We have all experienced guilt and shame on some level. Maybe we did something that wasn’t exactly honest, and later regretted it. Maybe we said some words to someone out of anger or frustration and wished we could take those words back. Perhaps we’ve not been the best parent, spouse or friend, and so we carry the burden of guilt with us. Sometimes we can resolve our guilt by apologizing or making amends with those we’ve wronged. However, in some cases the damage is so permanent or the hurt so deep that we end up carrying the guilt for a very long time. When guilt is not resolved, it grows into shame. And shame drives down deep into the kind of person we believe we are. In Hebrews 9:1-14, the author explains that the blood of Jesus actually did something with our guilt and shame that the Old Covenant could never accomplish. The blood of Jesus replaced our guilt and shame with purity, loving service and abundant life.
Old vs. New
Part >> 8
November 1, 2020 • Chan Mitchell
Faith in Action
December 6, 2020 • Chan Mitchell
Faith is not just something we have, it’s something we do. Faith must be expressed through action. It’s not even possible to please God without faith. Without faith, we can only go so far. Throughout the letter to the Hebrews, the author seeks to passionately persuade his readers of the superiority of Christ. As he brings the letter to a close, he turns from his carefully reasoned "sermon" to a series of practical applications for our faith. The book closes with a reminder that true faith requires confidence in a God that we cannot always see; in promises that are not always immediate; and in a hope that we can’t always express. But one thing about faith – it never does nothing. It acts. It moves. It battles. It overcomes. It conquers. Faith declares, “Nothing is greater than Christ!”
Unshakeable Kingdom
November 29, 2020 • Chan Mitchell
Many scholars agree that the book of Hebrews reads more like a sermon rather than a letter. If that’s true, then chapter 12 would be the crescendo or the conclusion of that sermon. The author of Hebrews says, in a sense, we are all searching for a “city of peace”. We all have a need for some kind of safety and security in our life. We all need a place of fulfillment and comfort. That’s why we work so hard to earn a degree, or to secure a job, or to gain an opportunity. It’s also the reason why we save our money so we can buy a ring, get married, have a family, and live our dream life. We are all looking for that “city of peace” – that place of security and comfort. However, if we build our life on any foundation other than Jesus, we are only building on sinking sand. For there is coming a day when the Lord will shake all of heaven and earth, and anything that is not built on the foundation of Jesus Christ, will crumble away.
Running The Race
November 22, 2020 • Mark Hartman
Many people have a difficult time understanding how to reconcile the idea of an all powerful, loving God who allows suffering to go on in the world. Christians and Non-Christians alike, have struggled with this problem. Some have concluded that the fact that suffering exists is evidence that the kind of God the Bible describes simply doesn’t exists. However, in Hebrews chapter 12 we see that God has good reasons for allowing suffering to continue. He is using suffering to draw sinners to himself and also refine his children. We also learn that God is not indifferent to our pain. He is actually so committed to making sure that none of our suffering is wasted, even the suffering we bring upon ourselves because of our foolishness, that he was willing to also suffer. Jesus endured the cross so that we could be redeemed and brought into the family of God. Because fo the cross, we no longer relate to God as criminals to a judge, but rather as children to their father. As Christians we can know that every ounce of suffering we experience in this life has a purpose, and even if we never get to see what that purpose was in this life, we can trust the ultimate purpose is for our good and God’s glory.