New Sermon Series Sunday

I hope you enjoyed the last couple months as we’ve navigated through the book of Proverbs.  God’s Word tells us that wisdom does work in our lives, so I pray that you will put wisdom to work in the coming days.  While the sermon series is now wrapped up, it’s important to note that our pursuit of wisdom is far from over.  Experts say the average adult makes roughly 35,000 decisions a day, so we are in constant need of more wisdom and discernment.  This should lead all of us to take Solomon’s advice and “get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth” (Proverbs 4:5 ESV).  If you find yourself needing wisdom this week, Solomon simply tells you to go receive some more.  The pursuit of wisdom is a lifelong journey, and fortunately we serve a generous God that is able and willing to provide wisdom to us in our times of need (James 1:5-6).

This Sunday we are pressing on to a new sermon series titled, “Last Things.”  We will look at a subject that the church has spent centuries both studying and debating: the topic of eschatology.  The word eschatology is derived from the Greek word, eschatos, meaning “last” or “final.”  So eschatology is simply the study of the last things.  We are blessed as Christians because God provided us with an amazing amount of information regarding this important topic.  God’s Word not only tells us where we and this world came from, but the scriptures also share His plans for the world in the coming days.  There will indeed be an end to this world as we currently see it, and God wants us to understand, to a certain level, how those final days will actually transpire.

When you Biblically dive into this topic of eschatology, you cannot help but make your way to the book of Daniel.  God providentially gave Daniel some amazing visions of what is to come in those last days.  I believe you will be encouraged and excited as you see prophecy come alive in God’s Word.  I hope you come ready to dig into chapters 7 to 12 these next couple months, and I believe all of us will leave the series with a greater sense of anticipation and joy as we look to the imminent return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of His kingdom.  Jesus Christ will return!  Because of that, we should open our eyes to the things going on around us and look also to the future.  Jesus says, “Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect (Matthew 24:42-44 ESV).  May we all open our eyes and our hearts to Daniel’s words these coming weeks, and if we do, I believe God will better prepare us for the return of our King.

This Sunday we will indeed start this new series, and I am confident that we will continue to also welcome new guests.  Every weekend we are thrilled to meet new people that are walking through our church doors to worship and experience the fellowship of ABC.  God has blessed us tremendously with many new faces this summer, so we’re also preparing for some special events to help these folks feel welcomed into our church.  Be on the lookout for our first ever “Discover ABC” dinner on Sunday August 22^nd.  This dinner is for new visitors and new members to help them meet our staff/leadership, hear more about our church, and learn how they can quickly get involved into the life of ABC.  If you came to ABC this summer, I’d like to invite you to join us, and I only request that you RSVP for this free dinner so we can prepare for you (childcare is available). 

Also, save the date on August 15^th for our first ever “BFG BFG” (Bible Fellowship Group Breakfast Food Gala).  All BFG’s will host large breakfast spreads in our Great Hall during the Bible Fellowship Group Hour.  We are having this large-scale fellowship event for classes to rub shoulders with one another, but also to provide an opportunity for new visitors and members to meet our classes and hopefully make a connection.  You may not know it, but we now have 150-200 people join us for worship every Sunday that have not yet found a BFG to attend.  This will be a great opportunity to help them experience the life of our church and get them connected into the community at ABC.

God is continuing to bless our church in this season, and I look forward to seeing what He’s going to do as we seek to understand His plans through this new sermon series.  Have a great week and I’ll see you Sunday.