Sermon Tone Analysis

Good Morning, I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and that you all got to spend some quality time with family and friends.

This morning we find ourselves gathered together on the last Sunday of 2018.

It is always amazing to me how fast a year flies by.

At the end of each year I find myself thinking back over the events of this past year and analyze how the year went.

Do any of you ever do that?

How was your 2018?

What are the things that you enjoyed about it ?

What special memories did you get to make with others this year?

What happened in 2018 that was challenging to you?

What were the not-so-great moments that you faced this year?

I have to ask…does anyone here this Morning make New Years Resolutions?

I usually try to do this, although I have to admit I have a love hate relationship with them.

You see, I love the idea of making a positive resolution to change something about myself for the better, but I hate the discipline, and dedication it takes to actually make these things happen.

Sometimes I even forget what the resolutions are that I have made.

Last year I decided to create a New Years resolution list in my phone, that way throughout the year I could pull them up and check on them, assessing my progress, throughout the New Year.

A few days ago I pulled up this year and well…and out of eight resolutions I only accomplished 2. No so good.

I think I’m just going to rotate those six remaining resolution back in for this coming year.

The Barna Research Institute did some research on Americans and their New Year’s Resolutions and came up with some interesting findings.

They reported that when it comes to the types of resolutions Americans make we are, not surprisingly, focused on self-oriented changes.

The top pledges are usually in the areas of weight, diet, and career, but only 5% of all pledges (9 out of 1,000) are spiritual of church -related.

Here’s another interesting point few of even fewer had to do with resolving to help or serve others in some way.

So, while people concentrate of themselves, or making themselves better in some physical way only a small fraction resolved to improving their relationship with God ans serving others.

Reading this got my mind turning and I began to wonder: “What would God have His church to do about this?

How do we, as Christ followers, fit into this picture?

What would God have us resolve to do, and what would these resolutions even look like?

I believe that the writer of Hebrews answers all of these questions in chapter 10.

So if you will take our your Bibles and turn to and we will be looking at verses 22-24. .

22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;

24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,

25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;

24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,

Hebrews

Hebrews was written to a group of Jews so it is full of Old Testament references.

Chapter 10 is all about the the New Covenant we have with God through Jesus’ death and resurrection.

In the first few verses of chapter 10 the writer of Hebrews reminds us that the law was only a shadow of things that were to come.

Each year the priests would make sacrifices on behalf of God’s people for their sins.

Though these sacrifices temporally covered the sins of the people they did not remove them and year after year this process was repeated.

But then Jesus enters the story…and through Jesus God makes a new covenant with us that is far better than the old one.

Chapter 10:10 tells us”: “By this will we have been sanctified though the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all.”

NASB

This brings us to verse 22 where the writer of Hebrews asks for a response for us.

We are asked to resolve to live a new way.

This morning I want to point out five resolutions for Christians to take in this new year of 2019.

How should we undertake these resolutions?

With boldness, not because of our own talents, gifts, and abilities, but because of what Jesus has done for us!

Verse 19 tells us that we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy place because of the blood of Jesus.

Draw Near

Hold Fast

Motivate to Love

Meet Together

Encouraging One Another

then the writer of Hebrews begins to compare Jesus Christ with all of the features of the Old Testament, or the old covenant, because He’s writing to Jews, and He wants to show them that Christ is the answer and they can drop everything else.

And so He shows how Christ is better than Moses, and Christ is better than angels, and Christ is better than all the prophets, and Christ is better than Joshua, and implies that Christ is better than David, and Christ is better than Aaron, and Christ is better than all the priests.

And Christ offered a better sacrifice than the other ones.

He is a better priest of a better priesthood than the other one.

And He offers a new covenant better than the other one.

And so all the way through chapter 10, clear to verse 18, from 1:1 to 10:18, is a presentation of the superiority of Jesus Christ.

And we’ve been seeing it all the way through.