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As the Preacher draws this passionate sermon to its conclusion, it seems that his primary desire is to encourage and challenge the hearers to live out faith in the 'real stuff' of life. Christian faith is not simply a code of religious practices. If we really believe the truth of the preceding 12 chapters we will be shaped and changed to become more like Jesus. The instructions in this chapter help us to see exactly what this looks like! Two major contexts may be identified: 1) life 'in the street - here we are called to love each other, be hospitable, be compassionate, be sexually pure and be content; 2) life 'in the community of believers' - here we are called to pay attention to the relationship between leaders and the community, to watch for false teaching, embrace suffering, offer sacrifices of praise and good works. The Preacher then closes his letter with one of the most beautiful hymns of praise in all of Scripture. To Him be glory for ever and ever, AMEN!!
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Hi! The preceding post concludes our series in the book of Hebrews! We now take a break from recording and posting sermons from now until August. If you are in Bishkek and wish to join us, we welcome you each Sunday morning at 10am for our Summer Sundays. June 28th will be a study in Isaiah 40, then through the month of July and into the early part of August we will study the stories in the first 6 chapters of the prophet Daniel. We would love to see you there!
Blessings, Phil Horton pastor, ICB In his ongoing efforts to spur the believers on to persevere in their faith, the Preacher in Hebrews 12 challenges them to lift their eyes to the bigger picture and place their very difficult circumstances in a larger picture frame. Only then can they make sense of the troubles they are enduring! They should:
Listen below or right click here to download the file The Preacher is drawing his discussion about Jesus, our High Priest, to a climax in this very profound chapter. We notice 3 sections in the chapter. Verses 1-18 contain Words of Truth - including statements like " when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God..." Verses 19-25 contain Words of Exhortation - "let us draw near to God; let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess; let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." Verses 26-39 contain Words of Warning - the Preacher urgently wants all believers to know the consequences of 'trampling the Son of God underfoot'! in all of these we are challenged to know for sure that the gift of forgiveness and restored relationship with God is indeed the Most Valuable Gift!!
Listen below or right click here to download A 2-fold picture emerges from the text of Hebrews 9. The first part (1-10) is characterized by dim and dull colours. The detailed description of the Old Testament system of sacrifices is followed by the declaration - 'not enough'. They were not sufficient to deal the problem of sin which separates all of us sinful people from our Holy God. The 2nd part of the picture (11-28), however, is full of energy and vibrant colour as it describes the work of Jesus. Through His death on the cross, he paid the full price for our salvation; He now lives in the presence of God and invites us to join Him there; AND He will one day come back again to bring salvation to us in its fulness! The question is... are we ready for such a day? Are we looking forward to that day?? May we hear this text clearly!
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