Sunday Mornings

By Faith, Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which it was testified of him that he was righteous (upright, in right standing with God), and God testified by accepting his gifts. And though he died, yet through [this act of] faith he still speaks. Hebrews 11:4 Thank God for granting us grace to study at His feet. Last week we introduced the concept of faith. this week, we take a peek at the heroes of faith, and the first on the list is Brother Abel. In order to understand this testimony about Abel, let us look at the story in Genesis: And in the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground. But Abel brought [an offering of] the [finest] firstborn of his flock and the fat portions. And the LORD had respect (regard) for Abel and for his offering; but for Cain and his offering He had no respect. Gen 4: 3-5 In the light of our anchor text, we can see that God accepted the sacrifice of Abel because of his faith in...

In the next few weeks, we will be taking a look at the Giants of Faith. Before then, let’s see what faith is. Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses]. Hebrews 11:1 (AMP) Faith is trusting God and not your guts in every situation, it is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. Our ancestors (Giants of Faith) had this secret and so they built their life on a firm foundation that enabled them to be set above the crowd. Faith is choosing to believe. It is an unreserved and full confidence in God, in His love for us and in his power to help us in what so ever circumstances. It is that firm persuasion and expectation that God will perfect all that he has promised.   But without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, f...

"Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet   the bridegroom.   Now five of them were wise, and five  were  foolish.   Those who  were  foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,   but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.   But while the bridegroom was delayed,   they all slumbered and slept." Matthew 25: 1-5 Whenever Jesus wanted to teach people about the kingdom of heaven, He used parables to illustrate certain themes. With parables, we can have a perception of the heavenlies by using earthly, day to day scenarios. In the parable in today's passage, Jesus was trying to pass one message across to his listeners: Watch therefore, for you   know neither the day nor the hour i n which the Son of Man is coming. Matt 25: 13 Now, to be honest, this parable, with this theme message was given to a generation that lived 2 millennia fro...