Scripture: Romans
10:5-13
JOSEPH IS STILL ALOVE
Genesis 45:25-28
So they went up out of Egypt and came to
their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. They told him, "Joseph is still alive! In fact, he is ruler of all Egypt."
Jacob was stunned; he did not believe them. But when they told him everything
Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts Joseph had sent to carry him
back, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. And Israel said, "I'm convinced! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go
and see him before I die."
The
disciples told Thomas they had seen the Lord alive again – risen from the dead.
“I will not believe unless I can see him and touch him.” When Thomas saw Jesus,
he believed. John 20:29 Then Jesus told
him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed;
blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
All of Ashland’s work and ministry
are built to help people: Believe, Belong, and Become. Ministry should help
someone Believe in Jesus, Belong to Ashland Church, and Become the person Jesus
wants them to be.
BELIEVING
Everything we do should move people toward
professing belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
"But what about you?" Jesus asked.
"Who do you say I am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you,
Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father
in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my
church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." Matthew 16:15-18
(6
Believe Slides)
7 Things
to Believe
Nature of Man
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God.
Nature of God
John 3:16 For God so
loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life.
Salvation
Acts 4:12 Salvation
is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men
by which we must be saved."
Holy Spirit
John 14:26-27 But the
Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach
you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
Bible
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any
double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and
marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
The Church
Romans 12:4-5 Just
as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have
the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member
belongs to all the others.
Ordinances – (Baptism
and Communion)
1 Corinthians 1:26
For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's
death until he comes.
1 Peter 3:21-22 This
water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also — not the removal of dirt from
the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Romans 10:5-13
Moses describes in this way the
righteousness that is by the law: "The man who does these things will live
by them." But the righteousness
that is by faith says: "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into
heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) "or 'Who will descend into
the deep?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it
say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,"
that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your
mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him
from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe
and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As
the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to
shame." For there is no difference
between Jew and Gentile — the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all
who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved."
We simply don’t believe
In a survey
conducted by the Barna Research Group, nearly 1/3 of all born-again Christians
stated that all good people will go to heaven, whether they have embraced Jesus
Christ or not. While 88% in a recent Barna poll believe Jesus Christ was a real
person, what they believe about him differs sharply from scriptural teaching.
42% (even 1/4th of the “born again” Christians) believe that while on earth
Jesus sinned just like other people. 61% believe the devil is just a symbol of
evil, not a living being. And 54% think that if people are good enough, they
will earn a place in heaven regardless of their religious beliefs. (Barna
Research Group).
A pastor in California was giving
an invitation at the end of his Sunday morning message when a five-year old
boy, sensing the invitation of the Holy Spirit came down the aisle. Not knowing
if the boy was old enough to understand salvation, the pastor took him to his
office and began to ask some theological questions. The more he questioned, the
more confused the boy became. Finally, in exasperation, the little fellow
stopped and innocently pleaded, “Pastor Patterson, in your message this morning
you said that if I would come and ask Jesus to save me—He would!
No comments:
Post a Comment