In the coming months I will be preaching on the letter to the Hebrews, one of the longer letters in the New Testament (though in 13:22 it claims to be quite brief!) and the only one which is anonymous. Its author wrote to remind his flock that what God has given us in the Lord Jesus is “a great salvation” which deserves our absolutely focussed attention. Jesus is the Son, who reveals God more fully than any prophet, the liberator who truly gives his people rest, and the High Priest who stands in the breach between sinful man and God in the way that no earthly priest could possibly do. What we have been given through Jesus is utterly precious. As a result, the Christian faith is not for the hobbyist or dabbler. In fact, as unfashionable as it is to say it, the Christian faith, for those who properly understand it, must produce a zeal for the name of Christ that the world will find uncomfortable.
I am praying that we will be fired with such a zeal as we sit under the teaching of the Holy Spirit in this wonderful letter.
You will notice inside this week’s longer bulletin we have printed out the whole of Hebrews’ final chapter. This chapter contains many of the most practical ways in which the letter will ask us to respond to the great salvation God has given us in Christ. You might like to keep it for reflection.
In brief, Bible study groups are up and running again (including my Wednesday group: see back page for details). If you haven’t yet tried one out, why not come along this week?