The Churchtown Weekly Thursday, December 12, 2024
Learn-Grow-Become-GO!
Shout it in the assembly.
Shout it to the world. (Psalm 40)
1Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see.
2This is why the ancients were commended.
3By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
4By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
5By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
6And without faith it is impossible to please God. For anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going. 9By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11By faith Sarah, even though she was barren and beyond the proper age, was enabled to conceive a child, because she considered Him faithful who had promised. 12And so from one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
14Now those who say such things show that they are seeking a country of their own. 15If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
17By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac on the altar. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.” 19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and in a sense, he did receive Isaac back from death.
20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future.
21By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
22By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his bones.
This is Hebrews chapter 1 from the Berean Study Bible. As you can read, all of the rest of chapter 1 (there is more, go read through it) is a commentary of the opening verse, and the opening verse defines two fundamental aspects of the Christian life – faith and Hope.
I have been speaking a great deal about faith and hope over Advent. This is not abnormal; but this year I am really focusing on Who it is, exactly, in whom we have faith and what it is, exactly, for which we hope.
Hope, faith, Peace, Joy, Love – all are inextricably entwined in our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Let’s break down just the first independent clause.
Faith is the assurance of what we hope for.
This seems to contradict itself. Isn’t faith a belief in something that may or may not be real? How can our faith be an assurance?
Our faith can be an assurance because we through the Spirit of the Lord, KNOW that Jesus is alive and that we have been saved and are being sanctified each and every day we walk with Him. Faith of which the author of Hebrews speaks is not the kind of faith we have that something might happen, or someone might do something – the faith of this scripture is the faith, the knowledge, the understanding, the assurance, that the completed work of the cross has ushered in the Kingdom of God, and His Kingdom will be made complete with everything, including every faithful disciple, being reconciled FULLY unto Him.
We LIVE in the Kingdom of God NOW – the fulfillment od the Kingdom is yet to come. We know that it is real because it is BOTH now and still to come. Wow.
We know that the Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in us. We know that the Kingdom of God exists on earth now. We know that we have been empowered and commissioned to spread the Good News; and we know that the time will come when Jesus returns to completely restore all of creation, including us!
This is our HOPE. It is what we read in scripture and know in our hearts to be true! We do not hope for a possibility – we hope for the reality! Just as we groan with all creation now, we HOPE in the ASSURANCE of the TRUTH of the WORD.
We do not simply have “faith” that this will happen – we are assured that it will happen by the living God Himself! We know Him! He knows us! We believe what he says, and HE says that it will happen.
I have been dwelling on this the past few weeks because of something that was said on a podcast that I listen to. It is called, “The Bible Recap.” It is a yearly Bible read-through with each reading being reviewed and commented on by the host, Tara Leigh Cobble. She was commenting on Romans Chapter 5, which speaks of faith and hope and the peace we have in the Lord and she off-handedly said, “I can’t wait for the day that I am both faithless and hopeless.”
Think about that. When the reality of the New Heaven and New Earth is upon us – what we hoped for will be at hand (no need to hope for anything when we have everything)
And what we have been assured of through the Truth of scripture will come to pass (no need to have faith when the reality is, literally, staring you in the face.
Every
Single
Day
Ms. Cobble may have meant it as an off-handed remark, but it hit me like a ton of bricks.
How fitting that during this season of Advent – as we await the second coming of Jesus – that we pray for the day when we are both faithless and hopeless! 😊
WE WILL SEE YOU IN CHURCH!
Here’s an idea!
We would like to start 2025 by reading the entire New Testament out loud from the sanctuary.
We would begin at midnight January 1 and continue hour by hour until we complete it all. It should take about 18 hours.
There will be a sign-up sheet on the board starting this week.
We will also live-stream this over You Tube for all to receive.
If you haven’t taken the theological study day survey, please do! We want to hear from you!
Over the next few weeks and at the beginning of next year, we will be sharing the yearly church calendar with you and also sharing our goals and visions for 2025. We would love to hear from you! Only through you can any goal – physical or spiritual be reached!
ANOTHER BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!
You can now subscribe and listen to the
“Churchtown Podcast Network!”
Available on both Apple Podcasts and Spotify, just search “Turning on the Lights!” and “Churchtown Church of God Sermons” – subscribe and then leave a rating and a review! More folks will see it!
*Audio and video are always posted on our YouTube channel @churchtownchurch (there are 1,100 videos there)
Church Calendar
Your Council is meeting on Tuesday the 17th at 6:30pm.
Congregational Prayer is Wednesday the 18th at 7pm
Sunday the 22nd we will be Christmas Caroling beginning at 5! Get signed-up so we know how much food to buy!
Our traditional Christmas Eve candlelight service begins at 7pm.
Remember, the single biggest reason given for why someone attends church for the first time is that a friend asked them!
Don’t let family coming for Christmas to be the reason you don’t attend church! Set a good example!
As always, we continue in prayer for Churchtown, for our community, for the church universal, and for the lost everywhere.
God is good. God provides. Keep your eyes up and on the cross people.
Be well and do good, my friends. And, as always, Keep Looking Up! The lord comes!
REMEMBER THAT!
Opportunities!
We are always seeking individuals to be trained in technology. We would like to develop TEAMS that could rotate weekends.
There is always the opportunity to provide music – join up with the New Song Singers and / or talk to me about a special prelude or piece.
Gather-Grow-Become-Go
Churchtown Church of God
Sunday, December 15, 2024
Welcome to Churchtown!
We are glad you are here!
Brass Triumphant! Will lead us today beginning at 9:50 with prelude pieces. Thank You!
Opening Word
Isaiah 12 (NLT)
144, “How Great Our Joy”
#125, “Joy to the World!”
#133, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”
#132, “Angels We Have Heard on High”
The Peace Candle
Melissa Myers—Sister in Grace
Scripture: John 16:16-17 (NLT)
Our Advent Prayer of Joy
“O Come, O Come Emmanuel”- Brass Triumphant
Our Time in the Word
Revelation 21:1-8; 22:1-6 (NLT)
Our Time of Corporate Prayer
“The Lord’s Prayer”
The Final Word: Rev. 22:12-21
Postlude, “Good Christian Men Rejoice”
Your offering to the church is received with humility through the offering box located in the side room as you face the sanctuary. Thank You for supporting The Churchtown Church of God.
.
As a “little” church, we are always asking the question, “What CAN we do?” Well, we can start by caring for the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of each other.We CAN serve the next person God places before us.
We CAN invite that person to church!
We CAN be intentional about going to church and strengthening ourselves and the body.
We CAN serve our community and show who Christ is to those who do not know Him.
We CAN PRAY, PRAY, PRAY – and we can REMAIN FATIHFUL!
I Love Being Your Pastor and Your Friend,
Brian
0 Comments