Sunday Talks

In the letter to the Hebrews there are a series of warnings and in verse 1:5-2:4 the first one is introduced to the reader - We are going to see a strong call to personal commitment to Jesus Christ. Today, the loudest call today is to live your own way, to do what you want- if that's where you are headed - this message is going to hit hard as this passage calls us to something better - to someone better - Jesus Christ. 

In our new series we open up the letter to the Hebrews and consider the words of exhortation the author gives to people who are in danger of drifting away from the Lord - to the people who are facing persecution, to the people who are actively rebelling against God and to the people who have fallen away because they are tired and weary. 

This letter is a brief word of advice - in it the author tackles these three reasons for falling away - persecution; rebellion; weariness. It's a passionate biblical plea to keep going as a Christian - to direct your gaze to the person, work and status of Jesus Christ. Watch how the Bible reminds us that Jesus is better. 

For the next number of weeks join us in digging into Psalm 119 as over the summer months some of the men from BCC open up God's Word for us!

For the next number of weeks join us in digging into Psalm 119 as over the summer months some of the men from BCC open up God's Word for us!

For the next number of weeks join us in digging into Psalm 119 as over the summer months some of the men from BCC open up God's Word for us!

For the next number of weeks join us in digging into Psalm 119 as over the summer months some of the men from BCC open up God's Word for us!

For the next number of weeks join us in digging into Psalm 119 as over the summer months some of the men from BCC open up God's Word for us!

For the next number of weeks join us in digging into Psalm 119 as over the summer months some of the men from BCC open up God's Word for us! 

Everyone sings. With mixed results in terms of the sound made, but we all sing something. Christians sing, specifically speaking, because God has made his people sing. The gospel we sing about is that God has rescued sinful, treacherous people like you and me from punishment and hell and given us his underserved grace: eternal life, freedom from sin and death – through the atoning sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus on the cross.

But… I got a shock as I read the lyrics of this song from Exodus.

By way of context, the people of Israel had just crossed the Red Sea and witnessed the (14:31) great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians… The writer explains the impact this had on them… so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord. And then he wrote the final instalment of this part of Exodus in chapter 15:1-21.

These events - from the time you first heard about them - leave an extraordinary imprint on your mind’s eye. Walls of water, the Red Sea parted, miraculously the people of Israel walking through on dry ground. Followed by the clogged chariot wheels and then the final, terrible destruction of their Egyptian oppressors.

Reading it again, here’s what is so surprising about the Biblical text. The spotlight is not on these extra-ordinary visuals, as dramatically arresting as they most certainly are. It’s on the power and definitive victory of the Lord.