Shelbyville Community Church

At the beginning of Hebrews 13, the author gives us a laundry list of practical ways to relate to other believers and how we are to interact with individuals outside of our faith.

The heart that learns to say “As you wish” to God opens itself to the power of the universe. The man or woman that would say “As you wish” to their Heavenly Father on a daily basis is really saying, “I love You, Papa.”

Beginning in Hebrews 12:14, he warns us about avoiding some things that are toxic to faith. At first glance, they seem like pretty mundane things. And I think that’s significant. Because for most of us, the danger to our faith is not some big, cataclysmic event where we just dump it. Rather, it’s the slow, gradual dulling of our heart toward God; the slow rotting of our faith from the inside out.

Most of us can remember getting into trouble as children and being disciplined by our parents. While few of us would ever say it was enjoyable, we also understand that it necessary and good for us. By the same token, the author of Hebrews tells us that God also disciplines us in a way that is necessary and good for us, though we will never enjoy it.

The start of any race is enjoyable. It is easy. Finishing is hard work. In the Bible, the ability to finish is called perseverance. In Hebrews 12, the Christian life is likened to a marathon, and we’re told very clearly how to make sure we finish well without “growing weary and losing heart.”

Throughout the book of Hebrews, the author repeatedly challenges his readers to stay faithful to Jesus no matter what. By the world’s standards, many of them had good reason to bail on their faith in Jesus. Being a disciple often put their families, their resources, their homes, and even their lives in jeopardy. But these early believers had a hope that far surpassed any of those earthly things. T...

We got to celebrate the baptism of 22 kids, students, and adults!

One of the central problems that the gospel overcomes is guilt and shame. At the center of the gospel (the good news of Jesus) is this premise: We were guilty: Christ took that away. In Hebrews 8-10, the main argument the author is making is that Jesus brings a better approach to guilt and shame because He offers a new and better agreement between God and men than the one contained in the Old Test...

In Scripture, you have both warnings and assurances. In Hebrews 6, you find one of the most somber warnings in all of the Bible. It’s clear from the context that he is talking to believers, whom He is concerned could “fall away” from Jesus. But what does that mean, and how do you avoid it? Join us this weekend as we do a deep dive into, not just the teaching of this passage, but the broader teachi...

Too often, doubt is seen as a bad thing. It’s easy to view doubt as a weakness. But what if doubt isn't an indictment of your faith, but an acknowledgment of your faith? Join us as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and how doubt plays an important role in our walk with Him.

For most of us it's easy to feel stagnant in our faith. But, the author of Hebrews makes a very strong point in chapter 6: if you follow Jesus you're either taking a step forward or taking a step back. There is no in-between.

The author of Hebrews wrestles with the Old Testament in a way no other New Testament letter does. The initial readers of Hebrews looked back on the Old Testament with newfound clarity in light of Jesus. Today we read Hebrews and it can be a little confusing. This week we're going to look at the fact that Jesus is a better high priest and what that means for us today.

Today when we purchase things like phones and computers or even cars, we often do so based on one primary factor: speed. In our culture, fast is king, and we try to cram more and more things into less and less time. How do you find rest in that kind of culture? How do you stop when everyone else is trying to cram in more?

The natural bent of the human heart is towards unbelief. The reason is simple: Unbelief requires nothing from you. It makes no demands and allows you to navigate life as the captain of your fate and the master of your soul. But while unbelief demands nothing, it costs you everything.

Over the years, lots of pictures of Jesus have been produced. But the only one that is accurate is found in Scripture. This weekend we looked at four pictures of Jesus contained in Hebrews 2.

The book of Hebrews is birthed in a concern: the writer is urging God’s people to go all the way with Jesus. 
He was concerned that the hardships of their lives might cause them to leave Jesus behind.
 Life was hard. In truth, things aren't much different today. What hardships are causing you to leave Jesus behind?

The big question of the series: What am I making Better than Jesus? Our hope is that each of us will come to a place where we can name those struggles and walk towards putting Jesus first in our lives. As we learn to be ALL IN, we’ll learn that Jesus is Better, and He deserves our Time, Talents and Treasure.

If every year for the rest of your life played out the way 2020 did, would your life be worth living? Another way of asking that is where is your hope? Peter writes some incredibly encouraging words in 1 Peter that have a lot to say about where we can find our hope.

In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul says, “Love is kind….” The word “kind” can be translated as “useful or beneficial to someone else” or even “love expressed in action.” Not only does this observation change how we parent, but it must also change the goal of our parenting. The goal of a parent who is a follower of Jesus must be to raise children who are beneficial to others in all of their relationships.

Jesus never talked directly about parenting, but he did provide the command that would provide the foundation, not just for parenting, but for all relationships. It was a command that focused on behavior. He said, “A new command I give you: Love one another as I have loved you.” This is a command that challenges the why and the who of parenting, because it asks parents to put the needs of their ch...

If we look at the families in the Bible, most of them are pretty screwed up. The Bible talks about its families this way because all families can be dysfunctional. The good news is that Jesus always meets us in what is real and then points us to what is ideal.

At the last supper, Jesus performs one of the great acts of service his disciples had ever experienced. He washed their feet… Their master, teacher, lord. He took on the role of lowest rank and served them. By doing so He gave his disciples an example of how they are to be his representative in the world.

Our human tendency is to project our experience with our earthly fathers, allowing it to shape how we perceive and interact with our heavenly father. But the truth is that God is not just a heavenly version of our earthly fathers. In fact, we’ve got it completely backwards! Our earthly fathers are flawed representatives of our heavenly father.

The idolatry of King Ahaz is front and center in the book of Isaiah. He looked for salvation and success in places other than God. If he had believed even for a moment that Yahweh was mighty God, he would never have done any of those things. But the scariest part is that we can be guilty of the same thing. Our gods don’t have names like Baal or Zeus, but instead names like money and power, status...

What is the importance of the name “Wonderful Counselor” to believers today? Because the Wonderful Counselor is also our Creator and Savior, and because He is the fulfillment of all that both Old and New Testaments teach, His counsel is found wherever we can find the words and provisions of God.