TODAY ON TRUTHS THAT TRANSFORM
THE ONLY WAY THAT GOD CAN EVER ACCEPT US INTO HIS KINGDOM
IS IF OUR SINS ARE PAID FOR.
AND THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN PAY FOR THEM IS JESUS CHRIST.
THIS WILL BE EITHER NOTHING TO YOU OR EVERYTHING TO YOU,
THE CROSS OF JESUS CHRIST
HI, I’M PASTOR ROB PACIENZA, AND WELCOME TO
TRUTHS THAT TRANSFORM,
A PRODUCTION OF CORAL RIDGE MINISTRIES.
ON THIS PALM SUNDAY WEEKEND,
WE BEGIN THE HOLIEST WEEK OF THE CHRISTIAN CALENDAR,
CELEBRATING THE EVENTS OF THE FINAL WEEK OF JESUS’S LIFE
AND CULMINATING WITH HIS RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD.
THE BIBLE SAYS THAT THE CROSS OF JESUS CHRIST
ON TODAY’S PROGRAM, YOU’LL DISCOVER THAT SAVING POWER.
WHAT IS THE CROSS ALL ABOUT?
AND HOW CAN IT SAVE YOU?
WE BEGIN WITH AN INVESTIGATION OF THE UNIQUE
WORK OF JESUS CHRIST FOR YOUR SAKE AND FOR MINE.
DRUMS
I REALLY DO THINK THE CHURCH AND THOSE WHO WILL LEAD THE CHURCH
IN THE DAYS TO COME NEED TO BE PREPARED TO COME AGAINST
THREE GREAT ATTACKS OF THE ENEMY.
THEY ARE ATTACKS OF THE
AND THOSE THREE ISSUES ARE LINKED TOGETHER.
BECAUSE IF YOU CAN UNDERMINE THE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE,
YOU CAN UNDERMINE THE EXCLUSIVITY OF CHRIST.
AND IF YOU CAN UNDERMINE THE EXCLUSIVITY OF CHRIST,
THEN YOU CAN UNDERMINE THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL,
WHICH IS THE ONLY HOPE FOR WHICH MEN MAY BE SAVED.
HONKING
THE SIREN CALL OF OUR DAY IS THE RELATIVISM OF
BUT JESUS HIMSELF SAID OTHERWISE.
THE NEW TESTAMENT GOSPELS REPORT TO US THE DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST
ON A ROMAN CROSS-AND HIS RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD.
THESE HISTORICAL EVENTS ARE CENTRAL TO CHRISTIANITY.
JESUS IS UNIQUE INSOFAR AS HE IS A SUFFERING AND DYING GOD.
NOW IN ANTIQUITY AMONGST THE GREEKS, THE GENTILES,
GODS DIDN'T DIE.
THEY COULD SUFFER, BUT THEY DIDN'T DIE SO IT WAS
A SCANDALOUS AFFAIR THAT JESUS WOULD DIE.
AMONGST JEWS THEY EXPECTED A TRIUMPHANT MESSIAH
SO THE MESSIAH WASN'T EXPECTED AT THAT POINT
TO BE A SUFFERING AND DYING MESSIAH,
SO JESUS IS UNIQUE IN THAT SENSE.
THERE ARE OTHER RELIGIOUS FIGURES WHO HAVE
GIVEN THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR RELIGION,
BUT NONE OF WHOM HAVE COME BACK FROM THE DEAD
AND NONE OF WHOM THEIR RELIGION CELEBRATES THEIR DEATH,
NO OTHER RELIGION IN THE WORLD
CELEBRATES THE DEATH OF ITS FOUNDER.
JESUS, WHO WAS SEEN AS A THREAT
TO THE POWER OF LOCAL RELIGIOUS LEADERS,
WAS ARRESTED AT THEIR BEHEST BY ROMANS,
GIVEN A SHAM TRIAL, AND
EXECUTED AS A CRIMINAL-DESPITE HAVING COMMITTED NO CRIME.
YET JESUS VOLUNTARILY UNDERTOOK
THE ASSIGNMENT OF GOING TO THE CROSS.
WELL, THE CROSS IS THE STORY OF HOW GOD HAS RESTORED
HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH A FALLEN HUMANITY AND THE WAY HE HAS
RESTORED THAT RELATIONSHIP WITH A FALLEN HUMANITY
IS TO DEAL WITH THE PENALTY OF, OF HUMAN SINFULNESS.
CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY BELIEVES THAT ALL PEOPLE HAVE SINNED
AND FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD.
AND SO WE ALL HAVE A DEBT BEFORE GOD THAT IS SPIRITUAL.
HE DIED ON THAT CROSS SO THAT ANY OF US WHO,
OF COURSE NOT PERFECT, CANNOT GO TO HEAVEN WITHOUT PERFECTION.
WE CAN'T GO TO HEAVEN. WE CANNOT SEE GOD.
AND SO HE BECAME PERFECT.
HE KEPT ALL OF THE LAW PERFECTLY AND THEREFORE
HE PAID THE PRICE OF EVERYONE WHO WOULD COME TO HIM AND SAY,
I REPENT, FORGIVE ME, COME INTO MY LIFE.
AND THEN HE ROSE ON THE THIRD DAY
AS A PROOF OF OUR OWN RESURRECTION,
THAT EVERY BELIEVER WILL BE RESURRECTED
AND BE WITH JESUS CHRIST WHEN THEY GO TO HEAVEN
THE CROSS HAS BECOME A COMMON RELIGIOUS SYMBOL.
BUT 2000 YEARS LATER, IT’S EASY TO MISS
THAT IT WAS A BRUTAL IMPLEMENT OF EXECUTION.
THE ROMAN EMPERORS WHO EXISTED DURING THIS TIME,
MANY OF THEM TOOK GREAT DELIGHT IN CRUCIFYING PEOPLE
BECAUSE IT WAS A HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE WAY TO DIE.
THE CROSS WAS A SYMBOL OF SHAME.
AND SO FOR THE DISCIPLES,
A CRUCIFIED MESSIAH IS A FAILED MESSIAH.
IF THE MESSIAH COMES AND IS CRUCIFIED,
IT SHOWS YOU THAT HE REALLY WASN'T THE MESSIAH.
THAT'S THE REASON THAT THE DISCIPLES RUN AWAY.
IN THEIR MIND, THEY THOUGHT HE WAS THE MESSIAH,
BUT HE CAN'T BE,
IF HE DIES ON THE CROSS, IT'S TOO SHAMEFUL A DEATH.
AND THEY HAD NO IDEA ABOUT THE RESURRECTION.
AS MANY TIMES, AS JESUS TELLS THEM,
I'M GOING TO BE RESURRECTED.
THE DISCIPLES ARE STILL SHOCKED
WHEN THE RESURRECTION ACTUALLY HAPPENS.
THE GOSPEL OF JOHN REPORTS THAT JESUS,
AS HE HUNG UPON THE CROSS JUST BEFORE DYING,
SAID “IT IS FINISHED.”
IN JOHN CHAPTER 19 VERSE 30,
THE LAST WORD OF JESUS IS ONE WORD IN GREEK IT'S
OR TRANSLATED “IT IS FINISHED.”
THIS WORD HAS BEEN FOUND IN THAT PARTICULAR FORM ON
BUSINESS DOCUMENTS, RECEIPTS, HANDWRITTEN TO SAY PAID IN FULL.
AND I THINK THAT THE GREEKS TO WHOM JOHN WROTE,
HE WROTE TO THE CHRISTIANS IN EPHESEUS,
WOULD CLEARLY UNDERSTAND THE IMPLICATIONS
OF WHAT JESUS ACCOMPLISHED ON THE CROSS.
IT'S NOT THAT JESUS CAME AND HIS ATONEMENT PAID PART OF OUR DEBT,
OR IT'S NOT THAT HE PAID A LITTLE OF OUR DEBT
AND WE HAVE TO PAY THE REST.
JESUS’ ATONEMENT PAID ALL OF OUR DEBT.
AND THAT'S THE REASON THAT ONE OF THE WORDS THAT JESUS SAYS
ON THE CROSS IS THE GREEK WORD TETELESTAI.
AND IT MEANS IT IS FINISHED OR IT IS PAID IN FULL.
IT WAS WRITTEN ON ANCIENT BILLS WHEN THE BILLS WERE PAID.
AND SO JESUS, WHEN HE SCREAMS OUT THAT WORD IS SAYING,
IT HAS BEEN PAID IN FULL,
THERE'S A PARTICULAR GREEK TENSE THAT'S GOING ON THERE.
AND JESUS IS SAYING ALL OF THE SINS THAT YOU HAVE
COMMITTED AGAINST GOD, AS A RESULT OF HIS COMING DOWN AND
DYING ON THE CROSS HAVE BEEN PAID IN FULL.
CHRIST CAME INTO THE WORLD TO SAVE SINNERS.
HE WAS BORN OF A VIRGIN
AND THEN HE LIVED A PERFECT LIFE, A SINLESS LIFE,
WHICH NOBODY'S EVER BEEN ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH
BECAUSE HE'S UNIQUELY DIVINE AND HUMAN AND THEN
TO PAY THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE TO SATISFY THE JUSTICE OF GOD.
THE IDEA OF ATONEMENT, IN WHICH OUR SINS AGAINST GOD ARE PAID
FOR BY THE BLOOD OF HIS SON JESUS CHRIST,
IS OFTEN AN AFFRONT TO THE MODERN MIND.
THIS IS REPRESENTED BY LIBERAL SCHOLARS LIKE THOSE WHO
COMPRISE THE ONCE-HERALDED JESUS SEMINAR.
ROBERT FUNK, WHO WAS AT ONE TIME HEAD OF THE JESUS SEMINAR.
SAID CHRISTIANITY WILL GET NOWHERE UNTIL IT GIVES UP
THIS BLOODY RELIGION THAT IS 2000 YEARS OLD.
WELL, THE PROBLEM IS, THAT'S THE HEART OF CHRISTIANITY.
THE ONLY WAY THAT WE CAN EVER BE AT ONE WITH GOD,
THE ONLY WAY THAT GOD CAN EVER ACCEPT US
INTO HIS KINGDOM IS IF OUR SINS ARE PAID FOR.
AND THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN PAY FOR THEM IS JESUS CHRIST.
HOW CAN GOD, THE KIND, MERCIFUL GOD
GOOD, GOD SHED THE BLOOD OF HIS OWN SON?
BUT THAT AGAIN IS A TOTAL FAILURE TO UNDERSTAND THE
DESPERATION OF HUMANITY AND THE EXTREME LOVE OF GOD FOR HUMANITY
AND HIS LONGING FOR THEM TO REPENT IT
AND HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM.
ULTIMATELY THERE CAN BE NO OTHER WAY TO GOD BUT THROUGH JESUS,
BECAUSE ONLY JESUS HAS MADE FULL ATONEMENT
FOR THE SINS OF ALL WHO COME TO HIM.
JESUS IS THE ONLY MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MAN,
THE APOSTLE PAUL TELLS US THAT IN THE PASTORAL EPISTLES.
AND IF IT WERE NOT FOR JESUS COMING AND BECOMING FLESH,
WE WOULD BE PEOPLE WITHOUT HOPE,
ABSOLUTELY UNABLE TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS THAT WE HAVE.
JESUS SAYS THAT NO MAN COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT BY HIM.
CLEARLY, NO ONE COMES TO GOD WITHOUT JESUS
I BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY
BECAUSE HE ANSWERS ALL OF THE PROBLEMS
IN JESUS, THERE IS, THE SALVATION IS COMPLETE
AND THAT'S THE KEY.
SO IT'S NOT SAYING THERE IS NO TRUTH ANYWHERE ELSE.
NO, NO, NO, NO, ISLAM'S RIGHT.
THERE'S ONE, GOD, MONOTHEISM IS CORRECT,
JUDAISM IS CORRECT ON THAT TOO.
AND OF COURSE, AS A CHRISTIAN, I SHARE WITH A CONFESSING JEW,
TANAK, THE OLD TESTAMENT, TORAH, THE PROPHETS AND THE WRITINGS,
WE AGREE ON THAT.
THERE ARE MANY, MANY THINGS WE AGREE ON, BUT I FIND IN CHRIST,
NOTHING MISSING THE ATONEMENT IS COMPLETE.
THE GRACE OF GOD FULLY REVEALED.
JESUS IS THE ETERNAL SON OF GOD WHO TOOK ON FLESH?
HE LIVED A RIGHTEOUS PERFECT HOLY LIFE
THAT WAS FULLY PLEASING TO THE FATHER.
IN FACT, HE LIVED THE RIGHTEOUS LIFE THAT WE COULD NEVER LIVE
FOR THAT SINFUL MAN NAILED HIM TO A CROSS,
BUT THAT WAS A PART OF THE PLAN OF GOD
TO PURCHASE THE SALVATION OF THOSE VERY SINNERS.
HE DIED AT THE CROSS AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR OUR SINS
AND HIS SACRIFICIAL BLOOD IS OUR WAY TO GOD.
IT’S CRITICAL FOR FAITHFUL PASTORS AND CHURCHES TO LEAD
THEIR PEOPLE AND TO REACH THE LOST WITH EXTREME, ABSOLUTE, AND
UNWAVERING CONFIDENCE THAT THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD.
JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY TO THE FATHER AND THE MESSAGE OF THE
GOSPEL IS THE ONLY GOOD NEWS BY WHICH MAN CAN BE SAVED.
THE CROSS OF JESUS CHRIST WAS DESCRIBED
BY THE APOSTLE PAUL AS A SCANDAL.
IT’S NOT WHAT ANYONE EXPECTED
FOR GOD THE SON TO TAKE ON HUMAN FLESH
AND DIE FOR SINFUL HUMAN BEINGS LIKE YOU AND ME.
YET THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED.
IT WAS UNIMAGINABLE VICTORY THROUGH SUFFERING.
AND CONQUEST THROUGH SEEMING DEFEAT.
THAT CROSS STILL HAS THE POWER TO SCANDALIZE PEOPLE TODAY.
THERE’S A HUMAN TENDENCY TO REJECT GOD’S GRACE,
THINKING WE CAN SOMEHOW IMPRESS HIM BY OUR SIN-STAINED WORKS
AND EARN OUR SALVATION.
BUT WE CAN NOT.
THE CROSS OF JESUS IS A GREAT FACT OF HISTORY.
AND IT’S ALSO EXTREMELY PERSONAL.
DR. D. JAMES KENNEDY TAKES YOU
DEEPER INSIDE THIS TRUTH IN HIS MESSAGE,
“THE CONQUEST AT CALVARY.”
THE CROSS OF JESUS CHRIST IS THE GREAT “REVEALER” OF HEARTS.
THE TRUE NATURE OF MAN IS SEEN CLEARLY
IN THE LIGHT THAT RADIATES FROM THAT CROSS.
I HAVE SEEN NUMBERS OF PEOPLE WHO WERE QUITE SOPHISTICATED,
CULTURED, EDUCATED, WELL-MANNERED, COMPLETELY
TRANSFORMED WHEN CONFRONTED WITH THE CROSS OF JESUS CHRIST,
AND THEIR TRUE NATURE, QUITE DIFFERENT, WAS REVEALED HERE
AT CALVARY AT THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF THE CROSS.
THE VENEER WAS RUBBED AWAY, THE HYPOCRISY WAS RIPPED OFF.
THE HIGH PRIESTS AND THE SCRIBES
OF THE PEOPLE WHO CAME TO MOCK AND TAUNT HIM,
ALL OF THEIR VENEER OF CULTURE AND REFINEMENT WAS RIPPED AWAY,
AND THEY WERE CHANGED INTO SNARLING WOLVES.
WHEREAS, AT THE SAME TIME, ON THE OUTER CROSS
A THIEF AND A MURDERER WAS TRANSFORMED INTO A SAINT.
THE POWER OF THE CROSS TO REVEAL AND TO TRANSFORM HUMAN NATURE.
SAID THE PROPHET JEREMIAH,
“IS IT NOTHING TO YOU, ALL YE THAT PASS BY?
BEHOLD, AND SEE IF THERE BE ANY SORROW LIKE UNTO MY SORROW”
WHAT A PENETRATING QUESTION. IS IT NOTHING TO YOU?
TODAY, IF YOU GO TO JERUSALEM
YOU CAN SEE THE HILL OF GOLGOTHA.
IT IS PROBABLY TWO OR THREE STORIES HIGH, AND AH...
THE FACE OF IT DROPS OFF RIGHT BEHIND THE MAIN STREET,
AND YOU CAN SEE THE DARK EYES IN THE SKULL.
YOU CAN SEE THE PLACE OF THE MOUTH AND THE NOSE.
AND UP ON TOP OF THAT HILL IS WHERE CHRIST WAS CRUCIFIED.
NOW, TODAY, AT THE BOTTOM OF THE HILL THERE IS A PLACE WHERE
BUSES PASS BY BECAUSE IT IS A BUS STOP, AND WHEN I WAS THERE,
I COULD NOT HELP BUT THINK OF THOSE WORDS OF THE PROPHET:
“IS IT NOTHING TO YOU, ALL YE THAT PASS BY?”
AND A GREAT MANY PEOPLE PASS BY,
AND FOR MOST OF THEM IT WAS NOTHING AT ALL.
IN FACT, I STOOD THERE OUT ON THE SIDEWALK POINTING OUT
THE EYES AND THE MOUTH AND THE SHAPE OF THE SKULL
THIS HILL CALLED GOLGOTHA, THE SKULL.
AND I WAS TALKING TO FOUR OR FIVE PEOPLE THAT I HAD WITH ME
AND LOOKING UP AT THE HILL AND POINTING IT.
AND I DIDN’T NOTICE THAT ABOUT A HALF A DOZEN PEOPLE SITTING IN
FRONT OF THE BUS STOP DRINKING COFFEE AT LITTLE ROUND TABLES,
HAD GOTTEN UP AND COME OVER AND WERE STANDING TO MY SIDE,
BECAUSE WHEN YOU POINT UP AT SOMETHING, PEOPLE GET CURIOUS.
“WHAT IS IT THAT HE IS LOOKING AT?
WHAT IS SO INTERESTING?”
AND I SAW AS I LOOKED IN THEIR FACES
THAT THEY DIDN’T HAVE A CLUE,
NOT THE FOGGIEST IDEA OF WHAT THAT WAS.
HERE THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE HAD DIED FOR THE CREATURES’ SIN
AND THEY KNEW NOTHING OF IT.
AS HE SAID, “IF I BE LIFTED UP, I WILL DRAW ALL MEN UNTO MYSELF”
NOW HE IS LIFTED UP UPON THAT CROSS,
AND ALL OVER THE WORLD, IN EVERY NATION,
TONGUE AND TRIBE UPON THIS EARTH,
THE INCREDIBLE MAGNETIC ATTRACTION OF PURE DISTILLED
LOVE HAS DRAWN THE HEARTS OF COUNTLESS HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS,
NOW OVER TWO BILLION PEOPLE ALIVE ON THE EARTH TODAY,
TO THE SON OF LOVE, TO LOVE INCARNATE,
TO THAT ONE WHO LEFT HIS THRONE IN GLORY
AND CAME AND DIED THAT WE MIGHT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.
AH, DEAR ONE, AS YOU LOOK UPON THIS SCENE
IN THE PICTURES OF YOUR MIND,
I WOULD JUST HAVE YOU TO REMEMBER THAT ALL THIS
HE DID FOR YOU, FOR YOU AND FOR ME.
TRULY OURS WERE THE TRANSGRESSIONS,
BUT HIS THE DEADLY PAIN.
AS GOD POURED OUT HIS WRATH FROM THAT CUP,
WHICH HE HAD SEEN THE NIGHT BEFORE,
THE CUP THAT CONTAINED ALL OF THE SIN OF MANKIND
AND ALL OF THE WRATH OF GOD FOR SIN.
AND CHRIST IS ENDURING AN INFINITY OF PAIN AND ANGUISH
FOR US, UNTIL AT LONG LAST,
WHEN THE NINTH HOUR HAD COME,
AMIDST ALL OF THESE HOURS OF SILENCE,
THERE WAS HEARD A VOICE THE SOUND OF WHICH HAD NEVER BEEN
HEARD BEFORE A VOICE THAT ROSE UP,
AS IT WERE, RIGHT OUT OF THE VERY PIT OF HELL,
A VOICE CRYING, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?
MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?”
JESUS HAD SAID BEFORE, “WILL YE ALSO GO AWAY AND LEAVE ME,”
AS OTHERS HAD FORSAKEN HIM. HE SAID,
“BUT I AM NEVER ALONE, FOR MY FATHER IS ALWAYS WITH ME.”
BUT NOW EVEN HE HAS FORSAKEN HIM,
THAT HE MIGHT KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO BE CAST OUT
INTO OUTER DARKNESS AND TO BE SEPARATED FROM GOD FOREVER.
BUT AT LAST, CHRIST, KNOWING THAT THAT CHALICE OF WOE,
THAT CHALICE OF SIN, OF MAN AND WRATH OF GOD HAD BEEN EMPTIED
TO THE VERY BOTTOM, THAT IT WAS COMPLETELY DONE,
THAT IT WAS EMPTY ALTOGETHER, HE CRIED OUT WITH A LOUD VOICE.
WE DON’T KNOW WHAT HE SAID.
I DON’T THINK IT WAS A VOICE OF WOE;
I THINK IT WAS A VOICE OF VICTORY THAT
THAT WHICH HE HAD LOOKED FORWARD TO WITH GREAT NOT ANTICIPATION,
BUT ANGUISH FOR ALL OF THESE
COUNTLESS MILLIONS OF YEARS SINCE CREATION.
NOW AT LENGTH IT WAS DONE.
HE HAD MADE IT. HE HAD DONE IT.
THE SALVATION OF MEN WAS COMPLETED.
“IT IS FINISHED,”
AND HE BOWED HIS HEAD AND GAVE UP THE GHOST.
AH, IS IT NOTHING TO YOU, ALL YE THAT PASS BY?
BEHOLD, AND SEE IF THERE BE ANY SORROW LIKE UNTO MY SORROW”
THIS WILL BE EITHER NOTHING TO YOU OR EVERYTHING TO YOU,
THE CROSS OF JESUS CHRIST.
IN YOUR CASE, WHICH IS IT?
NOTHING OR EVERYTHING?
HI, I’M JENNIFER KENNEDY CASSIDY.
ON THIS PALM SUNDAY, WE LOOK FORWARD
THE SOLEMN RECOGNITION OF GOOD FRIDAY,
AND THE VICTORIOUS CELEBRATION OF EASTER.
THE DEATH OF JESUS FOR OUR SINS,
AND HIS RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD
ARE AT THE VERY HEART OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH.
WITHOUT THOSE THINGS, NOTHING ELSE MATTERS.
THAT’S WHY DR. ROB PACIENZA, FOLLOWING AFTER MY FATHER
AS THE PASTOR OF CORAL RIDGE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH,
EMPHASIZES IT IN EVERYTHING HE DOES.
WE’VE PUT TOGETHER TWO POWERFUL MESSAGES PREACHED BY
DR. PACIENZA ON A DVD WE’VE TITLED,
INVINCIBLE: THE RISEN JESUS AND HIS UNSTOPPABLE REIGN,
AND WE’D LIKE TO SEND IT TO YOU AS OUR THANKS
FOR YOUR GENEROUS DONATION TO SHARE THE HOPE OF THE GOSPEL
AND THE TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD ACROSS OUR NATION.
IN THESE TWO MESSAGES, DR. PACIENZA DETAILS
HOW THE EVIDENCE AND THE PERSON OF JESUS TRANSFORMED THOMAS,
THE SKEPTIC, WHO WENT FROM A DOUBTER
TO BEING A DEVOUT DISCIPLE WHO DECLARED TO JESUS,
“MY LORD AND MY GOD!”
AND DR. PACIENZA ALSO SHOWS HOW THE POWER OF THE RESURRECTION
LAUNCHED THE UNSTOPPABLE CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT
THAT SPREAD RAPIDLY ACROSS THE KNOWN WORLD AND
CONTINUES TO TRANSFORM IT TODAY.
IT’S YOURS AS THANKS FOR YOUR GENEROUS DONATION.
AND IF YOU’RE ABLE TO GIVE A DONATION OF $50 OR MORE,
WE WILL SEND YOU THE INVINCIBLE DVD,
PLUS THE BOOK 12 REASONS WHY I BELIEVE
AS THANKS FOR YOUR DONATION OF $50 OR MORE.
MY DAD WAS ONE OF THE MOST ARTICULATE DEFENDERS
OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH WHO EVER LIVED.
AND HE STRONGLY BELIEVED THAT ALL CHRISTIANS SHOULD BE ABLE TO
DEFEND THEIR FAITH, READY TO GIVE AN ANSWER TO ANYONE
WHO ASKS FOR THE HOPE WE HAVE WITHIN US.
THIS BOOK WILL EQUIP YOU TO ANSWER SOME OF THE MOST
PRESSING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CHRISTIAN FAITH,
DEALING WITH SUBJECTS LIKE
HOW YOU CAN KNOW THERE’S A GOD,
HOW YOU CAN KNOW THAT JESUS IS GOD,
AND HOW YOU CAN KNOW HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD.
12 REASONS WHY I BELIEVE,
BY MY DAD, D. JAMES KENNEDY,
WILL STRENGTHEN YOUR OWN FAITH AND
HELP YOU ANSWER QUESTIONS AND OBJECTIONS FROM OTHERS.
THIS IS A TOOL THAT NEEDS TO BE IN EVERY BELIEVER’S TOOLBOX.
AND WE’LL SEND IT TO YOU, ALONG WITH THE DVD OF MESSAGES
FROM DR. ROB PACIENZA,
INVINCIBLE: THE RISEN JESUS AND HIS UNSTOPPABLE REIGN,
AS THANKS FOR YOUR GENEROUS DONATION OF $50.
OR WE’LL SEND YOU THE DVD AS THANKS FOR ANY GENEROUS GIFT.
AND AS YOU GIVE, YOU ARE ENABLING US TO COMMUNICATE THE
TRANSFORMATIVE TRUTHS OF THE GOSPEL THROUGH TELEVISION,
RADIO, PODCAST, PRINT, AND MUCH MORE.
SO PLEASE, CONTACT US RIGHT AWAY WITH YOUR MOST GENEROUS GIFT.
SIMPLY WRITE TO US AT CORAL RIDGE MINISTRIES:
OR CALL TOLL FREE:
OR GO ONLINE TO:
MANY PEOPLE TODAY TEND TO THINK OF JESUS AS A NICE MAN
WHO WENT FROM PLACE TO PLACE SAYING THINGS
THAT YOU MIGHT FIND IN A HALLMARK CARD.
TO A LOT OF PEOPLE, JESUS WAS PERHAPS LIKE MR. ROGERS,
GENTLY SOOTHING THE ANXIOUS SOULS OF
THE TROUBLED PEOPLE HE BUMPED INTO.
BUT THE REASON THAT THIS IS THE COMMON CONCEPTION OF JESUS
TODAY IS BECAUSE PEOPLE REALLY HAVEN’T READ THE BIBLE.
BECAUSE THE REAL JESUS CAUSED CONTROVERSY EVERYWHERE HE WENT.
HE WASN’T NAILED TO A ROMAN CROSS FOR THE CRIME OF
GIVING LIFE HINTS TO HELP PEOPLE WITH THEIR SELF-ESTEEM.
HE WAS NAILED TO THE CROSS BECAUSE
HE WAS A THREAT TO THE AUTHORITIES.
THE ROMAN EMPEROR DEMANDED TO BE CALLED LORD,
AND HERE WAS SOMEONE ELSE CLAIMING THE CROWN.
NOT ONLY THAT, BUT JESUS’S FOLLOWERS REFUSED TO CALL THE
EMPEROR LORD SINCE THEY NOW ONLY RECOGNIZED JESUS FOR THAT TITLE.
AND THE RELIGIOUS AUTHORITIES WERE THREATENED
BECAUSE JESUS SPOKE FOR GOD,
AND OVERTURNED MANY OF THEIR TRADITIONS.
EVEN MANY OF JESUS’S OWN FOLLOWERS
WOUND UP TURNING ON HIM.
ON PALM SUNDAY JESUS TRIUMPHANTLY ENTERED JERUSALEM
TO THRONGS OF CHEERING CROWDS.
AND BY FRIDAY MORNING THERE WOULD BE A MOB GATHERED,
CALLING FOR HIS EXECUTION.
YOU SEE, JESUS IS NOT JUST SOME COMFORTING THERAPIST.
HE’S THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD, THE SON OF GOD,
THE ONE WHO DIVIDES THE SHEEP FROM THE GOATS,
AND DIVIDES THE HEAVEN-BOUND FROM THE HELL-BOUND.
DO YOU KNOW HIM?
WILL YOU BE HEAVEN-BOUND?
JESUS CAME AND DIED SO THAT YOU COULD KNOW
THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION.
BY PLACING YOUR TRUST IN HIM AND TURNING AWAY FROM YOUR SINS,
YOU CAN RECEIVE THE FORGIVENESS AND ETERNAL LIFE
THAT HE SECURED THROUGH HIS DEATH ON THE CROSS AND
HIS RESURRECTION THREE DAYS LATER.
IF YOU’VE NEVER PUT YOUR FAITH IN HIM,
I DON’T WANT YOU TO WAIT ANY LONGER.
IN FACT YOU CAN PRAY THIS PRAYER WITH ME
RIGHT NOW FROM YOUR HEART.
“FATHER, I KNOW THAT I AM A SINNER IN NEED OF SAVING.
I BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS YOUR SON,
THAT HE DIED ON THE CROSS TO PAY THE PUNISHMENT MY SINS DESERVE,
AND THAT HE ROSE AGAIN FROM THE DEAD
SO THAT I TOO CAN ONE DAY RISE AND LIVE ETERNALLY WITH YOU.
I WANT JESUS TO BE MY SAVIOR AND MY LORD FROM THIS POINT FORWARD,
AND I ASK FOR YOUR HELP TO OBEY HIM IN GRATITUDE.
IT’S IN HIS NAME I PRAY. AMEN.”
IF YOU SINCERELY PRAYED THAT PRAYER,
WOULD YOU PLEASE LET US KNOW.
WE’D LOVE TO ENCOURAGE YOU AND SEND YOU A FREE GIFT.
IT’S BEGINNING AGAIN, DR. KENNEDY’S BOOK
FOR NEW BELIEVERS TO HELP YOU GET STARTED
IN YOUR NEW RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST.
CONTACT US TO RECEIVE YOUR COPY TODAY.
AND MAY GOD RICHLY BLESS YOU.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY.
IF YOU’RE EVER IN SOUTH FLORIDA AREA,
WE WELCOME YOU TO JOIN US IN PERSON FOR WORSHIP
SUNDAY MORNINGS AT CORAL RIDGE.
OR, YOU CAN ALWAYS TUNE INTO THE LIVESTREAM AT CRPC.TV.
ALSO CHECK OUT OUR WEEKLY PODCAST, THE CITY OF GOD, AT
AND BE SURE TO CONNECT WITH US ON SOCIAL MEDIA AT FACEBOOK,
TWITTER-X, INSTAGRAM, AND ON YOUTUBE.
AND HERE’S A LOOK AT WHAT’S COMING EASTER WEEKEND
ON TRUTHS THAT TRANSFORM.
THE CROSS AND THE RESURRECTION GO TOGETHER TO BE THE CORE OF
WHAT CHRISTIANITY IS ALL ABOUT.
THAT'S NEXT WEEK
THIS HAS BEEN A PRODUCTION OF CORAL RIDGE MINISTRIES.