Heritage Baptist Church of Frankfort IL

Mary listened to the message of the angel Gabriel and went to see Elizabeth to confirm the message. In response to the confirmation, Mary gave us one of the greatest hymns found in the Scripture. Her response was filled with references to the Scripture and framed to magnify God and his work of salvation to those who are humble.

This psalm is filled with prayer that is combined with a passion for the nations. The psalmist looks for God to bless His people. The hope is that the nations will the display of God's greatness and goodness and come to praise Him also. When the nations praise God, they are right with him. The New Testament believer also desires the nations to be reached. The hope is that people of every tongue, tribe, nation, and people will come to God through the Son and worship God.

The announcement to Mary displayed God's plan. It was going to be fulfilled by His Son taking on human flesh. The conception through a virgin is impossible from man's perspective. But the key statement in the passage that no word is impossible to God is designed to settle our souls that if God declares something it will happen.

The church is to be filled with active members. They should be a part of all the regular activities of the church such as preaching and fellowship. They must also exercise their gifts to minister and build others up. A church should be an every member ministering.

This psalm is filled with commands to praise God. All people should praise God. If they do not, they will be forced to praise. God's goodness to His people should be a testimony to the world. The believer at times suffers difficulty and refining at God's hand. In the end the believer should give testimony to God's goodness.

Luke's Gospel starts with smallest of movements indicating the start of God's plan of salvation. In this case a relatively unknown righteous priest and his wife are given a divine message that communicates God's plan for their future son. He is going to preach a message of repentance that will bring rejoicing to many. He will prepare people to meet the one who will bring salvation.

The church is Christ's display of Himself in this present age. Both in the universal sense and in the local context, Christ uses the church to magnify Himself and aid believers. This lesson deals with the many illustrations used to explain the church.

Sometimes we must be reminded that God is worthy of praise. In this psalm we are reminded of God's goodness and greatness that is displayed across the world. His goodness starts with atonement for sin to the clothing of all creation. His greatness is seen in establishing creation and calming the seas and nations.

Luke starts his Gospel with the purpose and organization of the Gospel. Luke, as a Gentile, wrote for a Gentile audience. He wrote specifically for Theophilus to understand what Jesus did and taught. It was an explanation of the origins of Christianity. Most importantly displayed that Jesus is the Savior of all the world, especially outsiders.

God uses the Word to communicate to us and prayer is what we use to communicate with Him. Prayer is often easily understood but hard to put into practice. This lesson gives some of the basic questions that people have and answers those questions from the Word.

This sermon connects our series in Philippians to our upcoming series in the Gospel of Luke. Paul had argued that a mind set on Christ and thinking like Christ would bring joy to believers. John in this letter starts with the importance of focusing on Christ. Any person can enjoy fellowship with Christ like any of the apostles experienced. They can have fullness of joy because they can know Christ in the same way.

Grace had the opportunity to minister in the Ukraine for two weeks. This report gives some of the details of her trip to Ukraine.

The Word of God is God's communication to us. It is necessary to learn of salvation, but also to grow in holiness. The Word is inspired by God and is valuable to the believer be what they should be and to know God well.

Many things need to be considered at the end of sermon series on Hebrews. How the book is arranged, some of the highlights and warnings. Ultimately, this book presents that Christ is better than anything and anyone. You must not turn away from Him!

This sermon concludes our series on Philippians. It reminds us that this letter was written first to recognize the gift of the Philippians to Paul. It was a also a reminder that Paul and the church at Philippi were both helping to advance the good news of Christ. Ultimately, they were living their life with a focus on Christ and having a mindset like unto Christ. Their focus on Christ led to strengthening their joy.

Communion is an opportunity for the church to unify to remember the sacrifice of Christ. This regular activity of the church is an ordinance that is often misunderstood.

Paul was in prison dependent on the gifts of others. In that state he penned one of the greatest statements on contentment. He had learned both from good and bad times that he could be content. The reason he could be content: Christ.

The author of Hebrews closes his book with a few seemingly disconnected details. However, each of the details is vitally important for the life of the church.

In this section Paul gives a list of things that we should consider. This list was similar to the morality lists of Paul's day. However, the standard for believers is much higher since the standard is Christ. Every activity needs to be considered and evaluated to see if it is the best thing we can be doing. After proper consideration in light of Christ a believer should be practicing these items in their life.

This passage starts and ends with the charge to listen to preachers and remember their words and works. Sandwiched in between this challenge is the message that they preach. It is the message of New Covenant in Christ that gives confidence beyond this life. This message is the most important message to consider.

Baptism is one of the ordinances of the church. It something that a believer does in response to Christ's command in order to be a testimony to union with Christ. Many errant ideas are attached to baptism. New believers often have different of baptism due to their former religious background.

Paul gives a series of exhortations for Christ-minded believers. The character and actions of these believers are a contrast to the world. They rejoice and are free from worry because they focus on Christ. God gives peace to these kinds of individuals.

At this point in Hebrews, the writer gives out a series of seemingly disconnected commands. However, in the connecting factor is love. The love of believers should extend to all saints, strangers, suffering believers, spouses, and their status. Being selfless and looking to Christ makes all of these things possible.

This is the concluding section that started back in Philippians 1:27. The believers are to contend for the gospel. They are to stand together in one mind. Unity is key in holding forth the gospel. Paul desired unity between the believers, because disunity was a discredit the gospel. He was willing to address two woman at Philippi. They had been important in the gospel going forth. However, they were disunified with one another. It was important for the woman to take care of their differences and if they could not, the church was to step in to bring unity. When people are focused on Christ and unified around Him, they can have real joy.

This is the last major appeal in the this letter of Hebrews. The contrast is between the Old Covenant pictured by Sinai and the New Covenant pictured by the heavenly Jerusalem. God has spoken through Christ to the world. To reject Christ is to be under God's eternal judgment. The God who can shake heaven and earth will judge those that reject Christ.

This section of confession deals with the process of confession. Confession means to uncover sin and look at it as God does. God, on His part, will not bring up our failures again and will look us to fellowship again with Him.

This section of Hebrews reminds us that life is like a marathon. God brings discipline into our life to punish or educate us. Some people might give up Christ when things get hard. However, those that live by faith look to Jesus, the author and finisher of their faith. Other believers bear responsibility to help those who are faltering and look like they might not make it to the finish line. They are to point them to the grace in Christ, and the disaster of missing Christ because there is no future opportunity for repentance.

This section is an application for the church at Philippi. Paul had used himself as an illustration of focus on Christ. Now, the believers are to be focused together on Christ. This unified focus strengthens the church and prepares believers for eternity with Christ.

The believer undergoes difficulty. This is part of God's discipline for our life. Sometimes it is designed to teach us and shape us and other times it is designed to punish us for sin. This discipline is an indicator to a believer that they are part of the family of God. It is not sign of His displeasure, but of His love for us.

Something that a new believer struggles with is the committing of sin. Before salvation it was not concern. After salvation, the guilt of sin weighs on a believer's conscience. Does one lose their salvation if they sin? What must be done with sin after salvation. This lesson is important for a believer to know the relief of sins forgiven.

The whole of the Christian life can be described as knowing and being like Christ. Ultimately, in the end that knowledge and practice will be complete reality in glory. However, in this life that process requires an athletic type of endurance to do well in this life.

In a season where our country celebrates its 250th anniversary, it is a good time to look to the Lord. He is the starter, the sovereign, and savior of all nations. However, the nation that puts their trust in Him is blessed. Our nation is not a Christian nation but has been graced by individuals who were followers of Christ and were impactful in their time. One man, Roger Sherman, was a man who was unashamed of his faith. He was solid in his beliefs. He also impacted our Declaration and our Constitution.

This lesson is a continuation of last week. A new believer needs to understand that they are secure in their salvation. It is not based on their effort, but the finished work of Christ. The Father and Son play a major role in securing the believer right on through eternity.

In warning the Philippians about false teachers, Paul gives himself as an example of salvation. He realized that all of his achievements and righteousness was nothing greater than garbage. However, in Christ he had gain. He had a righteousness in Christ that pleased God. He had the opportunity to grow in his fellowship and knowledge of God. He looked forward to final salvation when his body would experience resurrection from the dead.

After seeing all sorts of "witnesses" to living by faith, now Hebrews highlights the better example for us. Jesus lived life and He did so with faith in His Father's will. He suffered even till death without wavering. The believer needs to look to Christ while laying aside weights and sin. The believer will finish the race with endurance.

The first issue a new believer faces is the question of whether or not they can lose their salvation. The Bible gives many assurances and pictures of the safety that a believer has in Christ.

Paul starts to close his letter, but then goes on to warn the believers of false teachers who promote works and achievements for salvation. If anyone could make a claim on achievements, it was Paul. He cast these things aside, when he saw Christ.

Though in the previous verses, faith delivers in the face of great opposition. However, in this section, faith does not deliver individuals from difficult situations; it takes them through difficulties. From a human perspective, these people failed. However, from God's perspective, these people are worthy of honor. They continued to look ahead to the greater promises that God offers after this life.

This lesson on salvation deals with what Christ has done for salvation. It also addresses the need for repentance and faith.

The writer of Hebrews in this section has us running through the exhibits of individuals in the Hall of Faith. He lists all sorts of people who lived by faith. The list is somewhat shocking because many of the individuals have obvious flaws. Yet the writer of Hebrews reminds us that God is able to do great things through flawed individuals. Believers are not perfect, yet if they live in faith towards God, He can do some incredible things through them.

This lesson gives the introductory details of salvation. God is the start of the Scriptures. He created us for fellowship with Him. We, like Adam and Eve, choose to sin. Sin separates us from God both now and forever.

Paul commanded the believer to have the mind of Christ. But what did Christ-mindedness look like? Paul gave his future plans in regards to the Philippians and in his plans he gave two Christ-minded examples for the believers to examine, Timothy and Epaphroditus. In looking at their lives they lived out what Paul had been teaching starting in 1:27 through chapter 2.