September 25, 2026, 10:00 AM
Hello again, and I am praying you've enjoyed a great first "official" week of Fall!
I enjoy coming across prophecies about Jesus when reading the Old Testament.
One morning earlier this week, I was in the 11th chapter of the Book of Isaiah.
Even though God would act directly into the lives of certain individuals, for the most part, during the Old Testament times, people had a very limited knowledge of God.
Isaiah, however, sees change coming and records it. We enjoy these blessings today! Listen to the later half of Isaiah 11:9: "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea."
What causes the change? Again, Isaiah gives us the reason in Isaiah 11:1-2, "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord."
Who is this "stump of Jesse"? It's none other than Jesus!
And, as we now know, things became much better with the coming of Jesus. Jesus, through His sacrifice in the Cross, provides us sinners access to a Holy God. In addition, The Holy Spirit (the 3rd member of the Holy Trinity) is also mentioned here.
When the Holy Spirit comes to live in the life of the believer, he brings them into a relationship of truly knowing the Lord on a deeper level.
The same Spirit of the Lord who rests on Jesus is given to you and me when we believe, repent, and are baptized. The Holy Spirit will give us wisdom and understanding, counsel and power so that our lives can have a huge impact for God's Kingdom. What a great blessing!
Jesus is not just the theme of the New Testament. While not mentioned by name, Jesus can be found all through the Old Testament. In fact, He is the theme of both the Old and New Testaments. Jesus is the CENTER of EVERYTHING!
Oddly enough, the supremacy of Christ is the theme of our next sermon series that will begin this coming Sunday (09.27.26).
I will begin this series of messages from the New Testament book of Colossians entitled, "Christ is More Than Enough."
Over the next few weeks, we'll be looking at this letter (or epistle) written by the Apostle Paul (with help from Timothy) to Christians in Colossae. Paul had never visited the church in Colossae (he’d only heard about them from his friend Epaphras) and wrote to them probably while imprisoned in Rome.
I pray you have a great weekend and that we may see you at FCC this coming Sunday. If not, then, Lord willing, we'll see you again soon. May God bless!
Your friend,
Greg Herriford
