Jesus the Rabbi

Was Jesus a rabbi? Not formally. In this week’s video teaching series by Ray Vander Laan, we learn about Jesus’s function as a respected rabbi in the Jewish tradition.  He wasn’t an ordained rabbi in the way we think of ordained clergy today. However, He was certainly honored and addressed as a teacher.

When the Israelites went into exile under God’s judgment, the temple was destroyed, and they were displaced from their homeland. Without the temple, they needed a new struct

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Triumphal Entry - They Didn't Get It, But We Can

In today’s video lesson series by Ray Vander Laan, he discussed Jesus’ triumphal entry being misunderstood as a all for a violent revolution. He began by describing the Zealots’ symbol that they wore, like our American Flag is sometimes found on clothing in the United States of America. They used a palm branch that represented victory over Rome. When someone waved a palm branch, they were essentially saying, “Kill the Romans.”

When Jesus came into the city, people waved pal

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Scripture, Synagogue, and the Spirit

In today’s video lesson series by Ray Vander Laan, he spoke about the role of the synagogue in Jewish life. The synagogue contributed enormously to people's understanding of Scripture. If they hadn’t been buying and storing scrolls, we wouldn't have the Bible as we know it today. Individual ownership of scrolls was nearly impossible due to the cost so several towns would come together, pool resources and consult with one another. The synagogue became the central place wher

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Biblical Foundations of Discipleship

In this week’s lesson by Ray Vander Laan, we look at Biblical discipleship.

We know exactly one reason Jesus went to Galilee—it was prophesied. "The people living in darkness have seen a great light" (Isaiah 9:1–2; quoted in Matthew 4:15–16). This wasn’t random. The Bible foretold that He would teach in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, and that's exactly where He went. It was the biblical center of 1st-century Israel.

Galilee was home to some of the most biblically liter

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Hero: The Story of Tamar and Judah

In this week's video teaching series by Ray Vander Laan, we learn about Tamar. The name "Tamar" means date palm or palm tree. A date palm cannot flourish or reproduce without human involvement. Male palm trees must be planted near female trees or, the tree won’t bear fruit. The woman Tamar symbolizes someone who will need the help of others to flourish biologically, emotionally, and spiritually because she is, metaphorically, a palm tree.

Having godly people in government i

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Jesus as Human

In this week’s video lesson series by Ray Vander Laan, he spoke about how important Jesus’s humanity is for us to understand and how it plays a crucial role in helping God and His people to relate to Him.

Jesus is Messiah, the Anointed King, and He’s taking charge. He reigns. But beyond that, Jesus the Messiah had to be made like His brothers: fully human.

We took a look at how Jesus fits into the human race. What does it mean that Jesus was human like you and me? Fully huma

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Jesus as Rabbi

In this week’s discipleship teaching series by Ray Vander Laan, he begins teaching a new section of teaching focusing on the life of Jesus. You could ask, "Why did Jesus die?" and most people could tell you: for the penalty of sin. Most people understand the redemptive gift of Jesus on the cross; they understand why He died. But why did He live? That’s not something most people think about, yet the answer is foundational. Jesus called Himself the bringer of peace, and that

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Give Unto Caesar

Give Until Caesar

In last week’s discipleship teaching series by Ray Vander Laan, we explored questions of why God would stamp His image on broken people. The answer is, He doesn’t. When God put His image on our ancestors, they weren’t broken. Why does He remove His image when we’re broken? So He can reassemble us and restore His image in us.

In Jesus’s day, Caesar claimed to be deified as a god. Statues of his image were everywhere. People wondered if they should pay a cert

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God's Glory in a Visual World

In this week’s video teaching series by Ray Vander Laan, he begins by describing another unique way Hebrews process information. The Hebrew people were a highly visual culture. Rather than simply declaring, “My God is bigger than yours,” they would say, “Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in!” (Psalm 24:7) to describe the power and magnitude of God.

The “top” of the gate was referred to as the head of the gate. Th

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65 Pounds of Flour

In this week’s adult Sunday School video series by Ray Vander Laan, he speaks about how hospitality is everything. The greatest honor in this ancient culture is the opportunity to give to someone else.

Three chapters after the blood path (Genesis 15), Abraham and Sarah are told they will be redeemed (Genesis 18).

“The LORD appeared to Abraham” (Genesis 18:1). The word "LORD" is written in all caps, indicating that it's God's personal name—Yahweh. There is no doubt about who

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From the Covenant to the Cross

“If I get my toe in the blood, I’m a dead man.”

In this week’s video series by Ray Vander Laan, he spoke about how serious covenants were taken in Biblical days. Redemption is one of the most powerful and central concepts in the life of a follower of Jesus. means that God longs to bring His lost children home, to make them part of His family again—not just someday in heaven, but now. While many believe Jesus died for our sins only so we could go to heaven, the Bible offers

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Redeeming the Marginalized

We continued our Ray Vander Laan video series in Sunday school this week where Ray spoke on redeeming the marginalized. He started by describing how in ancient Israelite society, the family unit was structured around something called the Beth Ab, or “father’s house,” which wasn’t just a physical home—it represented a tightly connected extended family led by the patriarch.

Usually the patriarch of the family was the oldest male, and he was responsible for the well-being of e

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To Be Redeemed

We watched another Ray Vander Laan lesson in Sunday School this week. Ray says we begin by building a foundation to better understand the text from an Eastern perspective—the way the original audience would have. We consider discipleship by looking at whom God chose: slaves in Egypt. God told them stories about their ancestors, like Abraham and Sarah, who lived in a patriarchal society. God used the concept of redemption within that system—dealing with bondage and aiming t

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Geography and Parables

In this week’s lesson, Ray Vander Laan spoke on the importance of knowing geography and how that can change our understanding of certain parables.

Jesus knows in this broken world, we will face floods and trials. Some of us have been there or are there, and some of us haven’t gotten there yet, but we will.

It had dawned on Ray that Biblical teachings need to be put not only in Biblical and historical context, but also geographical context. Taking a story out of a setting doe

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There are No Verses in the Bible

In this week’s lesson, Ray Vander Laan started with a geography lesson. The province of Galilee is where about 70% of what Jesus says and does what is recorded in the Bible. The area was religious, Jewish and fertile. By God’s design, directly across the lake is a much bigger territory called Decapolis which was very pagan with very little Jewish population and influence.

Capernum, Bethsaida, and Korazin are villages to the north of the Sea of Galilee. The people living in

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