In this message, Pastor Ross encouraged the congregation by reminding them of God's promises.  Dads (and all believers) can count on the "Promise of God's Presence", the "Promise of God's Precepts", the "Promise of God's Provision", and the "Promise of Prayer." Listen and be encouraged! 

Stephen's speech is the longest recorded sermon in the book of Acts.  As he stands before the Sanhedrin, he provides them with a history lesson. Beginning with Abraham and the patriarchs, he shows how God's activity was never limited to Israel or the Temple.  They also have a pattern of rejecting their deliverers the first time. The patriarchs were moved with envy and rejected Joseph.  Joseph is seen as a type of Christ. 

An immediate crisis results in the Apostles needing some assistance. They appoint seven men to oversee the task of the daily food ministry to the saints.  One of those men is Stephen, who is also the first martyr of the church. What we soon discover, is this man's ministry is not limited to his office of "waiting tables." He is a man full of faith, power, wisdom, and the Holy Spirit.  He ministers in the synagogue and preaches Christ. Those in opposition are unable to defeat him in debate, so they bring false accusations before the Sanhedrin.

As we recognized the high school and college graduates this year, our pastor gave a charge to them and to the rest of the congregation. Moses' life neatly divides into three forty-year segments. We are more familiar with the first forty years and the last forty. But in this message, we will look at the forty years Moses spent in Midian. It seemed like all hope was lost, but God was still on the move. He was developing Moses' character and preparing him for his destiny as the deliverer. 

At the conclusion of the Bread of Life sermon, some of Jesus' disciples are offended and decide no longer to follow Him.  This teaches us that not all followers (or "disciples") of Christ are true believers.  The Lord then looked at the Twelve and asked if they would abandon as well.  Peter gives a statement as spokesman for the group, but we soon learn he is not 100 percent accurate in his assessment. 

As Jesus continues the "Bread of Life" discourse, He resorts to the metaphorical language almost exclusively.  He has plainly told them that He is the Bread of Life and the way that Bread is appropriated is by coming to Him and believing on Him. Now, He will tell them they must eat His flesh and drink His blood to have eternal life. Clearly, He was not advocating cannibalism.  He was indicating, however, that His sacrificial death will be necessary to atone for their sins. They may not have understood the metaphor clearly, but they understood enough to find the message hard to stomach! Not much has changed! The world still sees the message of the Cross as offensive and unpalatable. 

The Lord reveals to the crowd that He "came down from Heaven." The Jews are convinced that they know His origin, and that He is merely the "son of Joseph." We who have read the Gospel know that He is the eternal Word that has come down from Heaven and was made flesh (John 1:14). This Word is the only begotten Son of the Father! In an ironic twist, the crowd murmurs just as their ancestors did concerning the manna in the wilderness. Christ does not attempt to answer their criticism because He knows that no one can come to Christ unless the Father has drawn that individual. 

After the feeding of the five thousand men, the crowds come seeking Jesus. He recognized they were not seeking for the right reasons. He took the opportunity to teach them the spiritual truths behind the miracle of the loaves and the fishes. Here, we find one of the seven great "I AM" passages in the gospel of John.  We are forced to deal with two seemingly contradictory truths...Divine sovereignty and human free will. The text does not resolve the tension between the two parallel truths. The Father gives believers to the Son. But believers must come and believe in order to be saved! 

Paul instructs the Corinthians on the proper conduct and attitude when partaking of the Lord's Supper. They were coming together, but their meetings were producing more bad than good. The division taking place between the "haves" and the "have nots" was ruining their "love feasts." Paul goes on to say that we should all examine ourselves before coming to the Lord's table. Failure to do so, will invite Divine chastisement. 

In contrast with our message about Judas, we take a look at Peter's denial of Christ. It is recorded in all four gospels.  Peter was filled with pride and presumption, and it led to his temporary demise. But Peter came back from his epic failure to lead the Apostles and the early church.  What made the difference for Peter? We will look at the reason for Peter's restoration in this message.  Hopefully this will be an encouragement to anyone who has failed the Lord at any given time.  Haven't we all been guilty of that at some point? Thankfully, failure for the true believer is never final!