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DEACON`S PAGE

A Study in Hebrews (KJV)

This issue will be a review of what we have learned thus far. I feel this is necessary for I am taking a respite until October. My next article will appear in November’s Newsletter.

We learned the Hebrew Christians were waiting for the imminent return of our Lord Jesus. As time passed, they began to doubt and their faith was fading. They also suffered severe persecution, not only from the local civil authorities and religious leaders but from friends and family alike.

The writer is trying to strengthen their faith by reminding them of their great salvation and the necessity of scripture study, prayer and maturing as Christians. They had become lax in their Christian life by simply just waiting for our Lord’s return.

I believe that is still true today. Many Christians attend church regularly but their prayer life and scripture study is lacking. Their witness for Jesus and telling others of the “Good News” of the Gospel suffers because of this.

We must always remember the Great Commission to tell others of Jesus and our great salvation. That should be a “Standing Order” for all of us.

The writer goes on to tell them of all the power and glory of Jesus and to keep their focus on Him.

Sonship belongs to Jesus (Heb. 1:2). He is firstborn in that He is the founder the model, the one with the Father’s full authority to act (See Rev. 1:5; Rom. 8:29).

The coming kingdom belongs to Jesus (Heb. 1:2). He will inherit and purify this world at His coming and then create a new heaven and new earth. He is heir to all and we, who are saved, will be joint heirs with Him.

Creative power belongs to Jesus (Heb. 1:2, 10). Jesus is the one who spoke and in speaking caused our whole vast universe to appear.

The original glory of God belongs to Jesus (Heb. 1:3). The phrases “radiance of God’s glory” and the exact representation of His being” are both strong assertions. If you and I look at Jesus, we see exactly what God is like for He is the full and exact revelation of God. Sustaining power belongs to Jesus (Heb. 1:3) even today the entire universe would flicker and flame out of existence were it not for the power of Jesus energizing the so called “natural laws” that govern our physical universe.

Redemptive power belongs to Jesus. (Heb. 1:3, John 3:16, Romans 5: 6, 8) It was Jesus who shed His blood for our “Great Salvation”.

As we continue in Hebrews, we will learn more of our Saviour and His great love for us. What a wonderful God we serve. Amen.

Deacon Arthur D. Cornell

“My road to atheism was paved by science....

But, ironically, so was my later journey to God.”

– Lee Strobel

The Case for a Creator:

A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God

Lee Strobel

During his academic years, Lee Strobel became convinced that God was outmoded, a belief that colored his ensuing career as an award-winning journalist at the Chicago Tribune. Science had made the idea of a Creator irrelevant- or so Strobel thought.

But today, science is pointing in a different direction. In recent years, a diverse and impressive body of research has increasingly supported the conclusion that the universe was intelligently designed. At the same time, Darwinism has faltered in the face of concrete facts and hard reason.

Has science discovered God? At the very least, it’s giving faith an immense boost as new findings emerge about the incredible complexity of our universe. Join Strobel as he reexamines the theories that once led him away from God. Through his compelling account, you’ll encounter the mind-stretching discoveries from cosmology, cellular biology, DNA research, astronomy, physics, and human consciousness that present astonishing evidence in The Case for a Creator.

Summer Mid-week Worship Service

Wales Center Community Baptist Church
Summer Mid-Week Worship Service
at the Renewal House, 12206 Big Tree Rd.
July 7 – August 25, 2010 7:00 pm to 8:00pm

July 7 Has Science Discovered God?

July 14 Science versus God?

July 21 Beginning with a Bang:

The Evidence of Cosmology

July 28 Exploring Evolution:

A New Look at Old Ideas

August 4 The Cosmos on a Razor’s Edge:

The Evidence of Physics and Astronomy

August 11 Mousetraps and Molecular Machines:

The Evidence of Biochemistry

August 18 DNA and the Origin of Life:

The Evidence of Biological Information

August 25 Decision time:

Is There a Case for A Creator?

A Study in Hebrews (KJV)

Hebrews 2: 10-18

These few verses emphasize the Biblical truths that are stunning in their impact. They tell us first that Jesus determined to rescue us, took human form and through His death released us from slavery to sin and the power of death. He, the Son of God, became a man that you and I may become the Sons of God. He entered the family of man, that we may enter the family of God.

My friends because of Jesus and what He accomplished, we now must learn to see ourselves for who we are: the very brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ and through our relationship with Him the children of God the Father (vs. 10-11).

We are slaves no longer, we are victorious, we have the power of the Holy Spirit through Jesus to be free, and the power to live victoriously. Just think of it; we who have been born again and surrendered our lives to Jesus are now members of the divine family.

Being brothers and sisters of Jesus and children of God makes it very clear that our identity is no longer rooted in our old relationship with Adam (through whom the bondage and frustrations we’ve known came).

We are now to learn how to live out our new relationship as brothers and sisters of Jesus and children of God the Father. What does this involve? What does “being saved” mean to us, if we accept ourselves as new persons in Jesus Christ? The one who makes ma holy and those that are made holy are of the same family (verse 11).

Being saved means we are to share God’s holiness, we are to be like Him. Peter states plainly in I Peter 1:14-15 as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance. But as He which has called you is Holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation.

We are no longer merely mortals, we have been given God’s heredity, we are brothers and sisters of Jesus, and we are children of God’s family. It is this perhaps that most clearly helps us see the maturity and fulfillment that the Bible and Hebrews in particular, describe for us.

We are no longer the frustrated, impotent persons we were before we trusted Jesus. We have been lifted above that.

What a wonderful feeling to know that, being a brother and sister of Jesus we no longer have a fear of death. (I Corinthians 55-57).

What a wonderful God we serve. Amen.

Deacon Arthur D. Cornell

Wales Center Community Baptist Church

"God`s Love Glows and Grows in the Foothills"