Reflexion, A Spiritual Community

Do you know what I mean by “starting blocks”? You would if you ran track in high school – blocks are placed on a track provide stable brace for the runners’ feet • Olympic athletes spend time at the blocks, testing and adjusting them ◦ because that first push-off is critical to a fast start • part of their workout is practicing their starts – the writer of Hebrews is not telling us to settle into...

Intro: How would you respond if I said, “Show me your faith”? Actually, I’m not the one who said it and that’s not whole sentence Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works (Jas. 2:18) - you cannot do it – you cannot give evidence of faith apart from action - this entire chapter has explored faith's law of cause and effect • we've heard one story a...

If we could read this chapter like the original readers, We would see this verse had been sneaking up on them – thumbing through Israel’s history, the writer cites examples of faith • there’s a similar historical review in Acts chapter 7 ◦ but there, Stephen uses Israel’s history to make a different point • Stephen lists the regular heroes found in the Old Testament ◦ Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David...

Intro: Hebrews chapter 11 can be summed up in two words: By faith The six verses we dive into today share a sub-theme, which is death - not in a dark context, but rather in the light of faith and hope • faith is not short-sighted – it can see a future beyond end of my life • the big idea in these verses is that faith owns the future For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or th...

In the verses we’ll cover today, faith looks much like a moving van – the journey of faith is no vacation, but an indefinite homelessness • with all of the stress that entails • faith looks like an endless series of transitions – this past week, I was counting for a friend all the schools I attended through the twelfth grade • three elementary schools, three junior high, and two high schools ◦ bei...

Jesus stressed it, pointing out instances of little faith and great faith - Paul practically wore out the word faith (faith appears almost forty times alone in his letter to the Romans) • but the writer of Hebrews gives the fullest explanation of faith • beginning in chapter 10, he reminded us of God's declaration, my righteous one shall live by faith (Heb. 10:38) ◦ then he defined faith in c...

Hebrews 11 is one of the magnificent passages in the Bible It is right up there with Psalm 23, The Lord’s Prayer, and 1 Corinthians 13 - we won’t just step into Hebrews 11 – we need a running start • last week’s passage culminated in two statements ◦ a line from the OT: my righteous one shall live by faith ◦ a line from writer: we are those who have faith • it’s a fair question to ask, What does f...

The passage we are looking into this morning, Is as terrible as last week’s passage was wonderful I have found last Sunday’s reminder to be very helpful this week – I’ve survived and thrived on moments of “drawing near” – but now we come to this: For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation...

The writer of Hebrews has been commenting on the “new covenant” The first half of chapter ten is a continuation and conclusion of this theme – he explains how God writes his will into our hearts and minds • in order to clarify the way Jesus works on the inside of our lives, • our writer has enumerated contrasts between the old and new covenants ◦ more contrasts appear here, all the way to verse 18...

When we began our study in the Book of Hebrews, do you remember me telling you that I love this book? That is because it is all about Jesus - to me, it is like a fifth gospel, but it is different in this respect: • the other four gospels follow Jesus from a human perspective ◦ we read about him from our view on earth ◦ Hebrews follows him from heaven’s perspective • it’s as if we watch Jesus throu...

The “first covenant” was supported by worship We have seen that in Jesus we have a better covenant (Heb. 8:6) – and this is the new covenant (Heb. 8:13) of Jeremiah’s prophecy • the first covenant refers to the one God forged with Israel at Mount Sinai • remember, the purpose of God’s law and Israel’s worship ◦ it was to maintain their covenant relationship with God

A renewal of vows mirrors one of most important themes in scripture - God’s covenant • there is a major division in the Christian Bible ◦ one part is the Old Testament (covenant) and the other part is the New ◦ our Bibles are one story told in two parts and both of them having to do with covenants

The writer of Hebrews is going to argue a crucial difference - the difference between copy and original, between shadow and substance

We all know someone–or we have been that someone–who powers through relationships, dating person after person looking for a perfect match. Not long after moving to Dana Point, I met a young man who fit that exact profile. I could not help but think of him when a few years later, reading St. Augustine’s Confessions I came across this line, “I searched about for something to love, in love with lovin...

Are you familiar with the name Dietrich Bonhoeffer? He was a twentieth century martyr – imprisoned for opposing Hitler – he gave a great deal of thought to what it means to be a Christian • also, to what a true church, not compromised by the world would look like • one conclusion he drew was that a Christian meditates on the Scriptures ◦ that got him asking questions like: ◦ “Why do I meditate?” “...

If I were to write a paper on current societal pressures I would title it, “Inadvertent Torture” - no one intended to torture US citizens, it just happened • first, we spend most of our days stuck in these boxes (our homes) • then, two television and social media are dominated by two issues: ◦ a controversial pandemic and the eruption of racial tension ◦ our nation is sharply divided on both of th...

This week I was reading in the Book of Romans In chapter 12, Paul listed ways to live in community with each other – I was doing fine until I reached verse 12: Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer • I am not by nature a joyful person – I lived many years under a cloud ◦ I hate to admit this, but for me hope doesn’t come easily either ◦ there have been a couple of hopes...

We left off last week with the writer complaining (or scolding) He had much more to say about Jesus in his role of a priest,      - but it would be too difficult to explain it all to them          • they had become lazy listeners              ◦ as a result, they were not ready to go further or deeper          • but the truth is, the writer must have believed they were ready,              ◦ because...

’m going to begin with a personal reflection You won’t see the connection at first, but it will make sense later – Friday I was reading in the Book of Acts • Paul was under house arrest in Rome ◦ but he was given freedom to entertain visitors ◦ when people came, Paul’s spent his time trying to convince them about Jesus, and so he, welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and te...

Wednesday evening, our meditation was in Luke, chapter 9 Speculation was growing regarding Jesus – he was a spiritual leader, but what kind of leader? • 2,000 years later theologians and anthropologists are still asking • where did Jesus fit in his culture’s conceptual framework ◦ a prophet, a Rabbi, a sage, a healer, a mystic? – there is not one label that captures all that he is • even for belie...

This week it occurred to me, it might be good to stop here To not go any further in Hebrews – until our experience catches up with what we’ve learned • for instance, we learned about an constant inner peace ◦ a Sabbath rest that doesn’t depend on our circumstances ◦ we can enter God’s rest in bad times as well as good times • and our Sabbath rest is not limited to one day a week One person esteems...

Hebrews chapter 4 is like a mixed-green salad It has four different types of lettuce: Let us fear (v. 1) Let us strive (v. 11) Let us hold fast (v. 14) Let us draw near (v. 16)