I hope everyone had a wonderful and peace-filled Christmas! Now we look forward to the New Year…and that time of great resolutions! If there were one thing about yourself that you’d like to reform, what would it be (you may not want to answer that publicly – heh)? What about in the world at large? If there were one thing you had the power to reform, what would it be?

What about the church and religion?What, if anything, would you love to see re-formed?

This Sunday we’ll be talking about God’s intention to reform us, and all creation, as we continue our study in Hebrews, chapter 9.

This section is pretty dense – it will probably make a lot more sense to you if you read it in The Message version first. Don’t let its complexity scare you off.

I sort of think that the argument the writer is making was probably more effective in the ancient world – but the main point he’s making is still wonderful truth nonetheless. He’s moved from contrasting the ancient high priest of Levitical Judaism with Jesus to the ancient sacrificial system and how it was simply a picture of Jesus’ death on the cross for us.

V5 is interesting to me. At the end of it, he either means he doesn’t have time to talk about all the different things that were in the holy of holies in the temple…or that he can’t. Can you think of a  few reasons why, at that period in time, he didn’t know how to describe the things in there in detail? What would they be?

This passage talks a lot about blood, which can be really offputting to modern readers. It’s quite understandable. What does the writer indicate that those sacrifices were standing in the place of?

The writer sets the stage for the “coming reformation” – God’s intent to make all things new. It begins, as the writer insists, with Jesus’ death on the cross which paves the way for a new covenant (a way of relating to God) and will conclude with a new world (v28). In what ways does the author argue that a greater reform is possible under this new covenant in Christ?

Hebrews is a challenging book – but our faith grows more robust as we take the time to explore it! Hope to see you Sunday!

 

If you could see into the year 2050, what things that we consider necessities do you think will be obsolete by then? If you had the ability to make something obsolete…what would it be?

We’re going to be continuing our study in the book of Hebrews this Sunday, reading all of chapter 8.

As you read this chapter, you’ll find that the writer is trying to press home a point: Jesus is who the Old Testament levitical system was pointing towards. What Jesus provides to us is greater than anything that had been known previously. His readers were being tempted to return to the old patterns of obeying the Law of Moses in order to be a covenant people, but the writer is adamant that to do that is to go the wrong way.

When describing the superiority of our covenant through Christ, he draws some contrasts. Where does he say Jesus exercises his priestly duties in contrast to the priesthood of Israel. What about this makes Jesus superior in the writer’s mind?

He then quotes from Jeremiah 31 where God Himself forecasts that a new covenant is on the horizon for Israel…and all mankind. As he describes what this covenant would be like, what are the characteristics of it? How does it contrast with a covenant of compliance with a law? How do you think this contrast makes the new covenant superior?

V13 is an amazing verse to me. This should be everyone’s go-to verse if they are confronted by anyone who wants to require us to submit to the Law of Moses. What do verses 12 and 13 tell us about the nature of God’s intent for the human race?

This will be a very engaging passage of Scripture to explore – hope to see you Sunday!

 

I hope everyone had a great thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for – we have God’s love lavished on us, and that’s worth getting stoked about!

This Sunday we’ll be continuing our study in Hebrews, reading chapter 5:11-6:12. This is a passage that contains another of the “warning verses” of this letter. You will do yourself a great favor by reading this text in the Message version from the link I provided.

The writer of this letter is emphatic in saying that we are expected to mature in our walk with Christ. What do you think he means that we should be teachers by now? What do you think it means to be “skilled in the word of righteousness“? How do you think we can mature in those areas of our Christian journey?

In chapter 6, the writer begins describing what he considers baby-food – the elementary aspects of our faith. Do you consider them elementary? How would you paraphrase what these “foundational” truths are?

v4-8 have been scary warnings for people all throughout church history. Instead of being challenged, people get frightened of losing their salvation. As you read this in the Message version, you may get a clearer picture of what the writer is getting at. What do you think the writer is trying to say in this section? (we’ll unpack it more carefully on Sunday)

In what ways does the writer seem to indicate that we can avoid spiritual sluggishness (v12)? How do we balance the truth that we are saved by grace alone, yet we are called to good works?

This will be a challenging study, but one that’s well worth our time. Let’s submit our lives the the Living Word and see how we can enter into a greater sense of wholeness in God – cool? Hope to see you Sunday!

I can still remember what the broken clock looked like with all the glittering glass on the floor. My friend Joey and I were playing in his house. Minutes before his mom had come to warn us not to rough-house inside. Joey had complied but I had not. I still remember the pillow arching through the air, missing Joey and smashing into an antique style clock that rested on nearby table. We stood for a long time, gazing at it’s shattered delicacy.

“We gotta’ tell my mom what happened.”

I couldn’t breathe. This was all my fault. My ruination had come nigh.

“Will you tell her for me?” I pleaded.

Joey looked at me with narrowed eyes. “But you did this.”

“I know and I’m sorry, but you gotta’ tell her, I can’t do it!” After a lot of pleading and promising lifelong servitude, Joey relented and stood for me to confess the crime to his mom.

I needed a mediator. Someone to plead my case for mercy.

That’s the whole idea of priesthood in any religion that employs them. Humans who mediate between heaven and earth – advocates for humanity before God. That, the writer of Hebrews says, is what Jesus has come to do in perfection.

This Sunday we’ll be reading Hebrews 4:14-5:10 where the writer describes Jesus as our Great High Priest. The priesthood was central to the worship of ancient Israel. The writer, still asserting that Jesus is greater than all that came before him, expresses that the priesthood was merely a picture of who Jesus would be to us.

As you read through the section – and I advise doing it all in one fell swoop – look at the adjectives used to describe Jesus as our mediator. What are they, and what image of God do they convey? What qualifications for being High Priest does the writer mention? In what way did Jesus fulfill those qualifications?

Chapter 4 verse 16 is a powerful and revolutionary invitation. What do you feel when reading it? Reluctance, acceptance, relief…what?

How do you think having Jesus as a mediator between earth and heaven changes the dynamic and distinguishes Christianity from so many other religions? In what ways can we derive grace from having him as our advocate?

This is going to be such and encouraging study – hope to see you there!

Everyone has a place where they can rest. Personally I feel most restful when I’m at the beach. Oftentimes I’m out doing the hard work of surfing (which in my case means thrashing around as a turbo-kook) – but even though I’m active, it’s still restful. You get that, right? Rest is a state of mind and being.  Where do you like to be, what do you like to do to find rest?

The Bible presents a picture of spirituality as rest. That’s something we’ll be looking at this Sunday in our study of Hebrews as we tackle the very challenging passages of chapters 3:1-19 and 4:1-13. Do me a favor and be sure to read The Message version of this passage, it helps provide a clearer framework for what is being said.

In 3:1-6, what does the writer describe the house of God being? When the word house is being used, we have to understand that it is most likely speaking of a household – not just the place a person sleeps and keeps his stuff but the children, extended relatives, servants and holdings that a family has. He’s describing God’s family. By whom does the writer say we will be included in God’s household? What is significant about the contrast between a servant and a Son?

The writer then draws an analogy from Psalm 95 which talks about Israel’s rebellion during the wilderness journey – how they refused to trust God to take them all the way past the giants in the land and ended up not entering the rest God promised…the home of their own.  It’s a sobering warning to us. The Israelites fell short of getting home even though they had seen God do so many amazing things. They gave up when it looked as though it would cost them too much. How would we apply this warning to our own lives? What role can community have in keeping us on course?

Chapter 4 elaborates the idea of entering into God’s rest, drawing comparisons between the Israelites of the first Exodus and the church’s journey through the desert in the 2nd Exodus of Christ. What do you believe the idea of rest is conveying? How does the Sabbath become a picture of what it means to rest (v4, 9-10)? What does this tell us about how we enter into the household and rest of God?

The section finishes with a description of the Word of God like a sword, or a scalpel according to The Message. How does God’s Word strip away all the masks and pretenses we tend to project about ourselves? How is it beneficial to us to have those things removed? In what ways could this sort of honesty before God provide rest?

I wont lie – this section has some very challenging stuff in it. It may make us uncomfortable but I promise it will end up refreshing us as we dig into it. Hope to see you on Sunday!

It’s almost alarming how often I have found myself in way over my head when it comes to trying to fix things around the house. I’m just not good at it – but somehow I seem to overestimate my abilities to fix things and usually make a serious mess before I give up. (No…that’s not a picture of me, but thanks for wondering)

If you think about it though, all of humanity is sort of like that. We’ve been made in God’s image, meant to be caretakers of a created paradise, but we rejected God’s rule in order to assert our own and made a terrible mess of everything. From then on we have been trying to fix this thing – to restore God’s image on our own, to manufacture our own paradise.

And as I think about it, all of human history is really an incredibly long DIY FAIL!

We had so much potential, we sense that innately. How can it be recovered? That’s what the writer of Hebrews will be dealing with in the section we’ll be studying this Sunday – Hebrews 2:5-18.

The overarching theme of the letter to the Hebrews is that Jesus is greater. Greater than the communications from God before, greater than the Law of Moses, greater than any understanding of God we previously had. In the rest of chapter 2 we learn more about why we consider Jesus so great as we observe the ways in which he is restoring us to God’s original intent.

In v 5-9 the writer quotes Psalm 8:4-6, where the potential of humanity is described (as a little lower than the angels), meant to wisely rule the earth, yet we don’t even rule ourselves well much less anything else. What is the solution proposed by the writer in v9? Based on that, what is Jesus intending to restore for us? What is the end-game?

Verses 10-13 describe our relationship to God through Jesus. What terminology is he predominately using to define who we are to Christ? What does Jesus restore us to relationally? How important is it for you to know that you belong somewhere, to someone? How does this affect our sense of dignity and humanness?

We are described as being delivered in v 14-16. Delivered from what? What does that deliverance restore to us as frail human beings living in a broken world?

The last two verses of the chapter describe Jesus as something else: a high priest. But not just a high priest bringing a sacrifice to set things right between God and us – but a high priest who offers Himself as a sacrifice for us. His suffering qualifies him in two ways (according to v17) to help stabilize us. What are those two attributes and what does that inspire in you when you consider it?

Looking forward to digging into this on Sunday – hope to see you there!

 

 

Hey everyone – we’re going to start a new teaching series tomorrow in the book of Hebrews! I’m really stoked about this book, I think you will be too!

The book of Hebrews is a fascinating letter written by an unknown author to a group of Jewish believers sometime between 50-70 AD. The general theme of this letter is that the Messiah has come and his coming is much greater than we ever expected it would be!  He’s greater than the law of Moses, greater than the prophets, greater than angelic appearances….you’ll get the picture as we get into it. This letter, more than any other New Testament writing, provides a bridge that links the Old and New Testaments together as a singular narrative. It reminds me of one of those art installations that look like a chaotic group  of objects, until viewed from a particular angle where we realize each piece is part of a larger picture.

This Sunday we’ll be reading all of chapter one and the first four verses of chapter 2.

In verses 1-3, what reason does the writer give for saying that Jesus is a greater than the other forms of communication God employed in the past? Why is it important to us that Jesus is the “exact imprint of God’s nature”?

Verses 4-14 strings together a series of quotations from the Psalms and 2 Samuel that reveal Messiah as being superior to any angelic creation because he is the actual, eternal creator. So here he’s making a progression – Jesus is greater than the Law and Prophets, and he’s greater than any other spiritual beings. In what ways to people tend to gravitate to religious laws or mystical spirituality involving angels? What do you think the writer is trying to get across to us concerning how we relate to God through Jesus?

In the first four verses of chapter 2 the writer gives us a warning. What is the warning? What are some of the ways in which we can “pay much closer attention” to Jesus? What suggestions does the writer provide in v3-4?

As I said – I’m really stoked about this study! I believe it will be challenging and open our minds up to whole new horizons as believers! Hope to see you Sunday.