Rockport Baptist Church

Because of the shortness and uncertainty of life, we must set our course this year to gain a deeper and more intimate knowledge and experience of God! I. Let's make it our goal to seek God for spiritual strength and growth in this new year! II. We must Seek God for Growth in Intimacy with Christ in this coming year! III. Let's Press on into an even Deeper Knowledge and Experience of Christ in His Love

Our unity is God's plan. Unity in the church is how we show Jesus, know Jesus, and grow in Jesus. So why do we often feel so divided? Why do we fear that our unity is a fragile thing, easily broken? This passage helps us see that unity is not what we thought. It is not merely the absence of conflict or the absence of error, but a shared celebration of Jesus. We already share an essential unity with every true believer and we have an expansive unity that gets bigger and bigger as each of us happily agree with Jesus in every area of life.

Because Christ is the Perfect Image of the invisible God, our all-powerful Creator and Redeemer, we must entrust all we are and have to Him and praise Him as Lord and Savior of all. I. Christ is Preeminent as Creator of All Things (1) He is the Perfect Image of the Invisible God (2) He is the First-Born of Creation (3) He is Before All Thing (4) He Holds All Things Together II. Christ is Preeminent as Redeemer of All Things (1) He is the Head of the Church (2) He is the Beginning (3) He is the Firstborn from the Dead (4) He is Preeminent (5) He is the One in Whom the Fulness of God Dwells (5) He is Our Savior Who Reconciles Us to God by the Blood of His Cross

Because God is faithful to keep all His promises, we can trust Him even in the most fearful times to keep His word, as confirmed in His sending of His Son to be born of the Virgin. I. God Speaks to Bring Assurance to a Terrified King vv 10-11 II. God Rebukes the Unbelief of a Faithless King vv 12-13 III. God Promises to Keep His Word and Send His Salvation through a Virgin-Born Son! vv 14-17

Because we are a people who belong to Christ, we must use our gifts to help one another grow up in Christ-like maturity rather than remain children who are vulnerable to the deception and distraction of this world. I. We Must Grow Up so We Are No Longer Children Who are Easily Deceived v 14 II. We Must Speak and Live in a Way that Helps Each Member Grow Up in Christ-likeness v 15 III. We Must Work Together to Build a Healthy Church Where Growing to Maturity is Normal v 16

Because the exalted Christ has given gifted leaders to equip the saints to build a healthy, vibrant, growing, maturing church, we must depend on these gifts as we engage the kind of one-another ministry and lifestyle that results in healthy, sustainable growth in Christ. I. Christ Himself Gives the Church Gifted Leaders to Equip God's People for Life and Ministry v 11 II. Gifted Leaders Equip the Saints for the Work of Ministry that Builds a Healthy Church v 12 III. All of Us Share the Goal of Building a Healthy, Maturing Congregation at Rockport v 13

Because we are one body in union with Christ who gives a diversity of gifts to each individual member to be used for His glory and the good of the church, we must serve Him together faithfully in using His gifts in unison for His glory and the advancement of His reign. I. Within This One Body of the Church, Christ Has Given Us Many Gifts to Serve Him v 7 II. It Is the Christ Who Reigns on High, Who Gives These Gifts to the Church! v 8 III. Christ Extends His Reign on Earth through Our Church as We Use Our Gifts vv 9-10

Because we have been called into union with the Triune God, we must live self-consciously in step with the Spirit of God as he creates and through us maintains genuine heaven-sent unity. I. We Must Walk Together in a Way that is Worthy of Our Gospel Calling! v 1 II. We Must Eagerly Work to Keep the Unity His Spirit Creates in Our Fellowship! vv 2-3 III. The Basis of our Unity is Found in Our Union with the Triune God! vv 4-6

Because we follow as Lord the Christ who came to give His life in service to others, we too must serve the least and the smallest among us, for that is the sign of true greatness in Christ's Kingdom. I. We Must Remember Why Christ, the Mighty Son of Man, Has Come vv 30-31 II. We Must Never Allow the Story to Be About Us vv 32-34 III. We Must Embrace the Upside-Down Values of the Kingdom Where the Greatest are Servants vv 35-37

James gets a bad rap. His emphasis on works makes some Christians uneasy. They wonder if James knew salvation is by grace through faith. He did. But he also knew there's a lot of fake faith – faith that is all words and no works. James's response is "What good is that?" Where there are no works, there is no life. As people who have been justified by God's declaration of righteousness apart from works, we are called to demonstrate the reality of this faith through our works.

Because Jesus is all-powerful Lord of all, we must bring our powerlessness to Him and trust in Him for the mighty works only He can do in vanquishing evil. I. We Must Face the Demons and Desperation in the Valley vv 14-16 II. We Must Face the Powerlessness of Unbelief in the Face of the Mighty Power of Jesus vv 17-18 III. We must Turn from Our Faulty Self-Focused Faith to a Full Trust in Christ Alone! vv 19-23

Because the glory of Christ cannot be understood apart from his suffering, death and resurrection, we must keep His suffering (and ours) in view as we follow Him. I. You Must Come Down the Mountain and Face the Suffering! v 9, Mk 9:10 II. There Are Hard Questions Only Jesus Can Answer! vv 10-11, (v 5b) III. We must listen to Jesus and Follow Him, even when it means following Him in Suffering! v 12-13

Because Christ is God the Son sent by the Father and revealed the Spirit, we must give Him our whole attention and follow Him faithfully as Lord and Savior. I. The Declaration by God the Father that this is His Son! v 5 II. The Fear that Fell Upon the Disciples Because of the Presence of God in His Glory v 6 III. The Mediator and the Comfort that Comes When Jesus Draws Near! . vv 7-8

Because Jesus has been confirmed as God the Son who shares in the Father's Glory and Deity, we can and must put all our trust in Him, giving Him our full allegiance as Saving Lord, no matter what happens. I. The Glory of Christ Revealed vv 1-2 II. The Glory of Christ Confirmed v 3 III. The Glory of Christ Proclaimed by God Himself vv 4-5

Because faith orients us to God and his future promises, we must understand that we cannot make our home here since we are pressing on to a better one in eternity! I. We Must Acknowledge that We Are Strangers here. v 13 II. We Must Live Our Lives as Those Who Are Seeking Our True Homeland! v 14-15 III. We Must orient our lives to God and press on with passion toward the home He's prepared for us! v 16

Jesus has a more excellent ministry than the Levitical priests because 1) he as a more excellent sacrifice, 2) a more excellent location, 3) a more excellent duration and 4) a more excellent intercession.

By faith, Joseph rested in the providential judgement, purposes and goodness of God

By Faith Isaac embraced God's Foundational Provision for his soul, which fueled his faith in God's ordinary plans for his life, and carried him through God's hard providences in the darkness. I. God's Foundational Provision - Moriah II. God's Ordinary Plans - Marriage III. God's hard Providence - Mess

Most of us like happy stories, or at least stories with a happy ending. Jephthah's story is neither. Bracketed by lust and pride at the start and brutal judgment at the close, you could almost class it as a tragedy. Yet the misery of this story is bracketed by mercy as Jephthah rescues his people and serves as a signpost pointing us to the real hero of the story. Trusting in our Savior, we can adjust our expectation of his people and appreciate that faith does not need to be perfect to be real.

Faith in God isn't about my ability, but rather about knowing and obeying God's Word, giving Him the glory, and being thankful for his patience towards us.