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Listen "Sermon | Hebrews 10:11-25 | "The New & Living Way" by Rev. Joseph Sanford at Grace United Methodist Church in Franklin, Indiana"
Episode Synopsis
If we KNOW God is faithful…
And we KNOW God will sanctify us and heal us and has already done everything necessary to guarantee our peace for all time…
Let us never lose hope, friends.
Even when we make mistakes…
Even when we still have ignorance in our lives…
Even when we will grow and be different in a year from now…
We never need to lose hope just because we struggle and fall short…
God is only focused on who you will become—SERIOUSLY, how great is that!?
God knows the finished product of your life—trust no matter what. Keep going!!
And finally the author lifts up our need for each other:
“Provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, and encourage one another as the great Day of the Lord is approaching.”
This word “provoke” can also mean “pester.”
I’ve been hearing the question a lot these past several months and several days:
With all that’s happening in the world around us—in our communities, in our friendships, in our families, in our churches—what do we do?
How do we be Christians in this climate and culture?
How do we press on when we are so tired and overwhelmed?
This author says, "Pester each other to love and good deeds.”
Don’t be bashful…
Don’t be intimidating…
But urge, spur, pester, provoke each other to love and good deeds.
If you’re going to use your energy and gifts to impact the people around you, make it count for the way of healing and peace…
Make it count for God.
Make it count for the love of God and love of neighbor…ONLY…ALWAYS…EVERYWHERE…to EVERYONE.
As Wesley says,
“Do all the good you can, By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can, In all the places you can,
At all the times you can, To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”
THIS life of faith, hope, and love is our calling, friends.
THIS is how we live into fullness of life in Jesus.
THIS is how we find peace with God.
Make your life about building up, encouraging, doing good, and loving others.
Trust in God who is faithful to heal you and provide you with what you need.
Trust in Jesus’ body, the church, to be a part of this healing and provision.
Regularly come and gather with this body…
EVERY WEEK if you can; invest in relationship with God’s people
Encourage one another…
Leave the judgment and disagreement behind you
Pester one another…
Remind those who need reminding, that the new and living way has been opened for us to be with God in every moment…
That God is not keeping track of your errors or sin.
Through the new and living way, God is fixing our sights not on what we have been and done, but on what we will become and do…
So that we may no longer look back except to learn and grow…
That the Spirit may use every part of our lives to lead us forward…
Let us put our whole trust in the peace with God brought into the very depths of our hearts and souls and minds and strength we have in the New & Living Way…
All has been forgiven in Jesus Christ…who SITS next to God until that great day when he shall reign over all the earth and everyone and everything in it.
Do you trust in that day coming, friends?
Do you trust in the Peace with God found in the new & living way?
Then let us live every moment of our lives as testimony.
And we KNOW God will sanctify us and heal us and has already done everything necessary to guarantee our peace for all time…
Let us never lose hope, friends.
Even when we make mistakes…
Even when we still have ignorance in our lives…
Even when we will grow and be different in a year from now…
We never need to lose hope just because we struggle and fall short…
God is only focused on who you will become—SERIOUSLY, how great is that!?
God knows the finished product of your life—trust no matter what. Keep going!!
And finally the author lifts up our need for each other:
“Provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, and encourage one another as the great Day of the Lord is approaching.”
This word “provoke” can also mean “pester.”
I’ve been hearing the question a lot these past several months and several days:
With all that’s happening in the world around us—in our communities, in our friendships, in our families, in our churches—what do we do?
How do we be Christians in this climate and culture?
How do we press on when we are so tired and overwhelmed?
This author says, "Pester each other to love and good deeds.”
Don’t be bashful…
Don’t be intimidating…
But urge, spur, pester, provoke each other to love and good deeds.
If you’re going to use your energy and gifts to impact the people around you, make it count for the way of healing and peace…
Make it count for God.
Make it count for the love of God and love of neighbor…ONLY…ALWAYS…EVERYWHERE…to EVERYONE.
As Wesley says,
“Do all the good you can, By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can, In all the places you can,
At all the times you can, To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”
THIS life of faith, hope, and love is our calling, friends.
THIS is how we live into fullness of life in Jesus.
THIS is how we find peace with God.
Make your life about building up, encouraging, doing good, and loving others.
Trust in God who is faithful to heal you and provide you with what you need.
Trust in Jesus’ body, the church, to be a part of this healing and provision.
Regularly come and gather with this body…
EVERY WEEK if you can; invest in relationship with God’s people
Encourage one another…
Leave the judgment and disagreement behind you
Pester one another…
Remind those who need reminding, that the new and living way has been opened for us to be with God in every moment…
That God is not keeping track of your errors or sin.
Through the new and living way, God is fixing our sights not on what we have been and done, but on what we will become and do…
So that we may no longer look back except to learn and grow…
That the Spirit may use every part of our lives to lead us forward…
Let us put our whole trust in the peace with God brought into the very depths of our hearts and souls and minds and strength we have in the New & Living Way…
All has been forgiven in Jesus Christ…who SITS next to God until that great day when he shall reign over all the earth and everyone and everything in it.
Do you trust in that day coming, friends?
Do you trust in the Peace with God found in the new & living way?
Then let us live every moment of our lives as testimony.
In God we trust