Please turn with me to Hebrews chapter 12.  This spring we’ve been walking through the book of Hebrews, and we’re almost to the end, two chapters left, two sermons left. As we’ve been saying throughout this series, what we’re looking at is a single, long sermon, we don’t know who the author is, but we do know the audience: Christians from among the Hebrew people, who had converted from Judaism.  This book was likely written in the mid 60s AD ..read more

Two weeks ago, my wife and I were traveling, and we listened to a biography of a man who is an adventure racer. Adventure racing consists of teams of four people competing in very long, almost non-stop race that can last for 6-7 days, covering 400 miles, biking on trails, climbing steep cliffs, kayaking on rivers, hiking through muddy jungles.   The most they sleep over these six days is two hours per day. None of the racers are the fastest ..read more

We are nearing the end of a 16-week series on a book in the Bible called Hebrews.   As much as any NT book, Hebrews is one long theme from beginning to end.  One challenge, then, in teaching through this each week is that we want to ensure we understand the text that has come before. Same is true for our text today, which is chapter 11.  This chapter 11 is all about the theme of faith.  Particularly, the author recounts ..read more

Please open your Bibles to Hebrews, Chapter 10.  I’d like to offer a special welcome to those of you joining us this morning for the first time. Easter is a very significant day for Christians, and I’m glad you were able to be here this morning. We are studying through the book of Hebrews together this spring. It’s providential that we are arriving at chapter 10 just in time for Easter, as today’s passage is the climax of the author’s ..read more

Today is Palm Sunday, a celebration of an important day in biblical history.  This day marks the story in the Gospels when Jesus was entering into Jerusalem on Sunday, five days before his crucifixion. About 1/3 of the Gospels are devoted to this last week of Jesus’ earthly ministry.  Surely this is the most important week in human history, for if Christ is who he says he is—and the Book of Hebrews completely concurs with that—Jesus is the only and ..read more

Please find a Bible and turn with me to Hebrews chapter 8.  When we are trying to understand what the Bible says to us, our primary task is to try to figure out what the original author was trying to communicate to the original audience. What point was he trying to get across to them? Once we know that, our next task is to try to figure out what relevance that message has for us today.  Sometimes it is a ..read more

Welcome & Prayer A1. The Important Characters We’re going to look at Hebrews 7 today, but before we dive in, I want to let you know that this is not the easiest passage to immediately understand for two reasons. First, it is written to a 1st-century audience that the author expects will have a significant understanding of the history and spiritual culture and customs found in the Old Testament. And second, it’s a continuation right in the middle of a ..read more

From our passage today, three themes will come out: Hebrews 5:11-6:12 Let’s read the first portion of our passage for today.  The first two themes will come out:  Warning and Assurance. Hebrews 5:11–6:12 (CSB) 5:11 We have a great deal to say about this, and it is difficult to explain, since you have become too lazy to understand. 12 Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the basic principles of God’s revelation ..read more

Please turn with me to Hebrews chapter 4.  Two weeks ago during the Superbowl, a Christian organization aired two commercials with the tagline “He Gets Us”—attempting to convey a message that Jesus understands everyone, and has a message for everyone. This is the second year in a row this organization aired commercials during the Superbowl, and they have racked up close to a million views on YouTube in the past two weeks.  The commercials have generated no end of controversy—liberals ..read more

Last Wednesday there was a senseless, evil shooting in Kansas City.  Last month there was murder at a high school in Perry, Iowa, just 45 miles from here.  There is war in the Middle East and Ukraine.  In all these things, we wonder, Where is peace?  Where is the rest?  Why is everyone so angry? But even closer to home, we find ourselves longing for rest in our own little world.   Family disputes. Marriage collapses. Tension in the workplace.  And ..read more