When we are washed in the blood of Christ our spiritual eyes are opened, and we see Jesus for Who He really is. When we see God in Christ, we are compelled to sing praises to Him. The book of Revelation begins with a greeting that exalts the name of Jesus. Please open...

Jesus, the One who loves us and washes us in His blood, is the One about Whom the Apostle John wrote in his book called The Revelation of Jesus Christ. While God reveals Himself throughout all of Scripture, it is especially true in the last book of the New Testament....

When you are on a road trip, you encounter street signs and exit signs that point you in the direction you should go. As you near your destination, you see signs that confirm that you are getting closer. How are we to interpret signs that we’re seeing in the world...

In His Olivet Discourse, Jesus said that there would be signs in the earth leading up to His return: wars, rumors of wars, false teachers, diseases, famines, and earthquakes. He likened these signs to birth pangs: The closer to the time one gets, the more frequent and...

There are dozens of interpretations for a book with as much complexity as Revelation. We hope that you will join us regularly as Pastor Ray Viola carefully unpacks the only primarily prophetic book of the New Testament over the next few months. Please open your Bible...

After His resurrection, Jesus gave The Great Commission to His disciples: Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. The essence of the Gospel is this: Jesus died for our sins, and, according to the Scriptures, He was buried, and He rose again on...

Because Jesus has risen from the dead, we having a meaningful faith in a living Savior. After He rose from the dead, Jesus gave a command to all that believe in Him to go into all the world and preach to Gospel to everyone. Please follow along as Pastor Ray Viola...

The bodily resurrection of Jesus was the Amen to His work of atonement. Scripture tells us that if Jesus did not rise from the dead, then there is no forgiveness for sin, no hope, and our faith is meaningless. However, Jesus did rise from the dead, just like He said...

Are you trusting in good works or some religious system to atone for your sin and to save you from eternal damnation? Do not be deceived, it is only through the blood of Jesus and God’s grace that one can be saved. If you haven’t done so already, look unto Jesus, Who...

Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. When Jesus cried, “It is finished,” from the cross, it was a cry of victory, because the debt for all sin had been paid in full. When He made that declaration, God tore the veil in the Temple from...

The only way that fallen man can be saved is by the grace of God. Fallen men cannot save themselves. Therein lies the difference between the Gospel of Jesus Christ and every other religious system. Salvation is the free gift of God, period. Because it is a gift, it...

Jesus’ mock trial, conviction, and crucifixion contain challenging lessons for every follower of Jesus. Not only did Jesus say, “It is finished,” as He was dying on the cross, He also said, “Follow Me,” earlier in His ministry. What are you willing to endure for the...

As Jesus moved from Gethsemane to Calvary, Scripture recorded significant events that had been prophesied centuries earlier. From this one can see that nothing in that time period happened by chance. Every detail was part of God’s plan to accomplish atonement for the...

The word Gethsemane comes from an Aramaic word that means crushed. There Jesus expressed great agony about what He was about to face, yet He remained submitted to His Father. When we find ourselves crushed by betrayal or ill will, we too can experience our own...

The night before Jesus died, He went before His Father in an agony-filled prayer in the garden at Gethsemane. Though completely submitted to His Father’s will, Jesus asked if there was any other way to redeem lost, sinful man without Him having to die on the cross....

When Jesus instituted The Lord’s Supper in the upper room on the night before He was crucified, He told His disciples to do this service in remembrance of Him. We should not only remember what Jesus did on the cross, but we should also remember that Jesus is always...

Today’s passage concerns Mark’s account of Jesus’ institution of what we now call The Lord’s Supper. The elements of this meal symbolize Christ’s body and blood that He gave that we might be saved from sin. Please open your Bible to Mark chapter fourteen, and listen...

Our modern culture has created a Christianity in which sacrifice and full devotion to Jesus Christ has become optional. This is not right. Jesus gave His all for us on the cross. Therefore, we should be sacrificing our lives for Jesus, being addicted to serving Him...

It is a waste to misuse scarce resources like time, talents, or money. However, the worldly idea of something being wasteful is often at odds with what God thinks is wasteful. Investing your life in anything other than service and devotion to Jesus Christ is wasteful...

Shortly before Jesus died on the cross, he was having a meal at the house of Simon the leper. During the meal, a woman poured an expensive ointment on Jesus’ head. Some were indignant, calling the costly act wasteful. However, Jesus heralded it as an act of worshipful...

The regathering of Jews from all around the world into their homeland is a miraculous ancient promise that God is fulfilling today. Because the Lord is a promise-keeping God, we can also be confident that what Jesus did for us on the cross, in this life and in...

In our continuing study of Jesus’ Olivet discourse, we will learn about how God is going to regather the Jewish people from all over the world into their ancient homeland. This regathering is miraculous, but many prophets, inlcuding Jesus, said that God would do it....

As we continue to work our way through the amazing prophecies of Jesus’ Olivet discourse, Jesus’ call for vigilance looms large. May the Spirit of God cause us to be tuned in to what the Lord is doing in these momentous times, and may He empower us to live our lives...

A key signpost showing that we are nearing the end of what Scripture calls The Last Days is the re-birth of the nation of Israel and the return of the Jewish people to their homeland. As prophesied, one day they will look up and see Jesus coming in the clouds, and...

In Jesus’ Olivet discourse, He talked about many events that would occur during the Great Tribulation, which will precede His second coming. According to Jesus, this will be a period of time that will be unlike anything seen all of human history. To learn more, please...

The abomination of desolation is a prophetic reference to the Antichrist standing in the most holy place of the Jewish Temple. For this to happen, a new Temple must be built. Amazingly, a group of Orthodox Jews known as the Temple Institute have been preparing...

Today we are going to look at one of the most amazing prophecies in the Bible. That prophecy concerns the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet and mentioned by Jesus in His Olivet discourse. Please open your Bible to Mark chapter thirteen, and...

A disciple of Jesus Christ in any generation will not be religiously or politically correct. Most worldly values, philosophies, and pleasures are opposed to what God deems to be true or appropriate. We all need God’s grace and the power of His Holy Spirit to boldly...

Satan has always opposed God’s plans and purposes. Therefore, Satan’s persecution of God’s people has been evident throughout world history. Jesus warned His disciples that they would face intensified persecution after He ascended into heaven and just before He would...

In the Olivet discourse, Jesus admonished His disciples to watch, and He also warned them not to be deceived. Those imperatives are still important for us today as we draw ever closer to Jesus’ second coming. God’s eternal plans and purposes are going to be fulfilled,...

Do you know that the Bible contains more prophecies about Jesus’ second coming than those that concerned His first coming? Today, Pastor Ray Viola will begin the study of the Olivet discourse in which Jesus told His disciples about the destruction of their beautiful...

    The poor widow that gave all that she had to God stands in a stark constrast to our modern what’s-in-it-for-me culture that has even crept into the Church. Though her offering was small, her love for and devotion to God was rich in the Lord’s eyes....

Jesus’ enemies spent so much time trying to trap Him in His words, that they missed Who He really is: God’s only begotten Son. Similarly, too many people get all tangled up with questions about the Bible that have no real bearing on their eternal destiny. The...

In today’s passage, the conflict between Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders had reached its peak. They demanded to know by what authority Jesus did His miracles, but Jesus deflected their question with a question of His own. By doing so, the query that was...

Are there mountains in your life today? Know that faith in Jesus can help move those mountains, because He is able to do exceedingly and abundantly beyond what we could ever ask or think. Some of life’s obstacles arise from unforgiveness and bitterness. Faith and...

Near the end of His earthly life, Jesus talked to His disciples about a faith in God that can move mountains. His twofold exhortation was simple and to the point: If you are going to follow Jesus as Lord, then you must have faith in God and walk in forgiveness of...

Following His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus went to the Temple to cleanse it from the money changers that were exploiting God’s people. He rebuked the religious leaders for their fruitless lives. They were going through the motions of observing a religious...

When Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey, many believed that the Messiah had come to deliver them from Roman oppression. They were only half-right. Jesus was the Messiah, but He came to deliver them from powers that were more oppressive than Rome: sin and...

After healing Bartimaeus’ blindness, Jesus told him to go his way, for his faith had made him whole. However, Bartimaeus did not forget about Jesus and go his own way. Instead, Bartimaeus followed Jesus as He headed toward Jerusalem and the cross. We also should...

Bartimaeus was one of many blind people that Jesus healed. Before he received his physical eyesight, Bartimaeus had received spiritual insight, for he called Jesus by one of His messianic titles: The Son of David. Because of his faith in Jesus, Bartemaeus received his...

One word captures Jesus’ definition of greatness, and that word is servant. A servant is a slave that is in a permanent relationship of subjugation to another. A servant’s will is altogether consumed in the will of the one that he or she serves. In other words, a...

God created us with a desire to be great. However, greatness that was both taught and modeled by Jesus stands in stark contrast with what today’s world considers it to be. Please open your Bible to Mark chapter ten, and listen as Pastor Ray Viola explains what...

Jesus’ gift of eternal life is free, because Jesus paid the price for our sins. However, Jesus demands a full surrender to Him that includes a cross and promises persecution. May God grant us the ability to live our lives in a way that glorifies Him! Please open your...

In today’s study, Jesus confronted a moral, wealthy young man. Though he was moral, something kept him from surrendering completely to Jesus—his great wealth. Is there something in your life that is preventing you from completely surrendering to Jesus? Please open...

Statistically, many of you listening today have experienced the pain of divorce, either in your own marriage or growing up in a household that became divided by divorce. Only the Spirit of God and His word can bring the healing, clarity, and hope that one needs after...

Marriage, divorce, and remarriage are subjects of great controversy within the Church. Using Scripture as our textbook, Pastor Ray Viola will address these critical issues head-on. Please open your Bible to Mark chapter ten, and follow along as Pastor Ray begins his...

Jesus told His followers that they were the salt of the earth. Just as eating salty food makes a person thirsty, Jesus redeemed us to create a thirst in others for Him and His kingdom. Please open your Bible to Mark chapter nine, and listen as Pastor Ray Viola...

In the ancient world, salt was used as a preservative, medicine, and as a flavor enhancer in food. Metaphorically, this is what Jesus wants Christians to be in our modern culture. Regardless of your vocation or location, Jesus wants you to have a salty influence on...

Being saved by grace and through faith in Jesus means that we are the salt of the earth. Being salt means that we should be influential in a corrupt world system. We should be stepping stones that lead to Jesus, not stumbling stones. Please open your Bible to Mark...

In today’s study, Jesus makes it clear that, despite being saved by grace, we must still endeavor to root sin out of our lives. Jesus wants His followers to be holy and to walk circumspectly. We are His witnesses to a lost and dying world. Please open your Bible to...

Does unity in Christ mean that believers do not need to be confronted about their sins or that there are not religious frauds that need to be exposed? Absolutely not! No Christian or church is absolutely perfect. Scripture contains many examples of Jesus and the...

God’s grace and His Holy Spirit form a bond among all born-again believers to each other and to Jesus. Because Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and He rose from the grave for our justification, we should not let differences in administrations, operations, and...

Jesus rebuked His disciples for their sectarian attitude towards a man that was casting out demons, even though he was not one of them. This sectarian spirit exists today. While distinctions and a diversity of gifts exist within the Body of Christ, sectarian divisions...

Jesus is building one body comprising many members. Just as our physical bodies have many different parts, so too does the Body of Christ. All contribute to the wholeness of the Body, but the individual functions are diverse. Please open your Bible to Mark chapter...

Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Never sacrifice your faith in the living words of Jesus on the altar of human reasoning or systematic, dispensational theology. Such philosophies attempt to explain away the availability of God’s miracle-working power...

John the Baptizer came to prepare the way for the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry. In a way, as Christians, we have a similar mission. Jesus commissioned us to tell the whole world that they can be made free from the power of sin through the blood of our...

In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ transfiguration followed His commands for His followers to deny themselves and take up their crosses. Those that do, will also be similarly transfigured in eternity. However, this transformation begins at the very moment that a person repents...

In today’s study, Jesus confronted a moral, wealthy young man. Though he was moral, something kept him from surrendering completely to Jesus—his great wealth. Is there something in your life that is preventing you from completely surrendering to Jesus? Please open...

One day, Jesus took Peter, James, and John to the top of a mountain to pray. While they were praying, Jesus was transfigured before them, and Moses and Elijah joined Him. Peter wanted to erect a tabernacle for the three of them, but Jesus’ Father declared, “This is my...

Picture yourself in a crowd listening to Jesus teach, and then He makes several challenging commands, such as, you must deny yourself to follow Me; you must take up your cross to follow Me; you will have to lose your life for the sake of the Gospel in order to find...

Public altar calls at church or at envangelistic events are intended to be times for people to respond to the Lord after hearing the preaching of God’s word. In today’s passage Pastor Ray Viola will discuss one of Jesus’ altar calls, so to speak. Please open your...

Whom do you say that Jesus is? Your answer will be reflected in not only what you say, but in how you live your life. Truly believing that Jesus is both Lord and Christ will bring about a change in your heart and a change of purpose in your life. Please open your...

Jesus once asked His disciples, “Whom do you say that I am?” C. S. Lewis observed that there are only three possible answers to that question: Jesus was either a lunatic, a liar, or Lord and Christ. Please open your Bible to Mark chapter eight, and join Pastor Ray...

Is Jesus Christ your Bead of Life? If so, the focus of your life should be on Him and not yourself. This means fellowshipping with Him frequently so that you might be able to serve Him effectively. He wants us to be His ambassadors to a lost and dying world, so that...

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day angered Him, because they only sought to question, disrupt, and discredit Who He was. Like many hard-hearted skeptics, they had no intention of believing that Jesus was their Messiah. Don’t be like the Pharisees and Sadducees, seek...

Are you facing a need in some area of your life? Perhaps Jesus has already helped you through a similar trial in the past. Regardless, remember that Jesus, our Emmanuel, is with you and in you, and working on your behalf, because He is a compassionate God. Please open...

Today’s passage describes Jesus once again multiplying loaves and fishes. Unlike the first time that He performed such a miracle in a Jewish setting, Jesus did this miracle in a primarily Gentile setting. This shows that our Heavenly Father sent Jesus to be the Bread...

Everywhere Jesus went, people with afflictions and diseases came to Him, or were brought to Him by caring friends. Jesus, because of His divine compassion, healed them to reveal His Father’s heart toward the people of this world, and to bring glory to His Father’s...

Divine compassion moved Jesus to minister to the hurting, needy, and outcasts of society. Those acts of compassion glorified His Heavenly Father, Who is the God of Israel. When our hands, feet, or lips are moved with compassion, we too can bring glory to the God of...

Do you have a son, daughter, or another loved one that is trapped in the vice of some sort of demonic power? If so, today’s study is tailor-made for you. Please open your Bible to Mark chapter seven, and join Pastor Ray Viola as he completes his study of verses...

In today’s message, a Syro-Phoenician woman asked Jesus to heal her demon-possessed daughter. Though Jesus did not immediately heal the young girl, her mother’s humility before God and her great expression of faith caused Jesus to show her mercy, even though she was...

According to Jesus, people are defiled by the sin in their hearts. A key indicator of what resides in our heart is what we say with our mouth. May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in the sight of God! Please open your Bible to...

According to the religious teachers of Jesus’ day, the body could be defiled by what a person ate or drank or by eating with unwashed hands. However, Jesus said that only what came out of a person’s heart could defile him, not what they consumed. Learn more about...

God looks on the heart; He is less concerned with outward appearances. In contrast, religionists tend to focus primarily on external appearances and works. This leads to bondage, fear, and spiritual emptiness. Give your heart to Jesus, and compassionate works of...

Religion places an emphasis on outward appearances, but God places emphasis on our hearts, attitudes, and motives. The Pharisees of Jesus’ day zealously prayed, fasted, tithed, and observed holy days, but their hearts were far from God. Beware of becoming a follower...

Like the church at Laodicea, modern churches are plagued by indifference of the heart. Moderate Christianity is becoming the norm. Instead of changing the world, the world is changing the Church. Jesus used a shocking mechanism to wake up this church. His rebuke was...

Of the churches mentioned in Revelation, Jesus gave the Laodicean church the most mind-boggling evaluation. People in this materially prosperous church seemed satisfied with their comfortable lives. Though there was no mention of gross immorality, Jesus did not...

The ancient city of Philadelphia was orginally intended to be a city that would spread Hellenism to the surrounding region. However, Christ used a small church congregation in that city as a missionary outpost to spread the Gospel to a lost and dying world. The love...

Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to the Church. Jesus wants His churches and the people in them to be Spirit-filled and Spirit-led, not driven by the desires of men or guided by worldly precepts. In His letter to the church at Sardis, Jesus had to rebuke them for their dead...

The victorious Christian life is not a passive one. Every message that Jesus gave to the church exhorted, commanded, and, in some cases, called to repentance. At the end of the day, however, we have the power to overcome only because the One that overcame on the cross...

In His letters to seven Asian churches, Jesus made different promises to those whom He called overcomers within each church. In an inspired epistle, the Apostle John defined an overcomer is someone that believes that Jesus is the Son of God, meaning that they believe...

Jesus sent a message to a church in Smyrna. He had high praise for them, because, though they were financially destitute, they were spiritually rich. Saints in Smyrna were persecuted and even martyred for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Accordingly, Jesus promised...

In the book of Revelation, Jesus sent seven messages to seven different churches in Asia. In these messages, He revealed certain things about Himself to them, and He also gave them several promises. Please open your Bible to Revelation chapter two, verse one, and...

Today’s passage contains John’s vision of Jesus. Imagine His glistening hair, His face shining brighter than the sun, Christ’s eyes as a flame of fire, His feet glowing as if in a furnace, and His thundering voice. What would you do if you had such an encounter with...

Today’s passage is one of the most profound statements of the of deity of Jesus Christ in all of Scripture. It is a description of our Lord that fills our hearts with wonder, awe, and amazement. It is a description of our coming King. Please open your Bible to...

Christians will be spared the final seven years of earthly upheaval, because they will be enjoying the marriage supper of the Lamb in heaven. After that joyous event, they will return with Jesus, Who will make a swift end of the Antichrist and his earthly kingdom....

The devil is roaring today like a lion. The wicked seemingly hold all the reigns of power globally. However, we have great news for you today: He Who roars last WINS! The Prophet Joel proclaimed, “The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from...

In His Olivet discourse, Jesus described the global upheaval that would occur in the last days, but then He gave us the Good News: When all the tribes of the world are mourning, then Jesus would return in power and great glory to destroy the powers of darkness and...

John summarized Christmas for us in verse fourteen of the first chapter of his Gospel: The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. We pray that your celebration of...

When John wrote his inspired Gospel, He wasted no time in getting to the main point: Jesus was in the beginning with God, and He was God. Furthermore, by Him all things were made. Then He reached out to those whom He created that they might become God’s children....

The Gospel of Jesus Christ changes everything. We pray that, in the days ahead, God would reveal His glory to us. As He does this, it will transform us individually and corporately as the Body of Christ with God-glorifying, Gospel-based affections for Him, for one...

At Christmastime we look back to Jesus Christ’s first coming as a baby born in Bethlehem, but we also look forward to His second coming when He will renew and redeem every part of fallen creation. The Christmas season is a time for remembering and rejoicing. Please...

Every sinner can experience God’s love and saving grace when they call out to Jesus to forgive their sins. Likewise, when a person reaches out to touch Jesus in prayer, He will touch their pain, sickness, and suffering in a remarkable way, because He is compassionate....

Imagine being in the grip of a long-term disease or emotional depression. Then, one day, you see Jesus, and, in faith, you reach out and touch the hem of His garment, and you are healed! This happened many times when Jesus walked the earth two thousand years ago. The...

Many people followed Jesus, because they were interested in His miraculous blessings, but not His lordship. Have you repented of your sins and trusted Jesus, the Bread of Life, to be your Savior? If so, you have experienced the greatest miracle in the universe: A...

One can find many spiritual truths in the miracles of the loaves and fishes. For example, when impossible situations arise in our lives, Jesus already has the answer. We need only give what little we have to Him in faith, and He can do the miraculous. Please open your...

John the Baptizer was a Spirit-filled man that lived his life to glorify God, even when it resulted in his imprisonment and death. In contrast, King Herod lived his life according to his passions instead of his conscience. John, like all born-again believers, will...

Today’s passage tells a tale of two men. John, the Baptizer, died for righteousness’ sake. King Herod was an immoral man, and he had John killed for speaking out against his sins. In eternity, John will receive a crown of life, but Heord will spend eternity in the...

Christ purchased His followers with His precious blood for His glory. Our assignment is to represent Jesus’ life in everything that we do. May God grant us the grace to remember that we live to follow and please only One, and His name is Jesus. Please open your Bible...