John Mulligan’s lesson on Sunday was on “Seeing 20/20 in 2020”. This has been such a horrible year, in so many different ways, it can be hard to see how any good can come from it. We are reminded, though, that scripture can help us to see clearly.

John gave us 5 ways to be confident in uncertainty. First and foremost, remember that God is in control. He created our world and He sustains it. We can’t understand why He allows bad things to happen, but don’t lose faith that good can come out of bad. Two, He will walk us through it (see Psalm 23); His presence is with us always. Three, God remains steady in the midst of your uncertainty. He is our constant. Four, God secures your life through His Son. And five, God makes your future your focus -- on “the city that is to come”.

These points are all made in Hebrews 13. It’s a short chapter well worth re-reading. Let’s use these comforting words to help us, and others, endure. Yes, there will be more to endure but there will also be joy. We need not fear; Jesus is our vaccine!

The world loves to talk about discipline, that it takes discipline to achieve this and accomplish that. Discipline also runs all throughout the fabric of parenthood. So what is it? This week as Josh finishes his Greater Than series in Hebrews 12, understanding the role that discipline plays in the Christian life is paramount in understanding the masterpiece that God is creating in each and every one of us who trust in Jesus. Join us this week as we discover how to become the masterpiece God created you to be!

Josh’s message on Sunday was about what faith is - and what it’s not. The point that struck me was that faith is not timid. In fact, timidity is the opposite of faith.

It says in Hebrews 10:38, “...my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” But as human beings, we do struggle, we do shrink back sometimes. Our trust gets shaky and ‘what if’s’ fill our mind. Or we find ourselves only ‘talking the talk’, but not walking the walk of confident faith. Strong, courageous faith can be so very hard, though; how many people have been persecuted for their courageous faith?

A common message in today’s world is to “Believe in yourself” which some people wrongly interpret as believe ONLY in yourself. We know better. We believe in God! We can keep our courageous faith strong because our God is a sure bet. He’s got our backs and He follows through on His promises. God dealt us a winning hand, so like Josh said, “Live like you have a royal flush!”

We live in impure times, in an impure world. It becomes easy to gloss over our own sins when it seems that everyone else is being sinful. When sin becomes normalized, we think maybe our little sins aren’t so bad after all. But when we do this, we become unaware of our own brokenness; we lose that guilty feeling when we do wrong. We need to take off our blinders and see our sins for what they are - a barrier that separates us from God.

In Josh’s message on Sunday, he spoke about shadows. In Biblical times, the blood from animal sacrifices couldn’t cleanse away sins. The animal blood was just a shadow of Christ’s blood that was shed for us. And we are shadows of what we were created to be. Can we see through the shadow to something better? Can we stop living for the empty promises and false glory of this world?

Yes, we can, if we remember that we are fearfully and wonderfully made by God. Let’s step out of the shadows that separate us from Him. As we read in Romans 8:18, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” All we have to do is let Him in.

Hope. Such a small word, but we assign so much power to it. When it seems the whole world just bounces from one disaster or heartbreak to another, we cling to hope like the proverbial life jacket. Now, especially, with our presidential election nearing, everyone is hoping for the outcome they want. The problem is that we’re pinning our hopes on mortal people - broken, flawed human beings who will never be able to meet all our needs.

Many people are looking back with nostalgia, wanting to go back to ‘how it used to be’, but remember: God always has something better planned for us. We don’t need to go back to having animal sacrifices because now we have Jesus to go before God and atone for our sins. God had something better planned.

As long as we’re alive, we will face changes. And change is hard. Whether we’re changing laws or customs (or presidents), and we’re stressed and overwhelmed about it, that’s when we need to put our trust in Jesus. He is our high priest. He is superior to all and he will always meet our needs. Like the song “In Christ Alone” says, “He is my comforter, my all in all”. Let’s put our hope in Jesus, and take our comfort there.

If you’re human, you sometimes feel stuck in your life; if you’re honest, you’ll admit that sometimes you feel stuck in your faith. Our busy lives can easily draw us away from a focused and diligent faith. If that happens too much, we become nothing more than seat-warmers. We may show up, but we’re not continuing to move forward in our faith. And if we don’t keep learning and growing, we’re wasting God’s goodness that He pours into us always. As it says in Hebrews 6:7-8, “Land that drinks in the rain… and produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed, receives the blessing of God.”

It’s easy to grow thorns and thistles. Producing a useful crop is hard. Persevering is much harder than drifting and going through the motions, but if we’re diligent in growing our faith, our hopes will be realized. Faith is our anchor -- Hebrews 6:19-20 reads, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” Stay focused and grounded, and know that God will always keep His promises.

The Bible tells us that mere mortals could not come into God’s powerful presence; that was something only a high priest could do. The high priest was appointed to represent the people to God, but since he was a mortal himself, he had to offer sacrifices for his, and our, sins.

Today, Jesus is our high priest. Jesus is the one who knows our sins and struggles like no other. Hebrews 4:15 reads, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet he did not sin.” Jesus made the greatest sacrifice for us to give us the greatest gift of all.

Because he knows us so well, Jesus will always advocate on our behalf. We may worry that we are not good enough, that our hearts are impure, but Jesus never forgets that God created us as holy and pure. Let’s put our trust in Jesus and receive his grace. Jesus, sitting at the right hand of the Father, has our backs. Always.

And that’s why we pray, in Jesus’ name, amen!

During these stressful times, some of us may feel like we’re wandering the desert, looking for rest. Josh’s lesson on Sunday recapped Moses’ story to remind us that God gave them all they needed on their difficult journey. We are also reminded that God doesn’t break his promises. We will have our rest.

When we find ourselves struggling with our faith, it’s because our hearts have wandered and become hard. Then sin becomes rooted in those hard hearts. Sin will change who we are and make us believe we are self-reliant. That’s when we’ve stopped listening to God’s word. Hebrews 4:12 reminds us beautifully, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.”

Jesus WILL lead us home! If Jesus is our destination, our souls will find rest.

This week, LMCC will kick off a new 8 wk. series called Greater Than. We’ll be taking a look at the book of Hebrews, which is a message to struggling Christians who’ve lost sight of what really matters in their faith. The message for this Sunday will focus on Hebrews 1-2 as we seek to learn more about the relationship we have, both with angels, and with Jesus. You might be surprised by what you learn!

Today, Michael gave us a message about love, specifically, I want to know what love is. The best ever example of love is the fact that God loved us so much, even when he was angry and disappointed in us, that he sacrificed His son for us. He loved us so much that He wanted us to have eternal life - even though we surely didn’t deserve it. As it says in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”

Two points to remember:

1. We have tremendous value in the eyes of God.

2. Your loving response to God’s sacrificial love should be to walk in love toward him, in the footsteps and example of Jesus.

Let us recognize that Holy Spirit within us and always reflect His love onto those around us.