Atlantic Gospel Hour

Most of us have lost loved ones.  These losses often have a lasting impact upon our own lives.  But suppose, for a moment, that one of those lost loved ones returned from the dead; what impact would that have on our lives.
The truth is, there is One who has died and rose again.  Jesus suffered the death of the cross, but rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures.  So the question really is, what impact does that have on our lives.  How do we live knowing that Jesus has risen from the dead.  Fortunately, God has given us the answer.
Sometime in the 40 days between His resurrection and His ascension into heaven, Jesus called His disciples together in Galilee, where, as our passage notes, His disciples worshiped Him.  But it also notes that many had doubts; doubt in the midst of faith.  But again, the Lord provides the comfort.
In what is often referred to as, "The Great Commission," Jesus comforts his disciples, and us, through four "All" Statements:
All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you
And lo, I am with you always (literally, all the days), even to the end of the age.
Today's lesson looks at this first statement.  Jesus is the authority in all areas of life.  How does this truth comfort us, and how doe it impact how we live in light of the risen Lord?
Thank you for listening to today's lesson.  May you be blessed through the teaching of God's Holy Word.

The old Sunday School song reminded us as children, "O be careful, little eyes what you see," and "O be careful, little ears what you hear," and again, "O be careful, little feet where you go."  The exhortation and implied question is, do the things to which we expose ourselves, together with our walk, align with what we claim is in our hearts?  Or has been said, do you walk the talk?
But the song also urges, "O be careful, little tongues what you say."  Scripture has much to say about our language.  And just like our walk, the question for the believer is, do you talk the talk?  This is not about speaking in a Christian lingo.  Rather, it is understanding, as Jesus instructed His disciples, "You are the salt of the earth."  Does our walk reflect our faith?  Does our talk reflect our faith?  These are important questions for the Christian.
In today's lesson, we look at several passages that speak to the importance of our language, as we live out our lives not only before men, but before a Holy and righteous God.
Thank you for listening to today's message.  May the Lord bless you through the teaching of His Holy Word.

Mankind shares a single destiny.  At some point, unless the Lord returns, every one of us will die.  Death is the just penalty of a Holy God for our sin (Genesis 2:61-17; Romans 6:23).  But while we all share a common destiny, we do not all share the same destination.  The truth of Scripture is that our existence does not end at death.  Rather, we will continue to exist in the presence of God in His glory, or we will exist separated from Him in Hell.
In today's lesson, we are introduced to two characters.  One simply known as "Rich man," the other is given a name, "Lazarus."  Both die, joined together in that single destiny.  But while the poor man is found after his death in the bosom of Abraham, that is heaven, the rich man finds himself in the agony of Hades; that is, Hell.
From our passage, we will draw five lessons:
All die and share the same destiny, but there are different destinations
The nature of Hell
The eternity of Hell
God's Word provides the means of escape from Hell
If we don't accept what God says in the Scriptures, we won't listen to anything else.
Thank you for listening to today's lesson.  May you be blessed and encouraged through the teaching of God's Word.

False religions tend to have one thing in common, they will elevate the teaching and traditions of men to the same level of Scripture.  In today's lesson, the Pharisees take on Jesus for the fact that His disciples eat without washing their hands.
This is not an issue of cleanliness for the Pharisees; they are not concerned that they are eating with dirty hands.  Rather, the concern of the Pharisees is spiritual defilement, equating external cleansing with spiritual purity.  Taking the purity laws, the religious leaders expanded them with their traditions, treating them as if Moses himself had handed them down.  Promoting themselves as the protectors and teachers of God's Law, the Pharisees instead prohibit the people from following the true Law of God.
Following a scathing rebuke which drew upon Isaiah, Jesus condemns the practices of the Pharisees, reminding them, along with His disciples, that defilement does not come from the outside in.  Nothing we take in can defile us.  Rather, defilement is a matter of the heart; coming from within.  The heart of the matter, then, is the human heart, which is filled with evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murder, adulteries, etc.
If the problem is our heart, is there a solution?  Is there any hope for us?
Thank you for listening to today's lesson.  May you be blessed through the teaching of God's Holy Word and learn the hope for the defiled heart.

As Paul continues his letter to the church in Thessalonica, he calls to mind the sufferings this young church endured at the hands of their own countrymen, just as the churches in Judea suffered at the hands of their Jewish kinsmen.  Because of such suffering, Paul feared this young church might fall away.  This deep concern caused him to send Timothy from Athens into Thessalonica to see how they fared.  And the news coming from this church couldn't give Paul any more joy.  Rather than faltering, this church was vibrant and thriving; an example to the churches in Greece.
Paul, in his letter, also answers his critics.  In today's lesson we see what appears to be a charge that he was insincere in regards to his concern for this church.  Paul's response gives us three lessons for the believer today:
The Destiny of the Believer
The Duty of the Believer
And the Hope of the Believer
Thank you for listening to today's lesson.  May you be encouraged through the teaching of God's Word.

Throughout the book of Acts, we have seen growth of the church, which is then met by persecution.  And as the persecution grew, the church also grew.  When Stephen was martyred with Saul's approval, the church spread throughout Judea and into the surrounding areas.  With Saul's conversion, this persecution eased up a bit.
But then Herod Agrippa comes onto the scene.  Acts 12 opens with the arrest and execution of James, the brother of John; the firs apostle to be martyred.  Seeing how this pleased the Jews, Herod has Peter arrested, with the intention of executing him also.  This was a change from persecution at the hands of the Jewish authorities, to now persecution coming from the secular authorities.
And as persecution came, where do we find the church?  We find the church on its knees.  And as we explore today's passage, we draw some important lessons:
The importance and power of prayer
God sometimes answers prayer in ways we don't expect
God protects and preserves his people and brings judgment against those who would do them harm.
Thank you for listening to today's lesson.  May you be blessed through the teaching of God's word.

When we come to the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13, the general question that comes to mind is, which of the soils represent the believer and which represent those who have not trusted Jesus for salvation.  The first soil is the pathway onto which the seed falls.  As Jesus explained to His disciples, this is the one who hears the Word but does not understand it and Satan comes and takes it away.  This points to the unbeliever.
On the other end of the spectrum is the fourth soil, the good, prepared, fertile soil which yields a crop a hundredfold, sixty-fold and thirty-fold.  This is the one who hears the Word, understands it and produces abundant fruit.
But in the middle are two other soils which have been the subject of much debate.  The second soil is the rocky ground, the person who receives the Word with joy, but has no root in himself and the troubles and trials of life cause him to quickly fall away.  Likewise, the third is the seed which falls among the thorns, and the worries of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke out the Word and he can bear little fruit.
How do we understand these two soils, and how can we, as believers, apply this to our own lives?
Thank you for listening to today's message.  May you be blessed through the teaching of God's Word.

In Acts 10, we see Peter do something which no "good" Jewish person would do--he entered the home of a gentile, namely Cornelius, a Roman Centurion described as, "a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually" (Acts 10:2 NASB).
In response to a vision from the Lord, Cornelius called for Peter to come.  At the same time, Peter had his own vision and command from the Lord, "Behold, three men are looking for you...get up...and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself." Acts 10:19-20).
In this, Peter learned three lessons that are still true today:
No one is outside the reach of God
God is near to all who will draw near to Him
We are all level at the foot of the Cross
The question for us today is, are there Cornelius's in our lives to whom the Lord may be calling us to preach the Gospel?  Do we think of anyone as beyond the reach of God's saving grace?  And how do we approach these people with the Gospel?
Thank you for listening to today's lesson.  May you be blessed through the teaching of God's Word.

The Christian life is a call to a daily walk.  We recognize that Satan is ever ready to trip up the believer.  We must therefore take care to occupy ourselves with prayer, the study of God's Word, fellowship with fellow believers, and to walk in obedience to Him daily.  The problem, however, is without intending it to happen, we find ourselves in a rut.  We pray, when we think of it.  We read Scripture as if it were any other book, a novel or text book.  We never really get excited about what the Christian life is all about.
It is, therefore, important that we get excited about the Christian life.  But how do we foster this excitement?  Today's lesson suggests two means; first to really study God's Word, and second, to consider our future as one of God's beloved children.
In considering the future, we conduct a survey of the book of Revelation, taking a bird's eye view of the last book of the Bible while also looking at key passages that should get us excited about what the future holds for the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thank you for listening to today's lesson.  May you be blessed through the teaching of God's Holy Word.

What were some of the challenges facing the early church in the first century?  Does the church today face these same dangers?
Jude opens his letter to the church identifying himself, not as the half-brother of Jesus, but as a bond servant of Jesus.  He notes his intention to write regarding "our common salvation;" an encouragement which rejoiced in the implications of the finished work of the cross.  Instead, he felt the need, "to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith" (Jude 3).  He wrote exhorting this church to fight for the faith.  But what does it mean to contend for the faith; and why is this warning necessary?
In today's lesson we learn that, just as happens today, "certain men have crept in unnoticed...who turn the grace of our God into lewdness" (Jude 4).  These false teachers threatened the young church and the believers needed to be ready.  In studying this letter we find much in common between the culture and society of the first century, and our own.
Thank you for listening.  May you be encouraged by the Word of God to stand firm and contend for the faith and to earnestly fight for the Gospel of Jesus Christ; that the Son of God came into this world to take our place in judgment, bearing the penalty for our sin upon Himself so that we can enter into the Lord's presence.