Never Will I Leave You (Part 5)

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

The following is adapted from a sermon by Dennis Johnson on Hebrews 13:5-14 that deals with change and I thought it would be appropriate for us to consider as we transition from Phil (who was with us for 28 years) to a new Lead Pastor. 

So far we've taken a look at incorrect ways to respond to change based on Hebrews.Today we'll conclude with our last point from Hebrews. (You can read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 here.)

When your faith is firmly fixed in Jesus, you can grow when human leaders change.

The bottom line is found in Hebrews 13:7

Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.

Let's be honest: when our new pastor comes in July, he won't be exactly like Phil, whom we came to love and trust over the course of 28 years. He'll have different strengths and different vision. But check out what God's Word says we are to remember about our leaders: they "spoke the word of God to you" and "by faith they lived the word they spoke."

1. Remember the real source of your past leader's effectiveness: the Word of God.

God didn't use your previous leaders because of their humor or their good looks or the fact that they rooted for the Tarheels. God used them because they brought you the good news of Jesus Christ, the Gospel.

2. Reproduce their faith-formed example. "Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith."

"As we remember our pastor, who has spoken the Word of God to us, and as we await our next under-shepherd that Jesus the Great Shepherd has prepared for us, our memories of the care we've been given should trigger in our hearts a longing to grow in faith."

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

How Firm A Foundation

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

I love the words from this 18th century hymn based out of Isaiah 43:1-7. The passage is filled with powerful metaphors that point to God's promise of faithfulness in the middle of sorrows and grief. (The author of this hymn is unknown)

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in his excellent Word! . . .
"Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed;
I, I am thy God, and will still give thee aid; . . . 
When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow;
For I will be with thee thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace all sufficient shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine. . . .
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no, never, no, never forsake."

 

Is Faith a Consequence of Action?

Nathan Stam
Communications/Children's Pastor

Is faith a source of action? Or is it a consequence of action? Can it be both?

Check out this excerpt from David G. Meyers:

We are as likely to act ourselves into a way of thinking as to think ourselves into action. We are as likely to believe in what we have stood up for as to stand up for what we believe. Especially when we feel responsible for how we have acted, our attitudes follow our behavior. This self-persuasion enables all sorts of people--political campaigners, lovers, even terrorists--to believe more strongly in that which they have witnessed or suffered.

This realization--that inner attitude and outer behavior, like chicken and egg, generate one another--parallels a Judeo-Christian idea: inner faith and outer action likewise feed one another. Thus, faith is a source of action. Elijah is overwhelmed by the holy as he huddles in a cave. Paul is converted on the Damascus road. Ezekiel, Isaiah and Jeremiah undergo inner transformations. In each case, a new spiritual consciousness produces a new pattern of behavior.

But faith is also a consequence of action. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, faith is nurtured by obedient action. The Hebrew word for know is usually an action verb, something one does. To know love, one must not only know about love, one must act lovingly. Philosophers and theologians note how faith grows as people act on what little faith they have. . . . "The proof of Christianity really consists in 'following,'" declared Soren Kierkegaard.

So, what do you think? Does the practice of faith result in the habit of faith?