Sermon

Faith Is...

All of us have faced the pressure or desire to give in and give up. In one sense we could give all kinds of reasons for this being valid. Living in today's world seems to be more difficult than ever and getting worse every day. However, as those who are followers of Jesus we are called to not shrink back or to drift away. We are challenged to find the strength to endure through faith. But what is faith? Is it a warm feeling in our hearts? Is it a mentality or state of mind? Is it something we can see or point to in our lives? How can we know we have faith? For that answer, there is no better place to turn than the eleventh chapter of Hebrews. The eleventh chapter of Hebrews is sometimes called the "Hall of Faith." It tells us right from the beginning what Faith actually is and then describes the lives of various men and women from the Old Testament, who despite their sinfulness, short comings and weaknesses actually exemplified faith. The author not only provides answers to what faith is but how faith is lived, how faith changes everything, and we learn where faith begins. Through the stories of these followers of God, Hebrews 11 invites us to discover and embrace faith.