The Rest of the Story - Hebrews 11

We all fall. We all fail. We all sin. We all hate to recognize it, talk about it, admit it. We feel a strong need to be perfect, even though its not possible. We want to be perfect and we try to make the heroes of our stories perfect as well. We talk about their successes and victories, but never learn from their struggles. When we move from Sunday School stories to Biblical events, we see a more complete picture of the faithful men who did great things for God. We see men who followed God despite the same kinds of failures that we experience. Despite their failures, these men were defined by their faith, so are we.

• Noah - Everybody Fails
• Genesis 9:20-21
  
• Abraham - Failure Follows a Pattern
• Genesis 12:10-20, 20:1-3
  
• Moses - Failure has Consequences
• Numbers 20:9-12
  
• Hebrews 11 -
  
• Failure Does Not Define Us - Faith Defines Us!
  

DO - Matthew 25:31-46

While Christians know that they are justified by faith, Jesus still taught that men are judged by works. Parables in Matthew 7 and Matthew 25 give examples of this. Matthew 7 teaches that there will be those who do great things, but Jesus will say that he never knew them. Matthew 25 teaches that basic acts done for "the least of these" have a much greater importance than we realize.

DO:

• Simple Things
• For the Right Reasons
• Good Deeds are the Fruit, not the Root
• For All People
• "Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary use words." - St. Francis of Assisi
  

A Fresh Start - Colossians 3:1-4

Every life is precious. The Christian life is a special gift from God, given at Baptism. Baptism is one of the most misunderstood, controversial practices in Christianity. This Biblical look not only describes Baptism, but talks about what it means for the Christian and how it impacts them for eternity.

Baptism is:

• For Everyone - Ephesians 4:4-6
  ...one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all...
  
• For the End - Romans 6:2b-3
  Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
  
• For a Beginning - Colossians 2:9-12
  ...you have been given fullness in Christ...
  
• For the Heart - Colossians 3:1
  ...set your hearts on things above...
  
• For the Mind - Colossians 3:2
  ...set your mind on things above...
  
• For Eternity - Colossians 3:3-4
  ...you will also appear with Him in glory.