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All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. Heb. 11:13

Faith unleashed: this passage reviews a long list of people who changed the world through faith in God.

 

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Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants as the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore. Hebrews 11:12

Abraham is undoubtedly one of the most important figures in history, yet he was really a “nobody” at one time. This passage tells us how God responds to our faith, and builds a legacy of a lifetime.

 

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Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

Hope means motivation, direction and courage. But what’s the difference between Christian hope and mindless zeal? This passage answers that question, and uses Old Testament examples to demonstrate spiritual life.

 

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How do you reconcile these two passages in Hebrews 10:

“I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds” (v.17)

“If we go on sinning willfully…there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins” (v26)

Sometimes our walk with Christ is back-and-forth, just like those two verses seem to be going back-and-forth between a “terrifying expectation of judgment” and the hope of “let us draw near to God…” This week we get insight from Hebrews on why this happens: losing hope. It’s symptomatic of the dreaded “OCS” - that is, “Older Christian Syndrome.”

 

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Finally! We leave behind the question of rituals and head into a “New and Living Way” in Hebrews. This marks a turning-point in the book as the writer tells us how to “draw near” with God: through the “inner sanctuary” of the heart, and through a wild-crazy, new house which Jesus is building!

 

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But now Christ has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Hebrews 9:26

Yes, this is what radical grace looks like, and it scares the control freaks! That’s what Jesus came to do, though: the freedom that comes through his forgiveness ignites a real heart of boldness! It means, “Out with the old!” And it triggers a revolution of the heart.

 

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he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises.

the boldness to move...

This is what Jesus Christ means in the stream of human history: all the love and promises of God wrapped-up in this one person. He not only fulfilled all the pictures and prophecies in the Old Testament, but fulfills a life “based on better promises” today! Listen to the amazing story about the Scarlet Thread that courses throughout history!

View the Powerpoint Slides online…

 

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