Characteristics of a Healthy Christian and Church: Part 1 (Hebrews 13:1-6)

But I am so thankful to be here today.

I'm thankful for all that God is doing in this church, in this community,

and I'm thankful that we get to worship Him.

Today we will be starting the last chapter of the book of Hebrews.

To me, it's been a fun journey.

I hope you feel the same as we've looked through the book of Hebrews.

It's been encouraging.

It's been challenging at times.

We have tackled some pretty deep topics of the Christian faith.

And this final week, or actually this final chapter,

I was hoping it was going to be the final week,

but we're going to be here for one more week after this.

But this final chapter is no exception.

Chapter 13 is filled with many exhortations that will be sure to challenge us,

encourage us, and honestly probably offend us at some point along the way.

But that's okay.

It's all right for the Bible to rub up against some of our preconceived notions,

some of the things that the world tells us to believe.

You see, if the Bible doesn't offend us at some point,

then it's probably because we're not reading all of it.

It's probably because we're picking and choosing the parts that we want to read

and not taking it as a whole.

We're reading it as Thomas Jefferson did,

reading the parts that he wanted to read,

and then cut out everything else that he didn't want to read,

that he didn't agree with.

And so I want us to come to Scripture,

all of Scripture, this passage included,

and I want us to come understanding that we need to have open hearts,

open minds to what God has to say for us.

The author has explained over and over again through the book of Hebrews

that Jesus is better.

He's better than anything and everything in this world.

His ways are better than our ways.

And so let us come to this passage trusting that fact,

that Jesus is better, that he is greater,

that his ways are better.

And from that, be willing and ready to not only hear what he has to say to us,

but also to apply his word to our lives.

There's been times throughout this week and this morning,

especially just going over this,

that God has already been speaking to my heart

and convicting me of different areas of my life.

And so in this last chapter, chapter 13,

there's a lot of statements

that it can almost feel like it jumps around a little bit.

It almost feels like there's bullet points that the author's going through.

They're saying, hey, here's some other things you need to remember.

Remember this, remember this, remember this, do this,

make sure that you look out for these people,

make sure you do this.

And it almost feels like he's jumping around from place to place

as we're looking through this.

So much so that some people have said,

well, is this even part of Hebrews?

And it absolutely is, because it ties in really well.

One of the things that I would say is a little unfortunate

is the chapter break that is placed here

in chapter 13 from chapter 12.

Many of us realize that the chapters and verses

were not a part of the original manuscripts.

Those were added much later,

and they're incredibly helpful.

I'm grateful for them.

It helps us to be able to reference different places.

It helps us to understand things.

And in many ways, it is a benefit to us.

But there's some places where it kind of puts in a division,

where there doesn't need to be a division.

And I think the end of chapter 12,

beginning of chapter 13, is one of those places.

And I think it's really helpful for us to understand

how this next section ties in really well to chapter 12,

but especially going back to 1228.

Now, remember in chapter 12,

we were focusing on the fact that we serve a holy and just God.

And His holiness and His justice prevents us as sinful people

from being able to come into His presence.

It prevents us from being able to be in His presence

because He is holy, He is just, and we are not.

But Jesus makes a way.

And because He makes a way,

the author tells us that we begin to worship Him

with thankful hearts.

And so in verse 28, it says,

Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom

that cannot be shaking,

and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship

with reverence and all,

for our God is a consuming fire.

And so our response to a God who makes a way,

who is perfect in His justice,

perfect in who He is,

He makes a way for us to be able to have a relationship with Him.

And so our life is to be an act of worship.

We began talking about this last week,

and the fact that worship is not just what we do when we come into this room.

It's not just singing songs,

but worship is all of our life.

And so now the author,

as we get to chapter 13,

begins to flesh that out for us.

He begins to show us how our life is to be an act of worship.

And so as we look at this final chapter,

we begin to see this.

The author begins to show us some examples

of what a life that is focused on Jesus,

that is seeking to worship Him,

what that life actually looks like.

Now this is not intended to be an exhaustive list,

but rather a great starting point to look at our lives.

And so as we look at this final chapter,

the main thing that the author is getting at

is for us to see a number of marks,

a number of characteristics of a healthy church.

And so the main thing that I want us to see this morning,

as we have this time,

the main idea of this sermon

is for us to see these marks

and not only examine our lives,

but examine our church.

to see if these marks are a characteristic of our life

and to see if they're characteristic of this church.

And so from this passage,

we're going to bring our attention

to seven different characteristics.

Now don't worry, we're not doing them all this week.

It's going to be this week and next week.

Although I was going to try to get them all in this week,

but it just was not possible.

But we're going to be looking over the next couple of weeks

at these seven characteristics

that we see very clearly presented in this passage.

Today, we're going to take a look at three of them,

but we're going to be looking at

how believers and churches,

with a focus on Jesus,

what their lives will look like.

So to begin with,

believers and churches with a focus on Jesus

will love each other well.

We'll love each other well.

We'll do a good job at loving one another.

Verses one through three of Hebrews 13 says this,

Let brotherly love continue.

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers,

for thereby some have entertained angels unaware.

Remember those who are in prison

as though in prison with them,

and those who are mistreated

since you also are in the body.

Now what a great place for us to start

when it comes to seeing our lives

and seeing our church as an act of worship.

What better place to start than with love?

And it talks about this love in several different ways.

To begin with,

we are to love our spiritual family well.

Let brotherly love continue.

This Greek combines two words

to give us brotherly love.

Phileo meaning love,

and adelphos meaning brother.

Put them together,

you get the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia.

And so this is where we get this idea of brotherly love,

loving our family well.

The NIV gets to the heart of the meaning of this

when it says,

keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.

Remembering that,

and reminding us that because of Jesus,

we are part of God's family.

If we have God as our father,

then that means we have many brothers and sisters in Christ,

and we are to love them well.

But next it says,

we are to love strangers well.

We love those within the family,

the community well,

but we also love strangers well.

It says,

do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers,

for thereby some have entertained angels unaware.

Hospitality is something

that should be characteristic of all believers.

It should be something that is characteristic of our lives,

is hospitality.

Now it's true for some that it just comes naturally and easy,

but it should be something that is characteristic of all believers.

In doing this,

it says,

some have entertained angels unaware.

Now what does this mean?

I'm going to be honest with you.

I don't exactly know what this means,

that we have entertained angels unaware.

Looking through different commentaries,

many commentators just skipped this section completely,

and just talked about loving strangers well,

which means that they don't know either.

Others have said that it is actual angels

that we are entertaining that have come into our paths.

Others talk about it as the early church missionaries

that were going around from place to place.

You didn't have email,

you didn't have phones,

you didn't have pictures with cards of them out there

that you can know who were missionaries that were coming around.

So some of these missionary travels that Paul was on,

that Titus was on,

Timothy,

Luke,

all of these people as they're traveling from place to place,

they didn't know who they were coming in.

So some believe that it could have been

that they were entertaining these missionaries

who were coming from place to place.

We don't exactly know.

But I think what does need to be addressed

is the fact that we don't confuse

biblical hospitality with simply entertaining.

Hospitality and entertaining are not the same thing.

Hospitality is not just about hosting dinner parties,

inviting your friends over to have a good time.

It's more others focused than this.

Oftentimes when we invite our friends over,

we do so for our benefit.

We invite people that we enjoy being around

and who might,

in our hopes,

return the favor one day.

And there's nothing wrong with this.

In fact,

I would say that we should do life with other believers

that we enjoy being around.

That will be there for us.

That will be there when times get difficult.

But I'm not sure that that's what this passage is getting at.

One commentator noted,

he says,

this is welcoming strangers,

inviting people for meals

or to stay with us

with no expectation

that they will or even can reciprocate.

This kind of hospitality

can be inconvenient and hard.

It requires a whole different level of focus

and effort to welcome into your home

those who are not already part of your social circle.

This concept of hospitality

recalibrates the way that we open up our homes.

It makes us think differently

about the motive behind

why we open up our homes.

It's no longer just for our own pleasure,

but rather in order to advance the kingdom of God.

We're opening up our homes.

We're showing hospitality.

We're doing this with purpose behind it.

This hospitality is intentional.

And finally,

it says we are to love prisoners.

Now,

I think it's really helpful

for us to understand the historical context

that this is being written.

At this time,

there were many Christians

who were being imprisoned

because of their faith.

Not because they did something actually wrong,

but because of their faith

that they were being imprisoned.

Now,

does this,

how does this apply to us today?

Should we go to prisons

and should we meet people there

and show hospitality

and love them well?

Absolutely we should.

But the heart of this

is talking about those people,

those brothers and sisters in Christ

who are being persecuted

because of their faith.

A lot of times,

we live in a bubble around us now

where we don't really think about

what's going on

in other places in the world.

We receive some persecution

from time to time.

Yes,

some inconveniences in our life,

but we must recognize

that there are brothers and sisters in Christ

all over the world

who are still being persecuted

for their faith,

who are still being imprisoned

for their faith.

What this means is that as believers,

we have a responsibility

to love our brothers and sisters

all over the world

that are experiencing persecution

for their faith.

It's really easy for us

to forget about this,

but in doing so,

we're failing

at what God has called us to do

in loving the prisoner here.

And so,

how do we love our family?

How do we love strangers?

How do we love prisoners well?

Well,

let me give you a few helpful things

to think about.

Loving well

means stepping into needs

and not ignoring them.

Loving well

means that we step into needs

and don't ignore them.

Sometimes,

love has to get in the weeds.

Sometimes,

love gets messy.

Sometimes,

love is challenging.

A couple of years ago,

Ressie had a few friends over

for a party that she was having,

a few friends from school,

and they were over.

And one of the things

that they wanted to do

was they wanted to have a bake-off.

They wanted to have two groups

that were making cakes

and then to see which cake,

and Catherine and I had to judge them

and see which cake was better.

And so,

they spent all of this time

making a pretty good-sized mess

and making these cakes,

and they put them on these plates,

and you're looking at the cakes,

and they're beautiful.

I mean,

they are covered with icing,

completely covered with icing.

They have sprinkles all over them,

all over the counter,

everywhere.

Sprinkles are everywhere.

And one of them,

you know,

the layer was a little bit lopsided

on the top of it,

but they were presenting these cakes,

and one of the things

that they were going to do

was to tell us about their cake,

and so that why their cake

should be the winning cake.

And I remember,

I think this was back

when I was in third grade or so,

and this little third grade girl,

one of her friends that came over,

she said,

this cake is like love.

She says,

this cake is like love.

It's messy and amazing

all at the same time.

And I thought,

you're in third grade.

How many Hallmark movies

have you watched in your life?

But she says,

it's messy and it's amazing

all at the same time.

But she's not completely wrong with that.

Love that is more than pleasantries

will be messy at times.

It will require us

to get close to the hurting,

to meet people where they are,

but the truth is,

we all need this type of love

shown to us at times.

We all need people

who will love us this way.

When times get hard,

when it's inconvenient,

we need people

that are going to love us this way.

And we need to be the type of people

that will step into those situations

to get messy when it's required.

Also, loving well means

building up and not tearing down.

James 3, 9 through 12

is very convicting with this.

This is James talking about

the tongues

and controlling the tongue.

And he says,

With it we bless

our Lord and Father

and with it we curse people

who are made

in the likeness of God.

From the same mouth

come blessing and cursing.

My brothers,

these things ought not to be so.

Does a spring

pour from the same opening

both fresh and salt water?

Can a fig tree, my brothers,

bear olives

or a grapevine produce figs?

Neither can a salt pond

yield fresh water.

Our words are powerful.

And one of the ways

that we love our family,

one of the ways

that we love strangers,

one of the ways

that we love those in prison

are that we're careful

in how we use our words.

On the one hand,

there's basically two ways

that we can use words.

On the one hand,

with our tongues,

we can praise God.

It tells us that as believers

we praise God,

which is the highest

and best way

to use our speech.

What greater way

can we use our tongues

and use our speech

than to praise God?

We use our speech

to worship

and point others

to the source of our hope.

With our speech,

with the things that we say,

we praise God with.

And I think

that as believers,

at least some of the time,

we all get this right.

At least some of the time,

we all get this right.

But James

calls for consistency.

He calls for this

to be consistent.

He's saying

you can't have it both.

You can't praise God

and put people down

at the same time.

You can't claim

to be followers of Christ

and praise God

and then constantly

be talking bad

about people

either in front of them

or behind them.

James is saying

this should not be

the case.

But unfortunately,

we as believers

do this all the time.

Sometimes in the same hour.

Sometimes in the same minute.

Sometimes in the same conversation.

We praise God

and we put other people down.

This ought not to be the case.

It doesn't work with plants.

A fig tree

is never going to produce olives.

We get to go

with a small group.

Well, actually,

it wasn't a small group.

It was three busloads

of senior adults

to Long Creek, South Carolina

this past Friday.

And we went out to eat.

And Long Creek

is known for its apples.

Well, Long Creek community

is not going to just

come together this year

and say,

you know what?

Let's don't do apples this year.

Let's tell all of our trees

to produce oranges.

It's not going to happen.

It doesn't work that way.

As believers,

we praise God

with our mouths

and we've got to be careful

that we don't use them

to put other people down.

Sometimes we do this

and it's not necessarily

the words that we say

but the tone

in which we say them.

This is true for us

as parents.

Many times the correcting words

need to be said.

They need to be said

but the tone

in which we say them

does far more harm

than the words do good.

And so sometimes

we need to make sure

that we are careful

in our tone.

Sometimes it is gossip

that comes in the form

of prayer requests.

We try to disguise it.

Well, you need to be praying

for this person.

You're not going to believe

what they did.

You need to be praying

for them.

You're not going to believe

what happened to them.

And oftentimes

we try to disguise it.

And sometimes

we don't even try

to disguise it.

We just get a kick

out of somehow

trying to put

other people down

in order to make

ourselves feel better.

Why do we do this?

Why do we do this?

And so as we think

about this,

maybe instead of

looking at other people

and thinking

what they have going on,

maybe we need to take

a look in the mirror

and say, you know what,

there's some things

that need to change

about me.

Why is it that I need

to put somebody else down

in order to make

myself feel better?

But also loving well

means pointing

to Jesus

and not dragging

them further away.

A really great way

to look at our actions

to see if they are

loving or not

is to ask,

are my actions

helping people see

the heart of Christ

better?

Are my actions,

the way that I'm living,

the way that I'm loving

other people?

Am I pointing them

to Christ?

Are they able to see

his heart better

by the way that I am

treating them,

by the way that I'm

loving them?

Are they making,

or are they making

the water more cloudy

and more difficult

to see Jesus?

Next,

as we move in

through this,

believers and churches

with a focus on Jesus

will hold marriage

in honor.

Believers and churches

with a focus on Jesus

will hold marriage

in honor.

Now,

I understand that it

feels like we're

jumping around.

This is the part

where I'm talking about

it feels like bullet

points that the author

is going through,

but I think they all

connect and to help

us understand what

it means to live a life

that is worshipful to God.

Listen to the words

in verse 13,

for let marriage

be held in honor

among all

and let the marriage

bed be undefiled

for God will judge

the sexually immoral

and adulterous.

You see,

marriage has always

been God's plan

for the family.

It's always been

His plan for the family.

In Genesis 2,

it says,

therefore,

a man shall leave

his father and mother

and hold fast

to his wife.

Well,

Genesis 2

comes before

sin has entered

into the world.

Genesis 2

comes before the fall.

So,

marriage has always

been God's plan

for the family

and not only does

He say it there

before the fall,

but He continues

to say it

after the fall

repeating Himself

that,

therefore,

a man shall leave

his father and mother

and hold fast

to his wife

and they shall

become one flesh.

He repeats this

multiple times

throughout Scripture

reminding us

that marriage

is God's plan

for the family

before the fall

and it still

is God's plan

for the family today.

And so,

we must keep

a high view

of marriage

if we claim

to be people

in churches

that have their eyes

fixed on Jesus.

In a culture

that looks everywhere

else to define marriage

and seeks to remove

God-ordained parameters

on marriage,

let us be different.

Let us look

to the one

who instituted

and created marriage

to be the one

to tell us

how it is best

to be enjoyed.

The passage

goes on to say,

he says,

let the marriage bed

be undefiled

for God will judge

the sexually immoral

and adulterous.

It may seem repetitive

to say

He'll judge

the sexually immoral

and the adulterous

but what he's getting at

is the author

is getting at

the immorality

within the marriage

and also

before marriage

or outside the marriage.

We must not look

to the world

to tell us

how to enjoy sex

and who to enjoy it with.

There will always be

those who are ready

to lead us astray

in this matter.

There will always be

plenty of scholars today

who will attempt

to redefine

the parameters

that God has given

us in Scripture.

This isn't something

that's new.

It is something

that is prevalent today

but it's not something

that is new.

This has been the case

for a long, long time.

In fact,

Billy Graham

talks about these teachings

from these scholars

who are attempting

to redefine marriage

and redefine

the parameters

in which we see marriage.

He talked about

their teachings

as drippings

from a sewer drain,

drippings from a broken sewer.

Now, having seen

the drippings

from a broken sewer

in the basement

of this church

not too long ago,

you don't want anything

to do with that.

You don't want

any part of that.

And so we've got

to be careful

but at the same time,

I don't want us

to view all sex

as bad and wrong.

It is a gift from God

to be enjoyed

within the covenant

of marriage.

John MacArthur,

I love how he says,

he says,

within marriage,

sex is beautiful.

It's fulfilling.

It's creative.

Thought I might get

an amen there.

But outside of marriage,

he says this.

He says,

outside of marriage,

it is ugly.

It's destructive

and it's damning.

You see,

sex is a good gift

from a good God

to be enjoyed

and explored

within the good gift

of covenant marriage.

It is a beautiful thing.

God honored marriage

by establishing it.

God the Father

honored marriage

by establishing it.

Jesus honored marriage

by performing

his first miracle

at a wedding.

The Holy Spirit

honored marriage

by using it

to picture the church

in the New Testament.

The whole Trinity

testifies

that marriage

is honorable.

May we as believers

have our eyes

fixed on Jesus.

May we do the same thing.

Finally,

in this passage

from our time this week,

believers and churches

with a focus

on Jesus

will be content

and generous.

We'll be content

and we'll be generous.

Verses 5 and 6,

it says,

keep your life

free from the love

of money

and be content

with what you have.

For he has said,

I will never leave you

nor forsake you.

So we can confidently say,

the Lord is my helper.

I will not fear

what can man

do to me.

You see,

the love of money

is a major,

major pitfall

in the Christian life.

There's a reason

that Jesus says

how difficult it is

for those who have wealth

to enter the kingdom

of God.

For it is easier

for a camel

to go through

the eye of a needle

than for a rich person

to enter the kingdom

of God.

The reason this is

is because money

can give us

a false sense

of security.

Money is something

that can make us

feel secure

without actually

being secure

at all.

Money is something

that can cloud

our judgment.

It's hard to see

our dependence on God

to meet

all of our needs

when our bank

accounts are full.

This oftentimes

translates to

having difficulty

seeing our greatest

need,

salvation.

We get so used

to doing things

on our own,

having pantries

filled with food,

never having to wonder

where our next meal

comes from.

If we want something

or we need something

then we just go out

and get it.

It's hard to live

this life of abundance

and then realize

that there's something

that money can't buy.

There's an area

of our life

where that does us

no good whatsoever.

In fact,

the only way

to understand

the gospel

and to receive it

is to realize

that this is something

that we can't do

on our own.

The author of Hebrews

has said this

over and over again.

He's made it

abundantly clear

that we have this

incredibly great need

and that we've been

trying for a long time

to do something

about this need

on our own

but ultimately

we can't fix

this problem

that we have.

There's not enough

money to buy it.

There's not enough

things that we can do

to earn it.

We have this problem.

It's called sin.

It's destroyed

our relationship

with God

and there's nothing

we can do about it.

And money sometimes,

money can fix

a lot of things.

It can cause

a lot of problems

but it can make you

where you're not

worried about food.

It can make you

where you feel like

you can do

things on your own.

You can just get

something else

and it'll fix

whatever it is

that you're going on

in your life.

It can give you

a false sense

of security.

But the passage

is reminding us

to guard ourself

with that.

To make sure

that we're not

putting too much

of an emphasis

on that

because we'll do so

at the expense

of seeing

our greatest need.

You see,

Jesus starts

the Sermon on the Mount

with this.

Blessed are the

poor in spirit.

When you look

at this,

especially in the Greek,

you'll begin

to see and understand

what Jesus is getting at.

Blessed are the

poor in spirit.

What he's ultimately

saying is blessed

are the beggarly

in spirit.

Blessed are those

who are coming

before God

with nothing

begging

to receive

his mercy.

Realizing that

they have nothing

to offer this.

Well,

they're only there

just asking

to receive

from God.

Blessed are those

for theirs

is the kingdom.

Blessed are those

who understand

their need

that they can't

do anything

about it

and that they

must be dependent

on God

to meet their need.

So we must

for the sake

of our souls,

the souls of our

children and those

around us,

we must keep

our lives

free

from the love

of money.

Augustine wrote

a book that

some of you

may have heard

of before

called the

City of God.

It's a little

background.

Before coming

to faith in

Christ,

Augustine

lived a very

sexually promiscuous

life.

We won't go

into the details

there but just

understand that

he lived a very

sexually promiscuous

life.

And in this work

he notes the

contrast of the

life of that

of believers

and of unbelievers

in this world.

He said this,

he says,

people in the

world are

promiscuous with

their beds

and stingy

with their money.

People in the

world are

promiscuous with

their beds

and stingy

with their money.

Christians,

on the other

hand,

are stingy

with their beds

but promiscuous

with their money.

Christians,

on the other

hand,

as opposed

to this world

are stingy

with their beds

but promiscuous

with their money.

The world

is generous

with sex

and guarded

with money. Believers are guarded with sex and generous with money. This is going to set us at

odds with the world. But if we do this well and clearly show to the world that Christ is our

greatest treasure, then doors will be open for the gospel. We'll see lives change and this will

be a part of what it means to live a life that is worshipful to God. Being intentional and generous

with the way that we spend our resources is also a great way to direct our lives to worship.

It's a great way to point our lives to worship. One of the most fruitful and challenging verses for me

to apply in my life over and over again is Matthew 6 21. It says, for where your treasure is there your

heart will be also. For where your treasure is there your heart will be also. And so what it's

telling us is looking at our treasure is a great indicator of where our heart is. It's a great way

to show us what we love, what we are affectionate for. But Jesus also takes it another step. He says,

where your treasure is there your heart will be also. And so what we realize is how we use our finances,

how we use what God has given us is a great way to direct our heart towards worship.

If we want our heart to be in something and not somewhere else, then let's start investing our

resources in this and not somewhere else. It's a great way to direct our hearts. And just before

this verse, Jesus says, do not lay up for yourselves treasures here on earth. Why? Because moth and rust,

they'll destroy them. This world is temporary. Don't lay up your treasures here. Rather lay up your

treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust can destroy them, where nothing will be able to

destroy them. Think of it like this. Has anybody in here ever gone to a different country where you

had to exchange currency before you went? Where you had to change some? A lot of us have done that.

You know, it's pretty simple. You can go to the bank and ask them and tell them, hey, I'm traveling

to this place. Can you order some currency for me as I get ready to go? But I want you to think

about the craziness of the situation. If you were into that bank and say, hey, I'm getting ready to go

to Europe for a week. And so I need to get some euros. So here's what I want you to do. I want to

be there for a week. So I want you to empty my bank account. I want you to pull all of my savings,

everything that I have in my checking account, all the CDs, cash, all of those things out. I want you to

pull all of that together and give me as many euros as you can possibly give me because I'm going to

Europe for a week. The teller would probably look at you like you're crazy. But why would you take

everything for something that is so temporary? Why would you use all of your resources for something

that is only going to be for a week? That'll be over like that. This is what the Bible tells us

over and over again as well. Why would we use all of our resources on ourselves in this life

for something that's just a vapor, that's here today, gone tomorrow. Instead, we must use them well.

For us, accumulating vast earthly treasure without kingdom-minded generosity and in light of all of

eternity is equivalent to stockpiling a foreign currency for a short-term visit. It's not just

wrong, but it's crazy. And so if we want to see our lives as an act of worship, and I think this passage

is a great starting point of examining our lives, then we must recognize how this applies to us

personally could look different for every single person in here. How this applies, now the meaning and

the explanation of the text is going to be the same for us, the meanings there, but how this applies

to us is and probably will be very different for each and every one of us. So I want to close this

message out a little differently today. There are so many things that this passage hits on. There's a

real good chance that one of these things is something that speaks to you. I know that it has spoken to my

heart this week and this morning and thinking through it. That maybe God is convicting you

of something that you just need to talk with him about. And you can absolutely, of course, talk to

God right where you are. In just a moment when we stand and we sing together, you can just stay seated

and you can pray and you can talk to God there as well as you can anywhere. But maybe today,

you want to take a step out and say, you know what, I want to take this serious.

And I know there's nothing special about the front of this stage. I know there's nothing special about

stepping out there, but maybe it's a way of saying, you know what, God, I'm serious about this.

This is something that I need to talk to you about. This is something I need to pray about.

And this step out is going to be kind of that first step in moving in a different direction

of reorienting my life to worship you with everything that I have. Maybe you want to come

pray with me. You don't have to come down here and start confessing. You can just say, hey, Brett,

would you pray with me? I'll pray with you. I know a lot of times we see this time as a time where

people join the church and there's a good chance that may happen today. But this is also a time of

response. And so I'm much more concerned that you do respond to God's word than where or how.

But I do want you to respond in a way that is obedient and honoring to the Lord. So let's go

to the Lord in prayer. Father, we thank you so very much for who you are. We thank you for what you do

for us. Lord, we thank you for the book of Hebrews that Lord is coming to a close in some difficult,

passages that are challenging to us, that speak to our hearts, that pull us closer to you. And so,

Lord, I pray that as we seek to honor you, that as we seek to live lives that are worshipful to you,

to give our lives over to you, Lord, that you would open our eyes, open our hearts to your word,

and not just seeing it on a page, but applying it to our life. And so, Lord, I pray that you give us

the boldness and the courage to respond in a way that brings your name, honor, and glory. And we ask

all this in Jesus' name. Amen. I want to invite you to stand. We're going to sing a song of invitation.

The Lord is speaking to you. Won't you respond as we stand together and sing?