Mini-Biography Series

We are discussing how to do a series of sermons or lessons on lesser-known Biblical characters. This allows our audience or class to learn about people and stories they have probably never known about before. At the same time, making good application should provides a fresh and memorable way to grasp the Biblical lessons from the text.

Here are a few of the book resources I have found especially helpful as I have prepared these biographical lesson series over the years. Note that EBS may earn a small commission off any merchandise purchased through links on this page.
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INTRODUCTION:

1. When we are reading the Gospels we notice many people with whom Jesus had contact only briefly. Most of those we never hear about after that initial contact.
2. For some of these people, the records we have are so brief we can know almost nothing about them. But for others, enough is recorded for us to learn from them.
3. This series I am calling, “Snapshots with Jesus.” It is almost as if a camera captured a picture of Jesus with each of these people. True, the image is verbal instead photographic; but the picture has been preserved for the ages through the Gospel narratives.
4. We begin by looking through our “photo album” of snapshots in Capernaum.
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INTRODUCTION:

1. Pete Souza was the Chief Official White House Photographer for President Ronald Reagan (from 1983-1989) and President Barak Obama (2009-2017). Many of us would recognize numerous photos of his which have appeared in the news media.
2. Souza estimated he and his staff took about 2,000,000 photos during President Obama’s two terms! This included those in the Oval Office, and during official functions, international trips, disasters, plus private family moments.
3. In the Gospels we have many such “snapshots” of Jesus, most of them when He was with people. These images are word pictures rather than photographic, but they are graphic and well focused all the same.
4. In these various photogenic moments with the Lord, teachers and preachers have usually focused on Him. But in this series we are trying to do what Jesus did – look at the people in the picture!

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TEXT: Mark 2:1-12

INTRODUCTION:

1. We have more events and miracles of Jesus recorded in Capernaum than any other place… even Jerusalem
2. We have already looked at two of those miracles: “Jairus” and “The Woman with Bleeding.” This lesson will look at a third miracle: “The Paralyzed Man.”
3. Sadly, these miracles and others by Jesus did not lead to faith for many in Capernaum, and the city was eventually condemned by Jesus – Matthew 11:23
   • By about AD 1000, Capernaum was abandoned and disappeared
   • Not until AD 1838 was its ruins re-discovered
   • While still being studied by archeologists today, the discovery and preservation of “Peter’s house” possibly ties into our story today.
   • Read more on Wikipedia and BibleWalks.com

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TEXTS: John 3:1-21; 7:50-52; 19:38-42

INTRODUCTION:

1. In this Preaching Series, we are focusing on people with whom Jesus had relatively brief contact, but which were chosen by the Gospel writers to appear in the records about Jesus. We hope these studies illustrate the use of Biblical research resources to help assemble a coherent and appealing story about each person.
2. We don’t see Jesus spending much time with people in “high places,” and most of those important people He did encounter produced negative results:
   • Pontius Pilate, Caiaphas and Annas the High Priests, and King Herod
   • Sadducees, Pharisees, lawyers, scribes, teachers of the Law, and priests
3. To the contrary, He was criticized for those He did often keep company with:
   • Tax collectors (publicans) and “sinners” (outcasts) – Matthew 9:10; 11:19
   • Prostitutes and sinful women – Matthew 21:31; Luke 7:37; John 4 (Samaritan woman at a well)
   • Fishermen, common people, and the poor
   • Non-Jews like Samaritans, a Canaanite woman, and possibly a Roman centurion (Luke 7:1-10)

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