Building God's House

John 1:15–18 NIV

(John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ”) Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

Hebrews 3:1–11 NIV

Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,” bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory. So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ”

Hebrews 3:1-11

Introduction: Is Christmas time a stressful time for you or is it a time of peace and rest? Is it a time of expectations that need to be fulfilled or a time of relationship?

John 1:

It may be more of a time of religiosity for you if it is a time of obligation/stress/expectation...

23 - What is Religion?

Becoming a Contagious Christian. - Religion vs. Relationship.

Definition of Religion:

English Language Learners Definition of religion

: the belief in a god or in a group of gods

*: an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship a god or a group of gods

: an interest, a belief, or an activity that is very important to a person or group

Make the Case that there is a foundation of Religion - Moses - And that is good. - John and Hebrews are not saying Moses is bad, in fact he is highly honored.

Covenant Definition: However, most of the New Testament makes the same point as the Old Testament. The Law of Moses points out to us that Israel was unable to fulfill their side of the covenant to show all humanity that no one is able to fulfill their side of the covenant with God.

Family Rules - Playing Rated Mature Video Games - Older, have a conversation about the pros and cons of certain types of video games.

And there is something Different about Jesus - Grace and Truth.

And there is something Different about Jesus - Grace and Truth.

What John and Hebrews is trying to say without diminishing Moses is...

24 - Jesus’ Promise of Grace is Best.

1. Jesus is compared with Moses in , similar to the comparison further expounded upon in . “The superiority of Christ over Moses … is shown in two comparisons: (1) Moses was a servant, whereas Christ is the Son, and (2) Moses was in God’s house, i.e., a part of it, whereas Christ is over God’s house, equated with God” (Kenneth Barker, et al., The NIV Study Bible [Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan 2011], –6n).

25 - Building a Pyramid Video.

26 - It was hard to build the pyramid by yourself. Especially the taller it gets. - This is religion.

The Good News is that we were not meant to - Grace is that Jesus is building his house - He is the builder - Relationship and Service.

Ten Commandments as play book - Grace and Truth as Character.

The holiday season can be heavy with many social expectations and expectations that we place on ourselves. We can even begin to pressure ourselves to be better Christians or better witnesses or to create a really meaningful experience for those around us … to the point that we forget what it’s all about! It can be easy to lose sight of the joy of the gospel and the gift of rest in Jesus.

Application Point: Ask yourself about your Christmas, Are you doing things out of obligation, ritual, because you think it is expected of you, religiously, or are allowing Jesus’ Grace and Truth guide your Christmas, and Life? invitation for people to give up on their ability to be good enough to earn God’s favor and to instead receive the best gift of all: grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Read as your invitation. We can truly enter God’s rest by trusting Jesus to be enough for us.

“Your computer operates automatically in a default mode unless you deliberately tell it to do something else. So Luther says that even after you are converted by the gospel your heart will go back to operating on other principles unless you deliberately, repeatedly set it to gospel-mode” (Tim Keller, Prodigal God [New York: Riverhead Books, 2011], 128–29). In other words, unless we continually remind ourselves of our complete salvation through grace alone, we may mistakenly return to thinking it has something to do with our religious accomplishments.

Application Point 2: For this reason Hebrews Challenges us to not stop meeting together so that we can encourage each other with the Gospel, to keep reminding ourselves of the Gospel.

Application Point 2: For this reason Hebrews Challenges us to not stop meeting together so that we can encourage each other with the Gospel, to keep reminding ourselves of the Gospel.

Application Point 2: For this reason Hebrews Challenges us to not stop meeting together so that we can encourage each other with the Gospel, to keep reminding ourselves of the Gospel.

Conclusion: Is our Faith a Religion or a Relationship? Yes and no, Yes because we anchor our belief in the one true God, in The Father, and the Son who was born to set us free, and on the Holy Spirit to guide us, but No because it does not require us to perform in a certain way to gain acceptance, it requires a relationship of faith that Jesus has given us Grace and Truth. He is building His house.

Reference the Reformed Confessions: The Reformed Confessions are statements of faith written to clarify the Gospel at times when the Church was in crisis. Heidelberg Catechism: Q&A 1, 8, 16-19, 29-34, 54 Belgic Confession: Articles 10, 12, 14, 16-17 Canons of Dort: Head I, Articles 6-18; Head II, Articles 4-5, 8-9; Head III & IV, Articles 6, 8-16