I. Isaac  v.20 – Who was Isaac? – The promised child of Abraham thru which the promises of God were going to come. – He had two sons, Jacob and Esau who both received a blessing from Him – Blessing and cursing – (Creation story/blessed-God’s way); (R sin/cursing-R way) – The reason the blessing was so sought after in the Old Testament is because it signified both protection by God, and provision from God –… Continue reading

I. Abraham’s Challenge  v.17 – By faith when Abraham was tested – Have you ever felt tested?    * Challenges of faith are always a test – Why? Because we have to trust someone else with our situation    * Tests seem greater when they involve the people we love    * We must remember in all of life’s tests there is an opportunity for faith – His test was to offer up Isaac –… Continue reading

I. Seeing the Promises  v.13 – So the writer ends this section by stating that “all these died in faith” – All the way through their death they never stopped believing God – Are you so confident in what God has said that you will trust Him even if what He said doesn’t materialize in your lifetime? – Spiritual vision – They saw the promises but never received them – When you walk in faith… Continue reading

I. Sarah’s Challenge  v.11 – When it comes to Sarah’s faith she faced a real challenge – God told her He was going to do something beyond human possibility – This requires faith to accept and embrace – Lets look back and see what happened    *Gen 17:15-21 – God tells Abraham they are going to have a child – Abraham falls on his face, laughs and says to himself how is this even possible –… Continue reading

I. His Calling  v.8 – By faith (a faith decision) -When he was called, he obeyed – Gen 12:1-9    * The calling of God on Abram’s life completely changed it’s direction  – God interrupted what Abram had going to with a new plan    * His obedience required abandonment of his plans, and acceptance of what God wanted to do with his life – Are you willing to do the same? – When he… Continue reading

I. The Spirit Helps Us  v.26-27 – In the same way that the Spirit gives us hope of being delivered from this corruptible flesh, He also gives us hope in the face of our weakness of not really knowing how to pray as we should    * Praying for the wrong things – Not understanding the mind of God    * Being so emotionally distraught in a situation that we can’t see how to… Continue reading

I. Our Witness  v.5 – Our witness matters (Our individual story of faith) – You have a story – The good news for all of us is our story can change – Enoch’s witness – We don’t know much, but here is what we do know:    * He was pleasing to God – What a beautiful thing – How many of you would love to have this as a description of you?    *… Continue reading

I. What Happened  Genesis 4:1-8 – So, we find here Abel listed in the “Hall of Faith”. Let’s look back and see what happened between him and his brother    * Eve gives birth to Cain & Abel – Brothers    * Cain was a farmer and Abel was a shepherd    * In time they each brought an offering to the Lord – Cain from the First fruits of the ground and Abel… Continue reading

Faith Profiles I. What is it?  v.1 – It is the assurance of things hoped for – Faith gives us confidence that God is going to deliver on the biblical things we hope for    * What are the things we hope for? – Prayers; Bible; Our future with Him – Can you imagine the things we hope for without faith/confidence in God? – Without faith we have no hope that any of these things… Continue reading

Elements of a Mature Church I. Recognize the Obedient  v.14 – We have a responsibility to one another – We are instructed to:    * Note the people who are not obedient – A lifestyle contrary to God’s Word    * Disassociate from the disobedient – Withdraw fellowship – The goal is to put them to shame – Not to embarrass, to bring about obedience – Admonish him as a brother not an enemy –… Continue reading