Restoration Church Toowoomba Sermon Podcast

Peter introduces the Project's current series on prayer by addressing some key problems that hinder prayer.

The writer of Hebrews ends his letter with a rousing benediction. In it he affirms the superiority of Christ and calls on him to work in his reader's hearts. God, revealed in Christ, is the one that their hearts were made for.

The death of Jesus was not only the provision of a sacrifice for humanity but was also the provision of ongoing grace and support for those who trust Him. Internal nourishment of the heart takes place by consuming the grace of God.

To show hospitality to strangers may be a daunting task for some. However when your soul is anchored deep in the promise from God that he will never leave you or forsake you, you are able to do far more than you ever thought possible.

Hebrews 13:1 says let brotherly love continue. But if you only attend a church this command is very difficult to fulfil. Nathan’s main point was that God is not adopting church buildings or organisations. God is adopting and growing a family. His son Jesus becomes a big brother who sacrifices his life so that all who believe He is God would be born again into this new family. Practically Romans 12...

The writer of Hebrews finishes with some practical exhortations that flow out of the theology he has unfolded throughout his letter. In this message Peter discusses some leadership principles taught in Hebrews 13.

The writer of Hebrews encourages his readers to live in the reality of the New Covenant. God has made a new deal with humanity and the benefits that come with the new deal are far superior to every other time in history; and lead to an unimaginably wonderful end in heaven.

Many people have become content with brokenness. They can easily be focused on pain minimisation rather than the complete healing and wholeness that brings peace. God is not interested in His people just coping, but works for their good such that they would thrive. This is what the writer of Hebrews exhorts his readers to strive for, because without it no one will see God.

Shame drives people to implement many defense mechanisms in the hope that one of them will be able to effectively deal with it; yet none of them actually do. Jesus embraced all of the consequences of shame that we work so feverishly to avoid so that we would not need to cover our shame ... because he is the one who does.

Shame made it's first appearance in the garden of Eden after Adam and Eve first disobeyed God, and ever since then has been a common reality touching all of humanity. Adam and Eve's initial shame had to do with what God thought of them and what they thought of each other, but ever since leaving the garden, humanity lost sight of God-oriented shame and is stuck in the courtroom of other people's op...

Shame plays a key role in shaping human behaviour, yet most of the time we don't notice it's effects because we find it difficult to identify. Peter helps us to identify shame and see the deep remedy to it that is offered to us by Jesus.

Discipline is a good thing, and, when administered by God, it is a great thing. It never seems pleasant at the time but always produces much good in our lives.

The author of Hebrews catalogues a long list of biblical heroes in Chapter 11, and with the exception of Rahab the prostitute, chooses not to mention any of their failings. He uses this as a springboard to encourage his readers to rid themselves of encumbrances and sin that will limit their endurance in the race of faith, and then encourages them to look to THE hero who has no dark side - Jesus.

Faith often malfunctions because we tend to place it in a particular outcome rather than in the person of Jesus. The heroes of the faith anticipated heaven as an ultimate outcome of their faith but in the short term actively trusted God and let him work out the rest.

We can often be guilty of separating concepts that the Bible never does. This is especially true when it comes to faith. Abraham's life teaches us that faith and obedience, faith and risk, and, homesickness and endurance are inseparable.

If you are to draw near to God you need to do two things: believe that he exists and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. No one and nothing can better his rewards.

Hebrews 11 is a classic chapter on faith. It documents the faith of many giants in the biblical story and the deeds that their faith inspired. Their faith was not blind but warranted in the light of how God had proven himself trustworthy.

Warning and encouragement are two mechanisms that God employs to help his people persevere. In this section the author of Hebrews encourages his readers to persevere because they have a real and certain hope that God will reward their faithfulness to Him.

The writer of Hebrews quickly transitions from imploring his readers to draw near, to warning them about the consequences of not drawing near. There are two different ways to fear God. One way is marked by self-preservation and is evidenced by a fear of God punishing them. The other way of fearing God is to revere, respect and venerate Him.  

The writer of Hebrews argues that God has done everything that was needed to allow us to draw near to God, and on the strength of this goes on to command us to draw near to Him. It is a gracious command and one which we would do well to heed.

Sin is humanity's biggest problem. It traps people, limits God's options and causes people to give up. Jesus dealt decisively with sin once and for all by dying on the cross so that none of this need be true any longer. God's remedy for our predicament is extremely impressive ... to say the least.

We continue in Hebrews 9:11-14 where the author continues to contrast the old sacrificial system and the one final sacrifice of Jesus. Nathan speaks about how Jesus sacrifice and bloodshed cleanses the conscience and brings about an eternal redemption. Listen in to hear more.

Nathan speaks about how the new covenant cleanses the conscience in a way that the Old Testament sacrificial system could never do.

If we want to understand our fears and anxieties we need to stop long enough to listen to what they are saying to us. Once we understand what they are saying to us we will then be ready to hear what Jesus says to our fears. 

While there are many good reasons to worry, there are better reasons not to. Peter addresses three basic fears which anxiety clusters around and explains some biblical truths that can help to neutralise them.