Staples Mill Road Baptist Church

1Remember also your Creator inthe days of your youth, beforethe evil days come and the years draw near of whichyou will say, I have no pleasure in them;2beforethe sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain,3in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, andthose who look...

15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.16For byhim all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authoritiesall things were created through him and for him.17And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.18And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstbo...

18Now the birth of Jesus Christ[a]took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed[b]to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.19And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.20But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying,...

8And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.9And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.10And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.11For unto you is born this day in the city of David...

67May Godbe gracious to us and bless usand make his face toshine upon us,Selah2thatyour way may be known on earth,yoursaving power among all nations.3Let the peoples praise you, O God;let all the peoples praise you!

16Rejoice always,17pray without ceasing,18give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.2For by it the people of old received their commendation.3By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

32But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings,33sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated.34For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding o...

26For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,27but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.28Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.29How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one wh...

19Therefore, brothers,since we have confidence to enterthe holy places by the blood of Jesus,20bythe new and living way that he opened for us throughthe curtain, that is, through his flesh,21and since we havea great priest over the house of God,22let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our heartssprinkled cleanfrom an evil conscience and our bodieswashed with pure water...

10For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.2Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?3But in these sacrifices there...

23Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.24For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.25Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest...

15Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.[a]16For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established.17For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the on...

The Earthly Holy Place 9Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness.2For a tent[a]was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence.[b]It is called the Holy Place.3Behind the second curtain was a second section[c]called the Most Holy Place,4having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the coven...

Hebrews 8:1-13 8Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,2a minister in the holy places, in the true tent[a]that the Lord set up, not man.3For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer.4Now if he were on...

7For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,2and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace.3He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days no...

9Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better thingsthings that belong to salvation.10For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.11And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end,12so that you may not be sluggish,...

Romans 12:1-2 (ESV) I appeal to you therefore, brothers,by the mercies of God,to present your bodiesas a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world,but be transformed bythe renewal of your mind, that by testing you maydiscern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Guest Speaker Joel Williams, IMB 1 Timothy 4:11-16 11Command and teach these things.12Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.13Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.14Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders...

6Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,2and of instruction about washings,[a]the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.3And this we will do if God permits.4For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have t...

11About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.12For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food,13for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.14But solid food is for the mature, for tho...

5For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.2He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness.3Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people.4And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when cal...

26Nowan angel of the Lord said to Philip, Rise and go toward the south[a]to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert place.27And he rose and went. And there was anEthiopian, aeunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians,who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship28and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the...

12For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.13And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. 14Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the he...

4Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.2For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.[a]3For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, As I swore in my wrath,They shall not enter my rest,...