The church of Christ on McDermott Road

The word “kingdom” is not just another word for the church. And the kingdom of God is not referring to the place people go when they die. The kingdom is God’s uncontested rule and reign over the world. When Jesus defined the kingdom of God he did so using parables. He said the kingdom was like a grain of mustard seed or leaven hidden in flour. What do these parables teach about the kingdom of God and what is our role in the kingdom? (Scripture: Luke 13:18-21)

One of the most difficult portions of Hebrews 11 is the author’s mention of Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah. These were hardly exemplary religious men. They did some pretty horrible things. So, why would the Hebrew writer mention them alongside people like Abraham, Moses, and David? Perhaps it is because each of them—in spite of their sins—had moments when they did what they were called to do in spite of the odds being stacked against them. Being a person of faith is not about being perfect, but about doing what we are called to do even when the odds are stacked against us. (Scripture: Hebrews 11:31-40)

Sometimes being loving God and being loyal to him means being willing to suffer mistreatment and persecution. Moses gave up the palace to suffer with the his Hebrew brothers and sisters. He chose loyalty over luxury. When we are called to give up comfort, wealth, freedom, safety, or security for the sake of our commitment to King Jesus, are we willing to do it? Do we love Jesus enough to suffer with him and with his people? (Scripture: Hebrews 11:23-28)

Abraham was promised a son, a son through whom God would bring blessings to all the nations of the world. However, Abraham was told to kill that son and offer him as a sacrifice to God. Abraham’s loyalty was being tested. Would he be loyal to God, even when it seemed he would have to give up that which he most treasured? Our loyalty is rarely tested to this degree, but it is tested every day. Are we passing the test? (Scripture: Hebrews 11:17-19)

The work the medical missionaries with us this Sunday are doing relates closely with our text for this Sunday, leaving home and going to a foreign place because of loyalty to God. We will talk about Abraham’s willingness to leave home and go to a foreign land simply because he was committed to YHWH. We should all share a similar loyalty, commitment, and faith. (Scripture: Hebrews 11:8-12)

When we read the phrase, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,” we often take it to mean that faith is believing in something without evidence. This is a really poor understanding of faith. The Hebrew writer is saying that faith is being unshakably committed to a God you can’t see. The Jewish Christians were tempted to return their loyalties to the temple system they could see, but the Hebrew writer is reminding them that their forefathers had been commended for their commitment to the unseen. (Scripture: Hebrews 11:1-6)

We will discuss how grace teaches and trains us to, “Renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.” When we truly understand God’s saving grace we are motivated to grow and be transformed. (Scripture: Titus 2:11-14)

When the infant Jesus was presented in the temple, his family met a man and a woman who had been waiting patiently for the Lord’s arrival. Simeon had been told by the Holy Spirit that would not die until he saw the Messiah. Also, Anna, an elderly prophetess, had been waiting in the temple, “Worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.” Both Simeon and Anna rejoiced when Jesus arrived, because their diligent waiting had paid off. They teach us, waiting is not a passive activity. Those who are prepared for the arrival of the Lord are actively waiting for our redeemer. (Scripture: Luke 2:22-32)

When the Lord arrived in Bethlehem, his arrival was not announced to the Sanhedrin or in Herod’s palace, it was announced in a field of shepherds. To these humble shepherds, the Lord sent an angel and a whole host of heavenly beings to announce the Good News. Throughout Jesus’ life, it was people like these shepherds who were prepared for his coming. In the same way, it will probably the ordinary, unassuming, hard-working servants of the Lord who are prepared for his second coming. (Scripture: Luke 2:8-19)

Zechariah prophesied about what would become of his son, John. He said his son would prepare the way of the Lord. The coming of the Lord would be like a “sunrise” that would “visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.” Throughout the book of Luke, those prepared for the Lord’s arrival were those who knew they needed forgiveness of sins. They repented as soon as John’s call rang forth, because they were waiting in the “shadow of death.” Similarly, those prepared for the second coming of the Lord are longing for sun to rise on this dark world. (Scripture: Luke 1:67-79)