Hebrews
Jesus: Greater Than...
4 - Jesus: Greater Than the Angels
March 11, 2012 • Patrick Bowler
Our culture, including many professing Christians, is confused on the subject of angels. First of all, we are not all that sure what they are and even if we had an idea of what they are, we are unsure what it is they actually do. Where do they fit in the whole scheme of things? The author of Hebrews says that Jesus is greater than the angels, and so, in this message Pastor Patrick spent some time on the subject of angels so that we could get the point of angels made in Hebrews 1:4-5a.
6 - Jesus: Our Great Salvation
March 25, 2012 • Pastor Patrick Bowler
If, as Deuteronomy says, we should pay close attention to the message of the Old Testament (which was veiled), then, as Hebrews 2 says, we ought to pay all the more attention to the greater message by a greater messenger in the New Testament.
10 - Jesus: Offers a Greater Rest
June 10, 2012 • Pastor Patrick Bowler
Israel chose fear over faith when they heard the report from the ten spies who had gone in to survey the promised land. They did not enter the promised land, and in this is a warning that we need to hear. Do we live our lives with the last day in mind, or do we live for the moment? We need Jesus, the better Joshua who will lead us into a better Promised Land and a better rest. God is inviting us to spend His day off with him.
11 - Jesus: The Great High Priest
August 5, 2012 • Pastor Patrick Bowler
Even as we need a lawyer or advocate at times in our everyday life, we absolutely need an advocate in our spiritual life. The Jews to whom Hebrews was written understood the role of the high priest, and to them the author says that Jesus is a greater high priest. We see that Jesus met the criteria for being a high priest. First, he had to be chosen from among men so that he could relate to http://men...jesus was fully man. Secondly, he needed to be appointed by God, and that certainly applied to Jesus. Thirdly, was a need for reverence for God, and we have no one better than Jesus in reverence for God. Jesus is our Great High Priest.
12 - Jesus: Our Full Assurance of Hope Until the End
August 12, 2012 • Pastor Patrick Bowler
The Jews that the writer of Hebrews is addressing were living in fear, and fear shifts our hopes to new hopes and away from God. He issues a stiff warning. He says that they are still in need of milk (the law) when they should be teaching the gospel to others, adding that they should leave behind the shadows and images found in the Old Testament and embrace Jesus, the Messiah who is greater than any expectations found in the Old Testament. They need to leave their ethnic, traditional, ceremonial faith in God for a real faith in Jesus.
13 - Jesus: Our Full Assurance of Hope Until the End (Part 2)
August 19, 2012 • Pastor Patrick Bowler
In this message, Pastor Patrick addresses the issue of the perseverance of the Saints. Hebrews 6 has a warning to those who have tasted of the good things of God but are really nonbelievers who just look like believers. To those who are children of God, we know that God does the saving, and God does a keeping, and there is great assurance in that. Patrick's message ends with three ways of knowing whether you are really saved. (From Wayne Grudem.) Remember, God wants us to have a sense of security that is certain and cannot be shaken. If you are his, you remain his.
14 - Jesus: Anchor of the Soul
September 9, 2012 • Pastor Patrick Bowler
We are prone to undervalue promises because of how they are flippantly used in our culture. However, God's promises are rooted in his unchanging character. Promises, by definition, have a waiting period before they are fulfilled and waiting is a big part of what it means to follow Jesus. In Hebrews, Abraham is given as an example of someone who believed God's promise in spite of circumstances that suggested otherwise. The ultimate fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham was Jesus.
15 - Jesus: A Greater High Priest; Able to Save to the Uttermost
September 16, 2012 • Pastor Patrick Bowler
Hebrews 7 is a difficult chapter to read and understand. In this message, Pastor Patrick helps us see the obscure Old Testament character, Melchizedek as a picture of Christ. In contrast with the Levitical priesthood, Jesus is a priest of the order of Melchizedek and will not be succeeded; He is a priest forever, and is able to save to the uttermost.