Paul's Podcast

In our study of Hebrews, we have already seen how Jesus is better than prophets, angels, Moses, David and Aaron.
We have also seen how, in him, we have a Better Hope, Better House and Better Covenant. Today we will see that we also have a Better Sanctuary. 
First of all - what does that mean? 
And, secondly, if we do now have a better sanctuary, how well we are taking care of it?

Let's find out...

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Did anyone have a ‘dream job’ when they were younger?
For me, it was a professional footballer. How about you? In a band? Cyber Security? An artist?
There are a lot of good jobs out there…
But here is a truth you may not have realised: you already have the best job available.

How come? Let's find out...

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The right place to look, if we lose anything in our house, is behind the sofa cushions.

If one of the kids says ‘hey dad, have you seen my _________’. My first answer is always “have you tried looking behind the sofa cushions?” Be it phone, pen or Pokemon card… it seems that all can be found there.

The big idea of Hebrews 8:1-5 is the location of Jesus Christ’s ministry. The focus is on where Christ is a priest and where he isn’t. As Paul teaches, he leads the Hebrews to a life-changing but obvious conclusion: if they are looking to the Law and earthly temple for a right relationship with God, they are looking in the wrong place.

Could the same be true of us? Could we be interested in God, desire him, want to know him, even love him… but still be looking in the wrong place…

Let’s find out…

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In life, some things are hard to decide between because they come down to an issue of preference, for example which is better, Marvel or DC? Or, what is the best thing to have on toast?
With other things, it is much easier to decide because which one is better is so obvious.

When it comes to these two priesthoods, the question falls into the latter category... why is Melchisedec's priesthood so much better than Aaron's? And what has this got to do with me? Let's find out...

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This mysterious Melchisedec, who is such a vital part of Paul’s letter to the Hebrews, only appears in the Bible in three places… yet Paul uses him as proof of Christ’s preeminence.
There are only a few places we hear about him, but we walk away with the conclusion - as we’ll see today - that ‘Christ should be number 1 in everyone’s life.’
Mel’s very existence preaches the preeminence of Christ. 
The question I want us to consider today is: does my life do the same?

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There are some interesting names in the Old Testament:
Zaza; Almodad (who was the sibling of Hazarmaveth, of course); Zadok, and everyone’s favourite, Mahershalalhashbaz.
We could add Melchisedec to the list. And we could leave him there. We could leave him as an interesting name, from a long time ago, that confuses us a little, but we probably don’t need to know too much about him to live out our Christian lives this week.
We could… but maybe, just maybe, this mysterious man has more to say to us today than we realise…

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One of the things that makes me chuckle in life is when people are in the passenger seat of a car, and, if the driver they’re with gets a little to close to the car in front, or approaches a roundabout a little too quickly, they squeeze the seat or door handle.
The closer to another car, the tighter they squeeze... as if squeezing it is going to make them any less likely to have an accident.
It is an involuntary reaction, we squeeze and hold on - but of course, the success of the trip has nothing to do with how tightly we hold onto the seat... the success of the trip depends on the experience and skill of the person driving.
How might this relate to our walk with the Lord? Let's find out...

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In 1915, Ernest Shackleton’s ship was in trouble.  Trapped in the ice of the Antarctic, it sunk, leaving the crew no choice but to abandon it and camp on the floating ice, while they considered how to get  to safety… easier said than done... there was little to no sunlight, the bad weather blocked out the stars and, as the ice was constantly melting and moving, it was impossible to find a fixed point on the horizon.
Yet everyone of the 28 men survived. How?
There was one thing they could trust completely. They did have something that was true and consistent all the time. Their compass pointed north even when it was dark, even when it the landscape was unrecognisable from the day before, even when everything in their person was telling them they were going the wrong way and they were not going to make it… their compass still pointed north.
As believers, we don’t have a reliable thing, we have something better: a reliable Father. Did you know these things about him...

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There is a time to focus on the future, to consider what we could do better, to pay attention to our areas of development... but that should not be done at the expenses of remembering what we already have.

Take a look at verses 9-12 and find 7 things to encourage a church body that is striving to be fruitful...

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Do you know what assuming makes? An ass out of u and me!

Today we come to one of the more challenging passages of Hebrews... now it is a risky business to make assumptions about any passage in the bible without proper study, but it seems even more so with his section of scripture.

Today we are going to uncover some of the common assumptions with this passage, which will leave us with one thing we do not need to be concerned about... and also one thing that we do...

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