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Union Church episodes

  • Hebrews 10:19-39 - Beyond the Forrest

    Listen along as Anthony continues our journey through Hebrews.

    Notes//Quotes:

    Hebrews 10:19-39 - Jack A

    Title: Beyond The Forrest

    19 Therefore, (in other words, if all of this is true) brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. - Hebrews 10:19-23

    24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. - Hebrews 10:24&25

    “In the body of Christ, we are looking to relate to each other in such a way that—it prompts us to live out the dynamics of love and good works in the community.” 

    - Donald Guthrie

     31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

    - Ephesians 4:31&32

    “The person who loves their dream of community will destroy community, but the person who loves those around them will create community.”  

    - Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

    26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. - Hebrews 10:26-31

    “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” - Hebrews 10:14

    “There is more mercy in Christ than sin in us” 

    - Richard Sibbes

    32 But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, 33 sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. 34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.

    - Hebrews 10:32-36

    39 min
  • Hebrews 10:1-18 - Forgiveness

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

    Notes//Quotes:

    Hebrews 10:1-18 - Mike

    Hebrews 10:1-18

    We should weep; for God has given us the freedom, the forgiveness, the life, which we could not win for ourselves. Our tears are not tears of separation but tears of homecoming; not tears of death but tears of life; not tears of a past but tears falling on a bedrock of hope for the future. Our sins have been taken away and we, through the accomplishment of another, have been brought to the Father and incorporated into his family forever. This is the gospel. George Guthrie 

    (The secular assumption is that) morality is relative—there are no absolutes. In such a worldview, confession and forgiveness are always something of a sham: Who is to say what a sin is? Why should I feel guilty for something I want to do? Who are you to declare whether I am forgiven or not? - Tim Keller


    “Forgiveness is not so much a word spoken, an action performed, or a feeling felt as it is an embodied way of life in an ever-deepening friendship with the Triune God and with others. As such, a Christian account of forgiveness ought not simply or even primarily be focused on the absolution of guilt; rather, it ought to be focused on the reconciliation of brokenness, the restoration of communion—with God, with one another, and with the whole creation.” - L. Gregory Jones

    42 min
  • Hebrews 9:11-28 - The Son's Offering

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

    Notes//Quotes:

    Hebrews 9:11-28 - Jon

    Title: The Son's Offering

    (vs. 11) “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation)” 12 he entered once for all into the holy places,

    “The priests under the old system went daily into the Temple, the successor of the wilderness tabernacle; the high priest went annually into its inner sanctum, the holy of holies. But all along, as Hebrews explained at the start of chapter 8, this tabernacle or Temple was a secondary thing, a temporary substitute for the reality which God had in mind all along, the ultimate sanctuary or tabernacle which was the very presence of God himself in the heavenly realms. We may perhaps find it difficult to think of this heavenly sanctuary as an actual building, and of course that’s the point; the building on earth, ‘made with hands’ (verse 11), is simply a signpost to the reality. The reality is that God dwells in light and holiness which would dazzle us to bits. We can only come near to him if someone, like the high priest in the Temple, goes in ahead to present the tokens of our purification, to certify that we have been passed as fit to enter.” 

    - N.T. Wright

    (Vs. 12) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 

    13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

    “the most important problem in the development of civilization…the price we pay for our advance in civilization is a loss of happiness through the heightening of the sense of guilt.” 

    - Sigmund Freud

    “Although I lived as a monk without reproach, I felt myself to be a sinner before God with a most unquiet conscience. . . .I did not love, yes, I hated the righteous God who punishes sinners . . . Thus I raged with a fierce and troubled conscience.” 

    - Martin Luther

    15 Therefore he (Christ) is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. 16 For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. 17 For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. 18 Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. 19 For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” 21 And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. 22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. 

    (Vs. 23) …it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,  28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. 

    31 min
  • Hebrews 9:1-10 - Awe and Integration

    Listen along for family worship as we continue through the book of Hebrews.

    Notes//Quotes:

    Hebrews 9:1-10

    Lamp Pic // Table // Ark // Tabernacle

    Exodus 31:1-6

    Corinthians 6:19-20

    “Genuine holiness is genuine Christ-likeness, and genuine Christ-likeness is genuine humanness—the only genuine humanness there is. Love in the service of God and others, humility and meekness under the divine hand, integrity of behavior expressing integration of character, wisdom with faithfulness, boldness with prayerfulness, sorrow at people’s sins, joy at the Father’s goodness, and single-mindedness in seeking to please the Father morning, noon, and night, were all qualities seen in Christ, the perfect man.” - JI Packer

    It is when we face ourselves and face Christ, that we are lost in wonder, love and praise. We need to rediscover the almost lost discipline of self-examination; and then a re-awakened sense of sin will beget a re-awakened sense of wonder. - Andrew Murray

    A child kicks its legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again,” and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough.… It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again,” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again,” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike: it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we. - GK Chesterton

     

    29 min
  • Hebrews 8:1-13 - Paradigm Shift

    Listen along as we continue through the book of Hebrews.

    Notes//Quotes:

    Hebrews 8:1-13 - Jack


    Hebrews 8:1-13

    The Israelites believed that the Temple in Jerusalem was the place above all where heaven and earth met, quite literally. When you went into the Temple, especially when you went into the holy of holies in the middle of it, you were actually going into heaven itself. “Heaven’ is not, in the Bible, simply a ‘spiritual’, in the sense of ‘non-physical’, dimension; it is God’s space, God’s realm, which interlocks with our realm, our world (‘earth’) in all sorts of ways.” NT Wright

    "If "gospel" means good news, then Jeremiah had some for sure. He saw the judgment coming, in horrifying technicolour. But he saw beyond it to the redeeming, restoring grace of God, and indeed he speaks of the "new covenant", which takes us to the heart of the gospel in Christ." ~ Christopher J. H. Wright

    Colossians 2:6-7


    “One of the tragedies of the contemporary church is that, just when the world seems to be ready to listen, the church often seems to have little or nothing to say. For the church itself is confused; it shares in the current bewilderment, instead of addressing it. The church is insecure; it is uncertain of its identity, mission and message. It stammers and stutters, when it should be proclaiming the gospel with boldness. Indeed, the major reason for its diminishing influence in the West is its diminishing faith” John Stott

     

    33 min
  • Hebrews 7:11-28 - Relational Theology

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

    Notes//Quotes:

    Hebrews 7:11-28

    The ‘perfection’ in question could also be translated completeness; it’s what you get when everything has been put into place for the final great purpose to be achieved. What is this great purpose? Nothing less, it seems, than God’s intention for the whole created world. This includes human behaviour, but goes much wider. The world is God’s great project. Just as a bride and bridegroom plan their wedding day, and work to make it perfect, God is working at bringing his world to perfection and doing what is necessary to make it complete. NT Wright

    “The adjective in v. 24 is aparabatos (“permanent,”). This word, used only here in the New Testament and rarely elsewhere, was applied in legal contexts in the ancient world to mean “inviolable” or something not to be transgressed. “Permanent” represents a meaning widely attested in ancient literature. The first-century writer Plutarch, for example, used the word to describe the constancy of the sun’s course through the sky. Thus, Jesus’ priesthood may be characterized as “unchangeable,” since he will hold the office forever." - George Guthrie

    “In Hebrews 7 God has given us powerful words meant for a relational end. This discourse detailing the superiority of Jesus’ high priesthood is far more than a theoretical treatise. It expresses relational theology, as all true theology is in essence.” - George Guthrie

    35 min
  • Hebrews 7:1-10 - A Different Kind of High Priest

    Listen along as Mike Gaston continues our series through the book of Hebrews.

    Notes//Quotes:

    Slides Hebrews 7:1-10
     
    Slide 1
     
    “The author of Hebrews was trying to convince people that a religious system of sacrifices, rituals and rules that had been in place for over 1400 years had now been replaced by a better way. He focusses on the supremacy of Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment of all that had been written by the Jewish prophets. He introduces a theme that is only treated in the book of Hebrews, that Jesus is our High Priest.”
    Steven Cole
     
     
    Slide 2 (Big Idea and outline on the same slide)
     
    Big Idea
     
    God’s plan is incredibly detailed, and it all leads to King Jesus, our great High Priest.
     
    Outline
    The Mysterious Person of Melchizedek (7:1-3)
    The Superior Priesthood of Melchizedek (7:4-10)
     
     
    Slide 3
    After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley). And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) And he blessed him and said,
     
    “Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
        Possessor of heaven and earth;
     and blessed be God Most High,
        who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”
     
    And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. 
     
    Genesis 14:17-20
     
     
    Slide 4 (Please divide up the verses on the screen)
     
    1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 
     
    2 and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace.
     
    3 He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.
     
    Hebrews 7:1-3
     
     
    Slide 5 (the attribution of this quote is purposefully left out)
     
    “Abram shows due respect to Melchizedek, but there is no sense of awe or wonder at his appearance on the part of either Abram or the King of Sodom. They merely go about their business, giving no indication that Melchizedek was at all mysterious to them. It is a mistake to attempt to place this mystery back into the context on the basis of one questionable passage. Again, an ironclad case would be needed to support this, and that case does not exist.
     
    Interestingly enough, this author came into the research open-minded, but leaning toward Melchizedek being a preincarnate (appearance of) Christ due to past teaching. While he still sees this as a viable option, research has swayed him. The view that Melchizedek was a man, King of Jerusalem, and priest of Yahweh, appears to be the scripturally correct identification.”
     
     
    Slide 6
     
    “What is typology? In essence, it is the way that God used history to bring His promises to life. God’s plan of redemption, brought to its fullness in the work of Christ, was not carried through history by the words of prophecy alone. Rather, it touched down in the experience of God’s people as particular individuals and events illustrated the promises of God…. More specifically, the person and work of Jesus Christ was imprinted on the history that led to His incarnation. People and events in Israel’s history offered prophetic glimpses of the coming Savior and His work, reassuring them of the promise of His coming.”
    C. J. Williams
     
     
    Slide 7
     
    “Melchizedek appears in history with no record of a genealogy or ancestral line, no record of his birth, and no record of his death. The point is, Melchizedek appears to transcend earthly existence; this makes him a type of Christ, who truly does transcend earthly existence as the eternal King-Priest who has no predecessor and no successor in His high office.”
     
    S. Michael Houdmann
     
     
    Slide 8
     
    Abraham > Levi and the Levitical Priesthood
    Melchizedek > Abraham
     Melchizedek > Levi and the Levitical priesthood
     
    Slide 9
    “But the patriarch gave up a tenth of the spoils, thus implicitly acknowledging the superior place of Melchizedek. And Melchizedek proceeded to bless Abraham, accepting the implied superiority. The situation is clear to all parties. There is no need to spell it out. And the author is simply drawing attention to what the narrative clearly implies when he brings out the superior status of Melchizedek. Even when Abraham is seen as the one “who had the promises,” Melchizedek is superior.”
    Leon Morris
     
    Slide 10
     
    Big Idea
     
    God’s plan is incredibly detailed, and it all leads to King Jesus, our great High Priest.
    40 min
  • Hebrews 6:13-20 - The Anchor
    Hebrews 6:13-20 - Faith
     
    “central to the plot and storyline of Scripture are a series of covenants between God and his creation, especially with humans as deputies and stewards of his world.” - Peter J. Gentry
     
    5 “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” 
    Genesis 15:5&6
     
    “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 14 But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram…
    Genesis 15:9-18
     
    “Picturing God passing through that gory path between the carcasses of animals, imagining the blood splashing as he walked, helps us to recognize the faithfulness of God’s commitment. He was willing to express, in terms his chosen people could understand, that he would never fail to do what he promised. And he ultimately fulfilled his promise by giving his own life, his own blood, on the cross.
    Because we look at God’s dealings with Abraham as some remote piece of history in a far-off-land, we often fail to realize that we, too, are part of a long line of people with whom God made a covenant on that rocky plain near Hebron. And like those who came before us, we have broken that covenant. 
    When he walked in the dust of the desert and through the blood of the animals Abraham had slaughtered, God was making a promise to all the descendants of Abraham—to everyone in the household of faith. When God splashed through the the blood, he did it for us.
    We’re not simply individuals in relationship to God, we’re part of a long line of people marching back through history, from our famous Jewish ancestor David, Hezekiah, and Peter to the millions of unknown believers; from the ancient Israelites and the Jewish people of Jesus’ day to the Christian community dating from the early church. We’re part of a community of people with whom God established relationship in the dust and sand of the Negev. 
    But there’s more. When God made covenant with his people, he did something no human being would even have considered doing. In the usual blood covenant, each party was responsible for keeping only his side of the promise. When God made covenant with Abraham, however, he promised to keep both sides of the agreement. 
    “If this covenant is broken, Abraham, for whatever reason—for My faithfulness or yours—I will pay the price,” said God. “If you or your descendants, for whom you are making this covenant, fail to keep it, I will pay the price in blood.”
    And at that moment, Almighty God pronounced the death sentence on his Son Jesus.”
    - Ray Vänder Laan
     
    “What he’s going to say, more fully, in the passages to come is that Jesus has gone in, not into the earthly Temple in Jerusalem, but into the true sanctuary, the world of heaven itself, right into the innermost courts and into the very presence of the loving father. And he has gone there on our behalf. We are attached to him as though by a great metal cable. He is there, in the very presence of God, like an anchor.” 
     — N.T. Wright
     
    15
    As for man, his days are like grass;
    he flourishes like a flower of the field;
    16 
    for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
    and its place knows it no more.
    17 
    But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
    and his righteousness to children's children,
    18 
    to those who keep his covenant
    and remember to do his commandments.
    19 
    The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,
    and his kingdom rules over all.
    Psalm 103:15-19
    43 min
  • Hebrews 5:11-6:12 - Hard Words and a Way Forward

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

    Notes // Quotes 

    Hebrews 5:11-6:8 - Faith

    Hebrews 5:11-6:12

    Lincoln Picture

    “What the writer here longs for is that people should become proficient in understanding and using the entire message of God’s healing, restoring, saving justice. He wants them to know their way around the whole message of scripture and of the gospel, to be able to handle this message in relation to their own lives, their communities and the wider world, and to see how all the different parts of God’s revelation fit together, apply to different situations and have the power to transform lives and situations.” - NT Wright

    “It’s far easier to go to church once a week chasing a spiritual high and angle for a download from heaven than to do the daily, unglamorous work of discipleship.” - John Mark Comer

    The assertion here must be considered in light of the broader context of Hebrews. In 6:1 the author has identified “repentance” as foundational in Christian teaching. In the view of the author of Hebrews true repentance can be experienced only in the shadow of Christ’s sacrifice, since there exists no other valid sacrifice for sin (10:18, 26). In the Jewish literature of the day, repentance was God’s gift, and Hebrews has taken that thought as specifically incarnated in the person and work of the Son of God. Repentance in 6:4–6 is “impossible” because there is nowhere else to go for repentance once one has rejected Christ. The apostate in effect has turned his or her back on the only means available for forgiveness before God. - George Guthrie

    Matthew 13:24-30

    “Everyday moments of epiphany are bestowed on everyone. Our role is to simply learn to pay attention. It is remarkable how often the parables handed down to us from Jesus end with the words: “Consider carefully how you listen,” and “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.” - Martin Schleske

     

    35 min
  • Hebrews 5:1-10 - The Best High Priest

    Listen along as Mike Gaston continues our journey through the book of Hebrews.

    Notes//Quotes:

    Hebrews 5:1-10 - Linda B
     
    Slide 1
     
    Big Idea
    Jesus our High Priest understands our lives, mediates between us and God, 
    and provides eternal salvation.
     
     
    Slide 2
     
    Phases of God’s Program to Restore His Creation
     
    God dwells with His sinful people
    God walks among His sinful people
    God lives in His redeemed people (YOU ARE HERE)
    God lives with, among, and in His glorified people
     
    Slide 3 (and maybe 4)
     
    “If you were an Israelite living under the old covenant, and you did not belong to the tribe of Levi, ninety feet is as close as you would ever get to the presence of God in the Holy of Holies.
    God had fulfilled his promise to dwell among his people, but his holiness demanded separation. He was near, yet guarded; present, yet veiled; inviting, yet intimidating. The mere presence of the temple revealed God’s desire to be near his people. But everything about the temple said, “You dare not approach me on your own.”
     
    The cherubim that once flashed a flaming sword at the entrance to Eden now blocked the way to the Holy of Holies. Any who broke through the barrier would fall before the consuming fire of Sinai. Safer for a man to walk on the sun than a sinner to stand unshielded before God.
     
    Every day, the temple preached a silent sermon to any who had ears to hear: You need a mediator to make atonement. You need an advocate to intercede. You need a priest to make a way.”
    Scott Hubbard
    Slide 4/5
     
    “And in the first century, as he laid his hand on the head of the animal, he would say ‘O God, I have committed iniquity and transgressed and sinned before thee, I and my house and the children of Aaron, thy holy people. O God, forgive, I pray, the iniquities and transgressions and sins which I have committed and transgressed and sinned before thee, I and my house.’ Only then was he able to minister on behalf of the people.”
     
    Leon Morris
     
    Slide 5/6
     
    ““This is what his training involved: learning to submit his natural desires to his Father’s will, even when it meant pain and hardship and self-denial—as it often did. And this is why he prayed with loud cries and tears. It wasn’t an act—he wasn’t faking. He prayed with loud cries and tears because the prospect of drinking the bitter cup put a terrible strain on his human nature.
    Further, for this holiest man who ever lived, the prospect of sinning would’ve been more loathsome than sinners like us could ever imagine. It’s we who can’t understand his temptations. As C. S. Lewis noted, Christ, as “the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means.”
    Justin Dillehay
     
    Slide 6/7
     
    “His Sonship was perfect, and therefore raises the problem why he needed to learn obedience at all. Here we are faced with the mystery of the nature of Christ. In considering the divine Son it may be difficult to attach any meaning to the learning process (he learned obedience), but in thinking of the Son as perfect man it becomes at once intelligible. When Luke says that Jesus advanced in learning (2:52), he means that by a progressive process he showed by his obedience to the Father’s will a continuous making of God’s will his own, reaching its climax in his approach to death. The cry of acceptance in the Garden of Gethsemane was the concluding evidence of the Son’s obedience to the Father. No one will deny that there is deep mystery here, but the fact of it makes our high priest’s understanding of us unquestionably more real.”
     
    Donald Guthrie
     
    Slide 7/8
     
    Big Idea
    Jesus our High Priest understands our lives, mediates between us and God, 
    and provides eternal salvation.
    39 min

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