Anthem Hayden

At first this passage seems so repetitious that we might be tempted to skim over it. However, this would be a shame since these 18 verses provide a powerful synopsis of the New Covenant and serve as a crescendo and conclusion of the teaching portion of Hebrews; from here on out the book transitions to exhortation.

As we celebrated Jesus’ victory over sin and death this Resurrection Sunday, we examined Hebrews 9:15-28. This passage provides us with the all-important explanation of “why” Jesus’ death and resurrection carry so much significance for believers. Like any last will and testament, death had to occur to set the New Covenant in motion. The spilled blood and animal sacrifices of the Old Covenant serve...

This week we examined Hebrews chapter 8. Building upon last week’s theme of High Priest, this week’s passage examined how Jesus fulfills this role in Heaven. Jesus’ earthly ministry and ongoing heavenly priesthood have fulfilled the Old Covenant and rendered it obsolete. Because of Jesus, we who come to Him in faith obtain better promises through a better covenant.

This week’s passage takes a long and final look at Melchizedek. Although almost nothing is known about this mysterious character from Genesis 14, we do know that he served as both King of Salem (later Jerusalem) and High Priest of God Most High. Like Melchizedek, Jesus has the right to simultaneously be our King and our High Priest. Unlike the temporary and imperfect priesthood of the Old Testamen...

This week’s passage looks back on two separate interactions found in Genesis. In the first, the author highlights the unchanging nature of God’s promise toward Abraham. Since the Lords proved Himself faithful to Abraham, we may have confidence that He will prove Himself faithful to us as well. In the second half of this week’s passage, the author of Hebrews uses the mysterious Melchizedek as an il...

Jesus became human, endured frailty and weakness, weathered temptations, and suffered during His time in the flesh. Because Jesus has personally experienced all this, he is sympathetic and compassionate toward us. However, Jesus never gave into temptation and knew no sin. Therefore, he has become our perfect, eternal High Priest, and has become the source of salvation for all who obey him.

Like last week, this week’s passage uses excerpts from Psalm 95 as it challenges us to respond to God’s invitation into His rest. The author stresses that “today” is the right day for us to listen and respond to the Word of God. Simply hearing is not enough, we must also believe to be saved and share in God’s rest.

This week’s passage in Hebrews 3 introduces one of the letter’s major themes: rest. Building upon the Old Testament account of Moses and the exodus, the author points out how rebellious and hardhearted the Hebrews were despite the overwhelming evidence of God’s goodness toward them. The text then implores us to examine our own hearts - have we allowed our hearts to become hardened by sin? We are t...

This week we examined Hebrews 3:1-6. In this short passage, the life and ministry of Moses is used as a shining example of a faithful servant in God’s house. Although admirable, Moses and his ministry were superseded by the much-superior life and ministry of Jesus. Through faith in Jesus we are no longer God’s servants, but His sons and daughters. This passage challenges us to examine our lives -...

This week we finished the rest of Hebrews chapter 2, which (surprise, surprise) is all about Jesus. This passage highlights how Jesus humbled Himself by becoming fully human to redeem mankind from our fallen state. Despite Jesus’ complete humanity, He remained fully God. Being fully man and fully God enabled Jesus to live a sinless life, to conquer sin and death, to triumph over His enemies, and t...

This week we covered Hebrews 2:1-5. This short passage is a sharp call to wake up and pay attention to our spiritual walk with Christ. The warning of drifting away from and neglecting our salvation remains a very real hazard for believers today.

This week we began our study through the incredible book of Hebrews! Written as a sermon by an unknown author, Hebrews is a book that is all about Jesus. Every chapter is focused on the supremacy of Jesus, as well as all that He has done and continues to do for us. This week we examined chapter one, which teaches that Jesus is so much greater than any created thing, including all angels and spirit...

This week’s theme is Preparation. God used the prophet Isaiah to prepare the people for their upcoming exile by prophesying about a future time of peace with God and others. God also used John the Baptizer to prepare the Jews for the arrival of their Messiah. John’s message was clear and simple - repentance and baptism were key elements of preparing oneself for the Lord.

For over 1,500 years the church has observed the four-week season dedicated to anticipating the arrival, or "advent," of Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah and King. This week we explored the situation the Israelites found themselves in when Isaiah the prophet declared to them that a Savior would come and deliver them. Jesus would be the Light that pierced the darkness.

This week we concluded our Tree of Life discipleship series. We ended where we began - with the Tree of Life, which is promised to once more be made available to us. (Rev. 2:7, 22:14) Until then, we fulfill the role of the true Tree of Life by co-inhabiting the physical and spiritual realms; exhibiting God’s restorative plan in this world; producing supernatural fruit; and offering everlasting lif...

Science is conclusively demonstrating that trees readily distribute resources created through photosynthesis. Trees that receive the most sunlight distribute their abundance of wealth with smaller and less developed trees. All of this is possible through the subterranean connections made between tree roots. Only connected trees can participate in this life-giving exchange of energy, information, a...

Numerous essential components are created through photosynthesis, such as amino acids, proteins, fats, pigments, and other organic compounds. Photosynthesis not only converts raw nutrients into basic tree food, but it also “gifts” them all additional resources necessary for the life and health of the tree. Likewise, the Holy Spirit supplies every believer with much more than the basic fruit of His...

Building upon last week’s introduction to the Person and work of the Holy Spirit, this week’s lesson examined what it means to walk in the Spirit rather than our flesh. Trees have a perpetual need for the Sun’s light and energy to empower the life-giving process of photosynthesis. As trees rest in life-giving sunlight, we need to rest in conscious dependence upon the Spirit who empowers us.

This week’s study focused on the final external element which is critical for the ongoing life of every tree - the Sun. The Sun powers photosynthesis, the process that all green plants use to create their own food from the water and soil their roots absorb. Without the Sun, these raw elements would remain useless to trees. Likewise, the Holy Spirit is the final critical element in the life of ever...

This week we examined the crucial role that mother trees play in healthy forests. Mother trees (sometimes referred to as “elder” or “hub” trees) can easily be identified since they are larger than the surrounding trees. As the name suggests, these trees play an important role of nurturing smaller, younger trees by making subterranean connections with their roots. These connections are used to prov...

Not only do most trees begin as small seeds, but they also invest a great deal of their time and energy into seed production once they are mature. For some species, this process of maturation takes only a few years, while for others, it takes many decades of growth before they are mature enough to reproduce. Regardless of how long it takes, seeds must be produced at some point so that the tree’s s...

This week we examined a few of the many ways that trees bless and enrich our world. Likewise, God has richly blessed us so that we too may bless the world around us. When we walk by the Spirit rather than being led by the flesh, we spread the fragrance of Christ wherever we go.

This week began the Crown section of the Tree of Life study. The crown begins where the limbs start growing out of the main trunk and extends to the top of the tree. Crowns come in various shapes, sizes, and colors. They are the crowning glory of a tree; the culmination of the roots and trunk working in harmony and can be seen for miles around.

This week we looked at the third external element that is critical to the life of a tree - habitat. Trees have no say in where they grow and have no control over the conditions and hazards they face. They simply stand strong and grow. Likewise, we have little to no control over the trials and storms of life that come our way. In fact, Jesus promised us that we would have troubles in this world. Th...

This Father’s Day we covered the rest of Malachi 1, where God challenged His people and priests to treat Him like an honored Father and respected Master. Unfortunately, the people had grown lazy and halfhearted in their worship. Drawing from New Testament passages, we explored how believers still lapse into passionless and indifferent worship of the Lord of Hosts.