IBCD Sermon Weekly

All praise is rooted in Christ’s finished work. We tend to base whether or not God is “worthy” of our praise based on what is happening in our lives right at the moment, or what is happening in the world around us, but this is not the basis of praise. The basis of praise is on his completed work in which he has, and forever will, meet our need for intersession, to stand in for us, at the throne of God.

Hebrews 13:15 “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name.”

The idea of trying to live within this temporary world with eternal values is a very strong theme in Christianity. Jesus spoke about it very directly when he said:

Matthew 6:19-33 19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Hebrews 13:14 14 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

Today’s passage, in spite of how it begins, is complicated. This passage is a calling away from the human desire to make our “religion” look pretty, look dignified, and tells us to look at Jesus and the ugliness of sin. It is not what we move away from which is important, but who we move toward.

Hebrews 13:13 13 Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore.

All of us have been influenced by spiritual leaders. Today’s passage calls us to remember, consider, and imitate them. There is much we can learn from their ways of following Jesus.

Hebrews 13:7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

Money is an inescapable part of our lives. So think about the role of money in your life. Pray about it. When you financially plan, do so with more than just financial returns in mind. You have only this one life to live so consider carefully who and what you want to live it for.

Hebrews 13:5-6 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." 6 So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

Today’s verse is very straightforward and can seem almost harsh and judgmental. Personally, I think there were many marriage issues in the early church. So, maybe as a remedy to all the ambiguity around marriage and problems this was causing, the author of Hebrews here breaks down a very straightforward approach to marriage. He has no fluff or compromise around it. He says:

Marriage is honorable.

Empathy is a very big part of Christianity. Our faith is not supposed to be one of coldly following rules for the sake of order and the benefits of order. Christianity is a faith based upon the heart of God.

Hebrews 13:3 3 Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

Hospitality in the Bible is deeply rooted in the idea of love, charity, and unity within the community and toward outsiders. In both the Old and New Testaments, hospitality is portrayed as an act of kindness and righteousness, reflecting God's love and care for all people. So today we will be looking at living in the Way of Hospitality.

Hebrews 13:2. 2 Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.

As we come to the last chapter of Hebrews, we are going to use the series of short, almost proverb-like statements in chapter 13 to look at the question of how to live “The Way”. Today we are looking at “The Way of Love”.

Hebrews 13:1 Keep on loving each other as brothers.

Cities offer great opportunities for the gospel and great exposure to sin. In Acts, we encounter both sides of the city. In today’s passage, Paul proclaims God in Athens, where people worshipped what they didn’t know.

Acts 17:16 & 23 16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. [...] 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, “To the unknown god.” What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.