The Bible contains many conversions of what we might call "Hopeless" cases. Mary Magdalene, in Luke 8:2, was cured from seven devils and became a devoted follower of Jesus. The demoniac of Luke 8:27 was set free and wanted to follow Jesus but was sent home. Then one very famous hopeless case, the woman of Samaria, whom Jesus met at the well in John 4. Our topic today is about a man that would be considered another "Hopeless Case," Zaccheus.

When we were first saved, not many of us were told that we were signing up for work. Generally we were told that Salvation is a free gift of God, that's true. It is also true that we were created for good works Eph. 2:10. The Bible has many illustrations to teach us about works and examples of good works. The Lord Himself gives instructions in our message this morning about our works. So I would like for us to explore some of the essentials for working effectively. We can do a lot of things that we call works, but are they effective and are they works that will endure?

In my last study, I show the failures of Peter as he attempted to build an earthly tabernacle for Jesus, Moses and Elijah, at the time of the transfiguration of The Lord Jesus. It would be unfair to leave this matter in this manner. Peter had to learn from his experiences, today I want to show how much he learned from what he himself said and did.

It's hard to keep on not believing in God. C.S. Lewis has a list of books atheists shouldn't read. Atheists can never be too careful. Everywhere we look; our conscience, history, the transforming work of God in the life of derelicts, the Word of God, we see His signature.

If it is human to say a dumb thing at a crucial time, and it is, then Peter was indeed human. Here is Peter on a mountain top in the presence of the divine and eternal, and he says, "Let’s us make three huts." Our Text is Matthew 17:1-13.

God is not only the Creator; He is also the Sustainer. "In Him all things consist" (Col. 1:17b). He is the One who holds matter together, a fact which incidentally answers one of the problems that still baffles physicists.

The Godly man, how do we characterize a godly man? There are many things that are too numerous to list here that might be traits or characteristics of a Godly man. I am going to use Psalm chapter one to show the character of a godly man in contrast to the ungodly man.

What a wonderful, faithful, unchanging God we have. This is the God of creation. The one true God. Any God will not do. There are many false gods that are being worshiped in the world today. Make sure that you are worshiping and serving the right God.

When we submit our resume to a company or place a job application, there are always two things on our mind. First, what does the job pay and second, what are the benefits. You can have a good paying job with no benefits and health care costs will eat up the pay check. That is why it is so important to have good benefits; especially in the health care area. Sad to say what used to come free as a part of the job is now costing more and more each year. This message is about the benefits Christ offers to all believers.

Unquestionably, there is nothing more important than having a solid factual and rational basis for one's faith. To the many who think of faith as a belief strongly held and without evidence to support it (and often even in spite of much evidence to the contrary), that may seem an outrageous statement. Logically, however, if believing something strongly doesn't make it so, as human experience daily proves, then it is the greatest folly to continue on with a "faith" which, because it has no basis in fact but merely in fancy, must inevitably prove to be empty. The cost could be eternal and irrecoverable.