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Strangers, Aliens, Home

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This coming Sunday, we hope to look at Hebrews 11:13-16.  One of the big arguments of this passage has to do with people, in faith, calling themselves strangers and aliens on earth and, in doing so, “make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.”  To be a stranger somewhere means that there is somewhere that is not so strange.  To be an alien, means that there is somewhere you are at home.

We are pretty hung up on being home.  We love the comforts, conveniences, security and familiarity it provides.  So, when we are in a “strange” place that feels like home, we call it our home away from home.  Home Sweet Home.  What does that mean?  Only that there is a place that is home.

How we live in this world and view it says a lot about our faith.  Come this Sunday, then, as we explore a life of faith and its future look affects your life in the here and now.

Hope Against Hope or…

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Faith Trusts God in the Impossible or at least that’s what Hebrews 11:11-12 would have us understand.  This coming Lord’s Day, we will be looking at this passage and the faith that Sarah exhibited and God rewarded (He is a rewarder, after all, of those who believe that He is and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him).  Here’s how Ligon Duncan explains the thrust of this week’s passage:

We’re told [in this passage] that Sarah by faith become the mother of the faithful.  What that passage is saying is Sarah’s saving faith was the instrument by which the line of promise was continued.  That promise would ultimately lead to the Lord Jesus Christ.  But she believed even though physically there was no argumentation as to whether she would be able to have a child.  Humanly speaking, this was hope against hope.  But again, God’s Word came and said that through Sarah, Abram would have descendants whose numbers would be innumerable.  So Abram’s wife believed.  Here again she had to trust in something that she did not live to see.  The author [of Hebrews] continually points us to the future hope which is ours.

There are times when we have to weigh what God has said against what we can see with our eyes.  Faith is letting God’s promise hold weight.  We live in light of that.  Hope this helps you thirst for more of God in His Word.  Join us this Sunday.

Faith’s Obedience and Look

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My sermon from 4/29/12AM was entitled Faith’s Obedience and Look and came from Hebrews 11:8-10.  This got to help in our faith from the example of Abraham.  Throughout the Bible, Abraham and faith go together, so it made sense in this chapter showcasing faith in the Bible, we would find Abraham.  Our writer wants us to learn that faith is how the righteous live, or, in this context, it is how we persevere in this world.

Abraham gave us a lot of help by showing us how an active faith is tied to immediate obedience.  Believing God is who He is should cause us to obey Him and what’s He revealed to us in His Word.  Further, faith has a look to it.  Faith is consumed with eternity.  If there’s ever anyone in the Bible who could have rested in a promise, it would have been Abraham, but Hebrews 11:9-10 showed us that Abraham lived in the promised land as a foreigner because he was looking to a future promised by God Himself.  There are many applications for us in this passage, then.  I hope you were helped by it and live this week with a faith that displays itself by obeying and looking heavenward.

Weekend Recap – Noah’s Faith

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My 4/22/12AM sermon from Hebrews 11:7 entitled Faith Obeys is online.  The sermon sought to draw some application from Noah’s faith.  Specifically, faith takes God’s Word seriously before an unbelieving world in light of the inheritance that is ours in Christ.  I hope you have a good week reveling in these and other truths from God’s Word.

Weekend Recap – Abel’s Faith

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Our weekend at Crestview was filled with excitement, as always. In the AM, we took the Lord’s Supper together and looked to Abel’s Faith from Hebrews 11:4.  Abel’s example helps us see how faith is tied to worship, our righteousness and our witness.

In the evening, we met in Small Groups.  My small group discussed the respectable sins of immorality and idolatry.

Hope you had a great day.

The Dead Speak?

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Seems like a strange thing to suggest, but that is precisely what the author of Hebrews says in Hebrews 11:4 (our text for 3/25/12) regarding Abel.  The text says: “…And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.”  What does this mean?

Well, we know from the Genesis 4:3-5 passage that after Cain murdered Abel his blood cried out from the ground.  This was reflected in this painting by William Blake entitled The Murder of Abel:

In the Genesis passage, what seems to speak through Abel’s death is his blood.  His blood is kind of crying out from the ground condemning Cain.  So, in Blake’s painting, Cain is running away with his ears covered.

But, in Hebrews 11:4, something else is speaking: Abel’s faith.  It was “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts.  And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.”  The body they may kill, God’s truth abideth still (said Luther).  Even though Abel was slain, his faith stood firm and continued to speak.

What does your faith speak?  Does your faith reflect a heart of worship to God?  Is God commending your faith because of how you relate to Him?  These are some of the themes we will look at this coming Lord’s Day.  Join us.

Weekend Review – Faith Understands

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My AM sermon from 3/18/12 entitled Faith Understands from Hebrews 11:3 is now online.  The sermon sought to unpack some aspects of faith, but specifically helped us see that what we believe about the creation of the world is a matter of faith.  Whether we accept the Bible’s teaching on it or deny it, we are exhibiting faith in something.  For the believer, it is by faith that they understand the origin of the world, taking God at His Word.

Hope you have a great week.  I’ll have a post tomorrow summarizing our men’s ministry Collision Course.

Faith Is…

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Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen, for by it the people of old received their commendation (Hebrews 11:1-2).  This was my text for my sermon yesterday, 3/11/12.  The sermon was entitled Faith Is.  Many misrepresent Christianity by claiming that it is just a leap into the dark unknown, but the Bible itself doesn’t allow for such a construct.  The Bible sees faith as stepping with full confidence and assurance, dare I say proof, into all that God’s promises, which is unseen to the natural eye.  This is the time-tested path for those who relate to God.  For more info, give my sermon a listen.  Hope you have a good week.

Faith…

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My AM sermon today will be on Hebrews 11:1-2, describing what faith is.  Here’s a longer definition from Phil Hughes on what v.1 is driving at and I’ve added space for emphasis…

[Faith is a] conviction
     that is not a static emotion of complacency
     but something lively and active,
not just a state of immovable dogmatism
    but of vital certainty
which impels the believer to stretch out his hand, as it were
     and lay hold of those realities on which his hope is fixed
     and which, though unseen, are already his in Christ.

Hoping to hold out this kind of faith today…

Weekend Preview – Faith Defined

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This coming Lord’s Day, we finally get to Hebrews 11, specifically vv.1-2.  In this opening statement, we have faith defined with terms like assurance and confidence.  Often, people think that Christianity is some blind leap into the dark.  But, the Bible paints faith in entirely different concepts.  Faith is, actually, centered and fully reliant on the reality that is ours in Christ.

Looking forward to this Lord’s Day as we revel in these and other truths.