The Messy Coffee Table

Last time we left off in Chapter 4 as the author re-emphasized Jesus as our high priest, who sympathizes with us and is the perfect sacrifice on our behalf. We receive a call to "draw near to the throne of grace" with confidence, because we have Jesus as our High Priest (Hebrews 4:15-16). The author continues this illustration in chapter 5, where we pick up today. Our High Priest, Called & Obedient In chapter 5 the author further expounds on Jesus as our High Priest, and makes a comparison between Him and the high priests "appointed by men": He acts on behalf of men in relation to God, but he himself is also weak (Jesus became "weak" for us). He is called to present offerings and sacrifices for their sins. Furthermore, the role of High Priest is a calling from God, and is not something anyone can take on for themselves just because they want to. I kind of love that. Think on it for a moment...in what ways does God call you into the "royal pr...

The faith-refresher continues! Last week we read Hebrews 1 & 2 with the takeaway that because Jesus is the better sacrifice and the perfect founder of our faith, we should not forget what we've heard or the faith to which we are called. This week, in chapters 3 and 4, we see the author extend this thought using Old Testament history as a warning for this generation of believers to persevere in the faith and not turn from it, so that they may "enter God's rest." Read Hebrews 3 & 4 now and let's unpack this together. Jesus: High Priest and Apostle There's a lot we've been told about Jesus so far in Hebrews: He's the heir of all things, the one through whom God made the world (1:2); the radiance of God's glory and representation of the person of God, the one who sustains the world by his power and sits at God's right hand (1:3). He's better than the angels because he is one with God (1:4), better than Moses and all other prophets...

Have you ever felt like you needed a faith-refresher? Was there ever a season where the weight of doubt, striving and insecurity made you forget why your relationship with Jesus began in the first place? Or have you ever felt a dullness, a numbness to God's work in your life? Every now and then, we need to go back to the place we began. At the time the book of Hebrews was written, the recipients were considering turning away from their new faith in Jesus and back to the old faith practices of Jewish law. Though no specific author or audience is named (some think Paul wrote it, but we can't be sure), it becomes clear that the author is writing to a group of Jewish converts who's faith is wavering. This letter was written to refresh the the faith of these believers by connecting their new Christian faith with all God had promised and revealed throughout the Old Testament scriptures. It was written to illustrate and remind some of these earliest Jewish converts to Christia...

Welcome back to the 6th and final chapter of our Ephesians bible study. It's been a long journey, but we've finally arrived at the culminating lines of Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus. We left off in the middle of Paul reminding the Ephesians of what unity in the body of Christ looks like in practical ways. He finishes this thought in the beginning of chapter 6, and then continues on to one of my favorite passages of scripture in verses 10-20. This passage in Ephesians 6 is special to me for a number of reasons. One of those reasons is this sermon below. I've attended the Passion Conference in Atlanta and one year, Priscilla Shirer gave a message on this very passage from Ephesians 6. Honestly there's not much else I want to say except PLEASE WATCH THIS. It's everything I want to say about this passage and then some. So I'm serious. Carve out about 50 minutes, get somewhere comfy and without distractions and listen to her message: YouTube: Priscill...

Welcome back to chapter 5 of our Ephesians study! Let's dig in: Imitators of Christ We're slowly nearing the end of this letter from Paul to the church in Ephesus, and we're definitely getting into the nitty-gritty now of what it looks like practically to walk in the "new life" with Christ and put the "old life" behind us (see my post, Ephesians 2: From Death to Life). The beginning of Ephesians 5 is a call to be imitators of God, as Paul began to describe in chapter 4 (Eph. 4:25-32).  Verse two describes Christ as "a fragrant offering" to God. Back in Genesis 8:20-21, Noah's offering after the flood is described as an aroma pleasing to God, and God responds to this pleasing offering with a promise to never again destroy the Earth because of the evilness of mankind. Christ's death on the cross pleases God in the same way, and he responds with an even greater promise...the forgiveness of sins and new life with Him, despite our broken...

Today we pick up in verse 17. In this second section of chapter 4, Paul gives the Ephesians some practical ideas for walking in the Christian life, tangible ways the church can be living out unity and maturity with one another, building each other up. He does this by juxtaposing the old life, which we are to put away, with our new life as believers in Christ. Put Away The Old Life There's a few things Paul uses to identify what our "old self" looked like before we began to walk with Jesus and encourages us to put this old way behind us. According to him, the non-believer has "futility in thinking" (v.17) and is "darkened in understanding" (v.18). This kind of "ignorance" has nothing to do with intelligence, or enlightenment as it would have been called back then (ESV Study Bible, 2269). But combined with their "hardness of heart" (v. 18; in other words, a blindness to God's glory and a lack of knowledge of His love and who H...

Let's dive into Ephesians 4 together. Today we're looking at verses 1-16. (If you're still catching up, select "bible studies" from the top menu. All previous studies are there!) One God, One Body, One Fullness We're back to that theme of unity in the body of Christ. Paul re-emphasizes the importance of pursuing unity within the body because we are all unified under ONE God. He repeats the number "one" eight times---seven times in reference to God and once in reference to us. It's interesting how he does this because Paul is recognizing that we are unified body made up of individuals...each with our own gifts and our own stories. Though our faith journeys may look different from the next person the same message is threaded among all believers, and all combine together under one greater story...God's story. But this is not in a manner of pride...rather, verse 2 describes the character of this walk as very humble. In the time Paul is wr...