Two Ancient Believers

Hebrews
Written By Steve Estes

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Speaker: Steve Estes
Scripture: Hebrews 11:4-6
August 20, 2023

Hebrews 11:4-6: By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists, and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

Sermon Outline

1. Introduction

2. Abel (Genesis 4:1-16)

  • How did Abel know God approved of his offering?

  • Why did God accept Abel and not Cain?

3. Lessons from Abel

  • Faith makes your prayers and church attendance acceptable

  • Faith makes your life speak long past your death

4. Enoch (Genesis 5:21-24)

  • His lifespan

  • He walked with God

  • He hadn't always lived acceptably to God

  • He never experienced physical death

  • His faith is what pleased God

5. Lessons from Enoch

  • Faith in God saves believers from hell

Steve Estes

Steve Estes has been senior pastor at Brick Lane Community Church in Elverson, Pennsylvania, for over thirty-five years. 

Steve’s books and other writings began with his longtime friendship with Joni Eareckson Tada. As teenagers, they grappled with why God allowed Joni’s paralysis in a swimming accident in the Chesapeake Bay. Steve left for college . . . they kept in touch . . . she liked the style of his letters. When her 1976 autobiography Joni spawned thousands of reader responses, she asked Steve to join her in crafting a follow-up. The result was A Step Further in 1978.

Later, Wycliffe Bible Translators commissioned Steve to write the biography of former college friend Chet Bitterman, a Wycliffe linguist who was kidnapped and murdered by political terrorists in Colombia in 1981. Other books and articles followed, including When God Weeps (with Joni) and A Better December (a giveaway book for non-Christian friends at Christmas.)

Steve was educated at Westminster Theological Seminary, Columbia Bible College and Jerusalem University College in Israel. He has taught homiletics at Westminster and is a board member of the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation.

But Steve would say his most significant life achievement was persuading college classmate Verna Stoltzfus to marry him in 1974.  They now have eight children and more grandchildren than can fit in a van.

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Faith Through the Unfamiliar (Abraham)
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