The Shema (Truth Matters) [28:06]
by Brian Kelly rated at 1.0 (5 votes so far)
Brian Kelly has been studying the Bible for over three decades and leads a home fellowship in Syracuse, NY. On this show he talks about the importance of the core creed of the Bible: the Shema. The word "Shema" means "Hear" or "Listen up" and it is the shorthand way of referring to Deuteronomy 6.4-5.
"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."
When a Jewish scribe asked Jesus what the foremost commandment was, Jesus immediately quoted this text. This tells us that the God Jesus worshiped is the same as the God of Moses and the Old Testament.
In this show, Brian leads us to consider the two parts to the Shema. (1) To recognize that Yahweh alone is our single God (2) to love this God with everything (holding nothing back). Download this file to learn more about biblical monotheism and how to avoid the pitfalls of ancient Israel's idolatry.
books
These books, written by people from diverse backgrounds, express the simple truth that God is one. Some of them are more scholary while others are more autobiographical. In addition, a few of them are available to read online. If you would like more in depth treatment of christian monotheism, these books are the next step to take. Note: if you know of other books, not listed here, please leave us feedback.
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Jesus is the Prototype and Agent of the New Creation
by Ray Faircloth [9 pages]
rated at 1 (out of 5 votes)
The first thing to hold in mind is that only Yahweh was the creator of the Physical universe as shown from the Scriptures in the previous study. There are another half dozen Scriptures that also state that only Yahweh was the creator of the universe and dozens more which imply the same. However, a number of Scriptures directly inform us that Jesus is the creator of ‘the new creation’ inasmuch as his sacrifice reconciles humans to God and the new creation is the point of focus in Isaiah 51:16 which the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (WBTS) of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Word Biblical Commentary, and the Fausset Commentary all recognize as applying, not to the Genesis creation, but to Messiah and the new heavens and earth.