Our Compassionate Priest (Hebrews 4:14-17)

It is easy for us as Christians to see Christ as distant, detached for us, and seated in an unattainable place. This is probably part of the struggle for the church who originally receives this exhortation. We learn from Hebrews 4 is that our redemption is opposite of this perception. We have a savior who can understand our struggle, a priest who is watching over us, a priest who invites us to draw near, and a priest who can understand our struggle. The beauty of this is that our priest is our king. He rules us, but not in tyranny. He has sacrificed himself, has been raised from the dead, and now represents us in the most holy place. Let us draw near to him in boldness and confidence. It is not because we are worthy, but because we have been made worthy in Christ.

(Preached 12.4.2022)

Sojourning Under the Sun: Sabbath Conforming: Self Examination (Matthew 7:13-29)

We conclude Christ’s sermon on the mount.  Christ is laying out an ethic that we are called to follow as a people set apart unto the Lord.  Do we just say that these laws are difficult so we can ignore them?  Do we more purposefully set out to obey these laws in our strength?  What are we to do with this challenging sermon that is set before us?