Hope this helps you dig into the text.
Hebrews 10 Week 1 Questions
Thanks for the great time last week eating food, fellowshipping, and digging into Hebrews. There were a lot of challenges in our Hebrews passages last week (Hebrews 5:11-6:11). The author was warning the people in this church about the dangers of falling away from the truth and from God. At one time they were all taught the principles of following Christ and were growing, and yet now they have lost ground and are lacking strength in even the basics of Christ. We are in church and can become complacent with what we've learned and can try to live on "milk" day by day, just as these people were being called out for. All of these warnings are probably much more targeted to us than we may be comfortable admitting. We must not too quickly distance ourselves from these warnings if we are to benefit from their purpose, which is to stir us up and prod us on in our pursuit to grow in Christ and in our living for Christ.
This week we're moving on through chapter 6 and into chapter 7 where we hear about Melchizedek. Here is the study sheet to help you ask questions and dig into this part until we meet to discuss it as a group.
Hebrews Study Questions, Sheet 5, Heb.6:9-7:10
Also, its encouraging to hear that many of you have comitted to meeting together to dig into these passages before Thursday. As you have seen, if you want to get more out of these studies, it takes some time and some digging. Its even more effective when we can learn from each other during the week, so keep it up.
Looking forward to Thursday. 7:30 PM at the Drent's place.
This week we're moving on through chapter 6 and into chapter 7 where we hear about Melchizedek. Here is the study sheet to help you ask questions and dig into this part until we meet to discuss it as a group.
Hebrews Study Questions, Sheet 5, Heb.6:9-7:10Also, its encouraging to hear that many of you have comitted to meeting together to dig into these passages before Thursday. As you have seen, if you want to get more out of these studies, it takes some time and some digging. Its even more effective when we can learn from each other during the week, so keep it up.
Looking forward to Thursday. 7:30 PM at the Drent's place.
Hey guys, Ashley here.
This week at Catered, we are going to fellowship over dinner before we get in the Word. [I promise, we didn't intentionally plan on serving food during the week of studying the need for milk vs solid food. (Hebrews 5:13-14).] Instead of meeting at 7:30, we will be meeting at 7:00. Feel free to bring a side dish, drink, or dessert if you would like to.
Also, as you go through this week, I would really encourage you to spend some quality time studying Hebrews 5:11-6:12. There's a lot packed into this section and it would be awesome if everyone would have a general knowledge of what these verses contain before Thursday. Since they are pretty involved, write down any questions you might have as you study and be ready to share on Thursday. :) It will be great to fellowship on what we've been learning throughout the week.
I can't wait to hear about what God has been doing to make much of Himself in your lives!
This week at Catered, we are going to fellowship over dinner before we get in the Word. [I promise, we didn't intentionally plan on serving food during the week of studying the need for milk vs solid food. (Hebrews 5:13-14).] Instead of meeting at 7:30, we will be meeting at 7:00. Feel free to bring a side dish, drink, or dessert if you would like to.
Also, as you go through this week, I would really encourage you to spend some quality time studying Hebrews 5:11-6:12. There's a lot packed into this section and it would be awesome if everyone would have a general knowledge of what these verses contain before Thursday. Since they are pretty involved, write down any questions you might have as you study and be ready to share on Thursday. :) It will be great to fellowship on what we've been learning throughout the week.
I can't wait to hear about what God has been doing to make much of Himself in your lives!
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During our study of Hebrews, each week we're handing out sheets with questions on them to help you work through and consider the upcoming passages. Our hope is that these will help you dig deeper than if you simply read the text.
If you sometimes read a passage and think "huh, not sure what else to say about that passage" then hopefully these questions will prompt you ask questions about the text, and to look at the passage in different ways. Also, some of these are hard questions that are really good food for conversation when you meet up with other Catered people during the week. Work through one or two questions while you're hanging out at Starbuck's.
Seriously, consider how your conversation there will not only help you understand what God would like to teach you in Hebrews, but also consider how that conversation will spur on the people around you as they listen to you wrestle with truth and find the glory of a huge, majestic, glorified Christ.
So, here are the sheets we've used so far. If you've missed a week, I'd encourage you to grab these and use them to help you dig into the passage that you missed.
Hebrews Study Questions, week 1
Hebrews Study Questions, week 2
Hebrews Study Questions, week 3
Hebrews Study Questions, week 4
Live intentional, grow for God's glory. See you Thursday at 7:30 PM.
Kris
If you sometimes read a passage and think "huh, not sure what else to say about that passage" then hopefully these questions will prompt you ask questions about the text, and to look at the passage in different ways. Also, some of these are hard questions that are really good food for conversation when you meet up with other Catered people during the week. Work through one or two questions while you're hanging out at Starbuck's.
Seriously, consider how your conversation there will not only help you understand what God would like to teach you in Hebrews, but also consider how that conversation will spur on the people around you as they listen to you wrestle with truth and find the glory of a huge, majestic, glorified Christ.
So, here are the sheets we've used so far. If you've missed a week, I'd encourage you to grab these and use them to help you dig into the passage that you missed.
Hebrews Study Questions, week 1Hebrews Study Questions, week 2Hebrews Study Questions, week 3Hebrews Study Questions, week 4Live intentional, grow for God's glory. See you Thursday at 7:30 PM.
Kris
How does a letter written to a handful of Jews in the first century have any relevance to a small group of 20-something Americans in 2011? How much would we relate to a letter that refers to Hebrew law, high priests, the temple, angels, and the order of Melchizedek? Honestly, these may sound like reasons to leave this book of the Bible for the history-loving, academic type people. We may be tempted to say something like "let's move on to the books of the Bible that are more applicable to us today."
Don't buy it.
You and I have far more in common with this book and its original readers than most people realize. Beyond this, if you are a follower of Christ who is enduring trials and need encouragement, this book particularly has tremendous impact on every day life. Frankly, I don't know anyone who wouldn't like greater resolve and encouragement to live life for God.
We do not know who authored this letter and we don't know the specific circumstance it was written for because the letter itself does not explicitly say. However, the contents of the letter do give much context that should help us understand their story with relative clarity. Drawing from the clues within the text, consider how their situation caused this letter to sound to the recipients.
But a letter has arrived from a beloved shepherd. As someone brings the light near, the small crowd's shuffling slows to silence, and the reader begins.
Immediately, rich stories fermented in generations of Hebrew tradition race through the listener's hearts and minds of how their Mighty, One True God spoke to their forefathers. A burning bush, thunder and the voice of a trumpet, a still small voice, visions, dreams, angels, in the Law itself... Oh, they knew of God's amazing and widely varying ways God spoke so powerfully in the past. At this point, these words only serve to further aggravate their desire to hear from God, "God speak to us now! Let us know you have not left us!" The reader continued:
Here begins the author's bull's-eye response to their questions. He starts the process of explaining that God has spoken to them more eloquently, more completely, more exacting, and more lovingly than had ever happened in the past. God has communicated in the person of Jesus Christ, and they have the privilege of knowing God like has never been possible before. God is so near, and he deeply desires to communicate more than they had imagined.
These opening statements echo and resonate the first words of Gospel of John:
And for those in the group who have been so tempted to give in to the requests of the other Jews, to those who are almost too tired to hold Christ up so high and are beginning to let him slip, to simply lower Christ a bit in their hearts, to call Jesus something other than the high Son of God, to simply call him an arch angel, or another priest, or just a perfect man... For these tired souls, the author unleashes a graceful flourish of truth drawing from past, present, and future to combat any tendency to make Christ less extravagant and more commonplace.
The author has only one prescribed remedy for serious fatigue, fear, or doubt in the haggard Christian: Exalt Christ. Understand the superiority of Jesus above all things. From the message delivered it is clear that if we are not hearing, seeing, experiencing, and knowing God in daily life, then we have let Jesus Christ slip to the levels of something too mundane to daily shake the mirey foundations of this beleaguered life. If we are not connected with the Word in flesh daily, we will hear silence from God and feel distant, weak, and unequipped to face the storms and trials that face us.
Does this apply to us? Could such a message also relate to your life? Absolutely.
We are studying the book of Hebrews on Thursday nights. I encourage you, read it and study it with us. Come Thursday nights and then help us discuss and understand more of the rich message of this letter that should change us. By saying this may change the entire way you view Christ is not an exaggeration, it is not over-dramatic. That is exactly what this letter was written to accomplish. Come along.
Don't buy it.
You and I have far more in common with this book and its original readers than most people realize. Beyond this, if you are a follower of Christ who is enduring trials and need encouragement, this book particularly has tremendous impact on every day life. Frankly, I don't know anyone who wouldn't like greater resolve and encouragement to live life for God.
We do not know who authored this letter and we don't know the specific circumstance it was written for because the letter itself does not explicitly say. However, the contents of the letter do give much context that should help us understand their story with relative clarity. Drawing from the clues within the text, consider how their situation caused this letter to sound to the recipients.
The Arrival of a Letter
A small house church of Jews gathered late one night, avoiding sight and contact with others as they made their way quietly. Each had something dire in common. These had daringly converted to Christianity during the hight of Christian persecution in Rome, causing them to face the loss of property, privilege, freedom, and potentially life. Now rejected by families, by their tradition, at the temple, and by their government, following Christ has offered no worldly gain but has brought much suffering. The pressure to turn back to their traditions, to renounce Christ, or even to simply bend their convictions about who Jesus is, has reached an unbearable mark. The fatigue from their trials has brought many as far as they could take, causing them to ask some serious questions in recent days. As they gather together this night, you could see it on their faces: Where is God? Why doesn't he deliver us? Why doesn't he listen? Why doesn't he answer? Is he still there?But a letter has arrived from a beloved shepherd. As someone brings the light near, the small crowd's shuffling slows to silence, and the reader begins.
"Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets..."
Immediately, rich stories fermented in generations of Hebrew tradition race through the listener's hearts and minds of how their Mighty, One True God spoke to their forefathers. A burning bush, thunder and the voice of a trumpet, a still small voice, visions, dreams, angels, in the Law itself... Oh, they knew of God's amazing and widely varying ways God spoke so powerfully in the past. At this point, these words only serve to further aggravate their desire to hear from God, "God speak to us now! Let us know you have not left us!" The reader continued:
"...but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power."
Here begins the author's bull's-eye response to their questions. He starts the process of explaining that God has spoken to them more eloquently, more completely, more exacting, and more lovingly than had ever happened in the past. God has communicated in the person of Jesus Christ, and they have the privilege of knowing God like has never been possible before. God is so near, and he deeply desires to communicate more than they had imagined.
These opening statements echo and resonate the first words of Gospel of John:
John 1:1-3 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made."Jesus is the very Word, the very communication of God. Not just the communication from God, Jesus is the "Communication."
John 1:14 "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."The communication these haggard people are looking for, is Christ.
And for those in the group who have been so tempted to give in to the requests of the other Jews, to those who are almost too tired to hold Christ up so high and are beginning to let him slip, to simply lower Christ a bit in their hearts, to call Jesus something other than the high Son of God, to simply call him an arch angel, or another priest, or just a perfect man... For these tired souls, the author unleashes a graceful flourish of truth drawing from past, present, and future to combat any tendency to make Christ less extravagant and more commonplace.
The author has only one prescribed remedy for serious fatigue, fear, or doubt in the haggard Christian: Exalt Christ. Understand the superiority of Jesus above all things. From the message delivered it is clear that if we are not hearing, seeing, experiencing, and knowing God in daily life, then we have let Jesus Christ slip to the levels of something too mundane to daily shake the mirey foundations of this beleaguered life. If we are not connected with the Word in flesh daily, we will hear silence from God and feel distant, weak, and unequipped to face the storms and trials that face us.
Does this apply to us? Could such a message also relate to your life? Absolutely.
We are studying the book of Hebrews on Thursday nights. I encourage you, read it and study it with us. Come Thursday nights and then help us discuss and understand more of the rich message of this letter that should change us. By saying this may change the entire way you view Christ is not an exaggeration, it is not over-dramatic. That is exactly what this letter was written to accomplish. Come along.
We're adding some variety to Thursday nights! Get the skinny below:
We will meet at the Finley's for the first two Thursdays in March - March 3, and March 10.
See you Thursday!
Hey everyone, Cory here: Catered is going to be at our house tomorrow night (Thursday) 7:30-9:45(ish), so please come! For those that haven't been to our casa before the address is:
988 N Clinton, Olathe KS 66061
Google maps will take you to our street corner, but you need to turn RIGHT into the Westerfield Townhouses and park in a VISITOR space. our unit (988) will have a red porch-light on. ;)
We will meet at the Finley's for the first two Thursdays in March - March 3, and March 10.
See you Thursday!
Yeahhh! Thursday night, we hit on some passages at the very heart of what Catered is all about. It was hard hitting and extremely challenging.
Zach kicked us off by reading a challenging passage in Luke 14 where Jesus was teaching some hard hitting truth about what it means to follow Him.
Our discussion drew us back to Luke 9, where Jesus addresses this topic head on as well and he also turns people away because he sets the bar high. He says we have to give up our life for ourselves entirely and follow him, and if we are wanting to hold onto anything for ourselves, we cannot be his disciples.
Later in verses 57-62, Jesus applies this to people who say they wish to follow him. But each person has something that they wanted to hold onto, or something that held them back from following entirely. And He calls them on it and finally says that "no one who puts his hands to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
Luke 18:18-29 gives an account of the rich young ruler. This is also an astounding passage to study and consider the scene carefully. The man comes to Jesus admitting that he needs salvation and he knows only Jesus can offer it. But even with this profession, the ultimate result is the same as the other people from these passages. Jesus sees the man does not want to give up his life because he loves his life and the things in it too much. The man would not be willing to love Jesus more. When Jesus puts his finger on this fact, the man leaves sadly without a life with Christ. He was not willing to lose his life, to gain true life.
In fact, he got that out on the table early so people would not be mislead. So too, we need to examine our own understanding of what it means to be a follower of Christ. If we are expecting life to be easy and about us, then we have the wrong idea of what it means to follow and serve Him.
2. He asked us to give up everything up so we can follow Him.
This is what He asked of us, and is the only way it works. Without this kind of commitment, we will be continually frustrated at the lack of "Christ" in our lives. We will lack fellowship with Him, spiritual growth, victory over sin in our lives, ability to serve others with the fruit of the Spirit, impact for the kingdom, and so on. Now, on the flip side, there's a whole topic of depending on God's GRACE to learn and grow. We stumble and we fall, and we need to understand the gospel of Jesus Christ to know how rely on His grace as we learn to live this way. But the decision is one that is absolute. He asked us to make the decision to give it all. As with the "rich young ruler" Jesus is not content to become one of many things in your life that you will live for and depend on. He asked you to make Him your everything.
3. Giving everything, and living entirely for Christ does not necessarily mean quiting school, jobs, everything in our life and becoming a monk or pastor.
Praise God if He calls you into full time vocational ministry. But that is not what Jesus was calling for all his disciples to do this as their vocation. In fact, as the Apostles shared the gospel and people came to Christ, new converts were encouraged to live out Christ where they were at. Jesus needs wives and husbands, slave and free people, circumcised and uncircumcised, people of all communities to demonstrate the truth and the love of Christ. Do not seek to be free from these roles in order to serve Christ, serve where you're at so Christ has a witness in all walks of life.
1. Do I really want to live my entire life for Christ?
Or let's get even more practical: tomorrow. Think about tomorrow. Do I desire to make tomorrow entirely about honoring Christ and serving Him? Or have I only committed to adding good "Christian" things to my life, like going to church, serving at a food pantry once a month, and praying between classes? These are good things, and they honor God. But if we are still living our lives for ourselves first and then adding some Christ to it, we honestly sound more like the others in these passages. In this kind of life we are not going to reflect Christ and grow in Him as He has planned.
2. If so, I have to ask honestly: HOW do I live for Christ and honor Him in EVERYTHING I do?
Anyone who gets serious about living for Christ in every way has to face the question: Do I know how to live for Him in the day-to-day things? It seems easier when we are on a mission trip, or at camp. But how do I "go to class" for Jesus? How do I put in a full week at work for Jesus? How do I sit a stop sign, or stand in line at Starbucks for Jesus?
Yes, there are good answers to these. And yes, it is possible to live every moment of every day for Christ in a very real and meaningful way. It starts with getting to know God's heart and what He desires for us and the world around us. This works out in the lives of the people who live for Him.
From the beginning of this group, we have existed as a group who wants to learn how to live "intentionally" for Christ in all areas of our life. We admitted in this world we don't often see what a life like that looks like and we don't by nature know how do live like this, but we want to make it a quest to learn and grow in this purpose. For those who sincerely want to learn how to do this, we decided to do this journey together. We meet every week to learn from the Word and with each other what it means to live for Him and make Him our everything. It takes learning, it takes pursuit, it takes encouragement, and it takes lots of prayer and lots of truth. But we've learned, this is the most important pursuit of life. It is possible. We are learning. It is amazing to live a life with Christ. We have much more to learn, and we are looking forward to learning more next week, next month, next year.
Lose your life, gain real life. And come on the journey with us so we can learn together.
Zach kicked us off by reading a challenging passage in Luke 14 where Jesus was teaching some hard hitting truth about what it means to follow Him.
Luke 14:25-27Yikes! At first glance this looks like a contradiction to Jesus' teachings regarding loving and serving each other, so our discussion first worked out what "hate" meant in this passage. After digging into the original meaning, we saw that the word used here was a Semitic expression that meant to "love less than" in comparison. It is used elsewhere in the Bible and always seems to infer choosing one thing over another. In this case, Jesus was teaching that if someone was not willing to love Him and choose Him over their family members, and even their own life, then they have not counted the cost of following Jesus. This was clarified in verse 33.
If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:33Whew, so at least we know Jesus wasn't saying we need to hate our families in the way we may tend to "hate." But now we have this challenge to live for Christ to the degree that we are choosing Him over everyone and everything else.
In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
Our discussion drew us back to Luke 9, where Jesus addresses this topic head on as well and he also turns people away because he sets the bar high. He says we have to give up our life for ourselves entirely and follow him, and if we are wanting to hold onto anything for ourselves, we cannot be his disciples.
Luke 9:23-25
Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?
Later in verses 57-62, Jesus applies this to people who say they wish to follow him. But each person has something that they wanted to hold onto, or something that held them back from following entirely. And He calls them on it and finally says that "no one who puts his hands to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
Luke 18:18-29 gives an account of the rich young ruler. This is also an astounding passage to study and consider the scene carefully. The man comes to Jesus admitting that he needs salvation and he knows only Jesus can offer it. But even with this profession, the ultimate result is the same as the other people from these passages. Jesus sees the man does not want to give up his life because he loves his life and the things in it too much. The man would not be willing to love Jesus more. When Jesus puts his finger on this fact, the man leaves sadly without a life with Christ. He was not willing to lose his life, to gain true life.
Some Observations:
1. Jesus did not present the opportunity to be his disciple as something comfortable or easy.In fact, he got that out on the table early so people would not be mislead. So too, we need to examine our own understanding of what it means to be a follower of Christ. If we are expecting life to be easy and about us, then we have the wrong idea of what it means to follow and serve Him.
2. He asked us to give up everything up so we can follow Him.
This is what He asked of us, and is the only way it works. Without this kind of commitment, we will be continually frustrated at the lack of "Christ" in our lives. We will lack fellowship with Him, spiritual growth, victory over sin in our lives, ability to serve others with the fruit of the Spirit, impact for the kingdom, and so on. Now, on the flip side, there's a whole topic of depending on God's GRACE to learn and grow. We stumble and we fall, and we need to understand the gospel of Jesus Christ to know how rely on His grace as we learn to live this way. But the decision is one that is absolute. He asked us to make the decision to give it all. As with the "rich young ruler" Jesus is not content to become one of many things in your life that you will live for and depend on. He asked you to make Him your everything.
3. Giving everything, and living entirely for Christ does not necessarily mean quiting school, jobs, everything in our life and becoming a monk or pastor.
Praise God if He calls you into full time vocational ministry. But that is not what Jesus was calling for all his disciples to do this as their vocation. In fact, as the Apostles shared the gospel and people came to Christ, new converts were encouraged to live out Christ where they were at. Jesus needs wives and husbands, slave and free people, circumcised and uncircumcised, people of all communities to demonstrate the truth and the love of Christ. Do not seek to be free from these roles in order to serve Christ, serve where you're at so Christ has a witness in all walks of life.
Two Questions:
Given what Jesus' hard teachings require of His disciples, two very direct questions come to mind that we all need to be able to answer.1. Do I really want to live my entire life for Christ?
Or let's get even more practical: tomorrow. Think about tomorrow. Do I desire to make tomorrow entirely about honoring Christ and serving Him? Or have I only committed to adding good "Christian" things to my life, like going to church, serving at a food pantry once a month, and praying between classes? These are good things, and they honor God. But if we are still living our lives for ourselves first and then adding some Christ to it, we honestly sound more like the others in these passages. In this kind of life we are not going to reflect Christ and grow in Him as He has planned.
2. If so, I have to ask honestly: HOW do I live for Christ and honor Him in EVERYTHING I do?
Anyone who gets serious about living for Christ in every way has to face the question: Do I know how to live for Him in the day-to-day things? It seems easier when we are on a mission trip, or at camp. But how do I "go to class" for Jesus? How do I put in a full week at work for Jesus? How do I sit a stop sign, or stand in line at Starbucks for Jesus?
Yes, there are good answers to these. And yes, it is possible to live every moment of every day for Christ in a very real and meaningful way. It starts with getting to know God's heart and what He desires for us and the world around us. This works out in the lives of the people who live for Him.
Why we meet:
Our discussion Thursday night discussed a number of these individual questions, and we admitted that many of us need to take this call more seriously. We also reaffirmed why we meet on Thursdays...From the beginning of this group, we have existed as a group who wants to learn how to live "intentionally" for Christ in all areas of our life. We admitted in this world we don't often see what a life like that looks like and we don't by nature know how do live like this, but we want to make it a quest to learn and grow in this purpose. For those who sincerely want to learn how to do this, we decided to do this journey together. We meet every week to learn from the Word and with each other what it means to live for Him and make Him our everything. It takes learning, it takes pursuit, it takes encouragement, and it takes lots of prayer and lots of truth. But we've learned, this is the most important pursuit of life. It is possible. We are learning. It is amazing to live a life with Christ. We have much more to learn, and we are looking forward to learning more next week, next month, next year.
Lose your life, gain real life. And come on the journey with us so we can learn together.
Galations 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15
For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
