The Grace of God is abundantly displayed in discipline. (Hebrews 12:1-17)

The Necessity of the Incarnation for Salvation & the Perseverance of the Saints.

God is light. When Jesus came to earth, He shone as a bright contrast to the dark world of sin and sadness. Divinity had to take on humanity to fulfill God's purposes. Incarnation was appropriate, necessary, and is a non-negotiable doctrine of Christianity.

God wants us as a church to live life in transformative newness.

If anyone owns the word "new," the church does. Those who have been transformed by the Gospel and have been given a new nature know the true meaning of the word. In a new year when much is uncertain, we know the Lord is still on the throne, and we are qualified and equipped for whatever may come our way.

Reflections on the Significance of the Incredible Incarnation!

Christmas is when God became man. This is the meaning of "incarnation." But why did God become man? The whole Bible is the answer; this morning, we look at Hebrews 2 for part of the answer.

The Authority of God's Son.

The author of Hebrews was waging war against the authorities in his culture. Culture is always a powerful force that shapes people as people shape it. Those on the fringes of popular culture are perhaps the most honest in applying culture to their lives, living in harmony with the ideals they are being taught.

Is there any reason to question culture's place in our life? If so, who can we trust? Hebrews 1:1-3 tells us that Jesus Christ has the authority to speak with pointed help as we evaluate the proper place of culture in our lives.

The Christian and Modern Culture.

God's Word, Our Protection.

God's Word has tremendous protective value in the development of our spirit. Many places in Scripture affirm its transformative power and stress the importance of memorizing and applying the Bible.

The context of Hebrews is the superiority of Jesus Christ. The writer pauses to give a parenthesis of warning in Hebrews 5:11-6:3. He assumes that his audience is saved, but has instruction to give regarding how they handle the Word of God. We can learn five aspects of growth from this passage.

A Portrait of a Woman’s Persevering Faith.

When you look at a painted portrait of a woman, you often wonder what she was really like. We wonder the same thing with Bible characters. A few verses in Hebrews 11 show us how to interpret Sarah’s story. She was known as a woman of faith.

Sarah is involved differently in all 3 sections of Genesis 18. God’s promises to Sarah and Abraham show what he can do with faithful obedience in simple, singular things.

The Beginning of Our Faith and All Things.

This year’s theme is “By Faith.” Hebrews 11 lists many of the faith-filled saints we will meet as we walk through the book of Genesis in 2014. The faith they exemplify is saving faith – faith that turns from sin and looks only to Christ for salvation. We can mirror their character in this dark world as they mirrored Jesus’ character for us. As they faced various afflictions, so we too will endure for the fame of His name.