Sermon 6-14-09 the greatest of these: faith heb 11:1-6ppplll
1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2This is what the ancients were commended for. 3By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. 4By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead. 5By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
1 cor 13……..now abide faith hope and love these three…….
3 Foundational values
Today: faith
My goal is that you will understand that the concept and the practice of fiath is nothing to fear, but it is instead reachable and attainable.
Nothing to fear?
When we think of faith and the Christian faith often we feel small compared to the huge expectations that some have laid out there.
In order to be a person of faith, you must know the teachings. You must do all of these things. You must behave in certain ways. We have made faith sound giant, and impossible.
Today I want to tell you that such representations are not only wrong, but do great damage to the goal that thye themselves are trying to achieve…..a relationship w God
Faith is within our reach
We are saved by faith………eph 2:8-10
The choice of faith awaits each of us
Just a little bit
Faith of a child.
Faith as a grain of mustard seed
The thief on the cross
Great heroes weren’t that great. They made big mistakes. Yet in the face of their sins, they did not pucker up with pride, they made themselves low. They bowed before God. They let their faith lead them to Him
Not to trivialize fairh, but I want to make it available to all.
You don’t have to be a giant saint. The relationship begins with one small step.
When I was growing up, I thought the greatest Christian must be the person who walks around with shoulders thrown back because of tremendous inner strength and power, quoting Scripture and letting everyone know he has arrived. I have since learned that the most mature believer is the one who is bent over, leaning most heavily on the Lord, and admitting his total inability to do anything without Christ. The greatest Christian is not the one who has achieved the most but rather the one who has received the most. God's grace, love and mercy flow through him abundantly because he walks in total dependence.
—Jim Cymbala, Fresh Faith (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1993), 45.
Faith is like a light bulb ... you need it when you can't see where you're going and you don't know what to do. Stay in the Light.
For this the ancients were commended…..
Abraham had faith and it was counted unto him as rieghteousness
No church, no doctrine, not scriptures, just a man who is aware of God. No paradimn taught to him from his youth about what or how to believe. He just sees the hand of god at work in the world, and he believes………..
What is faith……..being sure of what we do not see………
The finger and the moon……
What is it like to not have faith? Devastating. Fearful
Just a bit of faith will get you started in the right direction.
Conclusion
Without faith it is impossible to please him………Anyone who comes to God must believ3e that he is…..this relationship my be grounded in gods grace and gods activity, but it will not happen with out our response.
Do you have Faith that God exists
That he loves you
That nothing can separate us from his love
Therefore, you are forgiven. Everything is going to be ok.
Take one little step. That is the beginning. One step in the right direction.
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anthony demello and faith
faith is not in ourselves
Dr. Julius Modlenhawer confessed from his own experience that when he was a child, he knew so little that he believed the Christmas story, just as Luke tells it. Then came a time when he thought he knew so much - after studying science, biblical criticism, comparative religion and philosophy - that he could not believe the miraculous setting of the story. But now, once again, he knows so little that he believes the story just as Luke tells it.--As told by Donald J. Shelby, Santa Monica, California
Faith is in God
Mother Teresa of Calcutta had a dream. She told her superiors, "I have three pennies and a dream from God to build an orphanage."
"Mother Teresa," her superiors chided gently, "you cannot build an orphanage with three pennies. With three pennies, you can't do anything."
"I know," she said, smiling, "but with God and three pennies I can do anything!"
doubt
lexi morris- doubting thomas
faith begins with the sensation of wind in the air. the song of the bird. the ripple of water. the racing of a thought. the laughter of a child. the rising of th esun. the stars at night. the grand canyon, the beach. fire. trees. flowers. from there faith graduates to love. the mystery of relationships. the mystery of growing, knowing, living. somewhere along the line we fall headlong for the god who made it all. and it all began with the song of a bird. take that step. reach out for that god.
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Hans Lang tells a story about an old Russian. "His presence was always a comfort in those days full of struggle and death. When I got to know him, he was already 80 years old, at one time the owner of an estate, happily married and the father of seven sons and five daughters. For 27 years he was banished with his family to Siberia. His wife died there, and seven children. The other five children he lost on the way. When I asked him what he looked for in life now, he answered, 'I have had many blessings. I have experienced the heights and depths of life. I have nothing else now, only this.' Then he thrust his hand into his pocket and, wrapped in a handkerchief, pulled out a crucifix. 'This is all that is left to me now. It is nothing _ but on the other hand it is everything.'"
_As quoted in D. W. Cleverley Ford,
Preaching on the Crucifixion (London: Mowbray, 1993), 63.
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when we act in faith, miracles happen. because a small effort is turned against a giant challenge. when we act with great power, there are no miracles.
Miracle: a cancer inexplicably cured. A voice in a dream. A statue that weeps. A miracle is an event that strengthens faith. It is possible to look at most miracles and find a rational explanation in terms of natural cause and effect. It is possible to look at Rembrandt's "Supper at Emmaus" and find a rational explanation in terms of paint and canvas.
Faith in God is less apt to proceed from miracles than miracles from faith in God.
-- Frederick Buechner,
Where there is no faith in the future, there is no power in the present.
--J. Wallace Hamilton
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