Draw Me Close: Podcast - A Ministry of Whitestone Christian Fellowship, with Pastor Bob Lawrenz

Mid-week after Christmas, today’s passage focuses on a few of those that have heard the voice of God, and other “Announcers,” like Gabriel, an Angel whose ear was held by Almighty God. We know about God directing him to Daniel in Babylon. Gabriel carried messages of the highest importance. . .

The most widely shared commemoration across the world, involving more people and more nations than any other holiday celebration is Christmas. It transcends national history, and it goes everywhere where Christianity has ever been. Though it is the most widely celebrated around the world, in many ways it is the least understood. All the holidays and all the celebrations and all the commemorations...

Like the Prophets of old, God uses individuals for His specific purposes. The Apostle Peter was no different. He was like the unofficial head of the Apostles, probably based on his age. (See John 20: 3, 4,  "Another younger Apostle out-ran Peter on Resurrection Sunday, as they ran to the empty tomb." ) Both were filled with the Spirit, both wrote short Epistles, but Peter wrote this abou...

As our study in Hebrews concludes in chapter 13:15-25, the author summarizes the Christian life as one of sacrificial praise, continuous obedience and submission to Christ and His leaders, and living with an eternal perspective, always looking toward the "city to come" rather than earthly comforts, concluding with a powerful prayer for God's people to be equipped for His will and a f...

The final chapter of the book of Hebrews is a powerful call to live out Christian faith practically focusing on living a life of brotherly love, hospitality, sexual morality, and contentment. It urges believers to remember prisoners, and respect their spiritual leaders. The writer makes a strong point about the constancy of the gospel. Jesus Christ does not change, and neither does the truth. Chri...

Hebrews 12:15-29 is a powerful warning to Christians to persevere in faith and holiness, avoid backsliding into sin, and appreciate the superiority of the new covenant in Christ over the old covenant given at Mount Sinai. It contrasts the fearful experience of the Law with the confident access to God offered through Jesus. . .

The final portion of The Epistle to the Hebrews is upon us. And it’s a fitting time of the year, as Christmas is just a week and a half away. “ The sacrifice of praise ” begins this passage, and we are encouraged to communicate to others the reason for our joy in Christ. That’s evangelization, pointing others to Christ for all the wonderful gifts He has given us. . .

As we open the 13th Chapter of Hebrews, we are closing out this wonderful Epistle. It is filled with good things for us to keep in mind daily. The writer opens up with,  “Let brotherly love continue.”  That command is the second half of The Great Commandment. That’s not a coincidence. It is one of the hardest things to do, especially given Jesus’ description of brothers, and of neighbors. A neighb...

The Jews were called a stiff-necked people in several places in the Old Testament. They often acted arrogantly, believing that their logic was like God's. But that's a presumptuous conclusion. To think that we mortals can match God with motives, means, and planning seems outrageous to us these days. And Isaiah 55:7-11 confirms that God thinks so too! His thoughts are higher than our though...

We are beginning chapter 12 this week.  The writer is now transitioning as he begins to conclude with a powerful exhortation for believers to persevere in their faith journey, drawing inspiration from the witnesses of the past, shedding hindrances, running with endurance, and fixing their eyes on Jesus. He further explains that God's discipline is a loving act of a father, not punishment, and...

To the Hebrews that the writer addresses in this Epistle, Chapter 11 serves as a reminder of their history, and to God’s faithfulness to them, through each individual listed in the text. And today in Chapter 12, those Heroes of Faith have become a great cloud of witnesses. Each of the names listed in the last chapter are familiar to every Jew, their stories fill the Old Testament, indeed their sto...

What is faith? No better answer is given in perhaps all the Bible than in the great eleventh chapter of the book of Hebrews. Here a tapestry is unfolded, depicting great examples of faith from the record of Old Testament heroes. In this chapter there are numerous biblical figures who demonstrated great faith. These "heroes" are highlighted for their unwavering faith in God and their obed...

This morning, we will begin our exposition of Hebrews, chapter 11. It is one of those most loved portions of Scripture. It has various names. The most famous of them are, “The Faith Chapter" and “The Hall of Faith.” It is an entire chapter of the Bible devoted to the topic of faith. Faith is mentioned 26 times in chapter 11. It will be the recurring theme in this chapter again and again and a...

The writer continues in his journey through the heroes of faith: Moses and Joshua, and then continues but in reverse chronological order. Through faith they subdued kingdoms, endured hardships and persecutions of many kinds: from mockery to death, and received the promises made to their fathers. Their combined experiences show us the way to receiving the same promises of salvation, deliverance, an...

Chapter 11 of Hebrews is casually known as the Faith Chapter of the Bible. Our faith is in God, not man; our faith is in His promises, not mankind’s. It has a scriptural premise, found in Psalm 118: 8 & 9.  “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.”  

Hebrews 9 is deeply connected to Jesus Christ as it emphasizes His role as the High Priest of the New Covenant. Jesus’ sacrifice is presented as superior to the repeated sacrifices of the old covenant. His blood cleanses the conscience and secures eternal redemption, contrasting sharply with the temporary and external cleansing provided by the blood of animals. Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice and Hi...

Hebrews 7  portrays Jesus as "Our Great High Priest" in the order of Melchizedek, a superior and eternal priest who offers a perfect and once-for-all sacrifice of himself, rather than the Levitical priests under the Law of Moses.

As we finish the rest of Hebrews chapter 10, let's focus our attention upon the perfect, finished, completed, sufficient sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Indeed, that's the main point of our text: the single, sufficient sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The one offering of Jesus was sufficient. There is no need for any other. Because, we have been sanctified through this offering (verse 10). Because, we have b...

The Levitical system was not designed by God to remove or forgive sins.  It was preparatory for the coming of the Messiah. It was meant to show us our sinfulness, and that to be right with God, faith was necessary and a substitute sacrifice was the required payment for our sin. Jesus came as that substitute and performed the final sacrifice, the one The Law was hinting at, and as such, that old co...

In Hebrews 10: 20, Jesus entered into the veil of the Holiest by a new and living way! He became the living veil across the Holy of Holies. In the Old Testament, the veil blocked the way for all but the High Priests, and at the Crucifixion, it was torn specifically from top to bottom. (Not bottom to top, but from the top to the bottom (See Matthew 27:51; Mark 15: 38; and Luke 23: 45). This  “new a...

In Hebrews 10, it is clearly affirmed that animal sacrifices were insufficient for clearing our guilt for sin. In the early verses of Genesis 3, the first couple was lured into sinning against God, first Eve, and then Adam. At verse 21, an animal sacrifice was made, and God made them coats of skins to cover their nakedness. They had been other-oriented, but because of sin, they became self-oriente...

Hebrews 9:1-15 contrasts the limitations of the earthly Tabernacle and the old covenant with the superior work of Christ. It describes the Old Covenant's regulations as an imperfect system with animal sacrifices that could not perfect the worshippers' consciences. In contrast, Christ, as the high priest of the new covenant, entered a greater, heavenly sanctuary with his own blood to achiev...

As God made man in His own image, Satan’s plan is to make man as rebellious against God as he himself was, and is to this day. Satan’s first victims were Adam and his wife Eve. Judgment befell them and they were cast out of God’s beautiful garden. Genesis 5:1-5 follows with an explanation of how sin was passed down to Adam’s third son, Seth. And as it was passed down to him, it was passed down to...

Hebrews 8 transitions from Christ's superior priesthood (Chapter 7) to His superior ministry within a superior covenant. It functions as the central hinge of the book's argument, establishing the theological basis for why the New Covenant in Christ's blood renders the Old Covenant system obsolete. The author uses a lengthy quote from Jeremiah 31 as the definitive scriptural proof that...

Picking up at the last verse of 8,  “…the old is ready to vanish away,”  chapter 9 begins with a reality check. It is a most remarkable verse, and the Holy Spirit is directing His remarks to the Jews, specifically those who had become believers, but also to every Jew who reads this Epistle. It is a reminder of what still lingers today . . .