At age eleven, Jerry raced the 1949 Soap Box Derby in Des Moines, Iowa. Jerry was disqualified when forced to leave his lane trying to avoid a collision with the driver in the center lanes. This contestants steering cable broke, he lost control crashed into the fence and broke a spectator's leg. At thirteen, Jerry's family moved to Alliance Nebraska; later they moved to La Canada California. Jerry worked summers for his dad. At sixteen he saved money to buy a 1941 Chevy coupe for $350. He joined the Navy at seventeen and during that time, saved enough money to buy a 1956 Chevy and began racing it at the San Fernando Drag Strip. Over his life, he worked in the car business, material handling business, sold advertising and worked as a commercial diver and sailor for both Hawaii, and Washington University. On a skiing trip in Idaho, Jerry met his wife Carol and they married in 1982. The two of them attended Bible school in Ventura CA, thinking they would enter the Missionary field. However, God had other plans! They ended up serving the Lord 2-1/2 miles from their home directing the Oxnard Rescue Mission. Jerry served as President CEO of the Rescue Mission Alliance for 14 yrs. After retiring, Jerry never lost his boyhood passion for racing. "Once a racer always a racer; it's in my blood" Jerry's passion for racing is only exceeded by the burden God has given him to warn Christians of the deception being taught today by false teachers. The world is rapidly changing, as evidence by the unrest in Europe, the middle-east, wars, earthquakes and Tsunami's, we're living in the generation of the fig tree. The sign on Jerry's hotrod reads: Don't be a... Stupidbaker "NOW, LEARN THE PARABLE OF THE "FIG TREE"

A premier New Testament scholar explores how Jesus' trial and execution are portrayed in the New Testament and how that portrayal has affected biblical studies, Christian theology, and Jewish-Christian relations through history. Tomson has written an accessible, responsible analysis of the biblical accounts of Jesus' death, demonstrating how, through compounded misunderstandings, they contributed to anti-Jewish sentiment in the early church and later history. Tomson's question of how Jesus is to be understood in his first-century Judean context is a critical one not only for biblical scholars, but for anyone concerned about human rights and interreligious dialogue today.

A thoroughly researched and deeply insightful exploration of Jesus’ teachings from the Gospels. Over a third of the Gospels by Matthew, Mark, and Luke contain Jesus’ parables. In the Book of Matthew, we learn that this style of teaching fulfilled G-d’s prophecy: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world." But how do we best interpret these vital lessons? The Parables of Jesus Explained offers a close reading of fifty two parables from the Bible. Author Stephen Tvedten explains that a parable is a word-picture which uses an earthly image or story to illustrate a spiritual truth or lesson. It creates a mini-drama that helps define the unknown and unseen by using both the visible and the known. This volume includes close readings of some of the best-known parables, such as The Parable of the Good Samaritan and The Parable of the Prodigal Son, as well as lesser-known stories, such as The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.

Hear Then the Parable is an innovative literary-social reading of all the parables of Jesus.

First published in German as Die rabbinschen Gleichnisse und der Gleichniserzähler Jesus in 1981—and now translated into English for the first time—this seminal work by Professor David Flusser remains an important and unparalleled contribution on Jesus as a storyteller in the Jewish rabbinic tradition. Using a literary approach to study extant rabbinic parables, he argues that Jesus’ parables belong to a genre that exists only in rabbinic literature and the New Testament. In order to analyze the theology behind Jesus’ parables, we need to understand them as a first-century literary art form. In a summary of the book, Flusser writes: “I am firmly convinced with fellow researchers that it is possible to get reasonably close to the original wording of Jesus’ teaching. But this is only the case when the otherwise usual method of literary criticism is applied to the text of the Synoptic Gospels, and when, moreover, one is willing and able to be guided by knowledge of Judaism. I certainly admit that the words of Jesus, including his parables, were edited by Greek redactors and subsequently by the evangelists. Nevertheless, I believe it is often possible to separate the ‘shell’ from the ‘nut’ by applying a better synoptic theory. . . . As I have argued several times, the parables of Jesus belong to the genre of the rabbinic parables. Therefore, valid statements about Jesus’ parables, whether these regard their essence or their literary quality, can only be made when one has first dealt with the essence and literary form of the rabbinic parables.”

The One Source You Can Count On for Facts About the Last Days “You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected” Matthew 24:44. There is no shortage of writings about the last days—often full of speculation and sensationalism. Where can we go for information we can trust? Join Bible scholar Ron Rhodes for an in-depth look at what we know to be certain about the last days—based on key teachings directly from Jesus. You’ll learn what the Lord Himself said about the rapture, the tribulation period, the second coming, the future judgment, the millennial kingdom, and more. So—are you ready for what is to come? Enjoy a fascinating survey of the end times through the words of Jesus Himself, and gain the very best of what you can know about God’s plan for the future.

"An immense amount of scholarly effort has gone into the study of Mark 13. Nevertheless, not everything that can be said, and needs to be said, has been said. This study is born out of the conviction that there is a method of studying Mark's eschatological discourse, and therefore the eschatology of Mark, which has never been thoroughly attempted. That method is to read and interpret Mark 13 in the literary and theological context of the entire Gospel in which Mark placed it."--