Lord Acton hit the nail on the head: “Power corrupts…and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Moses was right in Deuteronomy 8, when he explained why the LORD often has to hold back from blessing us the way He desires: “You may well say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this prosperity for me… then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God!” Jesus never said: “Take up your mirror and follow Me.” We have finished our gallery of ordinary heroes who became extraordinary by their obedient trust in God and answered ‘yes’ to the question: Can God be trusted? In our last message in our series on Hebrews 11 we turn to the deeper issue: Can God trust me? What person can be trusted by God with meaningful or powerful gifts in her/his life?
Can I Trust God? Can God Trust Me?
March 19, 2017 • Richard Fredericks, Ph.D.
In comfortable, consumer-oriented North America, land of individualistic self-fulfillment and endless upward mobility, the Biblical perspective on suffering is out of sync. This weekend we will explore the “Why?” question in the lives of some of God’s greatest champions of faith, when He did not rescue them from suffering or hardship. Especially, of course, His Son. We will wrestle with making character and effectiveness in God’s Kingdom higher priorities than comfort and ease as life’s great goals. Read ahead in Hebrews 11:35-39 in preparation for our study of “When Faith doesn’t Stop Suffering.”
Can I Trust God? Can God Trust Me?
March 12, 2017 • Richard Fredericks, Ph.D.
Weakness. No one wants to be accused of it. No one wants to be in a position of weakness. Every culture honors its winners and sidelines its losers, exalts the strong and despises the weak. But not God. He despises our pride, not our weakness. He brings down the mighty from their high places and lifts up the humble. His specialty is turning those who are seen as weak into His most powerful servants by their trust in Him. This weekend we explore Hebrews 11:32-35 and a gallery of men and women whose "weakness was turned to strength" as they acted in obedience to the God.
Can I Trust God? Can God Trust Me?
March 5, 2017 • Raj Pillai
We continue our series this weekend by looking at one of the most unlikely heroes mentioned in Hebrews 11… Rahab, the pagan prostitute. The author of Hebrews turns the spotlight on the great twist and grand wonder of God working in the life of someone who radically trusts in Him. We will learn what happens when a person without hope (and without much of anything else) hears the message of God and responds boldly and obediently. There is a reason why her story is in the Bible, why she is honored and why her story can be our story too.
Can I Trust God? Can God Trust Me?
February 26, 2017
This week we will continue our Hebrews 11 series, looking at the second half of Moses’ life, which is referenced in verses 28 and 29. These verses commemorate God’s great saving acts of Passover and the parting of the Red Sea, in order to lead his people from slavery to freedom. Hebrews looks back to both the Passover and Christ’s transformation of that original freedom festival into the Lord’s Supper and the New Covenant. The question which faces each person today is the same question Israel faced: Will we stay in slavery or move forward by faith into God’s freedom?
Can I Trust God? Can God Trust Me?
February 19, 2017 • Richard Fredericks, Ph.D.
Abraham Lincoln experienced many defeats and terrible losses in his life before becoming our most beloved President. He understood repeated failure and suffering up close. In light of that he said: “How we handle success is a greater challenge to our character than how we handle defeat or failure.” Indeed. God dedicates a whole chapter to the deadliness of success to a life in Deuteronomy 8—the dilemma of our pride and apathy toward God when He blesses us. Few handle it well. This weekend we are going to take a first look at Moses in Hebrews 11, a man raised in affluence, luxury, opportunity and early successes—who still maintained as his primary life mission his submission to the living God against all odds. Even when it meant turning his back on all of it. How did he do it?
Can I Trust God? Can God Trust Me?
February 12, 2017 • Richard Fredericks, Ph.D.
First a note to all our men: this Saturday morning, February 11 at 8:30-9:45 am, please join me at our DRCC Men’s Breakfast. We want to talk together as men about the combination of being authentic in our journey, sane in our schedule, and used by God… and how all three can converge. Shake off the post-Super Bowl blues and come think about some things that really matter.
At our weekend services we will explore the question of how far our trust in God is willing to go. When, in His wisdom, He wants to take us to places outside our comfort zone (which He does because it is the only place growth happens)… then are we still Christians? If we quietly say no, what are we missing? Come, let’s reason together.
Can I Trust God? Can God Trust Me?
February 5, 2017 • Raj Pillai
As you walk through the Gallery of Tapestries in the Vatican, on the left wall you see these glorious tapestries depicting the life of Christ woven five hundred years ago by some of the finest weavers in the world. They still fill you with awe. In Hebrews 11, we get to walk through just such an awe-inspiring Gallery of Tapestries and each week we pause to look at one spectacular sketch after another. This weekend, we will look at the largest “tapestry” (passage) in this chapter devoted to the patriarch Abraham. He is commended for his faith (which is a key word occurring over 20 times in this chapter). What was Abraham’s faith rooted in? Can you and I experience the same sense of rootedness?
Can I Trust God? Can God Trust Me?
January 29, 2017 • Richard Fredericks, Ph.D.
The first person God commends by name in Hebrews 11 is a guy named Abel. God says that thousands of years later Abel “still speaks, even though he is dead.” Clearly, God means that Abel left a legacy which continues to impact every generation since his short life in a powerfully positive way. Now here’s the applicable truth in this for all of us: in some sphere of influence we all leave a legacy, we all create an impact for good or ill. How does Hebrews 11:4-7 use the stories of Abel, Enoch and Noah to teach you and me the art of building a lasting legacy of high impact for God for generations? Ponder those four verses.
Can I Trust God? Can God Trust Me?
January 22, 2017 • Richard Fredericks, Ph.D.
“Can I trust God?” Perhaps that seems like a simple question to answer when life is smooth and we generally believe God is loving and good. But for every one of us, truly living a consistent “yes” to that question it is the challenge of a lifetime. God exposes layer after layer of our self-controlling, fearful clinging, my-way-is-better-than-God’s-way choices. But our real choice is whether or not we will seek and obey His will above our own, even when it seems so costly. This weekend our one text tells us to be sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see! Both are odd phrases. So our goal is to answer two key questions: 1) what exactly is it we are to hope for? and 2) on what basis can I be so certain of something happening that I stake my life on it; even though I haven’t ever yet experienced it? See you then.
Can I Trust God? Can God Trust Me?
January 15, 2017 • Richard Fredericks, Ph.D.
This weekend we launch our winter series. It is a careful study of the people (a surprising cast of characters) in Hebrews 11, whom God commends for their bold trust in Him. I will not say this will be a transformational series, because how much it transforms you—is up to you. I will say that the two questions that form the base of this series are right at the heart of our side of the “God-us” relationship: Can I [really] trust God [with everything]? And as we grow in answering ‘yes’ to that question, we increasingly realize it was never the real issue. The bigger question is: how much can the God of grace trust me and you with the life He wants to give us? Like a carefully planned road trip, we will begin this series by defining our destination. If you want to prepare, read Hebrews 11:39-12:3.
