As we continue our study in the Book of Hebrews, we have come to a section of Scripture that can easily be misunderstood. In order to understand our text, I think it is important for us to understand a particular theological term. What is apostasy or an apostate?
As we approach this section of the Book of Hebrews, I want to pause to once again notice the “therefore” at the beginning of our text, Hebrews 10:19-25. In light of all that has been written in the first nine-and-a-half chapters, we must now conform our thoughts and behaviors with the teachings on faith that follow this “therefore.” As we consider these seven verses, I’d like for us to ask ourselves two main questions: why do we have this confidence that the author speaks of? And what should we now do with this confidence?
Join us this morning as Pastor John O’Connor explores the dangers of living lives that are distracted.
This month, we have focused on the themes of Advent—hope, peace, joy—and today we will be looking at love. It is difficult for us to understand the love that God has for us… the love that He demonstrated through the gift of His Son, but God’s love is a theme we find throughout Scripture. As we’ve considered these themes of Advent, we have focused on the writings of the Prophet Isaiah. These prophecies of the promised Messiah were written over 700 years before their fulfillment. We will look again to the prophet’s writings in a few minutes, but first I want us to focus on the writings of another of the Old Testament books of prophecy—the Book of Lamentations.
As we enter into this third week of our Advent studies, let’s pause for a moment to remember that advent refers to the coming of or arrival of the Messiah. While looking at the prophecies that foretold of His coming, we have seen several, overarching themes that have arisen. The first week, we talked about hope, and that hope is to be found in nothing other than Jesus Christ. The second week, we considered the concept of peace, and determined that only Jesus is able to provide us with real lasting peace. Today, we are going to focus our attention on the concept of joy.
If I were to ask for a show of hands, I wonder how many of you could honestly say that your life could be described as peaceful… We sing the words—“Silent night. Holy night. All is calm, all is bright. Round yon virgin, mother and child. Holy infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace.”—but do we even know what peace looks like? As we continue our sermon series—Anticipating Advent—today, we will once again be looking at the writings of the Prophet Isaiah. In Isaiah 2:1-5, there is a prophetic poem that addresses the future of Judah and Jerusalem. This poem “shows that when God restores Jerusalem and the family of Abraham, all people will be drawn to the Kingdom of God, resulting in peace among all nations.” Isaiah predicted that there would be a king—like His ancestor, David—that would bring peace to all nations. And in Isaiah 9, the prophet describes the arrival of this king.
The sermon series that we are starting today is a four-part series called “Anticipating Advent.” Today, we will be looking at the concept of HOPE as it relates to the prophesied arrival of the Christ child. Over the next three weeks, we will look at PEACE, JOY, and LOVE respectively. The Bible reading plan that I am inviting you to join will follow along with these same concepts.
In this final, synoptic study of Romans 12, we will reflect on some of the major themes from this chapter over the past ten weeks in an effort to see clearly what the Scripture means when it tells us to not be conformed to this world, but be transformed—be different! Transformation is a process! It starts with a decision to offer our lives to the Lord. Then the Lord works in us—humbling us and teaching us how to serve others within our giftedness. As we serve Him by serving others, it is His desire that our lives display the marks of a true Christian—genuine love for one another, diligent service to the Lord, patience in tribulation, persistence in prayer, and generosity in everything. Exhibiting these characteristics of a true believer is essential in our quest for overcoming the evil that persists in our lives. And we must never forget that the only way to gain victory over evil is with the righteousness of God.
Over the last two weeks, we’ve been taking a closer look at the final section of Romans 12. In this instruction, Paul gives several ways in which the believers at Rome (and by extension, to us as well) are to overcome evil with good. In light of the love and compassion that God has shown us who are in Christ Jesus, how are we supposed to treat those who oppose us and persecute us? Today’s message from Romans 12:19-20 gives us the answer.
Last week, I began our study through this last section of Romans 12. We focused in on the idea of blessing those who mistreat and malign you. We considered two ways that Paul encourages us to overcome evil with good. In today’s message, we will continue to discover what it means to overcome evil with good as we look at Romans 12:16-18.