Plymouth Haven Baptist Church

Core Truth: Throughout the Scriptures, whenever men and women say ‘yes’ to God’s call to follow Him, they did invariably so with far different expectations of what their lives were going to be like than what actually turned out to be the case, and if we today are really serious about answering that same call, we too will sooner or later find ourselves facing that same challenge, but in the end it will always be for our ultimate good.

Core Truth: In a world which is being shaken in every sense of the word – from literal earthquakes, floods and other elements of nature, to political and social turmoil and upheaval, to violence and warfare – both here in our nation and even on a global scale, the call of our Scripture today is to remember Whose we are and how we are to live and conduct ourselves in such momentous times.

Core Truth: If we could ever say that God faced a dilemma, it would be how to repair the awful separation from His beloved creatures caused by mankind’s willful disobedience in the Garden of Eden. What could possibly be done that would be adequate in restoring God and man to the unbroken fellowship that they had both once enjoyed? The only answer had to be in the form of a perfect sacrifice – one that would be sufficient to meet the unbending demands of an absolutely holy and righteous God while also dealing with Man’s sinful rebellion, this re-opening the door to the Edenic fellowship both had enjoyed before the Fall.

Core Truth: However unexpected, unpredictable, and even unwanted some of the changes be that God allows to come into our lives – none is without divine purpose and ultimate benefit to our success and well-being if we will…with God’s grace and help, “fix our eyes on the Author and Finisher of our faith” – the One who out of sheer mercy and love reached out and saved us and started us on our journey unto eternal life, and has promised to get us all safely home.

Core Truth: God’s love for us as His children is unconditional and there is absolutely nothing we can do to lessen nor increase it, and the same is also true about His faithfulness. These two realities are among the great and unchanging constants of the Universe – as He said through the prophet Isaiah When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Isaiah 43:2-3

Core Truth: While most Christians understand the call to rest in Christ for our salvation, many have not learned the truth of resting in Him in all areas of our lives – a reality that once discovered can enable us increasingly to live a peace-filled life even in some of life’s most difficult circumstances.

Core Truth: If there has been that moment in time where we genuinely gave our heart to Jesus Christ and are now seeking to walk with Him in our daily lives, then every single one of us is on an “unpredictably divine adventure” – a spiritual journey toward our only true “home” that will be every bit as “unpredictable” as the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the countless others who have found themselves walking the same path, and it is a journey that and only be made by walking “by faith and not by sight.”.

We should defend the persecuted because:
1. Because we want to be where Jesus is working
2. Because the Bible commands us
3. Because defending religious freedom is essential to our mission strategy
4. Because the persecuted deserve our help
5. Because we can make a difference.

Core Truth: God simply wants us to trust Him and believe that whether it comes to our salvation, our sanctification, or our service for Him, He is quite ready and willing to do for us, in us, and through us what we cannot possibly do for ourselves.

Core Truth: While it is true that a father’s words can either heal or hurt, encourage or discourage, it is the daily life he lives before ever-watching eyes and ever-listening ears that is the most potent force of all.

Core Truth: We find ourselves living in an increasingly disturbing and unpredictable world. As a result, these are times to remind ourselves of some verities that are “sure and certain” – some things that will never ever change and by which, therefore, we can live our lives with true faith, great hope, and genuine love – and do it before a watching world.

Core Truth: Living in an increasingly disturbed world naturally mitigates against having any real peace of mind and heart as we are actually witnessing our Lord’s own prediction that in the last days people’s hearts will actually fail them for fear of the things that are happening on the earth as the very powers of the heavens themselves will be shaken and “caused to totter.” (Luke 2136) But it is in just such a time that we as God’s people are called to live our lives with great courage and confidence, as with Abraham of old, we continue to “look for a city that has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” (Hebrews 11:10)

Core Truth: In its truest sense, Biblical faith – the quality of faith that pleases God and brings His power to bear upon all matters in our lives – is the absolute assurance that what He has spoken to us from His Word, quickened and made alive by the Holy Spirit, will indeed come to pass, even if not exactly when or in the way we would prefer.

Core Truth: As we live in an increasingly unsettled world, we do well to remember that our heavenly Father never intended for us to be comfortable here. Rather, He desires that we hold the things of this life loosely, while preparing our hearts to receive “a kingdom that cannot be shaken.” (Heb.12:28)

Core Truth: From creation’s dawn God has taken the initiative in trying to have a conversation with mankind, but through the ages very few have actually chosen to listen and obey. However, for all who do, the rewards and benefits are extravagant been words – both now and in the life to come!

Core Truth: God used a mother’s faith and courage to position her son inside the king’s palace so that one day He could use that very son to save His people from their long years of Egyptian bondage and oppression.

Core Truth: Faith is as important as the air we breathe. It is the fundamental foundation of our existence. People have moved mountains with their faith. Even when situations seemed dire and bleak, it was their faith that carried them through, and it is what will carry us through as we learn to trust God in all things.

Core Truth: Faith is as important as the air we breathe. It is the fundamental foundation of our existence. People have moved mountains with their faith. Even when situations seemed dire and bleak, it was their faith that carried them through, and it is what will carry us through as we learn to trust God in all things.

Pray. Speak. Act. Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act. (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

Core Truth: Before the end of this age, God is giving to everyone who believes in His Son a kingdom that cannot be shaken and will never end. This is the message of the whole Bible and He wants us as His children to live each day with courage, obedience and faith as we wait for His return!

Core Truth: The same awesome God whose voice shook the very earth and set it on fire at Mt. Sinai is once again shaking all things, and He wants us as His children to live each day with courage and faith as we wait for His return!

Core Truth: While the primary message of today's Scripture is that we are saved by grace through faith alone as we receive Christ's Sabbath-Rest, it is also only by entering in to the same rest that we are able to "walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God." (Colossians 1:10)

Core Truth: Israel wasted 40 long years wandering in the wilderness because they refused to believe that God had given them a land where everything had been prepared and that the work was completely finished. Today, we too are called to enter into the work that Christ has completed on our behalf and the only "work" left for us to do is to enter into His rest!

Core Truth: The leadership structure of Christ's church is unique among all organizations in that just as its birth and growth are by the power of the Holy Spirit, so also by that same Holy Spirit are its leaders divinely-appointed and equipped to the task of bringing His people to maturity in Him.

Core Truth: God did not call us to Himself simply to save and bless us; He also intends that our lives show a watching world what a real Christian looks like.

Core Truth: At every juncture in life, God’s people have had to decide whether they will walk by faith or by sight, and we now stand at just such an exciting moment.

Core Truth: Christ wants to teach us how to live our lives in service to Him without guilt, anxiety, worry, or stress.

Alternate title: A Call to Rest in the Finished Work of Christ

Core Truth: “The God who calls us to salvation promises that He will never leave or forsake us and at the end will bring us safely home.”