A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

Jesus had to be God to forgive our sins, but He had to be human to redeem us.

“…our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own,

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

There are many names and titles of Jesus throughout both the Old and New Testament. This study will not be an exhaustive list, but instead a sampling of some of my favorites. My goal is to give us an opportunity daily to stop and behold the wonder of our Savior as we prepare to celebrate His birth.

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

Let’s take just a moment to look beyond the controversy over when the Lord came and focus on why He came.  I think Isaiah gave us the best explanation the Bible offers. What follows is my adaptation of Isaiah 53.

He will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue. (Daniel 11:21)

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. (Psalm 100)

When the Pilgrims had experienced their first successful harvest in the New World, they decided to give thanks for the Lord's provision, even though half of them had died in the year since their arrival. Inviting the neighboring natives to join them, they held a three-day celebration patterned after their knowledge of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. -Lev. 25:9

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

The fall is arguably the most important time of the year in Judaism. Three of Israel’s holiest days are celebrated then, and all in the space of 3 weeks. They are  Yom Teruah, also called the Feast of Trumpets, followed 10 days later by Yom Kippur,

For about 1400 years we've celebrated the Lord's birth on Dec. 25. Are we wrong?

You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. -Micah 7:19