Yesterday, at FBCD, the message was on "God's Call To Abraham" based on Genesis 12. This was the 2nd message in my series of messages on the biblical scenes depicted in stained glass windows in our sanctuary. These are the highlights of the message.

Although there are many things major religious groups in the world disagree on, Abraham is one person there is agreement on. Bruce Feiller wrote a book several years ago entitled "Abraham: A Journey Into The Heart Of Three Faiths" that dealt with this subject. We definitely have major doctrinal differences with these groups however, we do share a common belief in the importance of Abraham.
Christians look to Abraham as a man of faith because we believe the Bible and the Bible records Abraham as the first of the patriarchs.
Jews look to Abraham, along with the other patriarchs in the scriptures were considered the founder of the Jewish faith.
Followers of Islam look to Abraham was the father of Ishmael whom was considered the father of the Arab people.
By studying the call of Abraham in Genesis 12 we learn the following:

I. The Call Of Abraham.
The scripture says "Now the Lord said to Abram, Go forth from your country." God is calling Abraham to leave behind his family and the familiar. He says "Go forth from your country."
If God is calling you, you are going to have leave something behind. Jesus said, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests but the Son of Man has no where to lay his head.”
It has been said "Whomever God calls, God equips; Whereever God leads, God provides."
II. The Course Of Abraham
God says "Go forth from your country... to the land that I will show you." Abraham doesn't have a road map. There isn't anyone he can talk with who has taken this trip. There is no GPS. There is simply the voice of God. Abraham has no idea where he's going but he knows God is calling. God says "I will show you the land."
It was a faith experiment for Abraham. The Christian walk is a faith exercise. We believe in Jesus through faith. We ask Jesus to save us through faith. We walk in faith. Faith means trusting the Lord.
Legendary Pastor R.G. Lee once said, “Anything believable and conceivable is achievable if you have faith in God.”
III. The Conditions For Abraham
God has called Abraham and has told him that he is taking him to the "...land which I will show you." Then God says, "I will make you a great nation... And I will bless you, and make your name great."
Someone has said, “Faith is belief with legs on it.”
Now, some of us may be like the disciples. They said to the Lord, “We do believe, help our unbelief.”
Now, someone may say “How can my faith grow?
Be saturated with the scriptures. The Bible says “Faith comes from hearing the Word of God.”
Be dedicated to the Savior. Remember that faith is no better than its object. It’s not so much a great faith in God as it is faith in a great God.
Be separated from sin. Unconfessed sin is a faith killer.
Be activated by the Spirit. Remember the old song “Trust and Obey?” We are to be obedient.
An unkown poet expressed his faith this way;
“I believe in the Sun even when it is not shining.
I believe in Love when I feel it not
I believe in God when when He is silent.”

This week, ask the Lord to help you grow in faith.

We had a great day of worship at FBCD today.
Our attendance was VERY good. There were over 400 in the two services this morning and we had about 270 in Sunday School. There was a lot of energy in the service. I pray that we are very close to having at least 400 in worship on a regular basis.
My message this morning was on "5 Resolutions Every Christian Should Make in 09." Our text was Daniel 1:8. The Bible says "Daniel made up his mind..." There are some things every Christian should "make up their mind" to do this year. They are:

1) Love God Supremely.
Jesus said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God..." (Matthew 6:33).
Jesus said the greatest commandment is to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind" (Matthew 22:36-40)
If we put the Lord first, everything else falls into place.
If we put the Lord first, we will make a commitment to regular worship with the people of God.


2) Know God better.
We know better in two ways:
a) By reading God's word
b) Through prayer

3) Give God's Money Malachi 3:10 says, "Bring ye all the tithe into the storehouse."

4) Love God's People Jesus said "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples.. if you love one another" (John 13:34-35).

5) Share God's Love We can do this in two ways
a) Through witnessing
b) Through ministry

5 simple resolutions. Every Christian can and should keep these in 09. I encourage you, this week, to work toward keeping these in your Christian life.

I've just finished my Bible readings for Reading the Bible through this year. I've found a blog that goes along with the Bible readings that is really good. The link to it is www.oneyearbibleblog.com. The guy who does it, puts a lot of time into it.
This morning, the readings in Genesis dealt with the fall of man, God's grace to man in covering man and the first sin (Cain murdering Abel). If you haven't started reading the Bible through I encourage you to do so. It would be 15 or 20 or 25 of the best minutes each day you will invest this year.
I've also been working on my sermon for Sunday. I was off last Sunday. But, Sunday's coming again... pretty quick.
I was going to start a series this Sunday on the Biblical stories depicted in the stained glass in our santuary. However, I'm going to push that back one week. This Sunday the message is entitled "Five Resolutions Every Christian Should Make."
I hope you have a good Friday. Some of you may have taken off today. If so, I hope you enjoy the day.
The weather report is calling for rain in north Georgia this weekend. Sounds like good weather to stay inside and stay by the fire. But, I do encourage you to get your umbrella out, put your rain coat on and go to church on Sunday. Start the new year off in church.

Gregg

Happy New Year!
We have a brand new year in front of us.
The apostle Paul challenged us, "...forgetting what lies behind, we press on." I hope you will join me today and press on to the new year that God has for us.
As we begin the new year, I encourage you to take time today, if you haven't done so already, and commit this year to the Lord. Ask God to use you and grow you this year. One of the best ways to do that is to commit to spend time in God's word and in prayer.
Many from FBCD have committed to reading the Bible through this year. This morning, as I began reading the Bible through, I read about God's work of creation in Genesis 1 & 2.
If you have not committed to reading the Bible through in 09, there is still time. Why not make that commitment today?
As we move into a new year, a couple of verses come to mind that we would do well to commit to memory.
Colossians 3:23 is one. It reads, "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men."
Proverbs 3:5-6 are also good verses to memorize. They read, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart,And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him,And He will make your paths straight."
And, another is Matthew 6:33 which reads, "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you."
Commit 2009 to the Lord!
Happy New Year!