Digging in Deeper: Hebrews 4:3-9

“For we who have believed enter the rest, in keeping with what he has said, ‘So I swore in my anger, “They will not enter my rest,”‘ even though his works have been finished since the foundation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in this way: ‘And on the seventh day God rested from all his works.’ Again, in that passage he says, ‘They will never enter my rest.’ Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news did not enter because of disobedience, he again specifies a certain day – today. He specified this speaking through David after such a long time: ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.’ For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. Therefore, a Sabbath rest remains for God’s people.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Let me state the obvious right out of the gate here: This is a much bigger block of text than I normally put at the beginning of a post. I had to do it like this. I’ve honestly been sitting with this text for over a week now, trying to find a way I could break it down into smaller sections without losing the argument entirely, and there’s just not a way I could have done it. Maybe you can think of one, and please share it if you do, but every part of this section is all feeding into where the author lands in v. 9. And that point was to completely reorient his audience’s understanding of Sabbath. His words here should probably change yours too. Let’s break this down together.

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One more thing…

So, when today’s message accidentally went out on Thursday, when it officially went live this morning, the normal alert email didn’t come…because it already went out. Here’s the link so you can get to the message this morning. Thanks for your faithful reading and sharing.

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This past Sunday was our Graduate Recognition Sunday. We had the privilege of highlighting the excellent work of 12 incredible students. What a treat it is to celebrate the hard work of bright young people as they prepare to move into the next phase of God’s big plan for them. This past Sunday was also the first Sunday of a new teaching series called, Generations. For the next few weeks, we’re going to be talking about whole generations of people each week and what they need to be doing that is unique to their generation to be an active part of the advance of the kingdom of God in their current place of life. This week, since it was Grad Sunday, we started with Generation Z. Tune in for this one and all the rest to find what your generation needs to hear about following Jesus well.

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“If only they understood!” I want you to think for just a second about the last time you thought something like that and what age you were when you thought it. If you have lived through multiple generations, I suspect you’ve thought it more than once and in more than one generation. And, no matter which generation you happened to be in when you thought it, you were absolutely convinced your frustration and exasperation were completely justified. But let me add one more challenge to this. If you’re from an older generation—let’s say older Generation X, Boomers, and Builders—it’s really tempting to look back at folks from a younger generation—perhaps your kids or grandkids—who are thinking this and laugh at them as silly because of course you understand them. You’ve been them. It’s you and your situation that they need to try to understand, not the other way around. 

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Digging in Deeper: Galatians 6:2

“Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

We are moving into the summer season and that means one thing more than any other: movies. Summer is the season for blockbusters. All the biggest, most fun, most exciting films seem to come out in the summer. The Top Gun sequel started things off this past weekend to great acclaim. The third installment in the Jurassic World franchise (which is really just a continuation of the Jurassic Park franchise) is next week. The fourth addition to Marvel’s Thor storyline is next month. Lots and lots to see. Perhaps the only thing you can’t see during the summer anymore are big budget original stories. That’s a criticism for another time. In addition to all of this, though, with the rise of digital streaming, the small screen is being treated to more and more must-see fare as well. Disney+ has just started its Obi-Wan series and will premier its Ms. Marvel series next week. But what is perhaps the summer’s number one show to stream is Netflix’s fourth season of Stranger Things. With Part 1 out now (which I haven’t quite watched in its totality), and Part 2 coming in July, let’s take a few minutes today and reflect on a powerful theme that has already made itself clear in the series.

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Oops!

Remember that time you forgot to set the right date on your post before you finished working on it so that it published and went live instead of merely being scheduled? I sure do. Ignore that last email update. It’ll come back around on Monday like usual. Now you just have a sneak peak of coming attractions!