We have missed seeing you and are grateful to be back after a holiday trip to Virginia. We were able to spend some time with Becky’s family on the front end of the trip and some time with mine on the back end. It was great fun to celebrate Becky’s pregnancy with everyone! Our friends and family give their greetings to you all!

I was so grateful for how Christmas went at FCCB. We had a lot of visitors and it has been my prayer that some who came would join us on a more regular basis. I praise God for all the amazing work He has done in our church family in 2015 and I am very excited for what He has in store for us in 2016…gonna be great!

 I have been praying about where the Lord would lead us next. The two words that have been swirling around in my head are

 So in response to the Lord’s leading, our next sermon series is on the Book of Hebrews! Hebrews covers, so well, what it means to be faithful in our commitment to Christ because He is the best; because He is ultimate! After all, we don’t deeply commit to something that we don’t deeply believe in!

Hebrews is 13 chapters of depth and is quite long. We won’t be able to cover everything in this series and may end up going to Easter, probably finishing in April with a break or two in between. It is going to be a lot of fun, challenging and a real joy! Start reading through Hebrews now on your own to get a sense of the ‘big picture’ of the book and to prepare your heart.

First, some background to the book of Hebrews. Scholars have come to no consensus as to who is the author of this marvelous book. The Greek in Hebrews is first-rate and the style is unlike any other New Testament book. So I am going to refer to the author of Hebrews as “the author” or “the writer.”

Hebrews 1:1 (here is a link to Sunday’s scripture) grounds us in the heritage of our faith, “in the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways….” The writer is simultaneously acknowledging the vitality of those prophets in the Lord’s redemptive plan and indicating that something different is coming ahead.

In v. 2 the writer the continues  “but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom also He made the universe.” So in other words, Jesus is kind of a big deal :).
This is so important to think about in context of our own lives.

Who would you entrust your life to?

 

Maybe someone who is the Creator of the universe? How about “the Son is the radiance of God’s glory and exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word.” Wow. People had been longing for a Savior for hundreds of years before Jesus. And then the Lord comes in all His power to demonstrate His love for us. Read over verses 1-4 on your own for a bit and ponder the amazing wonder of God, His incredible attributes and then praise Him. He is due all glory, honor and praise! How awesome that this God would love you and me and give us the opportunity to know Him. Powerful.

Then take a peek at Hebrews 2:10-18. Verse 11 is staggering…

“both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family, so Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.”

The God of the universe makes us holy by our trust in His Son as Savior. How great a salvation!

 Lord, give us strength in these things to believe in your grace and power and may we walk in these truths!

Write down how you want to become more like Christ in this new year, naming specific areas of your life. If you are a believer, you already have His righteousness and His Holy Spirit. This is not a self-improvement plan but an awareness of how we can actually experience the abundant life in Him!

Verse 18 finishes… “because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.” He has been there! No greater comfort when we are struggling than to hear from someone who has been there. Are you being tempted in this season to sin or neglect seeking the Lord? Reflect on verses 17 and 18 and ask for His strength in every way! He can sustain you and me and give us great joy.

Look forward to seeing all of you on Sunday! Also, a ‘heads up’ that we will be looking to start a new member class in late January… so we hope you can commit with us. Let us know of your interest in joining FCCB if you haven’t already done so….thank you!

Blessings,

Pastor Andrew James