Hebrews 13: 1-19; Concluding Exhortations

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

I usually end up going with the first verse, or couple of lines, of the passage for the lesson, and I do it again here. 'Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.' Think of how you love your siblings, if you have any. And think of how they love you. Now, take that feeling of love and transfer it to anyone else: your friend, your neighbor, your co-worker, your tennis partner, your enemy, etc. Take that feeling and love that person with all you have to give. In this way you live out the second greatest commandment, you honor and glorify God, and you make the world a better, more faithful, place. God bless you.

Pastor Josh

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Hebrews 12: 18-29; The Mountain of Fear and the Mountain of Joy

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

'See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks.' God is still speaking. Perhaps God does not speak through as many burning bushes as he used to, but he is still speaking to all of us none the less. Our call is to hear. We need to open our ears to hear what God is saying to us. This comes through prayer. Prayer is not just a time when we speak to God. Prayer is also a time when God speaks back to us. We simply need to quiet our voices and spirits and listen, then we will hear God's voice. And the words we will hear will be glorious. God bless you.

Pastor Josh

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Hebrews 12: 14-17; Warning and Encouragement

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

'See to it...' The idea behind this is that we are supposed to help each other in faith. Faith is not easy. Being obedient is not easy. Moving forward is not easy. That is why God has given us each other. We are supposed to give each other encouragement. We are to hold each other accountable for sin. God has called us all to a life of faith, and with that in mind we are to help each other in faith. 'See to it...we all remain faithful to God.' God bless you.

Pastor Josh

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Hebrews 12: 4-13; God Disciples His Children

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

What this really means is that God is still very much active in the world, and in our lives. He has not left us, he has not abandoned us. Is it always pleasant when God teaches us something? No, but the good news we have a God who loves us enough to be involved in our lives. We follow a God who loves us enough to help us, sometimes by correction, as we go through life. Discipline is hard, but the good news is that God is here, in our lives, to discipline us in the first place. God bless you.

Pastor Josh

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Hebrews 11: 1- 12: 3; Faith in Action

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

This chapter (plus a little more) is like a 'who's who' of the Bible. We get glimpse after glimpse of hero after hero from the Bible. One of the greatest things about Scripture is the people inside it. They stand out even now, thousands of years later, as witnesses to the power and love of God. But they also stand out for their faith. We are to imitate Jesus, but there are some other folks in Scripture we could take a lesson from as well: Noah, Abraham, and Moses, just to name a few. Read about these people, and learn from them lessons in faith. God bless you.

Pastor Josh

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Sunday Scripture and Sermon for December 4, 2011

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Old Testament lesson for this Sunday comes from Isaiah 40: 1-11, in which God promises to send someone to prepare the way of the Lord. The New Testament lesson is from Mark 1: 1-8 in which John the Baptist begins his ministry. The sermon is titled 'Peace' and will focus on the peace God brings to our lives. I hope to see you all on Sunday. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Hebrews 10: 19-39; A Call to Persevere in Faith

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

The journey of faith is long and hard. We suffer as we go through life. Sometimes due to persecution. Sometimes due to the natural lives we live. And sometimes suffering comes because God asks us to do something very difficult. Whatever the source of the hardships there is no doubt there are many. They abound, truly. What we need, sometimes more than anything else, is perseverance. We need that strength and endurance to continue to move forward. How do we get it? By remaining close to God, spending time with him every day. In so doing we get the strength we need, which will help us to persevere. God bless you.

Pastor Josh

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