Redemption Hill Church

This Sunday we will take a look at Hebrews 5:11-6:12, which brings us to one of the most frightening warnings in the book of Hebrews, and maybe in the all of the New Testament. We will have the chance to explore what it means to mature in faith and godliness in our pursuit of Christ, and to move beyond the elementary aspects of our faith. We will see a strong warning against complacency or drifting away, and the reminder that our true beliefs will be seen in the fruit of our lives. 

Jesus has been identified as a High Priest a few times already in Hebrews. Our text for Sunday digs into that theme more fully. In it we see the continuity and discontinuity Jesus has with the Old Covenant High Priest. It shows continuity, meaning that there are clear ties and parallels; discontinuity, meaning that Jesus breaks the mold as the true and better High Priest. Ultimately, we will see that Jesus alone has made a way for us to come directly to God. He took on weakness and suffering to enter into humanity and human experience in order to serve as our High Priest. So, we can draw near to God at His throne of grace and find mercy in our times of need. Jesus is the only mediator we ever need. 

Chapters 3-4 are part of one larger point to show the superiority of Jesus over Moses and the Law. If Hebrews is a sermon, then these two chapters are an exposition of Psalm 95, and an extension of the warning not to harden our hearts and fail to enter into the rest that God has promised us. This week expands the discussion from Moses and the Psalm to include Joshua as well. Joshua was Moses’ successor, and the one who was able to lead the people into the Promised Land after Moses had died. You might remember that in Numbers 14, Joshua was one of two spies (with Caleb) who wanted to trust God and go into the land. 40 years later, he got to lead them in. Even what Joshua provided was not the ultimate rest, though. 

On Sunday we will explore the ideas of sabbath and rest. Spiritual practices, including Sabbath, are a hot topic in Christian books and articles right now, and for good reason. We can all feel like there is something we must be missing, longing for a greater experience of God’s presence and power in our lives. Sabbath, in particular, is attractive because very few of us feel adequately rested. I know that our family is careening toward the end of the school year this week and next, and we can definitely use some rest. Let’s look to God’s Word together to gain a greater understanding of sabbath and rest. 

We have already seen Jesus’ superiority to the prophets, angels, and the ultimate mediator for all of humanity. As we continue this week we will see the first part of a longer argument through chapters 3-4 that Jesus is the greater Moses, offering the ultimate Sabbath rest. Chapter 3 helps give a strong warning against hardening our hearts like God’s people did in the time of Moses. We will take time to see how the text leads us to the antidote for hard hearts.

On Sunday we will step back into our series in Hebrews with Hebrews 2:5-18. This is a beautiful passage that emphasizes the reality and truth that God came near to us in the incarnation of Jesus. The incarnation is foundational to our faith. Jesus became our brother so that we could be brought into the family of God. I can’t wait to dig into the text with you on Sunday. 

This Sunday we’re pausing the study through Hebrews to look at the Shepherd of Psalm 23. It's a passage that Pastor Eric been in for quite a while as he and Alyssa prayerfully prepare for our next season. 

This is a passage that most people in and out of the Christian world have some familiarity with. We know the words of the Psalm, but how well do we know the Shepherd of the Psalm? This Sunday we’re going to fix our gaze on Him and see what it looks like to follow the Good Shepherd and experience every blessing & promise that flows from following Jesus the Good Shepherd. 

This passage continues where last week left off, that Jesus is superior to the angels. Angels are a fascinating topic to study, and there are all kinds of ideas about who and what they are, why they exist, and what they do. Why would the author of Hebrews have such an extended section about angels? Most importantly, what do we learn about Jesus from this passage?

This Sunday we begin at the beginning, with Hebrews 1:1-4. It is profound that we worship a God who speaks. God has spoken, continued to speak now, and will speak into eternity, and God’s Word has power. We will take a look at the context for the book of Hebrews, the major themes throughout, and we will look into the different ways that God speaks. Ultimately, God has spoken in and through Jesus Christ, the true Word of God.

This Sunday we will bring our series, Ecclesiastes: Life is a Vapor, to a close. As we look into Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:8 gives us the final teachings of Qoheleth that bring a kind of summary to the entire book. 12:9-14 bring back the voice of our narrator. Ecclesiastes closes with an evaluation of Qoheleth’s teaching, a final word on the fullness of human knowledge and wisdom under the sun. The goal of Ecclesiastes is to serve as a goad, poking us and prodding us, making us address uncomfortable truths and go down paths we otherwise might never choose to explore. I hope it has done so for you, and that this final sermon will bring one final push to impress deeper truths into your heart.

This is the penultimate sermon in our series. So, our journey with Qoheleth comes to a close next week. This Sunday we will cover Ecclesiastes 9:18-11:6. It’s an extended section that includes a lot of practical wisdom and proverbs to help us better work, speak, lead, invest, and live life. We will work our way through the Preacher’s advice as we consider what it is to live this life under the sun in a way that sees past the vanity of it and clings to what is more secure.