Many of you are no doubt aware that ancient cities were often more like fortresses than like our modern cities. The perimeters consisted of one or more massive stone walls with multiple gates. In times of war, enemy forces often concentrated their attacks on these...
In "The Gates of Jerusalem, Part 1" we discovered that gates, being an intricate part of the defense systems of ancient cities, held such significance to the old world that Jesus, in reference to His gift of Salvation, calls Himself the "small gate", the ONLY way to...
In last week's lesson on the gates of Jerusalem, we took a look at the history behind the only reference in scripture to all of Jerusalem's gates: the rebuilding of Jerusalem in B.C. 466, under the leadership of Nehemiah. We learned that if God has laid something on...
In last week's lesson on the gates of Jerusalem, we saw that the first gate mentioned, the Sheep Gate, speaks to us of the cross and the sacrifice that Jesus made for our sins. It is the starting point and also the end of everything. Today's lesson takes us to the...
In last week's lesson on the gates of Jerusalem, we saw that the second gate mentioned, the Fish Gate, speaks to us evangelism. The reason the Fish Gate is mentioned after the Sheep Gate is that the first thing God wants us to do once we've accepted His gift of...
In last week's lesson on the gates of Jerusalem, we saw that when we are faced with trials and temptations and discouragement begins to set in, we need to walk through the third gate of Jerusalem, the Old Gate. We need to remember God's faithfulness in the past, and...
In last week's lesson on the gates of Jerusalem, we saw that trials and tribulations will come in every Christian's walk, yet we will never be tried beyond what we can bear with God at our side. God gives us the time we need to learn to trust Him and lean explicitly...
In last week's lesson on the gates of Jerusalem, we saw that when God walks us through the "Valley" experience, He often does so to uncover rubbish of our own sinful natures. Once out in the open, this needs to be transported out of our lives, through the Dung Gate,...
In last week's lesson on the gates of Jerusalem, we saw that after the trials that reveal the garbage in our hearts, God brings us to the Fountain Gate: He fills us up with His Holy Spirit, so that we will be empowered to live as Christ would have us to live! Today's...
In last week's lesson on the gates of Jerusalem, we saw that first we must go through the Valley Gate where the trials and tribulations are allowed to uncover the rubbish; then the Dung Gate where the rubbish can be done away with. Next comes the Fountain Gate, the...