Sunday Recap 6-12-11

Morning: The sermon, "Faith Comes from Hearing," explored Romans 10:17. This verse is the VBS theme verse for Lifeway's Big Apple Adventure VBS. In this verse, Paul reminds us of necessity of hearing the word. The Word brings about faith and nourishes it all at the same time. Faith, as defined by Hebrews 11:1, "is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen" (HCSB).

Faith in Christ is impossible apart from hearing the gospel. They can't believe in one whom they have not heard. We must hear the gospel; we must share the gospel. It is the source of life and growth.

The message of Christ is the source of our hope. It begins with God, the Creator, who formed man in his image and gave man dominion over the earth. The beautiful story takes a nasty turn when man rebels against the word of God and brings sin and death into the world. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 6:23). Instead of God giving up on the human race, he sent his eternal Son to take the punishment for the world's sin. God the Son became a man in the person of Jesus. He obeyed God's law, laid down his life to pay the penalty of sin, and rose on the third day. Now, God commands all people everywhere to repent and believe.

Paul compels us to start with the Word, and to stay in the Word. The adventure of faith is like no other.

Evening: We had our VBS kick-off celebration. We had forty student register for VBS. It is going to be a great week.