Dr Paul Allen

The entire world has seen how powerful the LGBT movement is. They’ve managed to insert their victim status into every aspect of life and turn it into a glittery display of “diversity and inclusion.” In a parade of French historical moments of liberation, the finale of the Paris Olympics tableaux made one thunderous political statement: “They’re here. They’re queer. And we’re supposed to cheer.” Billions of people didn’t feel that way. The Olympics are supposed to be uniting, but this year’s host country decided to divide, dismiss and denigrate. It started with men dressed up as caricatures of women being given the Olympic torch. It continued with its dismissal of heterosexual love as it frolicked through scenes with a (more than suggested) bisexual threesome, to which the official Olympic X account said: “The freedom to love is no less sacred than the freedom to think.” What if someone’s thinking about paedophilia? What if someone’s thinking about incest? Not everyone’s version of “lov

What was the Upper Room? A room or chamber on the flat roof of a Palestinian house. Sometimes it was no more than a tent (2 Sam. 16:22) or a booth (Neh. 8:16–17), but it might be built as a second story (Judg. 3:20; Jer. 22:13–14; Dan. 6:10). Such rooms were often used for guests (e.g., 1 Kgs. 17:19; 2 Kgs. 4:10). It was in such an upper guest room in Jerusalem that Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with his twelve disciples (Mark 14:15; Luke 22:12;Matt. 26:18 “at your house”); it was a chamber large enough for thirteen guests to enjoy the Passover meal, reclining on cushions or carpets. This room and house have been variously identified with the house where Jesus appeared to his disciples after his resurrection (Luke 24:33, 36; John 20:19, 26), the upper room where the twelve apostles and others gathered following Jesus’ ascension (Acts 1:13; hyperṓon), and the home of Mary the mother of John Mark (12:12). Two memorial meals were observed as they sat (lit. reclined) and ate. 

I believe that once a person is authentically redeemed, is truly in Christ , that person will never be lost to Christ. That person has what we call eternal security—not because of the person’s innate ability to persevere, but I believe that God promises to preserve His own and that we have the benefit of our Great High Priest who intercedes for us every day. Now, at the same time, Christians are capable of gross and heinous sin. They’re capable of very serious falls away from Christ. They’re capable of the worst kind of denial and betrayal of our Lord. Consider, for example, Exhibit A—the apostle Peter, who denied Jesus with cursing. He was so emphatic that he uttered profanities to underscore the fact that he never knew Jesus. If you talk about somebody who didn’t seem to want to repent and who had turned away from Jesus, Saint Peter is your classic example. Yet his fellow disciple Judas also betrayed Jesus and turned away from Him, and of course, both of the betrayals were pre

“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread , and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.” ( Matthew 26:26 ) This is the first of 12 specific references to the “breaking of bread” in the New Testament , each reminding the participants of Christ ’s sacrificial death. Although Paul had not been present at the Last Supper , he had evidently received a special revelation concerning it. “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed [literally, ‘while he was being betrayed’] took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me” ( 1 Corinthians 11:23-24 ). Similarly, drinking of the cup recalled to them His shed blood. All of this helped them remember and appreciate the great reality of eternal life imparted to them through His death, for He had said, “Whoso ea

The intercession of our Great High Priest is the foundation for our confidence when it comes to our perseverance. It also helps us make sense of the accounts of Peter and Judas, two of Jesus' disciples who experienced a serious fall. One disciple's fall away from Christ is seen as a final and full work of apostasy, whereas the other disciple's fall is not final and full because he is restored. And we see that their crime against Christ was very similar. Judas betrayed Jesus. And that same night, Peter denied Christ. These two men who had been disciples with Jesus during his earthly ministry committed treason against Him in his darkest hour. And there are further similarities in these two examples in that Jesus predicted both Peter's and Judas' diabolical acts. But we recall that when Jesus said, "One of you will betray me," the disciples said among themselves, "Who is it, Lord? Is it I?" When Judas asked, "Is it I, Rabbi?" Jesus sa

One of our Scottish preachers used to say that the believer has three looks at the Lord's Table. There is, first, a retrospective look. The sacrament of the Lord's Supper is a commemoration, a celebration of an event in the past. It is an aid to us in remembering the pivotal, redemptive point of history, the point at which the Son of God died for his people. It is not a re-enactment of the sacrifice, but it is a dramatic visual aid to faith as it looks back over history to the point at which the sacrificial lamb died for us. Second, there is a prospective look in the sacrament. It looks forward as surely as it looks back. It anticipates the return of the Lord. It belongs to the design of the Lord's Supper that it is a temporary arrangement "till he comes." The bride of Christ does not remember the death of her bridegroom as a widow but as one who longs for the day when the bridegroom will return to take her home. But, third, there must be an introspective loo

Emmaus, Christ breaking bread. Oil on canvas. 48 x 79 cm. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body." ( Matthew 26:26 ) This is the first of twelve specific references to the "breaking of bread" in the New Testament , each reminding the participants of Christ 's sacrificial death. Although Paul had not been present at the Last Supper , he had evidently received a special revelation concerning it. "For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed |literally, 'while he was being betrayed' took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me" ( 1 Corinthians 11:23-24 ). Similarly, drinking of the cup recalled to them His shed blood. All of this h

English: The Last Supper (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Judas had planned to give them a signal, saying, ‘The man I kiss is Jesus . Arrest him.’ At once Judas went to Jesus and said, ‘Greetings, Teacher!’ and kissed him.” Matthew 26:48–49 NCV When betrayal comes, what do you do? Get out? Get angry? Get even? You have to deal with it some way. Let’s see how Jesus dealt with it. Begin by noticing how Jesus saw Judas. “Jesus answered, ‘Friend, do what you came to do’” ( Matthew 26:50 NCV). Of all the names I would have chosen for Judas, it would not have been “friend.” What Judas did to Jesus was grossly unfair. There is no indication that Jesus ever mistreated Judas. When, during the Last Supper , Jesus told the disciples that his betrayer sat at the table, they didn’t turn to one another and whisper, “It’s Judas. Jesus told us he would do this.” He had known it, but he treated the betrayer as if he were faithful. It’s even more unfair when you consider that the religious leaders di

Matthew 26:17 –19 “Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus , saying, ‘Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?’” (v. 17). With the Passover at hand, the disciples come to Jesus to inquire of the place where the meal is to be eaten (Matt. 26:17). This festival, one of the most important feast days on the Jewish calendar , has to be celebrated within  Jerusalem proper, and so our Lord and His followers must find a place to eat the Passover meal within the city, for they have been staying in Bethany (v. 6). Christ is able to direct His disciples on how they may find a room in which to eat the Passover, and they then go forth to follow His instructions (vv. 18–19). Day fourteen of the Jewish month of Nisan is the Day of Preparation for the Passover on which the lambs are slaughtered at twilight (Ex. 12:5–6). The sacrifice occurs in the afternoon, which is the end of the day ( Jews consider the setting of the sun as the beginning of a

Christ in Gethsemane (Christus in Gethsemane), oil painting by Heinrich Ferdinand Hofmann (Heinrich Hofmann). The original is at the Riverside Church (Riverside Church, New York City). (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” [Luke 22:42] After the Last Supper , Jesus and his disciples went to the Mount of Olives . There Jesus knelt to pray. It would be easy for us as twentieth-century Christians to pass over this fact. However, in the ancient world, the usual posture for prayer was standing. Jesus broke with that tradition when he knelt. Why? I think the reason is obvious: The burden of his prayer was so heavy upon him that the only possible posture for him to assume was kneeling—the posture of the helpless supplicant. He asked the Father to spare him the cup that was coming, the cup of God’s wrath that he was to drink. From the moment of his birth Jesus lived in the shadow of the cross. Our Lord knew

Jesus giving the Farewell discourse to his eleven remaining disciples, from the Maesta by Duccio, 1308-1311. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 26:17–19 “Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus , saying, ‘Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the Passover?’” ( v. 17 ). With the Passover at hand, the disciples come to Jesus to inquire of the place where the meal is to be eaten ( Matt. 26:17 ). This festival, one of the most important feast days on the Jewish calendar , has to be celebrated within Jerusalem proper, and so our Lord and His followers must find a place to eat the Passover meal within the city, for they have been staying in Bethany ( v. 6 ). Christ is able to direct His disciples on how they may find a room in which to eat the Passover, and they then go forth to follow His instructions ( vv. 18–19 ). Day fourteen of the Jewish month of Nisan is the Day of Preparation for the Passover on which the lambs are slaughtered at twiligh

Image via Wikipedia "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body." ( Matthew 26:26 )   This is the first of twelve specific references to the "breaking of bread" in the New Testament , each reminding the participants of Christ 's sacrificial death.  Although Paul had not been present at the Last Supper , he had evidently received a special revelation concerning it.  "For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed |literally, 'while he was being betrayed'| took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me" ( 1 Corinthians 11:23-24 ).  Similarly, drinking of the cup recalled to them His shed blood. All of this helped them remember and appreciate the great reality of