WARNING: Don’t fall away!
As we have been journeying through the book of Hebrews we have seen the preacher calling his people to see that Jesus is far greater than anything the old system of Judaism had to offer. But it seem he is fearful that his preaching is falling on deaf ears… And so he issues a stern and confronting warning that has the potential to rock our understanding of salvation to the core. Pastor Joe navigates this tricky passage to help us…
Jesus the Greater High Priest
There is a deep uncertainty that exists in the minds of humanity about how we might approach a holy God when we are estranged from Him. In the Old Testament this gap was filled by priests. The people relied heavily on their connection to the priesthood in order to secure their salvation. So when Jews became Christians it would have been easy for them to be tempted to feel like their faith in Jesus wasn’t enough to bridge the gap…
Jesus the Greater Rest
We live in a society where rest has become wrong. To rest means you are being lazy, that you are not committed to the cause, that you are useless and insignificant. But in the story of God’s people rest was actually a deeply desired concept. As the preacher of Hebrews continues to plead with his people not to abandon Jesus, he shows us why Jesus provides a far greater rest than anything God’s people had ever experienced and how we…
Jesus: Greater than Moses
As the preacher to the Hebrews has been passionately pleading with his people, we have begun to see that the Jesus he is preaching is far greater than anything that the old structures of Judaism could offer. This week one of our elders, Dave Evans, shows us how Jesus is greater than Moses and everything God did through him. But most importantly we will see that rejecting Jesus is even more costly than the Israelites who rejected Moses back in…
Jesus Better than Angels
Our culture has turned the idea of angels into feminised images of niceness and beauty… but when a Jew thought about angels they envisaged a powerful warrior-like creature who exercised significant power. Angels were the source of assurance for the Jews as they verified the messages that God sent them. With Jewish Christians being tempted to slide back into Judaism the Preacher of Hebrews wants to put their understanding of angels in perspective so they don’t miss the real message…
Jesus is Everything
While we don’t know too many concrete details about the author or the audience of the book of but what we do know helps us greatly in understanding the true meaning of this book. Basically the deal is that persecution has caused many Jewish Christians to be tempted into forsaking their new Christian faith and retreating into the protection of Judaism. Into this pressure cooker of persecution and temptation, a preacher pleads with these Jewish Christians to see something in…
The Old Testament in one sermon
As we begin our series in the Book of Hebrews we must realise that the author of this book quotes, references and highlights the Old Testament more than any other New Testament author. So as we embark on a journey through his writing we are going to remind ourselves of the glorious story of the Old Testament in one sermon. Pastor Joe tells us the story of God’s people by examine 7 key strands of thought that define God’s interactions…
Waiting for Reform
AS we have journeyed through the book of Malachi we might be forgiven for thinking that the entire nation had completely lost the plot when it came to worship… their worship was nothing more than the smooth, clean shell of a rotten egg. But as we finish the text of Malachi we see that there was one small group of people that God listened for… and as we hear their voice and God’s response we will find out why the…
Waiting for a Provider
The people of Israel in Malachi’s day were pretty fickle people. All too easily they chopped and changed between a desire to worship Yahweh and doing whatever they wanted to do. But as we come to today’s passage we see that their fickleness was actually offending God… in fact God describes it as thievery. Join us as Pastor Joe explains how the people could be accused of robbing God and what God does about it.
Waiting for Justice
When we look out at a world full of injustice, oppression and betrayal it is easy for us to wonder where God might be… if God is a God of justice, why is the world such an unjust place? People throughout history have asked this question, many of them have been faithful worshippers of God whose words are recorded for us in Scripture. But when the people of Malachi’s day asked this question, their motives were far from worshipful. As…