Lindsey Blair and Bobby Gilles recap and discuss Pastor Travis McGowen's sermon from Hebrews 13:8-16
Lindsey Blair and Bobby Gilles recap and discuss Pastor Travis McGowen's sermon from Hebrews 13:8-16
Bobby: Welcome to the Midweek Checkup. My name is Bobby Gilles and I’m joined by Lindsey Blair. This past Sunday, Pastor Travis McGowen preached from Hebrews thirteen, verses eight through sixteen, in our series called A Life Worth Living.
Lindsey: Pastor Travis said that Christians, we are “Friday” people. We are strong, we have hope, and we are servants. So let’s dive right into the Midweek Checkup, to help ourselves remember what we learned.
Bobby: Travis began by saying that much of Hebrews is calling Christians who are considering walking away from their faith due to suffering and persecution. Suffering is a part of the Christian faith. But we have an anchor in Jesus, whom verse eight says “is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” And because of this, we don’t have to be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. The reasons to walk away from the Christian faith will be packaged as truth. We have access to a God who strengthened believers in the past, who strengthens believers today, and who will strengthen believers tomorrow and in the days to come.
Lindsey: As the writer of Hebrews continues, he speaks about the Jewish sacrificial system and specifically the most significant holy day, the Day of Atonement. The death of the Lord Jesus outside of the city of Jerusalem shows not only that he bore the sins of his people but also that he was rejected by the leaders of his day. Notice that when the Christian is called to accept with courage that suffering, namely disgrace and shame, is what they are to walk through as they pursue the Lord Jesus. They are to “go to him outside the camp.”
Bobby: In this life, Christians are Friday people. We are transitioning from this moment to another moment. And because we are Friday people, we can go to places that are hard. The Christian views the difficult things in life like going to a difficult job on Friday. Yes, it is hard here. But once the shift ends, we are transitioning back home. The Christian has hope.
Lindsey: And we are servants who maintain our allegiance to the Lord. Hebrews calls it a sacrifice of praise. The preacher calls us to do good and share what we have with others. It is a sacrifice that makes God happy. It demonstrates that people are more important than possessions. The Christianity that Hebrews calls believers to is one where our words and our deeds line up.
Bobby: To say that Jesus is Lord but then to neglect his people is to speak and act in ways that are complete opposites. If he is Lord, then when his people are in need, we serve them. Making sacrifices for others and making a sacrifice to maintain our allegiance to God makes him happy because making such sacrifices is what Jesus has done for us. Sacrifice is Christian, and it is consistently Christian because it is so much like Christ Jesus our Lord.
Lindsey: Next Sunday, we’ll begin a new series called Orthodoxy: Guardrails for the Thriving Soul. And in Bible Fellowship, we’ll discuss Psalm 8, an important psalm that is quoted several times in the New Testament. Join us and bring a friend.