Fairfax Church of Christ

The disciples were ordinary people. They weren’t the most highly educated, charismatic or influential people of their day. They didn’t hold the highest positions with the best pedigree or resume filled with accomplishments and awards. Yet, Jesus called the ordinary and then did extraordinary things through them. He changed the world and continues to change the world!

The Christian life is a marathon lined with all kinds of obstacles and distractions. Disappointment, struggles, illness, and all sorts of hardships can weigh us down, weaken our endurance, and ultimately cause us to quit. But, when we set our eyes on Jesus instead of our circumstances, He renews our strength to follow Him with joy.  Jesus invites us to lay the weight of our sin at His feet and run...

JESUS IS SUPERIOR TO… Moses, the Law, the High Priest, and the tabernacle of God. Now, if you want to issue some fightin' words, those are the ones to speak to devout Jews. But that is exactly what the author of Hebrews presents the readers. Jesus is superior to all that they know, had known, and will know. Through Christ, all is fulfilled, revealed, and accomplished according to God's will and pl...

Hebrews starts like no other letter in the New Testament. Right out of the gate, the author speaks his thesis to us, "Christ is God's final Word to us, which makes Him superior to all!" And this Word from God brings us hope and salvation and continues to speak through us (His disciples) today. The first two chapters of Hebrews begin to demonstrate how God's plan for humankind through His Son Jesus...

Whether you are in God’s Army or in any other army, there is one reality to being engaged in battle, and that is: Rebuilding after we experience a defeat. Make no mistake, we are ultimately victorious with Christ Jesus in this war against evil, but we are promised there will be setbacks. Praise be to God, though, He has also promised that He would never abandon or forsake us. We read in the Books...

We've been trained and empowered as soldiers in the Lord's Army. Now, our orders have bee n issued. According to Paul's instructions to Titus, there are those who claim to know and love God, but deny Him by their works. In fact, in their current state, they are actually unfit to do any good work. Yet, those who are "ALL IN" are zealous for good works. In fact, they devote themselves to good works...

Spiritual warfare is happening all around us all the time. How we respond to it reveals the nature of the spirit for which we live. In his second letter to Timothy, Paul encourages him to fight the good fight without fear or timidity. The call for us, today, is to not live in defensive mode as Christ-followers but to take the offensive in the battle against the enemy. We don't fight for victory; w...

Timothy was the son of a Jewish mother and gentile father. Although not raised in a strict Jewish upbringing, we are told his mother and grandmother had a substantial influence in raising Timothy to learn Scripture. Upon Paul’s second visit to Timothy’s hometown of Lystra, we are told that young Timothy was already an active member of the local Christian congregation. In Paul’s letters to Timothy...

 In a time when it seems easy for the church to disengage from culture around us, the call for the church is to intentionally engage. We are called to be light, salt, and the hope of the world. This call isn't a burden, but a great privilege. We have been invited into a marvelous adventure. 

It's hard to live in this world. The Deceiver does his best to delude us and turn us from God. But, being "ALL IN" means standing firm in our faith when everything tells us otherwise. It means not growing weary in doing good. Why? Because God is faithful and will establish and protect us against the evil one, if we remain faithful to Him. Join us this morning as we study through 2 Thessalonians an...

Who are you trying to please? Is it your parents, your spouse, your kids, your neighbors or friends? What about God? Do you care whether God is pleased with your life?  Maybe another way of asking this is: Do you want God’s will for your life? Do you want to live to fulfill God’s will and calling on your life? In chapter four of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, he instructed the believers...

Those who are ALL IN seek a whole life in holiness. But how are we to do that? Paul is discussing the Christian way of living a holy life when he tells the Colossians too set heir minds on things above. Our minds are our reasoning capacities, and when we use them to seek Christ, God empowers a new and better way of life. We become able to kill off the parasitic influence of evil, and our souls are...

Jesus Christ is supreme. He's supreme over creation, life, and death. The false teachers in Colossae, like many in our day, would not deny the importance of Jesus Christ. They would dethrone Him, giving Him prominence but not preeminence. In his letter to them, Paul wants to make sure that the church not just sees Jesus as supreme but that he is supreme over their lives. An "All In" life recognize...

Christ's ambassadors are sent out into a dark world, but they are to be shining lights for all to see. They are to work out their salvation with fear and trembling with the attitude of Christ. A study of Philippians passages.

What does it mean to be "ALL IN" for Jesus? Jesus said, "Lose your life and you will find it." This is not an easy thing to do, but it is exactly what Jesus has called us to (Matthew 16:25). This sort of life is a life of risk, but also of great reward. A life lived "ALL IN" is a life fully surrendered to Jesus—a life full of joy but requiring great sacrifice. The opposite of "ALL IN" is a life of...

As we go "ALL IN" in our faith, we are moved to living a deeper faith. We are not satisfied with a shallow, surface kind of faith. We want to go and live deeply in Christ in every aspect of our lives. In the Casting Crowns song Somewhere in the Middle they have a line “Deep water faith in the shallow end”. That phrase sums up where many of us are in our walk with God. We are in the shallow end of...

When we are "ALL IN", it is more than just an hour a week, but every moment of every day. What do we do with the other 167 hours in our week? So, who are you when no one is looking? This morning we explore living "ALL IN" through 168 hours a week vs. 1. As we seek to live "ALL IN" lives for Christ, we want to help every member "work out their salvation" before God. It is important to remember that...

Who is your God? While our first thought may be, "God of course," is He really. Jesus tells us that where our treasure is, there our heart is also. Who or what owns your heart is your god. Jesus wants your heart and nothing less. Living "ALL IN" means seeking first the kingdom of God, above all else. Today we live in a society filled with idolatry. Unfortunately, we can be caught up in idolatry (j...

Three "overarching" teachings of Paul to the Corinthians will be addressed in this teaching. (6:20) The need to protect sexual purity has been and remains an important aspect of "ALL IN" Christian Living (For both SIngle and Married individuals). (7:3) Living an "ALL IN" Marriage is to mutually strive to consider and meet the needs of your spouse. (7:35) Singleness is not a mark of a failure to la...

Relationships require sacrifice. Most of the time we want others to sacrifice for us, but are not as apt to sacrifice for them. Our family relationships require us to sacrifice and to move from a "me" to "we" mentality. We have to move from "my desires" to "our needs" in order to make relationships work and honor God. "ALL IN" for God means being "ALL IN" for others. A study of Ruth passages.

God spent a lot of time giving instructions to His children through Moses. At the end of his life, Moses reminds the people of these instructions. He didn't want the people to forget what God had done, is doing, and will do. Moses was trying to help them live All In lives as they prepared to enter the "promised land" because he knew the importance of passing on the Word of God from generation to g...

In Judges, we find a generation of Israelites who are disobedient to God. Instead of relationship with the LORD being their primary desire, their cultural surroundings and worries consume their desires. Israel's relationship with God becomes so broken that by the end of the book, there are no judges, no kings, and every man did what was right in his own eyes. The results are increasingly catastrop...

A study of Roman passages. In writing to the church in Rome, Paul is addressing a church where both Jews and Gentiles worshiped together. This presented both opportunities and challenges. Paul calls this church to--in light of all God has done for them--think, act, and serve differently, in a "holy" manner. To serve differently. To be motivated differently. To love differently. To associate with o...

There are two generations in the book of Numbers - one that was not ALL IN, and one that was. The first generation witnessed the mighty deliverance  events of the Exodus, in which God took on and defeated the world hegemon Egypt. They were there to stand at the foot of the mountain and saw God's hidden presence in the smoke when he gave the law to Moses. But when they were at on the verge of faith...

Today, we celebrate the King of Kings, Jesus Christ. We will journey through the different roles Jesus played as King that was and is very foreign to how we understand earthly kings. Jesus was an Unexpected King, a Crucified King, a Risen King, and He is a Coming King. Come celebrate with us Jesus as King of our lives and help us look forward to "The Return of the King!"