Lesson 8

The Church of St. John the Divine

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Lesson 8

Hebrews 12

November 9, 2017 • Meg Rice

Hebrews 12 begins with the word “Therefore”. We have seen the advantages of a deepening faith in Jesus; we have heard the arguments as to why following Jesus is a new way and introduces a new covenant with the Living God. Chapter 11 pointed back to the giants of faith that were revered by the Hebrew people and their uncompromising faith. However, the author knows it is not easy to follow Jesus and deepen our faith. It takes courage and perseverance. Chapter 12 speaks of how we accomplish a faith that is deepening daily.

Introduction

September 14, 2017 • Meg Rice

The book of Hebrews is a call for us to mature in our faith from milk to the meat of the gospel. Don’t we want all there is in life for us? Don’t we want to live a life in freedom? Then let’s journey together through Hebrews. Let’s leave the milk and Pablum of our faith and start to chew on the meat of the gospel. When we taste the mature faith, we’ll be enthralled with the person of Jesus, and our lives will never be the same.

Lesson 1

September 21, 2017 • Meg Rice

For a Jew living in the time of Jesus, the thought of dispensing with 2,000 years of tradition was traumatic. The prophets of the Old Testament were the lifeblood of Jewish knowledge. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus spawned a new religion that seemed to be threatening their age-old values.

Lesson 2

September 28, 2017 • Meg Rice • Hebrews 3—4

The next hurdle for the author of Hebrews is to convince the Jews who profess Jesus as their Christ that he is better than Moses. The religious leaders of Jesus’ day continually confronted Jesus with the teachings of Moses to show Jesus was not who he said he was. In chapter 3, the author compares Moses and Jesus to show Jesus is far superior. This is revolutionary thought for a Jew of Jesus’ day. This takes us back to our study of Exodus and the consequences of the ancient Hebrews when they did not believe the promises of the Living God.