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Hebrews Study 12:5-24 “Disciplined for a New Covenant”

In our last class we started chapter 12. The first few verses show us that the examples of faith that have come before us are to spur us to take off every weight and every sin and to run this race concentrating always on Jesus. When we concentrate on Jesus, when we choose to make...

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Hebrews Study: 12:1-4 “Looking Unto Jesus . . .”

I once had a friend tell me that he believed that the eleventh chapter of Hebrews was completely parenthetical, that it stood in between chapter 10 and 12 as a perfect bridge between the promise of an identity of those who do not draw back and Jesus as our perfect example.  While parenthesis may not...

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Sermon on the Mount: The Kingdom of Heaven

In the first “beatitude” Jesus said that the “poor in spirit” are blessed because the “kingdom of heaven” belongs to them. What does that mean? Our entire culture of religion is based on the promise that if we pray the right prayer and that we will one day go to heaven, but Jesus doesn’t say...

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Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit”

“Blessed.” One of the most used words in Christianity. “God bless you.” “Be blessed.” “It was such a blessing.” “God blessed me with  . . .” We pray for blessing, we seek blessing and we speak blessing but what does it mean? We have talked before about the reality that God’s revelation of blessing can...

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Hebrews Study 11:23-40 “Faith is . . .” Part 3

Tonight we will finish Hebrews 11, the great chapter of faith. The chapter starts with what has become our definition of faith, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” From that definition the rest of the chapter filled with examples of faith that illustrate the definition. From...

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Sermon on the Mount: “A New Language for a New Kingdom”

A few months ago I had a friend come and visit from out of town and he asked if I could take him to see some of historical sites in Philadelphia. We went to Independence Hall, saw the Liberty Bell and went to the National Constitution Center. During the opening presentation at the Constitution Center...

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The Entrance of the King

Matthew 1:18-24  What does the incarnation of Jesus mean? Technically it is that God became a man but that answer is so theological that I think we miss the point and power sometimes. Why was Jesus born? Why did the Creator take the form of His creation? Why did the King of Glory become a...

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Hebrews Study 11:7-22 “Faith is . . . ” Part 2

Hebrews 11 begins by telling us that “faith is the substance of things hoped for , the evidence of things not seen.” The rest of the chapter then reveals faith in action through the examples of the men and women that lived by faith in obedience to God’s voice in their lives. In this week’s...

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“Extravagant Devotion to Jesus”

This week our prayer pastor, Geannine LeBude shared the Sunday message. Weaving together the devotion of Mary of Bethany to Jesus with the great love the Bridegroom reveals for His bride in Song of Solomon Geannine taught profoundly that “our lives will only bear fruit if they are founded on a deep devotion of love...