What is your greatest fear?  It probably has something to do with loss.  (Or Spiders)   For Abraham, it was the loss of his only child and miracle baby son Isaac who was given to him and his wife in their old age.  The story unfolds in Genesis 18-22.  If you know the story, then you know that God tested Abraham and spared Isaac!  But Why?

This Sunday, we begin a new message series based on the run-away-success miniseries THE BIBLE!  The first message in the series is entitled:

THE JOURNEY FROM DEATH TO LIFE

Here’s a Snapshot of my message notes:

The Journey From Death To Life Is The Journey From To The “Brink of Fear” To The “ Breaking Of Faith.”  GOD DOESN’T HAVE YOUR FAITH UNTIL HE HAS YOUR FEAR!

But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raises the dead.  2 Corinthians 1:9 (NASB)

“We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.” – C.S. Lewis

“By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.  Hebrews 11:17-19 (NIV)

Please take a few minutes to look at the page for this series on our website – www.rivertownchurch.com/the-bible.  Then you can email, tweet, or facebook this page to the people you care about and want to bring to Church and to a relationship with Christ.  This is a great opportunity!  Please take even more time to pray that God will use these messages, based on the stories that 68 million people have viewed in their homes during the month of March, to bring their souls to Christ and their lives back to Church this Sunday!

The success of this miniseries proves that people are hungry and want to know the truth of God’s word.  More than that, they want and need the God who wrote these stories into human history.  These are the stories of God’s love and they are the story of ALL OF US!

I want to say thank you again to the 57 volunteers that made our gigantic Easter celebration possible last Sunday.  You know who you are!  You are the greatest people in the world and you are all so special to me and most of all special to God!  God showed up Sunday and touched so many lives.  I am not sure how many decisions for Christ were made during our services, but Army Seargent Sostenes Nunez just arrived home from Afgnanistan three weeks ago.  He came to RiverTown last Sunday and finally stepped over the final line of faith.  He told me that he decided to “Take his Father’s Hand” and be Baptized this Sunday in our 9:30AM service!   Praise God!

Pastor David Rathel