Dr Paul Allen

“I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he” (Luke 7:28). While in prison, John the Baptist experienced doubts about Jesus. Remember, this happened before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit , and John did not have the kinds of “spiritual reserves” that believers enjoyed after Pentecost . He sent his own followers to ask Jesus if He really was the promised Messiah . Jesus replied that they should tell John that “the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor” (Luke 7:22). After John’s disciples had left, Jesus began to praise John as the greatest of the Old Testament prophets . He told the crowd that John was in fact “more than a prophet,” because he was the promised forerunner of the Messiah (Luke 7:26–27). Then Jesus stated, “among those born of women there is no one greater th

Cleopatra , Galileo , Shakespeare , Elvis , Beyonce. They are all so well known that they need only one name to be recognized. They have remained prominent in history because of who they were and what they did. But there is another name that stands far above these or any other name! Before the Son of God was born into this world, the angel told Mary and Joseph to name Him Jesus because “he will save his people from their sins” ( Matthew 1:21 ), and “he . . . will be called the Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:32). Jesus didn’t come as a celebrity but as a servant who humbled Himself and died on the cross so that anyone who receives Him can be forgiven and freed from the power of sin. The apostle Paul wrote, “ God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father ” (Philippia

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 1 JOHN 2:20 Why do Christians believe that the Bible is the Word of God , sixty-six books forming a single book of instruction in which God reveals to us the reality of redemption through Jesus Christ the Savior ? The answer is that God himself has confirmed this through what is called the inward witness of the Holy Spirit . In the words of the Westminster Confession (1647): We may be moved and induced by the testimony of the Church to esteem the Holy Scripture . And the heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the doctrine, the majesty of the style, the consent of all the parts, the scope of the whole (which is, to give all glory to God), the full discovery it makes of the only way of man’s salvation, the many other incomparable excellencies, and the entire perfection thereof, are arguments whereby it doth abundantly evidence itself to be the Word of God: yet notwithstanding, our full persuasio

Ministry of the Apostles, a complex multi-figure icon with a full-height image of Jesus Christ, surrounded by sectors with scenes of His disciples' calling, ministry and martyrdom. Icon from the Yaroslavl Museum Preserve. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Three days after the crucifixion, Jesus rose from the grave. In the weeks that followed, He appeared to His disciples on numerous occasions, explaining to them why His death had been necessary as the Savior of the world . The Lord interacted with His followers for forty days after His resurrection, appearing to as many as five hundred at one time. The resulting anticipation was high because the hope that had died on the cross had risen again — there was no longer any room for doubt. Nearly six weeks later, Christ assembled His disciples on the Mount of Olives for one last lesson. As they gathered around Him, He instructed them, “You shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem , and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest p

HOPE SHINES THROUGH: THIS SUNDAY DEC 18TH 10AM The Magi / Wise men followed the star and came to worship the King of the Jews . This   Christmas , we have the opportunity to find renewed hope and joy in the overwhelming love of a God who is with us. Join us as we celebrate the birth of the one who brings peace  this Sunday at Hope 10am. Invite and bring friends and family for a morning of worship, inspiration as we focus on Jesus Christ . Matthew 2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea...Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and  have come to worship him ."  OVERSEAS: CATCH US LIVE Catch our services live on Livestream :  here  or simply go to  here .  Our new Hope Church App will soon be available.  You can also give online:  here Pastor Paul Allen Hope Church Australia Box 35 Varsity Lakes Qld 4227 Australia Related articles Persia, Magi and Jesus (philoshonumphio

Image via Wikipedia That question comes up every year at Christmastime. In the first place, there’s no direct biblical commandment to celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25. There’s nothing in the Bible that would even indicate that Jesus was born on December 25. In fact, there’s much in the New Testament narratives that would indicate that it didn’t occur during that time of year.  It just so happens that on the twenty-fifth of December in the Roman Empire there was a pagan holiday that was linked to mystery religions; the pagans celebrated their festival on December 25. The Christians didn’t want to participate in that, and so they said, “While everybody else is celebrating this pagan thing, we’re going to have our own celebration. We’re going to celebrate the thing that’s most important in our lives, the incarnation of God, the birth of Jesus Christ. So this is going to be a time of joyous festivities, of celebration and worship of our God and King.” I can’t think of anyth

Image via Wikipedia As the celebration of Christmas fast approaches, our attention quickly goes to the familiar words of the infancy narratives found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.   This is a healthy reflex.  After all, the Gospel of Jesus Christ rests upon the historicity of the events that took place in Bethlehem as Christ was born. Our understanding of the identity of Jesus Christ is directly rooted in these narratives and our confidence is in the fact that Matthew and Luke give us historically credible and completely truthful accounts of the events surrounding the birth of Christ . A closer look at the narratives in both Matthew and Luke reveals a richness that familiarity may hide from us. Matthew begins with the genealogy of Christ, demonstrating the sequence of generations as Israel anticipated the birth of David’s Son — the Messiah. Luke, intending to set forth “an orderly account” of the events concerning Jesus, begins with the anticipation of the birth of John the