The Marriage Supper Parable - A Cartoon with Sound Effects, Music, and Scripture - A Teaching of Jesus in Matthew 22

(See the PDF file here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-l2aOUz80mv-LIyzzPpySegRgZDMaDLT/view?usp=sharing .) The Marriage...

Showing posts with label Bible stories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bible stories. Show all posts

Friday, September 21, 2018

Jonah and the "Whale" (or Jonah and the Big Fish) - Illustrated (PART 2)




Jonah and the "Whale" (or Jonah and the Big Fish) - Illustrated (PART 2)


(See the PDF file here: 

This is the story of Jonah and the big fish, as told with cartoon pictures, sound effects, and hymn music. Jonah was called by God to warn the people of Nineveh that if they didn't repent from their sins, idolatry, and wickedness that God would have to judge them. God had already been calling out to them before He called Jonah to go. But, they were not listening to Him. So, God spoke to Jonah and told him to go to Nineveh to plead with the people to repent and to turn to the true and living God. 


But, Jonah had a problem. He had a grudge against the Assyrian people. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria and it was his enemy. The Assyrians had oppressed the people of Israel, and Jonah wanted nothing to do with God's will to plead with them and warn them. So, Jonah decided he would do his own thing and go the very opposite direction. He was heading for Tarshish in what is now modern-day Spain. Back then, it was a Phoenician coastal city.

The ruins of Nineveh are located at modern-day Mosul, Iraq. In ancient times, Nineveh was densely populated and prosperous. But, Jonah didn't want to see God reach the hearts of Jonah's enemies, so he found a ship headed for Tarshish and got aboard. While they were sailing in the Mediterranean, a great storm arose and threatened the safety of the people aboard the cargo ship. 

But, Jonah didn't care. He was fast asleep until someone awoke him. Watch the video to see what happened next.

The text for this video can be read here at this link: https://biblehub.com/kjv/jonah/1.htm .

To learn HOW TO BE SAVED through Jesus Christ, click here: https://exploringchristianity1.blogspot.com/p/salvation-through-jesus-christ_10.html .


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Jonah and the "Whale" (or Jonah and the Big Fish) - Illustrated (PART 1)




Jonah and the "Whale" (or Jonah and the Big Fish) - Illustrated (PART 1)


(See the PDF file here: 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U_KgSKuhABiBXmy5vRgC_4ug5cg2583u/view?usp=sharing)

This is the story of Jonah and the big fish, as told with cartoon pictures, sound effects, and hymn music. Jonah was called by God to warn the people of Nineveh that if they didn't repent from their sins, idolatry, and wickedness that God would have to judge them. God had already been calling out to them before He called Jonah to go. But, they were not listening to Him. So, God spoke to Jonah and told him to go to Nineveh to plead with the people to repent and to turn to the true and living God. 


But, Jonah had a problem. He had a grudge against the Assyrian people. Nineveh was the capital of Assyria and it was his enemy. The Assyrians had oppressed the people of Israel, and Jonah wanted nothing to do with God's will to plead with them and warn them. So, Jonah decided he would do his own thing and go the very opposite direction. He was heading for Tarshish in what is now modern-day Spain. Back then, it was a Phoenician coastal city.

The ruins of Nineveh are located at modern-day Mosul, Iraq. In ancient times, Nineveh was densely populated and prosperous. But, Jonah didn't want to see God reach the hearts of Jonah's enemies, so he found a ship headed for Tarshish and got aboard. While they were sailing in the Mediterranean, a great storm arose and threatened the safety of the people aboard the cargo ship. 

But, Jonah didn't care. He was fast asleep until someone awoke him. Watch the video to see what happened next.

The text for this video can be read here at this link: https://biblehub.com/kjv/jonah/1.htm .

To learn HOW TO BE SAVED through Jesus Christ, click here: https://exploringchristianity1.blogspot.com/p/salvation-through-jesus-christ_10.html .





Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Fire From Heaven - The Priests of Baal Versus Elijah, a Prophet of God - Animated Bible Adventure (Video)

Fire From Heaven - The Priests of Baal Versus Elijah, a Prophet of God - Animated Bible Adventure (Video)
(Frames from the movie are posted below.)


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Fire From Heaven - The Priests of Baal Versus Elijah, a Prophet of God - Animated Bible Adventure

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(This is a semi-animated / illustrated video about the prophet Elijah calling fire down from Heaven. It contains scripture verses, artwork, and hymn music.) -- Fire came down from Heaven and consumed stones, water, and an animal sacrifice when Elijah, a prophet of God, asked God to demonstrate His power to show the backward people of ancient Israel who the real God is. For years they were serving Baal and many other idols. Then, famine and drought struck the land for about 3 years. Near the end of the famine, Elijah, the man who King Ahab had sought to capture, appeared and wished to speak with the king. 

He told King Ahab to get the children of Israel together to conduct an experiment to see who the true God really is: Baal or JEHOVAH. The real God would answer his worshipers with fire from heaven. Elijah let the Baal worshipers go first. Then, the priests of Baal began to conduct pagan rituals to call upon Baal to send fire from heaven. But, nothing happened. This went on for many hours. 

Monday, April 2, 2018

How Satan Is Like Joab in 2 Samuel 19 -- Applications from 2 Samuel 19 // FALSE ACCUSATION (David Weeps Over Absalom)


How Satan Is Like Joab in 2 Samuel 19 -- 
Applications from 2 Samuel 19

(King David weeps over Absalom.)
A short civil war erupted between men loyal to Absalom, a son of King David, and those loyal to his father. Absalom, using deceptive techniques, powerful public relations tricks, and charisma, drew many people in Israel into his goal of replacing King David with Absalom. David and many of his most loyal followers fled from Jerusalem and dwelt in the wilderness. 

Absalom sought counsel and then determined he would to fight against his father, and slay him. After King David crossed the Jordan river and entered a fortified city, Absalom, accompanied by thousands of armed men, crossed the river and attacked David's men in a forested region. 

The battle went poorly for Absalom and his men, and most of them were slaughtered or died due to falling into deep pits or chasms. Absalom, who had long hair, rode past an oak tree and his hair was ensnared in its branches. His mount, a mule, left him literally hanging. Joab, the captain of David's army, saw the king's son hanging in the tree and unable to escape. Ignoring David's orders not to kill Absalom, Joab brutally killed him in cold blood and Joab's armor bearers finished him off. It was not the first time Joab disregarded the king's wishes. 

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Mary Byrne's 1905 English Translation of "Be Thou My Vision" Can Be Our Prayer to God or Our Statement of Faith

(Scenic Ireland. Click for source.)
Mary Byrne's 1905 English Translation of "Be Thou My Vision" 
Can Be Our Prayer to God or Our Statement of Faith


Mary Byrne's English translation (from 1905) of "Be Thou My Vision" is very powerful when you pray it to God. It was an old Irish song of worship from hundreds of years ago. We don't know who exactly wrote it. But, some think it could have been influenced by Patrick of Ireland, who God used to bring Christianity to that island nation. 

Worshiping God with music is very powerful and moving. I was thinking that we could read the text of "Be Thou My Vision" but substitute "You are" in place of Be thou" to make it a statement of praise. Or, we can leave it as "Be thou" and use it as a prayer to God. Personally, I like both options. 


Another way of looking at this is to use this old Irish hymn as both praise and prayer. We want God to be our vision, our focus, our delight. But, we can thank Him that He is our shelter and our Father, for instance.

(Also, we could change "King of the seven heavens" to "High King of Heaven".)

We have Mary Byrne's translation below.
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Be thou my vision O Lord of my heart
None other is aught but the King of the seven heavens.

Be thou my meditation by day and night.

May it be thou that I behold even in my sleep.

Monday, June 26, 2017

Expounding Exodus 1 — How to Overcome the Devil’s Snares


Expounding Exodus 1 How to Overcome the Devil’s Snares [Print Document]



In this article, we are going to expound Exodus 1, with God’s help. We will look at Pharaoh and his treatment of the children of Israel and see how this is symbolic of the devil and his oppression of people. We will look at what it means to stand up for what is right even when there is strong opposition. We will also see how to overcome snares of the devil.


Let’s read Exodus 1:5-12, and then discuss it a little.


Exodus 1:5-12
“[5] And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already. 6. And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. 7. And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.


8. Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. 9. And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: 10. Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. 11. Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12. But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.” [End quote]


Let’s look at verse 10. It says: “[10] Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.” This pharaoh wants to deal “wisely” with the children of Israel. This wisdom is the wisdom of the world, and it stems from fear. The wisdom of God is not based on fear: it is based on love (1 John 4:8,16). It comes from God’s mind. It does not come from the human mind. That is why we Christians must trust that God has what is best in His mind, and He will do nothing wrong by us (Romans 8:28).


Pharaoh was afraid that Israel would join to his enemies and become a major threat to him. Therefore, to keep this theoretical scenario from happening, Pharaoh ordered all the Israelites to be slaves and do hard labor. He probably thought that the heavy strain on them would cause them to have short lives and not have time to raise families. But, God was not going to let His people perish. He blessed them with more children and caused them to become a strong nation within Egypt.



The Devil Can Be Represented by Pharaoh.



The devil can be represented by Pharaoh. Like Pharaoh, Satan seeks to oppress human beings with fear, sin, depression, doubt, anxiety, hatred, and addictions. Like Pharaoh, Satan also seeks to kill people by having people harm their health, commit suicide, overdose on drugs, and live promiscuous lives. Sin is bondage (2 Peter 2:19). And, the children of Israel suffered in the bondage of slavery, building temples for the gods of Egypt.


Pharaoh himself did not actually whip the Israelites and yell at them. He delegated that to his Egyptian taskmasters. Like the taskmasters, demons oppress us and attack us whenever they can. They want to make our lives miserable, or to get us into sin, or to get us into working for favor. But, God said in His Word that He does not want us to work for His favor or for salvation.


Romans 4:3-5
“[3]For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. [4] Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. [5] But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”



Pharaoh Orders the Midwives to Kill.

Friday, June 23, 2017

Daniel Chapter 6 — The Lion’s Den Expounded (Daniel in the Lion’s Den)



Daniel Chapter 6 — The Lion’s Den Expounded (Daniel in the Lion’s Den) [Print Document]


In the book of Daniel, chapter 6, we read the true story of a man who left all for the sake of God. There is no mention that Daniel ever was married or had children (and of course, there is nothing wrong with marriage). We know he loved God and served God faithfully. Because of this and because King Darius favored Daniel to appoint him to be over all the realm of Babylon, the presidents (saraks or high-level officials) of Babylon despised Daniel and wanted to have him killed.

They requested that Darius sign a law that would prohibit anyone in Babylon from asking a request of any god or man (except for Darius) for a period of 30 days (Dan. 6:7). By doing this, these wicked men thought that they could have Daniel killed, since they knew he faithfully prayed to and sought God. With pride in his heart, the king signed the law, which promised death by lions to anyone who would break this law. But, Darius had been ignorant of the true intentions of these wicked officials. Let’s see what happened next.

Daniel 6:10-11
“[10] Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. [11] Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.”

When the matter was brought to the king’s attention, Darius was grieved because he knew he could not change or alter the law of the Medes and the Persians. He urgently sought some legal way to release Daniel from going to the lion’s den (Daniel 6:14). But, he found none. Reluctantly, after the presidents urged Darius to maintain the law, Darius ordered Daniel to be thrown into the lion’s den. He told Daniel these words…

Daniel 6:16-20
“[16] Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee. 17. And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. 18. Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him.

19. Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. 20. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?”


The King Visits Daniel

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Psalm 40 and David’s Walk with God Opened and Expounded


Psalm 40 and David’s Walk with God Opened and Expounded [Print Document]


Psalm 40:10
“I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.”


In Psalm 40, David is going through some difficult times. He speaks of how “innumerable evils have compassed” him about. But, David calls upon God, knowing that God will surely deliver him from his troubles and concerns. In verse 5, David speaks of God’s thoughts, which are “to us-ward”. God’s thoughts are in our favor.

Instead of concealing God’s love and faithfulness, David said in Psalm 40:10 that: “...I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation...” He is literally speaking the truth of Who God is and what God has done for him.

I felt God, my Abba Father, showing me that I need to declare the truth I have read and heard about Who God is and about what He has done for me. That helps to open My heart to Him.

God has provided me a place to live; food; family; guidance and direction; peace (when I look to Him); hope for now and for the future; joy that can only come from Him; and all My needs met. He gives me eternal life. That is huge. That great sacrifice Jesus did on the cross about 2,000 years ago was not in vain. Millions have come to Him for salvation around the world, and from every tribe and country. No one could give such life. No one, but Jesus, could satisfy you when you are feeling sad, or depressed, or empty.

I have felt His presence and His peace when I was struggling with fear. Only He can give such peace, and hope, and comfort. Only Jesus can satisfy our deepest needs. The internet with all its entertainment; video games; TV shows; movies; hobbies; a spouse, etc. could never satisfy our deepest needs.

Set Apart for Abba God


God set apart the 12 tribes of Israel for Himself. He chose them to come out of the land of Egypt (which was full of idols and false gods, such as Ra and Horus). Likewise, God has called us to come out from the sinful pleasures of this world and its idols, so that we may have true, intimate fellowship with this Great, Awesome Spirit, Who is God.

David spoke of God’s lovingkindness (love and kindness together). In Psalm 36, David wrote:

Psalm 36:7-10