Teaching Church Modelled @ West Portal

On Sunday afternoon (Nov. 1), Mark Wessner, President of MB Seminary (Langley), presented robust teaching on the topic  Jesus: Miracles & Messiah at West Portal Church (Saskatoon). MB Seminary has several teaching churches in Canada, and West Portal welcomed the seminary to model it at their church. The following are some key highlights of Dr. Wessner’s teaching.

Goals of the teaching

• A deeper understanding of the gospels, biblical context and history
• To discover or rediscover the uniqueness of Jesus
• Spiritual growth (maturity)
• Discipleship (disciple-making)
   
  • Jesus was a revolutionary and yet far more than that. His revolutionary approach was that he accepted the role of Messiah, but redefined it around suffering, service, and salvation, fulfilling the Scriptures in unexpected ways.
  • The overarching message of the gospels is that Jesus is the solution to a certain human problem - sin.
  • The gospels are unique, each in their own right, because the authors wanted to accentuate a particular perspective of Jesus’ person and purpose. This was not a contradictory effort, but a complementary one.
  • Jesus’ miracles are examples of the in-breaking of the Kingdom of Heaven for the glory of God.
  • Jesus’ miracles were in stark contrast to other similar occurrences of the time because they had a supernatural source in his person—Jesus was not channelling another source.
  • Jesus’ miracles should be understood as kingdom signs, holistic restoration, eschatological markers and integral to his mission.
  • Jesus as Messiah has roots in the Old Testament, is evidenced in his life and ministry, is exemplified in his miracles and teaching, and is confirmed through the testimonies of transformed disciples.

SKMB Communications