Synoptic Relationships of the Gospels

Matthew, Mark, and Luke are similar in that they all relate the same incidents in the life of Jesus. They are a testimony to God and his work in the world that is given to us out of the life of the early church. The gospels faithfully bear witness to us of the truth they had come to see in Jesus. Although they are similar, there are also many differences. For instance, Luke wrote his gospel for a Gentile audience, emphasizing that the Messiah came to the poor, lowly, outcast and Gentiles, while Matthew addressed the Jews, proving to them that Jesus was the Messiah and fulfilled Old Testament scriptures. Mark addressed a Roman audience and described Christ's triumphal procession to the cross in a way comparable to a Roman emperor.

God's Creation "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." And the earth had no form. It was empty, covered with darkness and water. God created light and separated the light from the darkness, calling light "day" and darkness "night." He created the dry ground and gathered the waters, calling the dry ground "land,” and the gathered waters "seas." God also created plants and trees. He created the sun, moon, and the stars to give light to the earth and to separate the day and the night. He created every living creature of the seas and birds and animals to fill the earth. God also created man and woman in his own image. God finished his work of creation in six days and so he rested on the seventh day, blessing it and making it holy. God was very pleased with his creation and all that he had made. We are also a part of God's creation. Remember that God is pleased with us too. He loves us, watches over us and protects us every day. Our lives would not be the same without Jesus Christ. He is not only our creator, but he is all knowing, all powerful and He is our Savior!

God's Story of my life

God is at work in everyone’s life. He died on the cross to save us from our sins. God knows that we are not perfect. He wants us to have a personal relationship with him and put him first in everything that we do in life. Our belief in God can change our lives. God wants us to ask him for help. And he will hear and answer! It will not always be easy. We will always face challenges along the way. Consider it a learning process. But in the end, God will always see us through!

The Miracle of Jesus: Feeding the 5000

Jesus crossed to the Sea of Tiberias.  And a large crowd followed him because they had saw the miracles that he performed by healing the sick.  Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples.  The Jewish Passover festival was near and when Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him.  He said to Philip, “where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”  Jesus asked this, only to test him, because he already had in mind what he was going to do.  Philip answered him and said, “it will take almost a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each person to have a bite. “ Another of his disciples, Andrew said, “There is a boy with five small barley loaves and 2 small fish.”  But how far will they go amongst so many.  Jesus said, have the people sit down.  There was plenty of grass in that place and they sat down.  There were about 5,000 men.  Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks and distributed it to those and gave as much as they wanted.  He did the same with the fish.  When they all had enough to eat, Jesus said to his disciples, “gather the pieces that are leftover so that nothing is wasted. “ They gathered the leftovers and filled 12 baskets.  As the people saw this miracle, they shouted surely this is the prophet to the world.