Who is Jesus?

Community Bible Church

Changing Hearts and Changing Lives for Now and Eternity

Sunday, March 29, 2009, 10:30 a.m. – Pastor Jon Woodward

Today’s Message:

WHO IS JESUS?

Truth for Today: Everyone has an opinion of who Jesus is. Some are right and some are wrong.

My Goal This Week: To prayerfully prepare myself to know Jesus more personally.

Today's Scripture

Once when Jesus was praying in private and His disciples were with Him, He asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?"

They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life." "But what about you?" He asked. "Who do you say I am?"

Peter answered, "The Christ of God." (Luke 9:18—20, NIV)

Who do the crowds say I am?

· Judaism claims that Jesus was “a child of God in the sense that we are all God’s children.” Jews reject Him as the Messiah, a Prophet, and the Savior. Jews claim that “one person cannot die for the sins of another.” “Jews believe that God is God, and humans are human, and God does not become human, and humans do not become God.”

· Islam claims that Jesus is one of God’s many prophets. They do not believe that He is God’s only Son. Islam rejects that He was crucified and died on the cross to atone for our sins.

· The Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints claims that Jesus is the brother of Lucifer or Satan. He became a “god” but was not God. Mormons reject Jesus being born of a virgin birth.

· Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that Jesus was created billions of years ago, and is the Archangel Michael. They claim that Jesus is “a” mighty god, but not God Almighty. They claim that He is not God like the Father, nor to be worshipped as the Father. They claim that Jesus was raised from the dead as in invisible spirit creature with no physical body.

· Masonry claims that Jesus was an enlightened man, although not deity. Some refer to Him as “the greatest of all Spiritual Masons.” Masonry deletes the name of Jesus Christ when the ritual cites biblical passages. Masonry prohibits the Christian from talking about Christ in any fashion in the lodge.

· Christian Science claims that Jesus is the human man and Christ is the divine idea. The virgin mother conceived this idea of God and gave to her ideal the name of Jesus. There is no sin, and no need of a Savior.

· Scientology claims that Jesus Christ was just another nice guy who unfortunately was wrongfully put to death and whose story ends there.

· The Church of Oprah or The Gospel According to Oprah claims that Jesus or “the man on the cross is an archetypal image. He is every man and every woman.” “Jesus, can’t possibly be the only way to God.”

· Unitarianism claims that Jesus is one of the greatest religious teachers, but refuses to “make a God of one who was so utterly human.”

· Roman Catholicism claims that Jesus is the Son of God and our Lord and Savior, but attributes to Mary the “position as Co-Redemptrix and Mediatrix of all graces...Nobody can approach Christ except through the mother.”

Keep looking up!


Pastor Jon Woodward
Community Bible Church
404 S. Main St
Northwood, ND 58267
701-740-4445 Cell
701-587-5642 Church
http://www.cbcnorthwood.com/

Who is Jesus?

www.raisethebanner.org/sermons/032903.mp3

"A Better Way of Loving"

www.raisethebanner.org/sermons/032209.mp3

"Building Healthy Communication"

http://www.raisethebanner.org/sermons/031509.mp3

"Building Healthy Communication"

www.raisethebanner.org/sermons/030809.mp3

On the Passing of our dear friend, Corine Hathaway

A Tribute to a Friend, Mentor and Church Mother

Corine Hathaway was the most devoted Christian woman that I had ever met. I first met Corine as she sat up front to be by her husband, Dave, while he preached at Northwood Community Bible Church. I got to see how she supported her husbands ministry and then how she stood by him during his cancer then saw the grief she experienced after his passing.

As Tom mentioned at her Memorial Service, she could have given up then but kept on serving, kept on teaching, kept on being faithful, sometimes wondering where God was in her head but knowing in her heart he was always there.

Corine was faithful in church attendance, even in the deepest of grief and her own illness she would still play the piano. She only missed church once or twice a year and only while she was gone to see her son, daughter or dear friends the Prensners.

Corine was faithful in her ministry responsibilities, she taught piano to many students, helped children and adults learn to sing, helped with CEF and KOF teachings to our local children and taught bible studies numerous times. A group of us went through the book of Revelation and Corine was so thorough that it was over a year later when we were done. She was teaching Linda how to lead a bible study, started Zach and Katlyn in a love for music at a very young age, spent time teaching Vange, Marissa and me how to make home-made bread (tried to teach us-ha). Her home was open to all, they specifically set up their basement so the missionaries that came to town could have a place to stay and later to help Nancy after the tornado.

I got to know many people from the church when Jen invited me over then Corine started having me over and each Sunday was a meal at Corines with hours of fellowship and prayer. Corine also hosted a mens breakfast for years, cooking them a breakfast and allowing them to fellowship in her home while she served.

Corine was a wonderful blessing to many and certainly not to be taken for granted in this age of "casual commitment."

Corine was always a wonderful 'mother' figure to many in the church. She would take the time to talk with me and even Nikki or Katlyn when they looked for advice or prayer. Both Jonathan and Wynnie Lea said that they were thankful for her numerous friends and church family, that these people could all check on Corine, get her to her appointments, read the bible with her, pray ect while she was a widow then going through her illness.

These are some of my memories since I started coming to NCBC and I know there is a whole life long story that I'm missing about Corine and her service. I know it's worth noting that her whole life was placed in God's hands, faithfully following his lead to unknown places and situations, keeping her protected in each situation. It is worth noting that she waited 38 years to purely give herself to her husband, Dave. Finding a man that also wanted to serve the Lord, starting churches and leading choir's and studies.

One of the last memories that I'll hold so dear is her heart for the unsaved, one being my husband. She told me one day that she was reading a book about grief and sorrows and it said not to waste your tears on yourself in self pity but to cry for someone that was lost and in need of Jesus and she shared with me that she cried her tears for Brian. She took the time to pray for him and reach out to us as a family and because of that Brian saw her heart and knowing she was a widow, he helped any time he could and respected her dearly.

Thank you Corine and may you sing to the Lord in great peace and joy for eternity.

"Building Healthy Communication"

www.raisethebanner.org/sermons/030109.mp3