"Our Family" - Doug Rehberg

We come to the end of our series, “Full Disclosure” this week. It’s been a wonderful journey through a book that’s often been labeled hard and difficult. However, our journey has been exciting for so many, including me. Until this series Hebrews was a book I read, but never grasped the way I do now. And I must not be alone, because literally scores of people have told me how much the Lord has spoken to them through our study.

This week we revisit the final verses of this sermon that Scott so masterfully exposited last week. Remember his points regarding Jesus as our Shepherd? He’s eternal, He’s personal, and He equips us with everything we need to get home unscathed. And it’s that last point that I want to explore further this week.

Remember the question – “If God loves me why is my life so hard?” Remember the answer – “Your life is a long journey and the only way you will make it home without even more pain and discontentment is to fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author and the Finisher of our faith.” And the way the preacher encourages us to do that is by giving us more than a dozen individual portraits of Jesus as the full disclosure of God.

At the end of his message the preacher draws on one of the richest themes of Scripture to describe Jesus and every Christian. He uses the portrait of a shepherd with his flock of sheep. In 13:20 the preacher calls Jesus, “The great shepherd of the sheep.” In doing so he uses a word that he uses in chapter 3 when he says, “But exhort one another every day.” In chapter 13 he says, “I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation…” The word is perakaleo in Greek and it’s one of the most powerful words ever used to describe one of the gifts of the Shepherd to the sheep. The gift is other sheep who act as shepherds speaking into our lives.

A few years ago David Wilkie wrote a book entitled, Coffee with Jesus. It’s sort of Jesus “with an edge”. In it Wilkie has a dialogue between landscaper Carl and Jesus about Carl’s wife, Lisa.

Carl: “Lisa wants me to take her to the opera, Jesus! What could suck more than that? Ugggh! The opera!”

Jesus: “Lisa hides well her hatred of football, Carl, even when you insist on watching ten hours of it on Sundays.”

Carl: “Lisa hates football? But she sits there and watches with me and never complains.”

Jesus: “I love watching it sink in, Carl.”

Sometimes those “in your face” moments come as we pray, or as we read the Bible, but often they come from others (shepherds) who love us. I remember one time confessing a sin to a mentor of mine. After I confessed, I said something like, I was surprised that I had done it. He replied, “You wouldn’t have been so surprised if you didn’t have such a high opinion of yourself.” Touché.

That’s what we are going to talk about this Sunday – the role of other under shepherds in our lives. In chapter 13 the preacher called them “leaders”. In chapter 3 he calls them “one another”. The point is this: If you are a Christian and you have no one with whom you confide, turn to for advice, ask for a critique, listen for wisdom, take off your masks; you’re in deep weeds. Your walk in this world requires shepherding and Jesus mostly gives it through your brothers and sisters in Christ.

In preparation for Sunday’s message, “Our Family”, you may wish to consider the following:

1. Consider the theme running through Hebrews 3:13; 10:24-25; and 13:17-25.
2. Who are some of the shepherds named in Scripture?
3. How many different names of God are associated with the name “Shepherd”?
4. What do you know about sheep? Is it a compliment or a criticism to be called a sheep of His flock?
5. What does Jesus mean when He tells Peter three times to feed or tend His sheep?
6. How does Jesus fulfill His promise to never leave or forsake us through “undershepherds?”
7. Why does the preacher attribute the role of “exhorting” to leaders as well as other sheep?
8. What does exhortation/parakaleo mean?
9. What are the dangers in shepherding?
10. What are the fruits of effective shepherding?

See you Sunday!

"Our Shepherd" - Scott Parsons

The Lord is my Shepherd

In Psalm 23 David calls the Lord his shepherd.  What is significant to me about that is not so much David’s recognition of God as a shepherd, but his own willingness to consider himself a sheep!  Phillip Keller, in his beautiful book “A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23”, describes sheep as being senseless, helpless and defenseless.  It is significant that David the king, who knew sheep well, would be willing to approach God admitting that he was senseless, helpless and defenseless.

Sunday we are going to be looking at Hebrews 13:20-22 which describes Jesus as our Shepherd.  But it is meaningless to think of Jesus as our shepherd if we are unwilling or unable to acknowledge that we are the sheep!  The peace and joy that comes from resting in the hands of Jesus only becomes a reality when we let go of every pretense of self-sufficiency and humbly and gratefully admit that before God we are senseless, helpless and defenseless.

The key question throughout this series has been, “If Jesus loves me why is my life so hard?”  

Sunday we will consider the reality that much of the pain, struggle and despair of living in a sinful world pass away when willingly place our lives in the hands of the Shepherd.  Consider these things as you prepare for worship on Sunday:

1. Do you acknowledge your need of a Shepherd?
2. How much do you need Jesus?  Do you need/turn to him for everything, or just for the things you feel you can’t handle by yourself?
3. Are you willing to be led by the Shepherd, allowing him to determine what you need, what you should do and where you should go?
4. What areas of your life have you been unwilling to surrender to the Shepherd?  Your work? Finances?  Family?  Your thought life?  Recreations?

Think and pray about these things as we consider together the role of Jesus as our Shepherd.

"Our City" - Doug Rehberg

I once had a professor of English literature, Dr. Delvin Covey, who was intimidating to many. Not only did he hold several advanced degrees, he knew several languages other than English. He had been a translator from President Roosevelt at Yalta. He had been a deep sea demolition expert. He was a playwright with productions on Broadway and CBS. It was a joy to sit under his erudition.

Several of his statements have stuck with me over the decades. When a student would stand to make a point that was weak or off-target, he would stare at them for the longest time and then say, “Let’s move on before we have time to contemplate that last statement.” But there was another lasting “Coveyism” that came to mind for me this week as I was preparing Sunday’s message from Hebrews 11:13-16 and 13:10-16 – “Our City”.

Here in this text the preacher of Hebrews talks about the tension every follower of Jesus has in navigating the city of this world and the city of God. His point is clear – every true Christian is a resident alien of the city of this world, while at the same time a citizen of the city of God.

Now over the last 200 years many Christians in America have sought to relieve this tension by either separating themselves from the world or by fully conforming to it. For the one, the sectarians, their motto is “Come out from among them and be separate.” For the conformists it’s, “We’re all children of God no matter what you believe.”

But the preacher argues against both extremes. In fact, what he says is exactly what the Lord tells a group of worn and weary God-fearers hundreds of years earlier. And here’s where the “Coveyism” comes in.

It’s one of the most famous promises of Scripture, cited by millions of Christians. It’s Jeremiah 29:11. In fact, many of us know a dear brother at Hebron who has that verse “memorialized” on his car’s Pennsylvania license plate. Remember the promise? “For I know the plan I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Now every time Dr. Covey heard someone offer a quote from some famous writer, he’d ask, “What else did they say?” In other words, “What else do you know about the author or his intentions?” No more perfect question could be asked of Jeremiah 29:11. What’s the context for the promise? What else is the Lord saying here?

You know what the answer reveals? The same truth the preacher is holding before us this week. Remember the question? “If God loves me, why is my life so hard?” And the answer is always the same: “Life is a journey and the only way you’re going to get home unscathed is by fixing your eyes on Jesus.” This week the preacher shows us that Jesus is our city. Even in the midst of being a  resident of the city of this world He calls us to remember our citizenship and love like Jesus loved.

In preparation for Sunday you may wish to consider the following:

1. Which side of the tension do you find yourself normally defaulting to – escapism or conformity?
2. What is the context of Jeremiah 29:11?
3. What is a resident alien?
4. How is the church, the Body of Christ, a foretaste of the future city of God?
5. What was Abraham and the other heroes of the faith looking for? (see Hebrews 11:10)
6. What is the preacher talking about in 13:15 when he encourages us to “continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God”?
7. How does the preacher use the example of Jesus in 13:12-13 to exhort us to offer up a sacrifice of praise?
8. How does chapter 13 prove again that the indicative is the power necessary for the imperative?
9. How does he call us to live as citizens of the city of God here in the city of this world?
10. How does that change your life, your attitude, and your commitment to Jesus and those He loves?

See you Sunday!

"Our Grace" - Doug Rehberg

Back in January, in the third sermon in this series, “Full Disclosure”, I mentioned a quote from A.W. Tozer, a deceased Christian and Missionary Alliance pastor who famously preached and wrote scores of books throughout his 40+ years of ministry.

In 1963, near the end of his life, Tozer was asked what he thought of modern preaching in America. He replied, “I have suffered through many a dull and tedious sermon that took aim at nothing and hit it every time. But let me tell you, no sermon is like that when the preacher is showing me the beauty of Jesus.”

That’s what the preacher of Hebrews has been showing us over the past four months. The question is, “If God loves me, why is my life so hard?” The answer throughout this sermon is: “Fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author and the Finisher of your faith.” Indeed, it often takes the difficulties of life to do just that!

This morning I was reading Psalm 138, a Psalm of Thanksgiving to the Lord, written by David a thousand years before the death and resurrection of Jesus. In the last two verses he says, “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me.” Then he adds, “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love (hesed), O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the works of your hands.”

Derek Kindner, one of the great biblical scholars of our day, in commenting on verse 8, recalls the way the Old King James Version renders it: “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me.” What a great picture that is! But Kidner doesn’t comment on David’s last statement. He seems to be issuing a command to God when he says, “Don’t forsake the works of your hands.” In other words, “I’m trusting you to never stop working on me!” And that’s exactly what the preacher of Hebrews tells us God is doing at the conclusion of chapter 12 and throughout chapter 13.

But there’s another way in which David’s words are used by the preacher as he closes his sermon. What he’s saying to these poor persecuted Christians is, “Don’t you forsake the works of His hands which is the community in which He has placed you.” For twelve chapters he’s shown us in vivid detail the beauty of Jesus. He does for us what Helen Lemmel wrote about so many years ago. He’s turned our eyes upon Jesus. He’s enabled us to look full in His glorious face. And many of us have found that the things of earth have looked strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. But this week he gives us another angle from which to see Jesus – “OUR GRACE”. Chapter 13 marks a great divide in this sermon. The preacher moves from what is called “the indicative” to “the imperative”. 

For twelve chapters he’s told us the Gospel – all that Jesus has done for us. In this final chapter he’s telling us how we should, therefore, respond to it; how we should live. The beauty of the preacher’s message is that he doesn’t jump to the imperative like most modern preachers. The buzzword among many modern Christians in America today is, “Just give me the application!” But without a solid exposition of who Jesus is and what He has done, there is no sound application, only moralistic quips.

The preacher doesn’t do that. He bases his final exhortation on the work Jesus never ceases to apply to the life of the Christian. Indeed, it is His never-ending grace that produces the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.

In preparation for Sunday’s message from Hebrews 12:28-13:9 that builds on Hebrews 3:1-6, you may wish to consider the following:

1. What other places in the New Testament can you cite where the indicative precedes the imperative?
2. What’s the danger in focusing on the imperative without properly understanding the indicative?
3. How does the chapter break between chapters 12 & 13 interfere with the preacher’s message?
4. How does verse 29 of chapter 12 relate to 13:1?
5. How do our “brotherly love” and our “hospitality to strangers” demonstrate divine fire?
6. Why would verses 1-4 be so radical to those first century hearers?
7. How are money, sex, and power redefined for the Christian?
8. Do you agree with this statement?  “If you come to a worship service, or a Bible study, or a Grove, but don’t give up your privacy and get deeply, intensely connected with other believers, then you are a part of a Christian club, not a community of faith. And you’re not going to be shaped. The empowering presence of God is not going to work through you as He would in community.”
9. How do you read verse 5? What’s the nature of Jesus’ promise cited here?
10. How does the cross of Christ and His resurrection make verses 1-5 possible?

See you with the family on Sunday!

"Our Shaker" - Doug Rehberg

Let’s talk about some of the differences between the Old Testament and the New.

MIRACLES: The greatest Old Testament miracle is the Red Sea crossing. What did the Israelites get out of it? Freedom from bondage, deliverance from Egypt, a new identity as an autonomous nation, the promise of a land of their own, access to God through His law. The greatest New Testament miracle is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. What do we get from it? Freedom from sin, deliverance from the tyranny of time, a new identity as His bride destined for eternal union with Him, the promise of all His possessions, and the total access to Him 24/7 through His grace.

MESSAGE: The greatest message of the Old Testament is that a Messiah is coming – the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15). The entire Old Testament looks forward to His coming. But interestingly, from an Old Testament perspective, the advent of the Messiah signaled not so much an eternal gain, but a temporal gain. The coming Messiah would set straight all injustice, all inequity – especially that leveled against Israel. The greatest message of the New Testament is that the Messiah has come. His coming opens up a whole new dimension of life that far exceeds the temporal. He says it this way, “The kingdom of God is at hand.”  Indeed, the King of the kingdom has come.

MARGIN: The greatest definition of God’s relationship to His people in the Old Testament is summed up in one word – separation. Think of it. After Eden, the only hope of access to a Holy God is marked by altars and sacrifices. Moreover, throughout the Old Testament whenever God draws near to His people His proximity is marked by earthquakes, wind, and fire. It’s scary to come near the presence of God in the Old Testament. Many died.

What a difference in the New Testament. From the opening paragraphs, God draws near to people with no margin. Think of it. God in a manger. God in a fishing boat. God in the midst of a crowd. God who is seen and touched. God who is hung on a cross. And God, who is resurrected splendor, offering His body to be touched and embraced.

How is all of this possible? How can a shrouded God become the loving Father with a lap? That’s what we are going to be examining this week in a message entitled “Our Shaker” from Hebrews 12:18-29.

Brennan Manning in his classic book, Ragamuffin Gospel, records the words of his spiritual director, “Brennan, give up trying to look and sound like a saint. It will be a lot easier on everybody.”

That’s a little bit like what the preacher of Hebrews says to those worn and weary Christians. Their lives have been shaken to the core by God. The Cosmic Shaker has rendered them defenseless, yet rather than being a bad thing, it’s a very good thing. We’re going to look at all of that this Sunday.

In preparation for the message, you may wish to consider the following:

1.  What do you think of Brennan Manning’s musings on his standing with God when he describes God’s word to him as follows:

“Has it crossed your mind that I am proud of you accepting the gift of faith I offered you? Proud that you freely chose me, after I had chosen you, as your Friend and Lord? Proud that you believed in Me enough to try again and again? Are you aware how I appreciate you for wanting Me? I want you to know how grateful I am when you pause to smile and comfort a child who has lost her way. I am grateful for the hours you devote to learning more about Me; child who has lost her way. I am grateful for the hours you devote to learning more about me; for your visits to the shut-in; for your tears for the mentally challenged. What you did to them, you did to Me. Alas, I am sad when you do not believe that I have totally forgiven you or you feel uncomfortable approaching me.”

2. What is your biblical understanding of suicide?

3.  How is Hebrews 12:18-29 rightly described as the rhetorical climax to this sermon to the Hebrews?

4.  What do you make of the word “come” in verses 18 & 22?

5.  Why does the preacher juxtaposition the Sinai and Zion experience?

6.  What was the problem with coming to Sinai?

7.  Why is Zion so accessible?

8.  What do you make of the imagery in verses 22 & 23?

9.  How does Jesus experience the trauma of Sinai for every believer?

10. How can we be assured of an unshakable life in Christ?

See you Sunday!

"Our Resurrection" - Doug Rehberg

A few weeks ago, on Confirmation Sunday, we heard a message entitled, “Our Foundation.” The text was Hebrews 11:1-13 where the preacher of Hebrews defined what true faith is. You may remember the four points – faith is Rational (verses 1 & 2), it’s Personal (verse 6), it’s Foundational (verse 8), and it’s Graceful (verse 13). Here again, in the same chapter he highlights faith (Hebrews 11:32-40). This time instead of redefining faith for his listing listeners, he applies it. And it’s this application of faith that we will examine this Easter Sunday morning in a message entitled “Our Resurrection.”

            In 1970 my father took a job with the Christian Broadcasting Network in Tidewater, Virginia.  From the time that my family and I arrived in Virginia we began seeing things that we had never seen before. I’ve shared some of these stories over the years like the woman who was healed in Detroit, Michigan months after the Lord had spoken through Pat Robertson on a broadcast in Virginia, that he had healed her. We saw people healed of various diseases. We saw some delivered from demons. We saw dramatic interventions of God in nearly every area of life from financial provisions to the restoration of relationships. Those were halcyon days. The conclusion was clear - the only thing standing between God’s action and human need was the right amount of faith. A favorite passage at the time Matthew 18:19, “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.” Therefore, agree and ask and it will be done just the way you desire it.

            But then it happened! Not everyone was healed. Not every agreed upon request was answered. So what was the problem? Was there an insufficiency of faith? Was there a lack of agreement? These were difficult questions that defied easy answers. And they still do.

            Interestingly, these are the same questions those first century Jewish Christians are asking.  As we have noted nearly every week of this series, “Full Disclosure”, the Book of Hebrews is one, long, extended piece of pastoral counseling. And what the preacher does in Hebrews 11:32-40 is to drill down into the proper and necessary application of true faith. What he says, in brief, is this:  “Your faith must be in the Lord not your desired outcome.” Of all the messages of this preacher, none is more needed today than what he lays out in Sunday’s text. There’s much here and amazingly it all revolves around the resurrection. 

            In preparation for Sunday’s message, you may wish to consider the following:

1.      What do you think of this statement:  “The only reason for religion is death”?

2.      How important is the resurrection of Jesus Christ to your faith?

3.      Why are happy endings today, in our culture, seen as a sign of inferior art?

4.      Why does J.R.R. Tolkien say that happy endings speak to the true inner longings of the human soul?

5.      What does the list in verses 32-35(a) tell us about faith?

6.      What does the list in verses 35(b)-38 tell us about faith?

7.      Why the dramatic difference?

8.      Verse 35 in Greek is literally:  “Women received their dead by resurrection; but others were beaten to death, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.” What is the “better resurrection”?

9.      Why does the preacher describe the members of the second list as ones “of whom the world was not worthy”?

10.  How are we in a much better position in the midst of our suffering than those in both lists?

He is Risen Indeed!  See you Sunday.

"Our Runner" - Doug Rehberg

Last week I got word that a friend of mine died at 92. His name was Tom and I hadn’t seen him in more than 20 years, but I have thought about him frequently over the years. It’s funny how you remember a person by something they said or something they did long ago. It’s like a snapshot frozen in time.

More than 30 years ago Tom was in a class I was teaching called the Bethel Bible Series. It was the two-year teacher’s course designed to equip lay people to teach a one-year course of study that covered the entire Bible. It was rigorous. Not only was there homework, there were TESTS!

So one night in the first semester I asked the students what Genesis 49 was all about. Tom raised his hand and said, “That’s the chapter where Jacob gathers all of his dozen sons together to tell them what’s wrong with them.” And while he’s mostly right, there’s much more to Jacob’s words than that.

Listen to what he says when he gets to his fourth son:

“Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down before you…the specter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes.”

Do you know what he’s talking about? Palm Sunday! Imagine, 1700 years before Jesus rides into Jerusalem on the back of that donkey colt, Judah’s father prophesied what He would  ride to die! It’s the end of His race. He’s run faithfully. He is destined for the throne. He’s on His way to a week of eternal suffering and He initiates it all.

This week we are in Hebrews 12 where the preacher picks up a Pauline theme – life is a race. Five times in Paul’s writings he analogizes living the Christian life to running a race. And here in the penultimate chapter of Hebrews the preacher borrows the same metaphor. But he does more – he uses an additional metaphor for life - being parented by our Heavenly Father.

There is so much here for us to see and absorb. Remember the question? If God loves me, why is life so hard? Remember the answer? “Life’s a journey, and the only way to get home unscathed is to fix our eyes on Jesus. What the preacher explains in 12:1-13 is imperative for us all to dissect and so this Palm Sunday we do!

In preparation you may wish to consider the following:

1. What is wrong with most interpretations of verse 1?
2. Who are these witnesses and what can they see?
3. Look up the Greek word for “race”. What can we learn about the Christian life from that one word?
4. Why would a good God bring suffering and pain into our lives?
5. How do the “witnesses” help us in our trouble?
6. Why does the preacher shift his metaphors in verse 5?
7. What is the Greek word for “discipline”? What does it tell us about God and us?
8. What does George MacDonald mean when he says, “Everything difficult points to something our theory of life has yet to embrace”?
9. How is suffering God’s way of getting His greatness and His glory deep into our souls?
10. What did John Stott mean when he famously said, “How can you ever believe in a God that doesn’t suffer?”
11. What lessons does the preacher give us in verse 12 and 13 to complete our race?
12. What does Hosanna mean?

See you Sunday!