Sermon Tone Analysis

And PRAY

Opening Prayer

Does the Bible translate to everyday life?

See Guthrie***

If it doesn’t we aren’t doing it right!

- The modern church runs a very real risk of trying to split life into two spheres, the sacred and the secular.

But our life in the Spirit must be our life lived on the street.

Gordon McDonald says in his book Forging a Real-World Faith,

When Christ-following truth is no longer spoken in street language, when it is no longer directed at street life, and when it no longer challenges men and women to live as Christ-followers in those streets, there is no longer a chance for real-world faith.

People are tamed, learning how to act with deftness inside the religious institutions.

But they do not learn how to live faithfully in the real world.

(quoted in Guthrie, 447)

Christian Living’s

In other words, the Bible absolutely can and should translate to our daily living.

We’ve been trying to emphasize that ever since our studies through Philippians (One Purpose, to live is Christ) and Ephesians (theological depth for today), Nehemiah (the good hand of God upon us to prayerfully serve him with boldness) and now Hebrews (that Jesus is better than religion and better than what the world offers - so we ought to pursue him supremely and live with him as our sufficiency to see him glorified in our hearts and in calling others to be fully devoted followers of Jesus.

So if the Bible doesn’t translate, particularly a deep theology of a magnificent God that provides us with foundational doctrine to walk on in our daily practice, then we aren’t doing it right.

So Hebrews, as do many other NT letters, takes us from the sound doctrine carefully explained and even applied to now some more specific and practical ethical implications.

As the author strings together a list of admonitions of ethical content in ch. 13 before closing the letter, we need to remember a couple of key things we’ve learned in Hebrews (and everywhere in the N.T.):

Foundations of Faith for Christian Endurance

What we have:

A better and perfect Great High Priest, and therefore a faith firmly anchored in Christ, a citizenship in God’s unshakeable kingdom.

What that means:

We can and we must stand firm.

We can and we must endure.

Christ is all and in all.

()

Jesus the Motivation and Model for Christian Living

(This content could just as easily go under point one.

Maybe it’s better there?)

Our motivation for the Christian life is covenant relationship with Jesus.

- It is our new standing in Christ, our new relationship to God through Christ, our new life in Christ that motivates new living.

Our model for the Christian life is Christ’s example.

- Jesus is definitely more than merely an example of good living… He is God speaking to us, God rescuing us, God restoring us to himself, and God working in us.

But because he is perfect and sympathetic high priest, he certainly is also the supreme model to follow.

With THAT as context, the writer of Hebrews now lists some examples of what it fundamentally looks like as His people, of the new and better covenant, to offer acceptable worship to God.

These instructions about life in the community flow directly from 12:28 in which the listeners were called to express their thanks by serving God with fear and awe.

True service of God is expressed in serving his people, hence the exhortations that follow.

Now in our list the first six verses are connected by Love - The first three are fundamental marks of Christian love, and the next to warnings about dangerous distortions of love.

(Biblical love is holy/pure.

There’s no place for lust and greed.)

But first, we have three ongoing expressions of love in service to others.

Now in our list the first six verses are connected by Love - The first three are fundamental marks of Christian love, and the next to warnings about dangerous distortions of love.

(Biblical love is holy/pure.

There’s no place for lust and greed.)

But first, we have three ongoing expressions of love in service to others.

These instructions about life in the community flow directly from 12:28 in which the listeners were called to express their thanks by serving God with fear and awe.

True service of God is expressed in serving his people, hence the exhortations that follow.

These instructions about life in the community flow directly from 12:28 in which the listeners were called to express their thanks by serving God with fear and awe.

Let’s look together more closely at these...

Ongoing Expressions of Love (v. 1)

Ongoing Expressions of Love (v. 1)

Ongoing Expressions of Love in Service to Others:

*Christ’s example - Jesus is much more than merely an example… yet he certainly is the supreme model to follow.

Brotherly Love (v. 1)

What is biblical love?

What is biblical love?

Love is a caring commitment that shows itself in self-sacrificing service for the highest good of another.

It is the single most prominent trait by which the Christian reveals that they share in Christ and by which the Christian testifies to the truth of the Gospel.

*** verses!

So it should come as no surprise that as the author turns to expressing what it looks like to live a life of acceptable worship to God (what Paul calls offering our bodies as living sacrifices to God, )… It makes perfect sense to begin with love.

philadelphia:

Philadelphia: the love that binds together members of the family of God as brothers and sisters - Isn’t just a sentimental feeling of the bond of love, but it is responding to the needs of other members in the family

the love that binds together members of the family of God as brothers and sisters

- Isn’t just a sentimental feeling of the bond of love, but is responding to the needs of other members in the family

When provoked..., when someone disappoints..., when we think others have it easier than us..., when the leaders don’t do something the way we prefer...

… let brotherly love continue.

When a brother is straying…, When

… let brotherly love continue.

“Remain” means love exists and that it needs to be cultivated.

I am so encouraged by this evidence of faith in our church family.

So it also needs to be cultivated, especially in the most ordinary of ways, right at home.

Love’s ongoing expression is most powerful in the most ordinary places.

- Closest to home...

Love’s ongoing expression is most powerful in the most ordinary places, closest to home.

Closest to home...

I can’t see any other way except to plan for and battle against hindrances to love: (concepts from Steve Cole)

Like our inclination to selfishness and self-love

Love is sacrificial service.

When provoked..., when someone disappoints..., when we think others have it easier than us..., when the leaders don’t do something the way we prefer...

And the pride of assuming our answer or our way is most definitely the best - one of my absolute favorite verses on this issue:

Like our tendency to be impatient and intolerant with the imperfections of others

Closest to home...

… let brotherly love continue.

Like an inclination to be divisive rather than promoting a spirit of peace and unity

And like being sucked into loving the world and the world’s way of defining what love is (two weeks from now, when we’re back in vv.

4-6)

1 John 2:

Instead of loving the world and loving like the world, we aim to love like Jesus, in the hardest places - in everyday choices, closest to home - (and now too we see in the next to verses how Christian love plays out in) the least convenient and the least comfortable

Hospitality (v. 2)

Don’t forget/neglect - Don’t overlook it.

Hospitality is...

- the quality of kindness and generosity toward guests… particularly treating someone (perhaps even a stranger) with high esteem in the context of your home to joyfully bring them comfort and refreshment.

So is hospitality limited to having people in your home?

But is hosting people in your home a particularly good way to show and grow in hospitality?

(you bet!)

Don’t forget/neglect hospitality -

Don’t overlook it.

Don’t forget/neglect - Don’t overlook it.

In the first century inns were expensive to stay in overnight, and were notoriously dangerous and immoral (bad reputations)

Having angels as guests without recognizing them… (Abraham) and 19:1-3 (Lot) - (Steve Cole quoting John MacArthur) we often do not “know how important or far-reaching a simple act of helpfulness may be”

(Abraham) and 19:1-3 (Lot)

If we’re honest, hosting is inconvenient.