Abraham, the Father of Faith (Hebrews 11:8-12, 17-19)

 

Abraham is the father of faith (Rom.4:16; Gal.3:6-9). The background is in Genesis 12:1-3; 15:13-16; 16:1; 17:17; 22:1-2.

  1. Faith obeys without knowing everything.
    • 11:8. Faith clings to what Luther called ‘the naked voice of God’. We do not always understand why God has commanded what He has – Gen.2:16-17;

This is That (Acts 2:12-21)

 

Gospel preaching in book of Acts. The first Christian sermon Acts 2:14-36

  1. A Bold Declaration v12-15
    • “Speaking in tongues had achieved a valuable purpose in gathering a large crowd around the disciples” F.F Bruce
    • 2 responses: amazement or false assumption
    • “addressed” : Luke 2:4, 2:14, 26:25
    • Drunk, really?
    • Here’s

The Eternal God Can be Known (Hebrews 11:6)

 

It is probably a general statement on faith which was prompted by the example of Enoch.

  1. We must know that faith is necessary to please God.
    • 11:6; Psalm 14:1. James Valentine: ‘I believe in love, hope, truth and my fellow humans… I don’t believe in guilt and shame… Love

What Does it Mean? (Acts 2:1-13)

 

Pentecost: ‘The time when the sickle was to be put to the harvest and the fruits to be gathered.’ – John Chrysostom. ‘Fifty days are reckoned from the celebration of the Passover… to the day on which Moses received the law on tablets written by the finger of God.’ …

Faith from Abel to Noah (Hebrews 11:4-7)

 

Faith is a sure hope, the same in principle in both Testaments, and begins with believing in God as the creator Heb.11:1-3).

  1. Faith does not protect us from suffering and trouble.
    • 11:4. God looked after Cain without saving him, while Abel suffered an early death, but was right with

The Qualifications of Deacons (1 Timothy 3:8-13)

 

1 Timothy 3:1-13 shows that there are two ordinary offices in the Church. Deacons must derive from Acts 6:1-6. Calvin: deacons are ‘those whom the Church appoints to dispense alms, and take care of the poor’.

  1. Deacons must be godly.
    • 3:8 (note v.3); 3:12 (see vv.2, 4-5); 3:10.
  2. Deacons

What is Faith? (Hebrews 11:1-3)

 

The Magic of Believing is about believing in yourself. Not so in the Bible. Hebrews 11 looks back to Hebrews 10:37-39.

  1. Faith is a sure hope.
    • 11:1. The word can be translated as ‘substance’ or ‘assurance’. Calvin favours the objective translation: ‘the foundation on which we plant our foot’.

Elijah in Both Testaments (Malachi 4; Matthew 11:2-14)

 

Alexander Stewart “Elijah’s mission was to vindicate the supremacy of Jehovah, and to bring back the land of Israel to its former allegiance to him. His work indeed was proclaimed by his name for Elijah means Jehovah is God and to burn this one truth into the heart and …

Exhortations and Greetings (1 Corinthians 16:13-24)

 

staccato exhortations in e.g. 2 Cor.13:11; 1 Thess.5:15-22. For 16:21, see Gal.6:11. Verses 13-14 introduce the final run, and contain five exhortations. For convenience, we can reduce them to three.

  1. Be watchful.
    • Scripture tells us to be watchful on a number of accounts:
      1. the devil – 1 Pet.5:8.
      2. temptation