Archive for category: GAMEtime Sharing

Hi GAMErs,

Today we begin our look at Genesis, the first book in the Bible.  Today’s passage is Genesis 1:1-19.  Let’s go!

Genesis 1:1-19 (NIV)
1  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2  Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3  And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light….

On verses 1-19:  Is Genesis 1 intended to be a detailed scientific explanation of the origins of the earth?  Not necessarily.  The Bible is not a textbook on science and doesn’t claim to be.  Still, where it addresses scientific matters, the Bible is infallible.  You will not find a proven scientific fact that truly contradicts what the Bible teaches.  In fact, the Bible has proven to be ahead of its time.  For example, the Bible claimed that the earth is round even when the prevailing belief in ancient times was that the earth was flat (see Psalm 40:22).  Here the Bible claims that the earth had a beginning when many people believed that the earth had always existed (Genesis 1).

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 21:1-14.  Let’s go!

John 21:1-3 (NIV) 
1  Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Tiberias. It happened this way: 
2  Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 
3  “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

On verses 1-3:  By “going out to fish” (v3), Peter may have been saying, “I tried and failed at this spiritual leadership thing.  I’m going back to my old life, my old job as a fisherman.  How else am I going to eat and live now that I’ve denied Jesus and made a fool of myself?”  Going out to fish with Peter were James and John (“the sons of Zebedee” – v2), who were Peter’s old fishing partners and fellow disciples, as well as Thomas, Nathanael and two other disciples.  

Whereas Peter had given up on himself, Jesus had not given up on Peter.  In the sequence that follows, Jesus shows Peter that he has not given up on him by subtly recalling specific miracles Jesus had done in the lives of Peter and his disciples.  It’s a great reminder that when we have failed, or think we have failed, in major ways, we may be inclined to give up on any dreams we had concerning God using our lives and going back to our old way of living.  But even after we have failed in major ways, Jesus still does not give up on us.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 20:1-18.  Let’s go!

On verses 1-18:  These verses speak about the most important event in human history: the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  For more on evidential support for the resurrection of Jesus, feel free to check out my sermon “Resurrection: Fact or Fiction” [Ryan, please insert the link to this April 7, 2019 sermon].

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is what separates Jesus from every other religious figure.  Throughout history various individuals have started different religions and philosophical movements.  Each of them claimed to know something about God, the purpose of life on earth, and how to secure a good afterlife.  Then each of them died.  For example, Muhammad founded Islam and then died of an illness. Siddartha Gautama started Buddhism and then died of food poisoning.  Joseph Smith founded Mormonism and was shot and killed.  Each of these individuals died and you never know if what they claimed was true, if they were lying, or if they were sincere but wrong.  While these founders of various religious movements died and their bodies are still in their tombs to this day, only Jesus’ tomb is empty because only Jesus rose from the dead.

Without the resurrection of Jesus, we would have no hope of life after death, no assurance that Christ’s blood cleanses us from our sins, just a bunch of empty promises.  Without the resurrection, our faith would be comparable to any other religion or philosophy: just a bunch of nice sounding ideas. But through His resurrection Christ proved that He is who He claimed to be: God, Saviour and Lord.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 19:17-27.  Let’s go!

John 19:17-18 (NIV) 
17  Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 
18  Here they crucified him, and with him two others–one on each side and Jesus in the middle.

On verses 17-18:  The pain, suffering and humiliation of Jesus is taken to a climactic level as Jesus, carrying his own cross, to taken to the place of the Skull and crucified.  That Jesus carried his own cross and was crucified in between two criminals shows that Jesus identified in every way with sinners like us.  Jesus stood right in the middle of us all and received the punishment we deserved for our sin.

John 19:19-22 (NIV) 
19  Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
20  Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 
21  The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.” 

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 18:28-40.  Let’s go!

John 18:28 (NIV) 
28  Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover.

On verse 28:  The Jews who were handing Jesus over to the Roman governor believed that by entering the home of a Gentile (in this case, the palace of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate), they would make themselves ceremonially unclean according to their religious laws.  Jesus’ opponents were so focused on keeping their religious rules on ceremonial cleanness, yet at the same time they were handing over an innocent man – the Son of God no less – to be killed.  That’s the danger of Christ-less religion: when you’re so focused on keeping little rules that you miss God and even kill God in the process.

John 18:29-32 (NIV) 
29  So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?” 
30  “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”