Christians are to a thankful people. Paul wrote- Rejoice in the Lord always- again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand- do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. -4-4-6---King David led his people in thankful rejoicing as the ark was brought to Jerusalem. He gives 3 basic reasons why we should give thanks to Yahweh. Then Jesus healed 10 lepers and sent them to the priest to be declared clean so they could rejoin the community but only one returned to fall at his feet and say thanks. Where do you find yourself in this story-

The apostles played an indispensable role in the preservation and propagation of Jesus' teachings and the facts of his ministry. This passage launches us in seeking to answer three questions about the apostles- Who were they- What work did Jesus commission them to do- Why are they important for the Church-

One way Christians are depicted in the Bible is that of soldiers in God's Armor. We must put on the whole armor of God. What is the whole armor-

The justification of sinners by the grace of God was a primary focus of the Protestant Reformers at the time of the Reformation in the early 16th century. It is on the basis of Christ's death and resurrection that sinners are declared righteous and receive the gift of salvation from sins and eternal life. Neither human good works nor church traditions can bring a person salvation - only faith in Jesus and his saving work can.

Jesus is precious to those who believe on him. The Bible uses many descriptions and word pictures to convey this truth.

Baptism is a central practice in the New Testament beginning with John continuing with Jesus and his apostles. It is part of the command of Christ to make disciples. To discover the meaning of baptism one must begin with its introduction, its early practice and meaning attached to it. Baptism expressed repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus as response to God's call in the gospel. The pattern is the gospel preached, heard, understood and believed then baptism.

Assembling together in Christ is so important for the Christian life. But our fellowship goes wider than the local body. The Bible gives us principles for Christian association. Who is my brother or sister in Christ- What is the grounds for Christian fellowship-

A new pastime of many is searching for their family roots. The church can experience benefit from an examination of the movement, and passion of the historical origins of our faith. Our roots go deep.

Generous and earnest giving by believers to the cause of Christ's kingdom is a gracious work of the Spirit and it flows out of gratitude to Christ for his death and resurrection in behalf of our salvation. The Macedonian Christians exemplified this spirit of giving in their earnest desire to give of their financial means, and beyond their means, to help out the suffering Christians in Jerusalem. Paul urges the Corinthian Christians to follow both Christ and the Macedonians' and complete their stated intention to also help out the Jerusalem church.

The Corinthians' repentance at Paul's admonition demonstrated their willingness to please Paul, as well as the Lord. The spiritual fruit in their lives were a tremendous comfort to Paul and Titus. The sermon's purpose is to encourage believers in the church to exercise godly repentance from sin, as well as brotherly affection toward one another.