JESUS OUR FIRST FRIEND PART 4

Text- Hebrews 4:14-16

Introduction

Today being the first Sunday of the month we are emphasizing the theme of our church for 1989.

This year it is "Putting Jesus First" and the motto of our church is, "The Church Where Jesus Is First."

Wouldn't it be wonderful if when people talked about grace church they said, "That church puts Jesus first."?

During this year we are also highlighting some ways in which we need to put Jesus first.

During the month of April we will be emphasizing Jesus first in our friendships.

This doesn't mean that we can't have any other friends except Jesus, but rather it means that he should be our first friend.

The reason why he should be our first friend is because he is superior or better than any other friend.

There is a story told about a Chinese man who was traveling by ship to America to study in a university. One of the passengers noticed him reading from his Bible and began criticizing him and trying to cause him to doubt what it said. He ended his conversation by saying, "I wouldn't want to disturb your faith in Jesus however." To which the Chinese man replied, "Sir, if you could disturb my faith in Jesus he wouldn't be a big enough savior for me!"

If we are going to put Jesus first in our lives, in our church or in our friendships we must first recognize his superiority.

This is why I chose the book of Hebrews as the study to coincide with our theme.

The book of Hebrews shows us that Jesus is superior to the prophets, to the angels, to Moses, and here in Hebrews 4:14-16 we can see how that he is a superior friend.

This morning the title of my message is, "Jesus Our First Friend."

As we examine our text I would like to look at three reasons why Jesus wants to be your friend.