In this session of the Hebrews study, Merritt Anderson leads the group through Hebrews 12:5–11, exploring the often misunderstood topic of God’s discipline.

Set within the broader context of endurance and perseverance, this passage reminds believers that hardship is not random or meaningless. Instead, it is a sign of something deeply personal: God is treating us as His children.

Rather than punishment, God’s discipline is loving correction—meant to shape, refine, and draw His people toward holiness.

Through both Scripture and personal examples, this session helps bring clarity to what it means to experience the Father’s discipline and how believers are meant to respond.

In this discussion the group explores:

• Why God’s discipline is evidence of His love and our identity as His children
• The difference between worldly consequences and God’s redemptive correction
• How discipline is meant for our good—to produce holiness and Christlikeness
• The danger of misunderstanding hardship or misreading God’s intentions
• What it looks like to endure seasons of discipline with humility and trust

Hebrews 12:5–11 calls us to see difficulty through a different lens. What feels painful in the moment may actually be one of the clearest signs that God is actively at work in our lives.

The question is not whether we will face discipline—but whether we will receive it as evidence of the Father’s love and respond with faith.

Led by: Merritt Anderson
Series: A Study Through Hebrews

In this session of the Hebrews study, Merritt Anderson leads the group through Hebrews 12:1–4 and begins unpacking what it means to live in light of everything the letter has been building toward.

Following the “hall of faith” in chapter 11, the author now calls believers to action: run the race with endurance. But this is not a call to self-effort or striving in our own strength. Instead, the key to endurance is found in where we fix our eyes.

Hebrews 12 points us to Jesus—the founder and perfecter of our faith—who has already run the race before us, endured the cross, and now sits at the right hand of God. The Christian life is not powered by self-determination, but by continually looking to Him and depending on His grace.

In this discussion the group explores:

• What it means to “lay aside every weight and sin” in the race of faith
• The balance between human responsibility and dependence on God’s grace
• Why fixing our eyes on Jesus is the true source of endurance
• How the gospel fuels both our fight against sin and our perseverance in hardship
• The danger of living in self-effort instead of living from Christ’s finished work
• How remembering Christ’s suffering strengthens us when we grow weary

Hebrews 12 reminds us that the Christian life is not about running harder in our own strength, but about running with endurance as we continually look to Jesus—the one who has already secured the victory on our behalf.

Led by: Merritt Anderson
Series: A Study Through Hebrews

In this session of the Hebrews study, Merritt Anderson leads the group through Hebrews chapter 11—the well-known “hall of faith”—and shows how it serves as a response to everything the author has been building since the beginning of the letter.

After establishing that Jesus is better than anything that came before—better than angels, Moses, the priesthood, and the old covenant—Hebrews now calls for a response: faith.

Hebrews 11 defines faith as a confident trust in God—believing that He is who He says He is and that He will fulfill what He has promised, even when those promises are not yet seen.

Through the lives of Old Testament believers, this chapter demonstrates that faith has always been the way God’s people relate to Him. These men and women trusted God with limited understanding, holding fast to promises they would not see fulfilled in their lifetime.

In this discussion the group explores:

• What biblical faith really means in everyday language
• How faith calls for a response from both the committed, the wavering, and those drifting away
• Why the examples in Hebrews 11 point beyond themselves to something greater
• What it means that these believers lived and died trusting promises not yet fulfilled
• The danger of turning back to lesser things instead of holding fast to what is better in Christ
• How faith today means trusting fully in the finished work of Jesus

Hebrews 11 reminds us that even a small amount of faith in a great God is enough. The question is not the strength of our faith, but the object of it.

In light of everything Christ has accomplished, the call is clear: hold fast, trust fully, and do not turn back to what is lesser.

Led by: Merritt Anderson
Series: A Study Through Hebrews

n this session of the Hebrews study, Shane Carpenter leads the group through Hebrews chapter 10—the climax of the author’s argument and the turning point of the letter.

Building on everything that has come before, this chapter shows that the sacrifices of the old covenant were never meant to remove sin completely. They served as reminders and shadows, pointing forward to something greater. In contrast, Jesus offered Himself once for all, accomplishing what the law could never do and securing eternal redemption for His people.

Because of Christ’s finished work, believers now have confidence to draw near to God, knowing their sins are forgiven and their hearts have been made clean.

At the same time, Hebrews 10 delivers a sober and direct warning. To turn away from Christ after receiving the truth is not a small thing—it is to reject the only sufficient sacrifice for sin. The chapter calls believers to examine their hearts, remain steadfast in faith, and endure with hope.

In this discussion the group explores:

• Why the sacrifices of the law could never fully take away sin

• How Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice fulfills what the Old Covenant foreshadowed

• What it means that believers are both perfected in Christ and being sanctified

• The difference between striving for salvation and living from what Christ has already secured

• The danger of drifting or deliberately turning away from Christ

• The call to hold fast with confidence and endure in faith as we await His return

Hebrews 10 reminds us that the Christian life is lived in light of what Christ has already accomplished. Our confidence is not in ourselves, but in Him—and that confidence fuels endurance, faithfulness, and hope.

Led by: Shane Carpenter
Series: A Study Through Hebrews

In this session of the Hebrews study, Shane Carpenter leads the group through Hebrews chapter 9 as the author continues building the case that Jesus is the greater High Priest and mediator of a better covenant.

The chapter revisits the Old Testament tabernacle and the rituals carried out by the priests under the first covenant. Those sacrifices were repeated year after year and could never fully cleanse the conscience. They served as reminders and shadows pointing forward to something greater.

Hebrews 9 reveals the fulfillment of those shadows in Christ. Unlike the priests who entered the earthly tabernacle with the blood of animals, Jesus entered the true heavenly sanctuary with His own blood, securing eternal redemption once and for all.

In this discussion the group explores:

• How the tabernacle and priestly rituals pointed to a greater reality

• Why the sacrifices of the old covenant could never fully deal with sin

• What it means that Christ entered the heavenly sanctuary once for all

• How Jesus’ sacrifice purifies the conscience and secures eternal redemption

• The hope believers have as we eagerly wait for Christ to return

Hebrews 9 reminds us that salvation came at a cost. What the old covenant could only foreshadow, Christ has accomplished completely through His sacrifice.

Led by: Shane Carpenter
Series: A Study Through Hebrews

n this session of the Hebrews study, Merritt Anderson walks through Hebrews chapter 8 and highlights the central point of the writer’s argument: we have a High Priest who is far better than anything the old system could offer.

Building on the themes introduced in earlier chapters, Hebrews reminds us that Jesus is not serving in an earthly sanctuary built by human hands. Instead, He ministers in the true heavenly sanctuary, seated at the right hand of God—His work finished and complete.

This chapter contrasts the Old Covenant with the New Covenant promised by God through the prophet Jeremiah. The old sacrificial system pointed forward to something greater, but it could never provide lasting rest, full assurance, or complete transformation. In Christ, that promise has now been fulfilled.

Together we explore:

• Why Jesus’ priesthood is superior to the Levitical system

• How the earthly tabernacle was only a shadow of the heavenly reality

• What it means that Christ’s work is finished and He is seated in heaven

• The promise of the New Covenant—God writing His law on the hearts of His people

• How believers today experience the transformation that earlier generations could only anticipate

Hebrews 8 reminds us that God’s redemptive plan has always been moving toward Christ. What the Old Testament anticipated, Jesus has now fulfilled—giving believers a better covenant, better promises, and a secure hope.

Led by: Merritt Anderson
Series: A Study Through Hebrews

In this week’s study, Merritt Anderson walked us into one of the most fascinating chapters in Hebrews — chapter 7.

Two thousand years before Jesus was born, a mysterious priest steps onto the pages of Scripture.

He blesses Abraham.
He receives a tithe.
He’s called the king of righteousness and the king of peace.
And then… he disappears.

No genealogy.
No origin story.
No recorded death.

Why would God insert that moment into Genesis… and then wait two millennia to fully explain it?

Hebrews 7 answers that question.

In this session of the Thursday Morning Men’s Study a Merritt Anderson leads us through Hebrews chapter 6—one of the most sobering and often misunderstood passages in the New Testament.

Addressing believers facing pressure and temptation to return to old religious patterns, Hebrews calls them to move beyond elementary foundations and press on to maturity. The warning is not against struggling faith, but against drifting back to self-reliance, outward religion, or mere association with the Christian community without true trust in Christ.

Together we consider:

• What it means to “go on to maturity” rather than returning to past ways of relating to God

• The difference between experiencing the blessings of the Christian community and possessing genuine saving faith

• Why spiritual fruit—not mere exposure—is the evidence of new life

• How seasons of hardship reveal what we are truly trusting in

• The powerful assurance believers have because God’s promises are unchanging and fulfilled in Christ

The chapter closes with one of the most hope-filled images in Hebrews: our hope in Christ is an anchor for the soul, secured by Jesus who has gone before us as our perfect High Priest.

Hebrews 6 ultimately warns, comforts, and calls us to rest—not in performance or religious effort—but in the finished work and faithful promises of God.

In this session of the Thursday Morning Men’s Study, Merritt Anderson walks through Hebrews chapter 5, showing how Jesus is not only greater than every earthly priest, but also the perfect and compassionate High Priest we desperately need.

Building on Hebrews 4:14–16, the group reflects on the stunning reality that through Christ, what was once a throne of judgment has become a throne of grace—where believers may approach God with confidence to receive mercy and help in time of need.

Together we explore:

• The difference between earthly priests—weak and needing sacrifice for their own sins—and Christ, the sinless Son appointed by God

• How Jesus’ real human suffering enables Him to sympathize fully with our weakness

• What it means that Christ “learned obedience” in His humanity while perfectly accomplishing our salvation

• The danger of spiritual immaturity and the call to move from “milk” to solid food through practiced, growing faith

• Why seasons of peace are God’s gift to prepare us for future trials

Hebrews 5 reminds us that the gospel is not merely information to learn, but truth meant to shape us into mature believers who depend daily on our merciful High Priest.

In this session from the Thursday Morning Men’s Study , Mac Cavin leads us through Hebrews chapter 4 and its profound invitation to “enter His rest.”

The writer of Hebrews warns us not to repeat Israel’s mistake of hearing God’s promise without responding in faith. Instead, we are called to trust fully in the finished work of Christ — ceasing from our own striving and resting in what He has already accomplished.

Together, the group explores:

• What the Bible means by “God’s rest” — and why it is more than simply stopping work

• The connection between belief, obedience, and perseverance in the Christian life

• How the living and active Word of God exposes our hearts and draws us toward transformation

• Jesus as our compassionate High Priest who welcomes us to approach God with confidence and grace

Hebrews 4 reminds us that the gospel is not an invitation to try harder, but to trust deeper — to live daily from the security of Christ’s sufficiency.