IBCD Sermon Weekly

God cares about each individual person, and that’s also how He reaches out to us. If we follow Him, that means putting ourselves in situations where we can share the gospel one at a time.

Acts 8:29–31 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

As we start to look at the book of Acts, one thing becomes clear from the beginning on: God did not create us for individual faith. He wants us to be in community, and He uses this community to reach the people with His love and truth.

Acts 2:46–47 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

As we look at the passage in Hebrews today, the author talks about two mountains. Mount Sinia and Mount Zion. Mount Sinia is the mountain upon which God gave Moses the law, which becomes known as the Law of Moses. Mount Zion is, in this passage, a metaphor of grace and future hope for those who place their trust in Christ. One says “stay away!”, the other says “come near”.

Hebrews 12:18, 22 18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm… 22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God.

Peter is the disciple we have the most information about from the Gospels and book of Acts. He goes through a long character arc and, as a result, is a person many people feel they can identify with as he traverses the ups and downs of faith.

John 21:2-3 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. 3 "I'm going out to fish," Simon Peter told them, and they said, "We'll go with you." So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Today is Palm Sunday. It is the time when Jesus enters Jerusalem as the “king” prophesied in scriptures. However, he is not the king people were expecting, and this enthusiastic greeting did not lead to a throne, but rather to a Cross. A Cross which looked like complete failure and defeat, but in hindsight was the victory we needed from the king we needed.

5 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." 7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Hebrews 12:5-11

The book of Hebrews portrays our journey of faith as a race. The examples of the lives of the faithful who have raced before us, help us face uncertainty with perseverance, despite the challenges we encounter. As the author and perfecter of our faith, Jesus Christ is the ultimate champion of the race.

Hebrews 12:1-2 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith."

How do we know when we have clearly heard from God? Today I am going to talk about this, and we will also hear a testimony from a brother in the faith who has an experience many of you can probably relate to about hearing from God. This is not a complete list, but these are ways that God definitely uses as seen in the scripture and throughout history.

John 14:26 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

You are not called to be perfect; you have been given the credit for perfection through Christ. You are not called be a hero, you might be, but most of us will not have stories remembered long after our deaths. But we are called to faith. If the Bible is any indication, we will all likely face that impossible situation, that thing we cannot control.

Hebrews 11:39-40 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

We talk about faith all the time. It is the basis for Christianity, but it is not easy to define. In this sermon, we will look at how the Bible defines it and what the five main aspects of faith are. Understanding the concept of faith better helps us all to experience God more closely.