Jesus’ message includes several teachings for the heart—the feeling dimension of the human personality. The accent is on joy, but there remains the question of how Jesus processed a range of emotions from sadness, through distress, suffering, grieving, and mourning, to extreme affliction. If he had …
A leader’s legacy
When Jesus gathered together with the apostles for his last supper with them, he knew that his time was short. But there was more that he wanted to do with them and teach them. The majority of his teachings came in what is called the farewell discourse. In it he took his full gospel—both his …
Militant action, mission of peace
Examining crisis leadership and teamwork with Jesus, we consider three episodes in the final act in the drama of his ongoing conflict with the religious leaders. When Jesus came to Jerusalem for the last time, he and his followers were under attack. Jesus responded with a spiritual superiority that …
Jesus tried
When Jesus began to proclaim his original saving message, it focused on the kingdom of God and the family of God. You enter the kingdom of God with the simple and humble faith of a little child, thereby becoming part of God’s family of faith. This is how you are born again to start the new life in …
The great can lay down their lives
Jesus set the pattern for his followers. "The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." He had given the new commandment. "Love one another as I have loved you." In his agony, and out of love for the Father, he prayed in the garden of Gethsemane for assurance that the cross was truly the …
Lessons from the Capernaum Crisis
In this series on Jesus as a crisis leader, the previous video, podcast episode, and blogpost presented the crisis that broke out in the Capernaum synagogue, where Jesus’ enemies were gathered and mobilized. The highpoint of Jesus’ response was his public breakthrough to a new and advanced …
