This is APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE. Some people are inordinately drawn to it, and others are sort of afraid of it... We'll look at the FORM or GENRE at the end of the sermon but since it touches on some huge themes of the spiritual life and since we all have a spiritual life (even if you think you don't - you do!), let's look at THE MAIN IDEA of the passage, then a MAJOR IDENTIFICATION in it and finally, THE MYSTERIOUS MODE (why's it expressed in this strange way with symbols and images?)

How do you keep the fire of the spiritual life burning?... And what happens if that fire dims, smolders, goes out...how do you deal with the disillusionments and inevitable disappointments that are always a part of the spiritual life? How do we sustain ZEAL when we're in the mundane rhythms that are, AGAIN, just a part of any normal relationship (even a relationship with God)?

Five occasions for FADING ZEAL, five ways we cool down in the spiritual life and how God responds to each.

Preacher: TJ Campo

Scripture: Ezra 6:1-15

Scripture: Acts 11:19-30

Preacher: Reverend Nate Taylor

Guest preacher, Rev. Nate Taylor, presents today's sermon. Nate grew up at Park Road Church and has become a pastor, missionary, and church planter in Glasgow, Scotland (Crossbridge Church) partly through the influence of the church's youth pastor in those earlier days, Rev. Brad Hunter, who, himself, planted a church in Vienna, Austria (New City Wein).

While Nate's back in the states on a brief furlough, we have the opportunity to benefit from his preaching this and next Sunday.

Sermon Text: Acts 8.26-40 The Family Story of God's Mission

https://www.crossbridgechurch.co.uk/

This writer was trying to strengthen these early Hebrew Christians. And his/her approach is really helpful as WE try to interpret the tough stuff of life and even find ourselves asking, "Why me?" So, let's get into this idea of interpreting pain in the Christian life:

#1 – The Besetting Sin Facing All Believers #2 – How the Problem of Pain Aggravates This Sin #3–How Fixing Our Eyes Leads to Healing and Endurance

If you are not very familiar with the Bible and are hoping to get a basic grasp of it OR if you are inquiring about Christianity and are trying to learn how it all fits together into some sort of cohesive whole – THIS is a good day to be at Park Road. This passage is really, really important to the whole big picture. AND, in fact, if you DON'T get THIS part of the story, it's impossible to make sense of the rest of the Book.

SO, LET'S MOVE GENERAL-TO-SPECIFIC, from big picture to big truths that have big power to affect our own lives and how we approach life in God's world: #1 – The Meta-narrative #2 – Math and Maps #3 – The Mission of God and Your Everyday Life

This chapter maybe,more than any other part of the written sermon called the Book of Hebrews; Ch. 11 is there to prove that the basis of OT spirituality or religion is God giving grace to undeserving people and people receiving that grace BY FAITH or TRUST.

The writer demonstrates this by using like 15 specific examples (we've looked at all of them); he parades these towering figures, the B.C. heroes whom every Jewish child knew and admired: the superstars of the OT… The writer shows that they were not really all that heroic. In themselves they were a lot like we are (as in James 5.17). They became known as great doers but in reality, they were FIRST… great receivers.

God poured out His grace on them and they received. This act of "active passivity," (Schaeffer), appropriating grace from God is what the Bible calls "faith". They inhaled grace "by faith" (over 20x) and that grace from God saved them, changed them, blessed them, made their lives extraordinary.

And now the writer closes his argument with this final burst of rapid-fire list of (Judges, Kings and Prophets) atop the characters he's already commemorated.

It's important for us to see because, in our time, the words faith/believe mean various things to various people. It's a Biblical word but often redefined or undefined. AND some Christians see faith as a one-time act and living "by faith" has little to do with the everyday spiritual life. So, let's look at: This chapter maybe more than any other part of the written sermon called the Book of Hebrews; Ch. 11 is there to prove that the basis of OT spirituality or religion is God giving grace to undeserving people and people receiving that grace BY FAITH