Gospel Rant

Hebrews assumes that we Christians are, in spite of what we might say, afraid of death. It's a brain thing. To accomplish God’s high Kingdom goals—meaning salvation for others, He requires and even ordains the testing, trials, suffering, loss, and sometimes even death of his beloved children—in order to rescue and save others.

We Americans might hate this plan. But the template is Jesus, who willingly suffered and died and many children were saved. At one point you said, “Father, wherever you lead I will follow.” OK, he’s taking you seriously—because he loves you as much as the Father loves the Son and the Son loves the Father. But don’t expect life to be a rose garden. And he has something to prepare you for the struggle. You don’t naturally have it. Curious?

Welcome to Gospel Rant.

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Hey Dr. Bill Senyard here. Welcome to God’s love for the unlovable. We are going through the Book of Hebrews. It is very unique and for the most part, poorly covered by most pulpits. Why? Well you will find out again in this show.

The Greek word for righteous and righteousness is used 8x in Hebrews. It is implied in many other places. Here’s the thing. We in the West have wildly misunderstood what the Bible means by righteousness—So much so, it is even hard to recognize. It is to our detriment. In this show, we will unpack the very important concept. I think you will be surprised and hopefully changed.

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Welcome to The Rabboni. This new biblical historical fiction tells of the long-lost journals of the Apostle Matthew. It is 73CE, Matthew had finally completed his biography of the life of Jesus. Now, he and a colorful team of men and women, circumcised and uncircumcised, followed the dangerous missionary charge of Jesus to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. Together, they boarded Roman ships to begin the very long journey to Axum (modern Ethiopia).

Matthew’s team was a striking testimony to the saving grace of their Lord. There was a former prostitute, a recovering opium addict, a shamed African princess, a freed Roman slave, and even a former member of the Sanhedrin who was present that evening Jesus was condemned to die.

 Matthew is surprised how, of all the things he penned, it is Jesus’ preeminent and signature message on the hillside in Galilee that most captured the interest of unbelievers and stirred up so much misunderstanding and misinformation among his followers. After studying the Sermon on the Mount for years, I am surprised Jesus wasn’t stoned on the spot. What he said was wildly in-your-face to the core principles and beliefs of both Rome and Jerusalem.  As a historical fiction, The Rabboni will also shine new light on the consequential incense wars between the Nabateans and Rome, the ongoing animosity between Galilee and Judea, and the historically under-reported behind-the-scenes story of the turbulent last years of Jerusalem. And so much more. 

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Is there such a thing as God-ordained persecution for Jesus-followers? Isn't that a bad thing? How could that be the will of a good father? Great questions. I agree and yet the author of Hebrews seems to see it more clearly than we modern Christians. We must get back to this awareness. 

It seems that the author of Hebrews knew that persecution was coming for his listeners—and that is not Plan B, it is Plan A. Did you know that according to Open Doors, 365 Million Christians suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith? 1 in 7 Christians are persecuted worldwide. Almost 5000 were killed for faith-related reasons last year. 14,766 churches and Christian properties were attacked. If Hebrews is right, it’s coming here and it’s for our higher good—to put it another way, it is a gift from God for his children he loves. Sounds very strange, right? I am not saying that I like the plan, just saying. Here’s a headline, if you are not being persecuted for your faith and love for the unloved, the implication is that something’s wrong.

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There is no more pervasive topic in Hebrews than persecution. Not just that it is a possibility for the follower of Jesus. It is Plan A. It is the way God has designed this. I may not like it—by the way—I don’t—but I don’t have God’s capacity to see—not even close. It is not a surprise to me that we don’t hear much about this today. And I am really sure that this is not a welcomed topic.  All I am saying is that it is wildly biblical. Don’t shoot the messenger. 

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What's up with all of the references in Hebrews to angels? You may be surprised. Likely, there was a very popular jewish mysticism practice that was drawing Jewish Christians away from the gospel. Don't just think of this as a history lesson. It's shadows are alive and well today in Christianity. 

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Drift happens! In this second show in our new series on Hebrews, we are going to look at Hebrews 1:1 all the way to 2:4, skipping the section on angels which we will cover in the next show. Very interesting stuff. So today, three questions.

What is our biggest problem ?

Why do we do it?

How do we stop it?

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This is the first show in Gospel Rants new series Hebrews. All institutions have a life cycle, from birth to death. Churches do as well. Most don't even realize that it is happening. The author of Hebrews gives very strong warnings about it. Maybe it is time to listen. 

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This is the last of the ten Power2Change videos for addicts who want to try something different and powerful. It is immersed in the Gospel, but informed by neuroscience and the Attachment theory. Addicts, watch all ten and let me know how it is going, [email protected].

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Struggling and frustrated Christian, there is one thing in particular that is pushing against your recovery bak to you. It is not evil, or Satan-sourced. It is very human-post-fall. No point whining. There is something that you can access that will dramatically help. Check it out and let us know how it goes.

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