. Instead, the biblical writers believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ–the good news that in the Messiah God has acted to rescue his creatures and creation from slavery to sin, death, and the Enemy–actually changes broken hearts to redeemed hearts, from the inside out. So the Bible radically opposes slavery, but in a way that actually historically ended slavery: by calling people to the love of Jesus, a love which worked in their hearts to begin treating others–even slaves–as valuable people made in God’s image.

Hosts: Aaron Mueller and Chuck Rathert

Subscribe to the show at https://cacg.saintjamesglencarbon.org.

To comment on this episode, visit https://saintjamesglencarbon.org/cacg-ep121.

The Gospel is the proclamation that God has triumphed over sin and death through the work of Jesus. Every Christian sermon has to proclaim this Gospel by announcing the death and resurrection of Jesus. Since the whole text of Holy Scripture centers on Jesus’ death and resurrection, every sermon has to explain, illustrate, and apply the sermon text.

The job of the sermon is not merely to explain and instruct in good theology, but to explain and apply the text itself. And while the question of whether or not the sermon should apply the text by telling people what to do is sometimes controversial in churches that believe in salvation by grace through faith alone, applying the text not by giving rules but by applying the Gospel is mandatory.

In other words, the Gospel is not just news that sins are forgiven, it’s also the good news that Jesus is Lord of the universe, and now we are free–by the power of Jesus–to be the humans he has redeemed us to be.

Hosts: Aaron Mueller and Chuck Rathert

Subscribe to the show at https://cacg.saintjamesglencarbon.org.

To comment on this episode, visit https://saintjamesglencarbon.org/cacg-ep120.