I’m still amazed at the passage we studied this past Sunday, Jesus being the Resurrection and the Life. But, it’s not enough that He’s who He is. What’s your response to this? Do you believe this?
Today, if you are clinging to Jesus alone by faith, then death has no hold on you. In fact, because of Jesus you know life now and will know life for eternity. Place your faith in Jesus.
My 5/4/14AM sermon, Promises, Promises from Romans 4:13-25 is now online. The sermon is another in our series through the book of Romans. My understanding of the whole book fitting together is “the glory of God in a united church on mission under grace.” This week, I sought to encourage the firm footing we have under grace by connecting faith to God’s promises. While there was a lot in the sermon about God making promises and fulfilling them, the passage built to a crescendo in Romans 4:23-25 showing how this was for our benefit that we may be righteous by believing in Jesus, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. To put it simply, we can know a real relationship (characterized by reconciliation and peace like Romans 5:1-11 will show) by placing our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
My 6/24/12AM sermon from Hebrews 11:39-40 entitled Faith and The New Covenant is now online. There’s lots of excuses made as to why one can’t live a life of faith, but, Biblically speaking, we have every reason in the world to aggressively pursue it. Simply put, because of the new covenant blessings that are ours in Christ, faith should be the natural way we relate to God. In this closing passage to Hebrews 11, I try to make the case that we should live by faith because that it is a path, a way of life, that is blessed by God. Further, it’s how righteous people live. There’s no other way.
I hope you enjoyed a great Lord’s Day.
This coming Sunday, I hope (Lord willing) to finish Hebrews 11 by preaching Hebrews 11:39-40. After listing hero after hero who triumphed in faith one way or another, our writer wants to turn the corner to help us see what this means for us. And, he’s been sitting on a royal flush.
He assures us that God provided something better for us, namely the Lord Jesus Christ and His new covenant work.
All these Old Testament saints had trusted and didn’t have the great and precious promises that we have in Christ. Here’s how Lig Duncan highlights this charge:
“Look you Hebrew Christians, who heard the Gospel from those who had heard it from the apostles themselves. You have seen how the story ends. You have seen the coming of the Messiah. These people before had not seen it and yet they trusted. So why don’t you trust?”
Or Calvin:
“A tiny spark led them to Heaven. But now that the Son of Righteousness shines on us, what excuse shall we offer if we still hold to this earth?”
We’ve been given much more than the heroes of faith had in chapter 11 of Hebrews. The only question that remains is, “Will we live by faith?” Come this Sunday as we explore this.
My 6/17/12AM sermon from Hebrews 11:32-38 is now online. It was entitled Worthy Heroes. There were a few things that really stood out to me in this passage…
1) The hope of a better life. In v.35, there are 2 ways contrasted. 2 women triumphed in faith when they received back children from the dead. That was a pretty amazing thing, a physical resurrection. But, what captivates the writer of Hebrews was those who were tortured, and led to death in the hope of a better life, a better resurrection. This spiritual resurrection that is ours should be enough to jolt us in the here and now to live lives of endurance marked by faith. This hope of a better life should help get you through Mondays.
2) Worthy – In v.38, these suffering believers are described as those of whom the world is not worthy. Which led me to ask, well if they aren’t worthy of the world, then who are they worthy of? The answer: God Himself. When we triumph in endurance, God is pleased and esteemed as the most worthy one of the universe.
Today, then, strive to be a worthy hero that honors God by living in faith.
With VBS behind us, we continue to be changed by the truths we saw. One song, which will be incorporated into our gathering Sunday is the song “Worthy” extolling the amazing praise due Jesus. This Sunday, we will be in Hebrews 11:32-38 for the AM sermon, which will be entitled Worthy Heroes. We will see people described as those of whom the world was not worthy. However, in light of Jesus and the amazing attributes He has better than any other, I’m hoping that faith would rise to make us worthy followers of Him, for He is worthy of everything. Plan to join us Sunday at 10:15AM for worship.
My 6/10/12 sermon entitled Faith Developed in God’s People from Hebrews 11:29-31 is now online. The sermon sought to show how God seemed to work faith in His people in this passage. Specifically, we saw faith trust God’s Word of deliverance as the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea. We saw faith cling to God’s promises in the midst of tough circumstances as they marched around Jericho 7 times and saw it fall. And faith obeyed, as Rahab evidenced her faith in obedience to God’s call for her salvation.
There are many rich applications for our lives from this. For instance, we all face tough times and this passage shows how to unrelentingly hold to God through those. I hope you found it encouraging. Have a blessed week.
My 6/3/12AM sermon entitled Faith’s Actions from Hebrews 11:23-28 is online. This sermon looked at the recap of Moses’ life in the book of Hebrews and helped us see how his faith related to action (informed by the Gospel, of course). One big thing I was driving at in the sermon was how many of us think that faith doesn’t require action, which is good if we’re talking about entering into a relationship with God. However, long term sanctification and growth occurs out of faith-filled action, evidencing what we really believe. In this sermon, I was driving at how being saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone produces a faith that is not alone, but filled with God-glorifying, Gospel-provoked action.
I hope it benefitted you and you had an enjoyable Lord’s Day standing in awe of God and His amazing mercy towards you.
This coming Lord’s Day, we will continue our march through the book of Hebrews (specifically Hebrews 11:23-28) by looking at Moses’ faith. There are a few things that stand out from a mere cursory reading of the text:
1) Faith is fearless. Both Moses’ parents and Moses himself were fearless when it came to the ruler of the land of Egypt. What’s amazing about being fearless is that typically there is something greater that is feared. In this case, Moses endured by a big picture of an invisible God. Catch that? Something that couldn’t be seen with human eyes made Moses live a certain way in today.
2) Faith is active. In each episode of Moses’ life, we see someone who has faith in God alone, but it is not a faith that is alone. It’s a faith that displays itself in action. And, for every action that comes out of the story of his life, we are given a reason for why that action is pursued (which helps us as we seek to live out active faith).
In light of this, then, I encourage you to join us this coming Sunday, 6/3/12, as we explore the active, fearless faith of Moses so that we might be a people who glorify and enjoy God, forever.
My sermon from 5/27/12AM is online. It was entitled Faith for the Finite and Focused from Hebrews 11:20-22. It looked at Isaac, Jacob and Joseph and helped us see how they exhibited faith at the end of their lives in blessing their children. So, faith was exhibited by finite men, who were given a window of time to honor God, but were frail and dying. And, their faith was focused on future, unseen, promised realities from God Himself. That’s the forward focus.
The main application I have for my own life is to realize that I want this short life God has given me to count as a life of faith. Today, will you pray for me in this regard and look at your own life, seeing if you’re building your “house” on the rock of who God is or on the sand of this world.
Have a great week.
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