Hebrews Bible Study - Wednesday

Wednesday – Leaving Good for Better!


When I first began to have feelings for my wife (obviously she wasn’t my wife yet), I was in a relationship with my college roommate’s sister. I had thought she was “the one” for me. But the more time I spent with Allyson, the more I felt confused by the pulling of my heart strings. The answer came in a little saying that I use often… “Sometimes you have to leave good for better!” For me it was leaving a good relationship for what was clearly better for me.

As Christians, we are constantly bombarded with these same moments of indecisiveness. We find ourselves caught up in good things (sometimes only from our own perspectives)…but we know they’re not best. Sometimes it’s because we don’t know how much better “best” is. At other times we know what is better but choose to settle for less anyway. Yet why would any of us settle for good…when best is available? Yet we do this all the time with Christ. We know He is much more superior, greater, and better, but we settle for just simply good. Maybe it’s time to leave good for better!

Daily Reading: John 3:31-35; Colossians 1-2; Revelation 5

1. In each of these passages, who is describing Jesus’ superiority?



2. What does Paul mean when he says that the fullness of the Deity lives in Christ (Col. 2:9)? Notice it also says that the fullness of Christ is in us (1:27)…what does this mean for us?



3. What areas of your life would you say that you need to leave good for better (Christ)? What are the things holding you back? Why can’t you trust Christ in these areas (especially if He is all that these passages describe)?



Hebrews Bible Study - Tuesday

Tuesday – It’s all in the name

 I remember the stories behind naming our sons. My wife and I had many discussions, lists, books, and ideas that led to our favorites. When a son was born…the name had already been chosen. The Hebrew culture was and is much different. For them names were sometimes given after the baby was born and usually based upon their character at birth. The name was more than just identity…it was purpose and a description of character.

The name given to Jesus, a basic, common name of the day...truly describes His plan and purpose. Literally it means, “The Lord is salvation.” Jesus, it isn’t just another name, it’s a description of the heart of God toward us. It’s all in the name!

Daily Reading: Isaiah 9:6-7; Philippians 2:9-11; Revelation 19:11-16

1. In Hebrews 1:4, the writer describes Christ’s name as superior to that of the angels. What name is the writer referring to?

2. Can you list a few names/descriptions of Christ throughout Scripture (different than the ones mentioned):

3. In what way does Phil. 2:9-11 describe Jesus’ name as being superior to the angel’s names?

4. What is the response of your heart when the name of the Son is spoken? Are you in awe of His name?

Hebrews Bible Study - Monday

Monday – “Can you hear Me now?”

Let’s be honest…We all can name the company that made the slogan, “Can you hear me now?” famous...come on…you know it…Yes! That’s right! Verizon! Verizon has used this slogan to sell their service to millions of people around the world. Whether you have Verizon or not, you have probably used this phrase to describe your cell service as well.

Hebrews begins with a statement that sets the tone for the rest of the letter…that God has spoken to us through His Son, Jesus Christ (1:2). As we study through Hebrews, this same question is going to come back to us over and over again… “Will we hear Him now?”

Daily Reading: Colossians 3:16-17; Matthew 13:18-23; James 1-2

1. In Christ’s parable of the soils, what is the significance of each soil and how are they a picture into our lives of listening?



2. James tells us to be quick to listen (1:19)…doers not just hearers (1:22)…How are you doing as a listener and doer? What areas of your life do you believe you could listen better?



3. How do you prepare yourself to “let the Word of Christ dwell in richly” (Col. 3:16) every day? What are other ways that you can prepare yourself to hear and do God’s Word?



4. Have I really heard the Word of God in the person and the teaching and the work of the Son?

Encouraging Note

I thought I would share a note that we received from Ryan and Jenny Jones. As many of you know Jenny just had surgery to remove Thyroid cancer. Jenny and Ryan's letter I hope will be encouragement to you.

Dear Church Family,

First, we appreciate your prayers immensely! The need for prayer is probably tremendous for a congregation of this size, and for hundreds of various situations. In addition to praying for all of these needs for the congregation, each of you have your own personal concerns to pray about, and even prayer for people or events outside of the church.

In spite of this great demand for so much prayer and attention, all of you have taken the time to include Ryan, me, and our family in your prayers. We are truly thankful to all of you for your prayers and thoughts for us.

Second, I'm not sure if words can express the "warm embrace" we have felt from all of you, and, really, the whole church. As you know, Ryan, I, and our children are fairly new to the church. When we found this church, I was quite closed-minded, thinking that there would be no church that could possibly be as wonderful as our church in Colorado...How wrong I was!

I strongly believe that God has led us to FCF. Through out my Christian walk, I have never felt so "on fire" for Christ as I do now. I just want to please Him, and want Him to shape me into an instrument for Him. I have never felt this strong of a desire in my heart until recently. In addition, the warm, welcoming, friendly "embrace" from this church has been a magnificent blessing from the first day we walked through the door. When we received a lot of sorrowful news in June, none of you really knew us extremely well at that time. Yet, all of you reached out to us with unreserved love, and surrounded us with care, comfort, and prayer. I thank all of you for that.

I am happy, blessed, and even proud to be a part of this congregation. I thank Jesus for sending us to this church. I am thankful, too, for such a great children's ministry. I have even seen my children growing spiritually. I know God will take care of us in His was. What an amazing, mighty God we serve!

Ryan, Jenny, and Family

Big Decision...Big Answer

Last evening the leadership team of FCF met together to discuss the status of our Youth and Families Pastor search. After much discussion concerning all the feedback and recommendations you presented, we unanimously decided to offer the positon to Brian Kelley. This morning I met with Brian...and he and his family have accepted the position!

Obviously, this has been a long process overwhelmed with prayer and a desire to see the Lord's will and guidance. As with any decision where humans are involved, it wasn't easy. But we move forward confident that the Lord has led Pastor Brian and his family to FCF for such a time as this. Through this process we have been able to observe and find someone with the experience, training, and spiritual aptitude to lead our Youth and Families Ministry. And we are excited about what our future holds in reaching and training youth to be a model generation of Christ followers.

Youth and Families Pastor Candidate: Brian Kelley

Today we were able to hear from our Youth and Families Pastor Candidate, Brian Kelley. He talked about what it means to live a life focused on the Lord. As many of you shared it was a message that challenged hearts and minds to refocus lives toward Christ.

We were able to hear Brian and Krista's heart for youth and families during our Q & A following the 10:45 am worship service. We asked about 20-25 questions submitted by the FCF family over the past couple of weeks. Our prayer is that you were able to get a good snapshot of what youth and families ministry would look like under their direction.  If you weren't able to make it please check out the podcasts page at http://www.fcfpodcasts.com/ or visit our website at http://www.explorefcf.com/. From there go to our podcasts page.

So you might be thinking..."Where do we go from here?" We are now in the "feedback" stage of our process. From now until Thursday mid-day, we are asking you to share as much feedback as you would like. You can do that through email, staffing@explorefcf.com or to myself pastor@explorefcf.com. You can also call the church office or send a letter.

Obviously, this has been a long process (almost 2 years) and our desire is to continue through that proven process until the position is filled. We are excited about where we are headed and have full confidence that the Lord will continue to guide us in the way that He desires. We ask you to continue to pray that Christ's glory would be our focus and His plan would be our guide.

Intimacy with God or Bust!

Sunday's message by teacher, author, and directional leader, Mike Guzzardo was absolutely on spot. If you missed it or have somehow forgotten what was shared...let me just take a few minutes to remind you of this awesome message.

First of all I would like to thank Pastor Mike, our Administrative Pastor, for inviting and connecting our church as host to Mike Guzzardo. As we shared, Mike is a desired speaker all over the country...so to get him to FCF was great. It definitely was worth all the effort by Pastor Mike. Thanks for that bro!!!

I love the fact that Mike didn't mince words about the problem with our intimacy with Christ. The fact is many of us are settling for a controlled flame instead of a consuming fire. As he so appropriately reminded us...God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 10), so if our intimacy is settling for a controlled flame then we are missing the very essence of the Lord.

As Mike shared with us, we must remember those danger areas that attempt to steal away our moments of intimacy...which in fact are stealing our destiny. The more intimate we are with Christ, the closer we live facing the destiny God has for our lives. When distraction, sin, or time begin to steal away the intimacy...then our destiny is hindered and we settle for second best. God only gives the best...so second best is a very insult to His character.

An interesting analogy to our intimacy with Christ is found in the word "know." Jesus prayed in John 17 that we would "know Him and the Father." Our very salvation is dependent upon the fact of knowing Him. But what's most interesting about knowing God is how it shows up in Scripture. The Old Testament writers would describe the physical intimacy between a husband and wife as "knowing" each other (i.e. Adam "knew" his wife Eve and they conceived).

We are called to "know" Christ. Not just a knowledge about Him, but to "know" Him in an intimate way. To know the nooks and crannies of His desires for us. To hear His whispers even when the world around us is screaming. As Hosea said, "The Lord says, I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings" (Hosea 6:6).

So let us, as people and church, move into the deeper waters of intimacy as we seek to "know" Him and His plan for us!