Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Words are powerful.

We’re always told that actions speak louder than words and that can be true… but words are still powerful and they truly can change your life for the better or for the worse.

Words can make you happy or they can make you sad.

They can build you up or they can break you down.

Words can build a bond that stands the test of time.

Shortly after Lindsey and I found out that she was pregnant we immediately did what millennials do: we bought a book for first time expecting parents!

One of the things that we read about was the need to speak to your child during the pregnancy and Lindsey and I would do this most nights as we’d sing songs or tell stories to our little guy.

I thought this was kind of crazy at first but the more I studied the more I realized that a voice can build a relational bond, even in the womb.

Again, words matter.

Gabriel knows Lindsey’s voice and we certainly know his.

Think of some words that have left a mark on your life.

Maybe they are words from a spouse.

Maybe they are words from a coach during a tense game.

Maybe they are words from a parent or grandparent.

We remember and hold onto important words because they are powerful and they impact us.

The Bible is often called the word of God.

Just as human words are powerful, God’s word is no different.

It is even more powerful because of Who it is that speaks.

God’s word changes lives.

His word changes our hearts and our actions.

Think of some of the significant words found in Scripture: love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, adopted, redeemed, saved.

These words continue to change lives today!

Consider the words of Jesus on the cross: It Is Finished!

Those words are significant!

Jesus declares that our atonement is completed - that our debt is Paid In Full! Aren’t you thankful that we see in Scripture truths concerning Who God is and who we are?

Aren’t you thankful that our God speaks?

This is one of the greatest truths in Scripture.

We do not serve a distant, removed God… We serve and worship a God who created all things and sustains all things and provides for all things.

The God of the Bible is a speaking God.

He speaks to His people through creation.

He spoke to people in the past through prophets.

And above all, He speaks through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus is not only the center of the Bible as everything points to Him, but Jesus is literally called the Word for a reason.

If you and I want to understand God, we have to understand Jesus.

If we want to understand our purpose, we have to understand Jesus.

If we want to understand salvation, we have to understand Jesus.

The book of Hebrews is a powerful, loaded, and complex book that tells us who Jesus is.

Hebrews shares with us that our God speaks and that Jesus is the answer.

Every other major world religion shares what we must do in order to earn God’s favor and get to God one day… Christianity is fundamentally different as it shares what God has done to save fallen humans like you and me… He sent His Son to be the god-man, fully God and fully man, to save us from our sins and sacrifice Himself in our place.

The book of Hebrews is a game changer in so many respects and I’m excited to spend nearly 50 weeks walking through this book with you all over the next 2 years with some breaks along the way.

That might sound boring and it might be different from what you’re used to… but this book shares with us how to understand the Old Testament as a Christian.

This book shares with us how Jesus is the solution to our sinful condition.

We are living in a world who doesn’t know Jesus - churchgoers who don’t even know Jesus - and in this world we must stand on what Scripture teaches about Jesus Christ and salvation being by grace through faith in Christ alone!

In a world looking for the next greatest thing, Jesus is the answer.

He is what we need.

The preacher of Hebrews makes the argument that because of Jesus there is no longer a need for another prophet, sacrifice, messenger, or king.

Jesus is greater.

The reason that He is greater, as we’ll begin looking at today, is because of what He has done, and specifically with Who He is.

Let’s dig into Hebrews 1 this morning, verses 1-4

God has spoken to us through His Son.

We serve a God who cares enough to not only speak but to live a perfect life and die a criminals death in our place on the cross.

Let’s pause this morning and give Him thanks!

Jesus is the Greater Speaker (1-2a)

In order to understand Hebrews, we have to understand the Old Testament.

So many people wonder why the Old Testament exists - in fact, I’ve been asked by multiple people over the years why we even have the Old Testament in our Bibles.

This is a serious question that requires a serious answer.

Here’s what we know: The Bible is first and foremost about God, not us.

The Bible tells us of God’s great redemption story and why we need to be saved in the first place.

If you start reading in Matthew with a genealogy, you’re probably going to be pretty confused from the get go.

This is why the Old Testament matters so much.

The Old Testament isn’t separated from the New Testament, the Bible is one united book with one central theme and one central hero and His name is Jesus.

If we want to understand Jesus, we have to understand the Old Testament in order to see why He had to come in the first place.

The Old Testament sets so many people up for success only to illustrate their failures.

Whether its a prophet, king, priest, or everyday person, everyone falls short… Even the best human you can think of isn’t perfect.

The Old Testament is an arrow pointing us to Jesus - the Savior.

The preacher of Hebrews begins this epic sermon in verse 1 by saying that long ago, God spoke to our ancestors… Let’s stop there for just a minute and reflect on the truth proclaimed here.

God speaks to His people.

The preacher of Hebrews shares that God has spoken in the past to *his* ancestors meaning that this author was Jewish even though he is not explicitly named.

How incredible is it that we not only serve the all-creating God, but that this holy God desires to speak to His people?

God could have just created and said after the flood that He wanted nothing more to do with these sinful creatures… but instead He had mercy and grace upon us and spoke to people through the prophets in various ways.

Think of some of the ways that God spoke in the Old Testament: God spoke through a donkey in Numbers 22, He spoke through a burning bush in Exodus 3, He spoke through thunder in 2 Samuel 22, He spoke through the waters in Jeremiah 10, and He spoke through dozens of prophets throughout the Old Testament.

God spoke through these people and these things and it was good - after all, 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us this

Paul isn’t primarily referencing the New Testament here… he’s primarily talking about the Old Testament being inspired directly by God!

This means that the Old Testament is good - it is true and from God.

Yet, in the Old Testament God spoke in different ways and at different times.

There was a 400 year gap between the Old and New Testaments where God didn’t speak at all called the Intertestamental period!

The people of God needed a clear message from an even better speaker, because words and authority matter.

Therefore, we read in Hebrews 1:2 that God has ultimately spoken to us not through a donkey or a bush, but through His own Son!

Have you ever paused to reflect on how incredible it is that Jesus came to this earth, not only to save sinners but to reveal Who God is?! Think about that for just a moment, some people wish that God would communicate His existence clearly for everyone to know… maybe He could write up in the sky that He is real and then everyone would finally get along, that’s at least what some atheists argue… But the Bible tells us that God has already done this with creation in Romans 1.

The whole world knows that God exists through general revelation by seeing the sunrise and seeing a rainbow after a storm.

We all know in our heart that He exists - we don’t need another method, we need another messenger.

We need Jesus!

The Bible tells us that in these last days God spoke to us by His Son.

Have you ever been asked by someone if you think that we are living in the last days?

Has someone told you that this must be a “sign of the times”?

We understand in part what people are saying but as you read the Bible we find something that people miss today.

The last days began whenever Jesus came to this earth 2,000 years ago.

Look at Mark 1 as Jesus says this

This was Jesus’ message to those around Him! The Kingdom is at hand - repent and believe.

Today we are living in these last days just as Peter, Paul, and James were 2,000 years ago.

The last days encompass each day between Jesus’ first and second coming and we’re 2,000 years into the last days.

Use meme of wanting to hear the Word of God.

“I want God to speak to me.” Read your Bible.

“I want God to speak to me verbally” Read your Bible out loud.

We don’t need “another word” from the Lord - we have His supreme word in the form of Jesus Christ.

He has spoken all that needs to be said in Scripture.

His Spirit guides us, certainly, but Jesus is the final Word from the Lord.

We need to be content with Jesus and not desire *more* than what Jesus gives us.

He will provide what we need and we don’t need to seek out more.