Josephus does not tell us that Christianity is true, and Christians do not need Josephus to tell them that Christ is risen. But Christianity makes claims about things that happened in public history under identifiable rulers, priests, and governors. For that reason, testimony from outside the church matters.
The student of Scripture should always have a map open next to their Bible as they read. If possible, they should also travel to Israel, not to make a pilgrimage, but to see the context of the land in which these stories took place. These are not fairy tales made up about fictional fantasy lands; these are stories about real people in real places interacting with a real God.
The word of assurance given to Moses at Sinai echoes through eternity on the lips of the Savior, untroubling troubled souls with the good news that there is one who walks the paths of life with you, and soon he’s coming to bring you to himself.

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There are many funeral songs I wouldn’t be caught dead singing. Why? Because my funeral will not be about me.
It is worthwhile because Jesus Christ gave baptism to His disciples as a means for making disciples after He had suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified died and buried and rose again on the third day.
We are continuing our summer series on a theology of worship through the lens of language. Before moving forward, let me highlight a few points by way of review.
A promise was made to my older brother roughly 50 years ago. He was just an infant and had no idea that this promise was being set upon him.
Why was Jesus crucified? Not to save victims, but to save sinners.
The authority God gives to men—to you and I as baptized believers in Christ—is to forgive sins, to free them from guilt, to free them from the power of sin.
The dying words of Jesus were not, “Make it worth it,” but “It is finished.”
Jesus takes that burden away in the “I forgive you and them” and gives us His “light” burden.
There is no pain like the pain of being mistreated by those who, above all others, you expect to love you unconditionally.
We all began by hearing the truth, and then speaking the truth and believing the truth. That truth came to us on the lips of another.
What we see in the face of this God is not a loathing expression. We find the face of a compassionate man who knew all about shame himself.
Like any language, the liturgy has syntax—a structure that provides order and intelligibly communicates meaning through all that is said.