Jesus is the perfect priest for imperfect people. When we understand His priestly service, and trust in Him as our Great High Priest, we can flourish in this life. But in order to do so, we must recognize two things: 1. that imperfect people need a high priest, and 2. that we have a perfect high priest in Christ.
Hebrews 4:1-13 - "The Rest of Life"
What is true rest? That’s the million dollar question! But most of us struggle to understand the biblical meaning of and purpose behind rest. Thankfully, that’s exactly what we find out in today’s passage. The big idea is simply this: God promises rest, but we must pursue it.
Hebrews 3:7-12 - "Rest in Christ"
The main point of today’s sermon is very simple: there is no rest in resisting God, but there is always rest in humble submission. Today’s passage warns us to remain faithful, rather than become unfaithful, so that we can enter God’s rest through faith in Christ, rather than live lives of spiritual restlessness.
Hebrews 3:1-6 - "Consider Jesus"
When we fail to fix our eyes on Jesus, we stop paying attention to all that God has revealed through Him. We turn away from the truth of the Gospel, the good news about who Jesus is and what He has done, and is doing, and will do. And the result will always be a lack of hope and confidence in Christ. But, if we keep our eyes on Christ, we will become more and more Christlike. By considering who He is, we will better understand who we already are in Christ, and how we ought to be as Christians. And as we grow up in the knowledge and grace of our Lord, our confidence and hope in Him will develop and deepen over the course of our lives.
Hebrews 1:1-13:25 - "Introduction to Hebrews"
The Letter to the Hebrews exalts Christ in order to exhort Christians. By lifting our eyes to Christ our High Priest--exalted in the heavens, superior to everything and everyone--we are able to see our earthly circumstances in light of the reality of who Christ is and what He has accomplished.
Isaiah 9:6-7 - "The Coming King: Part 2"
If we turn away from Jesus and focus on the overwhelming circumstances of life, we will be overwhelmed. But if we keep our eyes on Christ, we can remain hopeful in this life. He is the Creator of all things, and is more powerful than all of creation combined. And He uses His divine wisdom and power to provide us with everlasting protection and peace.
Isaiah 9:6 - "The Coming King: Part 1"
Jesus the Messiah is more than a mere man, so our hope is secure in Him. Isaiah’s poem in 9:1-7 reveals that Messiah would be unique and unequaled in every way. There has never been and never will be another person like Him. This is especially clear in Isaiah 9:6 where we see that Messiah would certainly be a man, but not merely a man.
Isaiah 8:11-9:7 - "Hopefully"
We tend to feel hopeful only IF our ever-changing circumstances seem hopeful at a particular moment in time. But this can only lead to unmet expectations and ultimate despair. We need something infinitely more secure in which to place our hope; we need someONE infinitely more secure… and that is exactly who we have in Jesus the Messiah. If Jesus is our living hope, then we can live our lives hopefully.
Proverbs 22:6 - "Wise Parenting"
Biblical wisdom teaches us that how we engage our young people will have lasting, even lifelong effects. Today’s proverb teaches us that parenting is powerful, so it must also be purposeful. We must be purposeful about our roles and goals in raising up our kids to love and serve the Lord.
Proverbs 30:7-9 - "Wealth and Wisdom"
Wealth can be deceptive, so we need to depend on God. The prayer of Agur encourages us to depend on God for two things, in particular: protection and provision.
Proverbs 31:1-9 - "Wise Government"
When people in power fail to use that power to promote justice, injustice is inevitable. To borrow from the wisdom of Spiderman… With great power comes great responsibility, and so we must learn how to govern wisely. In today’s passage, we see two principles for wise government: 1. Recognizing the pitfalls of power, and 2. Remembering the purpose of power.
Proverbs 27:5-6 - "The Wisdom of Friendship"
Much like love, we typically think of friendship in terms of how we feel. But friendship isn’t really about how we feel. Scripture defines it in terms of actions. Friendship requires faithfulness, so we must learn to be faithful friends. Today, we are going to look at several proverbs that identify two of the essential aspects of faithful friendship: 1. Always loving a person, wherever they are in life; and, 2. Never leaving a person where they are in life.
Proverbs 25:6-7 - "The Wisdom of Humility"
Part of our fallen human condition is that we want to seek honor for ourselves. The wisdom of Proverbs warns us that such pride is a path to dishonor, and even destruction. Humility is the only path to true honor, so we must humble ourselves. In today’s proverb, we see a sharp contrast between the consequences of honoring ourselves and humbling ourselves before God and others.
Proverbs 23 and 24 - "Keys To Success"
We tend to define “success” in worldly terms, and when we see “bad” people experiencing such success, we easily become annoyed, angry, or envious. But we need to redefine success according to God’s Word, which teaches us that true success in life requires submission to the Lord. Our passages in Proverbs make this quite clear. True success isn’t about how we look to others; it’s really about where we look in life and how we look at life.
Proverbs 16 - "Planning and Providence"
Proverbs 16 illuminates the relationship between our plans and God’s plans. They remind us that it’s impossible to frustrate God’s plans, but it’s easy to become frustrated when we fail to align our plans with His. We must entrust our lives to the Lord. This truth is well illustrated in Proverbs 16. Here we see that we can entrust our words, our works, and our ways to the Lord.
Proverbs 15 - "Words of Wisdom"
Wise words must be well-spoken, so we all need some speech lessons. Proverbs 15 gives us at least three lessons in just four short verses. We learn that wise words must be spoken in the right manner at the right moment with the right motives.
Proverbs 1:20-33 - "A Limited-Time Offer"
All too often, we treat wisdom like an optional upgrade to an already pretty-good life. The truth is, wisdom is a limited-time offer, so we really do need to act now! Think about today’s passage as a five-point marketing strategy to convert us to a life of wisdom. Here we see Lady Wisdom choosing an audience, giving a call to action, clarifying advantages, considering alternatives, and comforting with assurances.
Proverbs 1:1-7 - "The Beginning of Wisdom"
When we doubt God, we seek knowledge and wisdom elsewhere, and we become “wise in our own eyes.” But the wisdom of man is really just foolishness. What we need is God’s wisdom, and there’s only one place to get it. God is offering each one of us a new beginning on the pathway of wisdom, so let’s step out in faith together.
2 Thessalonians 3:16-18 - "A Final Reminder"
If we begin to search for what we “need” out in the world, we will quickly sink into the tension-filled uncertainty of our surrounding culture. As Christians, we can stop searching because we already have everything we need in Christ. Specifically, we have the promise of peace and grace from God. There is nothing we truly need that hasn’t already been given to us by God on account of our faith in the death and resurrection of His Son.
2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 - "Church Discipline"
We tend to operate with a “mind your own business” mentality, even in the Church. But as fellow members of the Body of Christ, we can’t afford to mind our own business. We’re called to something much greater and more loving than that. And that’s where Paul is taking us today. Church discipline is necessary for a truly Christian community, so we need to learn how to do it biblically. Today’s short passage lays out three aspects of biblical church discipline. It must be consistent, clear, and compassionate.
