Union Church

Listen along as we begin our time in the book of Philippians.

Notes//Quotes:

Listen in as we wrap up our series through the book of Hebrews.

Notes//Quotes:

“The author wants believers to live out God’s will in light of the work of Christ.” - George Guthrie

Here is the sea, great and wide,
 which teems with creatures innumerable,
 living things both small and great. There go the ships,
 and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it. These all look to you,
 to give them their food in due season. When you give it to them, they gather it up;
 when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
 when you take away their breath, they die
 and return to their dust. (Ps. 104:25-29)

Listen along as we near the close of the book of Hebrews.

Notes//Quotes:

Hebrews 13:1-19

In friendship, we think we have chosen our peers. In reality a few years' difference in the dates of our births, a few more miles between certain houses, the choice of one university instead of another...the accident of a topic being raised or not raised at a first meeting--any of these chances might have kept us apart. But, for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking no chances. A secret master of ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to the disciples, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you," can truly say to every group of Christian friends, "Ye have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another." The friendship is not a reward for our discriminating and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to each of us the beauties of others. - CS Lewis

“Radically ordinary hospitality is this: using your Christian home in a daily way that seeks to make strangers neighbors, and neighbors family of God.” - Rosaria Butterfield

”In any relationship, there will be frightening spells in which your feelings of love dry up. And when that happens you must remember that the essence of marriage is that it is a covenant, a commitment, a promise of future love. So what do you do? You do the acts of love, despite your lack of feeling. You may not feel tender, sympathetic, and eager to please, but in your actions you must BE tender, understanding, forgiving and helpful. And, if you do that, as time goes on you will not only get through the dry spells, but they will become less frequent and deep, and you will become more constant in your feelings. This is what can happen if you decide to love." Tim Keller

“Church membership, in other words, is not about “additional requirements.” It’s about a church taking specific responsibility for a Christian, and a Christian for a church. It’s about “putting on,” “embodying,” “living out,” and “making concrete” our membership in Christ’s universal body.” - Jonathan Leeman

Listen along as we continue our journey through the book of Hebrews.

Notes//Quotes:

“Although the author of Hebrews never mentions Sinai by name, he clearly has that mountain in view in his poetic comments in these verses. He draws his depiction of the desert wanderers’ encounter of God at Mount Sinai from the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy (e.g., Ex. 19:16–22; 20:18–21; Deut. 4:11–12; 5:23–27). In the Sinai encounter they came near to God in a solemn assembly to covenant with him (Deut. 4:10–14). But the experience was terrifying.”

Exodus 19:12: “And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death.”

Exodus 19:23: “Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, ‘Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’”

“"Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for thou only art holy" (Rev. 15:4). He only is independently, infinitely, immutably holy. In Scripture, He is frequently styled "The Holy One." He is so because the sum of all moral excellency is found in Him. He is absolute purity, unsullied even by the shadow of sin. "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5). Holiness is the very excellency of the divine nature; the great God is "glorious in holiness" (Ex. 15:11). Therefore we read, "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity" (Hab. 1:13). As God’s power is the opposite of the native weakness of the creature, as His wisdom is in complete contrast from the least defect of understanding or folly, so His holiness is the very antithesis of all moral blemish or defilement.”

“Every aspect of the vision provides encouragement for coming boldly into the presence of God (cf. 4:16). The atmosphere at Mount Zion is festive. The frightening visual imagery of blazing fire, darkness, and gloom fades before the reality of the city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem. The cacophony of whirlwind, trumpet blast, and a sound of words is muted and replaced by the joyful praise of angels in a festal gathering. The trembling congregation of Israel, gathered solemnly at the base of the mountain, is superseded by the assembly of those whose names are permanently inscribed in the heavenly archives. An overwhelming impression of the unapproachability of God is eclipsed in the experience of full access to the presence of God and of Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant.”

Listen along as we continue our series through Hebrews.

Notes//Quotes:

Hebrews 12:1-17

“It is not so much they who look at us as we who look to them—for encouragement.” - FF Bruce

“In this all-out match against sin, others have suffered far worse than you, to say nothing of what Jesus went through—all that bloodshed! So don’t feel sorry for yourselves. Or have you forgotten how good parents treat children, and that God regards you as his children?” - The Message

“When God wants to drill a man, and thrill a man, and skill a man, 

The theme of endurance works as the thread binding 12:1–17 together. In each use of figurative or illustrative material—a race, parental discipline, the foolish Esau—difficult experiences and the struggle of Christian perseverance form the backdrop. The image of the race and that of loving, parental discipline also reveal God as a great redeemer of pain and, therefore, as the God of hope for believers who find themselves in painful circumstances. - George Guthrie

“surely from this period of ten months this is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. We stood all alone a year ago, and to many countries it seemed that our account was closed, we were finished. Do not let us speak of darker days: let us speak rather of sterner days. These are not dark days; these are great days — the greatest days our country has ever lived; and we must all thank God that we have been allowed, each of us according to our stations, to play a part in making these days memorable in the history of our race.” - Winston Churchill 

Listen along as we continue our series through the book of Hebrews.

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Listen along as we continue our journey through the hall of faith.

Notes//Quotes:

“Faith is not something passive, not something private, not an esoteric interest kept in a corner, brought down, as it were, to be put on display every so often, but actual biblical faith, a decisive decision, and a sustained attitude. Beginning as a man or a woman gives up all dependence upon himself or herself in order to trust in living God.” —Alistair Begg

“You’re only as durable as the thing you love most. If I love something most that can never pass away….I will never pass away. If I can love something most that will lasts forever…I will last forever. But if I love anything that’s vulnerable…then I’m vulnerable.” —Timothy Keller

1. Every person is goal oriented.

“It might have seemed strange, that Moses should set a few drops of blood, as a remedy, in opposition to God’s vengeance; but being satisfied with God’s word alone, that the people would be exempt from the scourge that was coming on the Egyptians, he did not hesitate.” —John Calvin

10 “When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” (Exodus 14:10-12)

“You see, we don’t have to worry about how he’s gonna part the sea. We just have to worry about whether we’re prepared to stand with the staff stretched out over the water. And some of us never have the joy of standing, as it were, and seeing the deliverance of God because we’re so worried about how God is gonna manage to take care of it. God says, “Don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of it. You just do what I told you.” “By faith.” By faith! Nothing but persevering faith could enable Moses to do what he did, and then in turn the people to follow him as they did.”—Alistair Begg 

1 God moves in a mysterious way

2 Deep in unfathomable mines

3 Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;

4 Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,

5 His purposes will ripen fast,

6 Blind unbelief is sure to err,

Source: Psalms and Hymns to the Living God #412 by William Cowper 

Listen along as we continue through the book of Hebrews.

Listen along as we continue our time through the book of Hebrews.

Notes//Quotes:

Hebrews 11:4-16 - Josh

“11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”

“it was what Abel believed, not what he brought, that made the difference.” —Hebrews 11:4 (MSG)

“13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility…”  — Ephesians 2:13 & 14 (ESV)

“It’s like we’re reversing the negative effects of Adam and Eve’s fall and fulfilling our deep desire to be accepted. By making peace with God every day, we move away from feeling alone and towards a peaceful relationship with Him.” - Timothy Keller

“Noah, was the first to act in faith based on a message from God. Noah acted on the divine warning in regard to a flood that was not yet seen and did so “in holy fear” (a form of the verb eulabeomai, meaning that he paid close and reverent attention to God’s instruction). Accordingly, Noah built an ark to save his family and, correspondingly, condemned the world. His building of the ark both bore witness to the unseen God and his Word and constituted a stark, prophetic rebuke to that godless generation. Their unbelief stands in bold relief to Noah’s faith stance toward God. As one who lived by faith, or confident boldness, with regard to God’s Word, he became an heir of righteousness.”

“privilege and duty are inseparably connected, yet duty will never be performed where faith is absent.”

“13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” 

Listen along as we begin Hebrews 11.

Notes//Quotes:

Hebrews 11:1-3

Faith is confidence that results in action carried out in a variety of situations by ordinary people in response to the unseen God and his promises, with various earthly outcomes but always the ultimate outcome of God’s commendation and reward. - George Guthrie

“A man lives by believing something, not by debating and arguing about many things.” - Thomas Carlyle 

“God does not expect us to submit our faith to him without reason, but the very limits of our reason make faith a necessity.” Augustine 

“A faith without some doubts is like a human body with no antobodies in it. People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask the hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenseless against either the experience of tragedy or the probing questions of a smart skeptic. A person's faith can collapse almost overnight if they failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which should only be discarded after long reflection.” - Tim Keller

2 Peter 1:3-11

Luke 17:5-6 - 

“If you’re falling off a cliff, strong faith in a weak branch is fatally inferior to weak faith in a strong branch. Salvation is not finally based on the strength of your faith, but on the object of your faith.” Tim Keller

Matthew 18:2-5 

Faith and works should travel side by side, step answering to step, like the legs of men walking. First faith, and then works; and then faith again, and then works again -- until they can scarcely distinguish which is the one and which is the other. - William Boothe