Hebrews: Sermon, Bible Class and Small Group Resource

March 4, 2009

In the Fall of 2002, Rubel Shelly and John York preached through Hebrews at the Woodmont Hills Family of God in Nashville, Tennessee. They entitled their series “Strength for the Journey.”  At the same time I provided resource teaching material for the Bible classses and some small groups used that material as well. 

Rubel’s sermons are available here and John’s are available here.  Rubel and John identified the text and provided a summary of their homiletic point.  I then constructed a teaching resource based on their chosen text and summary. So, I followed their division of the text into chucks. 

Each lesson was divided into (1) Teaching Materials and (2) Teaching Options.  Under the teaching materials, I provided (a) exegetical notes and (b) pointed out what I thought was the theological substance of the passage.

I have uploaded the 106 pages of single space material to my Classes page.  I hope they are helpful to some.

Outline of Lessons 

  1. Outline of Hebrews
  2. Introducing Hebrews
  3. God Must Really Love Us (Hebrews 1:1-4)
  4. Fascinated by Angels (Hebrews 1:5-2:18)
  5. In Awe of Moses (Hebrews 3:1-19)
  6. Awed by Joshua (Hebrews 4:1-13)
  7. Our Compassionate High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-5:10)
  8. We are At Risk! (Hebrews 5:11-6:20)
  9. Jesus: Eternal High Priest of the Melchizedekan Order (Hebrews 7:1-28)
  10. Looking to Jesus: A Better Covenant (Hebrews 8:1-13)
  11. Looking to Jesus: Ministry in the Heavenly Tabernacle (Hebrews 9:1-10)
  12. Looking to Jesus: The Perfect Sacrifice, Part I (Hebrews 9:11-28)
  13. Looking to Jesus: The Perfect Sacrifice, Part II (Hebrews 10:1-18)
  14. So? (Hebrews 10:19-39)
  15. Take Heart From Others’ Stories (Hebrews 11:1-40)
  16. Eyes on Jesus! (Hebrews 12:1-13)
  17. Why Even Think of Turning Back? (Hebrews 12:14-29)
  18. A Final “Word of Exhortation” (Hebrews 13:1-25)

 

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Posted by John Mark Hicks

Grace, Assurance and Fellowship: New Items Posted

February 24, 2009

My quest continues as I post older materials to my website, some published, some previously unpublished.

1.  On October 8-9, 1993, I led a Men’s Leadership Retreat at Camp Idlewild, Virginia on the topic “Where’s the Grace?”  (It is not my fault, Bob Clark invited me!) I have uploaded the lesson handouts and my rough lecture notes (60+ pages) on my General page. The retreat was structured in six sessions.  This was a very early piece of work and while I would still agree with the substance, I would tweak several things and restructure a few (e.g., no recognition of the “new perspective on Paul” here, insufficient stress on eschatology, too forensic with justification, etc.).  However, it does represent my thinking in 1993.  :-)  

  • Grace: A New Topic Among Us?  Topic:  Grace and Churches of Christ
  • The Way of Salvation  Topic:  Unity of the Covenants
  • Grace is Free!  Topic:  Justification
  • Grace is not Cheap!  Topic:  Sanctification
  • How Can I Be Sure?  Topic:  Assurance
  • How Much Will Grace Cover?  Topic:  Fellowship

2.  I have uploaded a piece which I presented on several occasions and have sometimes discussed in the classroom.  I have never published it. I am not quite sure when I actually wrote it but it was sometime in the mid-1990s.  It is entitled “The Implications of Hebrews 5:11-6:3 for Fellowship and Assurance”.  Building on the foundation of the ABCs of the teaching of Christ in Hebrews 6:1-3, we are encouraged to progress to maturity.  However, our progress is often flawed, many times regressive, and never what it should be.  For the preacher of Hebrews, however, regression, immaturity and even spiritual lethargy is not apostasy. Rather, apostasy is unbelief, an evil and hard heart of rebellion.

3. I have uploaded a piece I wrote for the Harding University Lectureship book Ephesians in 1994 entitled “Saved by Grace (Ephesians 2:8-10)”. The article offers a textual and theological analysis of Ephesians 2:8-10 in the context of the early 1990s debate within Churches of Christ on the topic of grace (including Rubel Shelly’s (in)famous “arbeit macht frei” bulletin article).

4. Also, somewhat hesitantly, I offer my lecture notes on Jimmy Jividen’s Koinonia: A Contemporary Study of Church Fellowship.  I presened this material in Jividen’s presence and he commented that he thought I had a good grasp on his book and was fair with it. This lecture was given in 1989 and consequently it is quite dated.  But it reflects my understanding at the time….I think.  It is hard to remember now.  :-)

I offer these “classics” from the 1990s realizing that if everyone had just listened to me back then, we could have solved this thing and moved on. :-)

5 Comments | Biblical Texts, Stone-Campbell, Theology | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks

Witnesses in the Presence of God

July 18, 2005

The sermon the church has called “Hebrews” is addressed to a struggling community of believers. Some have already given up the habit of assembling with the community, some are on drifting out of the community, some are regressing and others are discouraged. The preacher speaks a word of encouragement.

The sermon assumes an assembled group of believers. Its language envisions the assembly “drawing near” to God, or approaching his throne, or entering into his presence in the context of this assembly (cf. Hebrews 4:16; 7:25; 10:22). Believers enter the presence of God as a gathered people. Certainly this is not the only time they enter that presence–we can “draw near” to God anywhere, anytime–but the assembled church is a moment of such entry through the curtain into the Holy of Holies.

To encourage his struggling church, the preacher reminds them that there are many “witnesses” to the power of faith as past believers persevered through diverse trials (Hebrews 11:39; 12:1). The “roll call” of faith encourages present believers to persevere.

The climax of the homily takes his audience back to the “day of assembly” (Deut. 9:10; 10:4) at Mt. Sinai when Israel entered into covenant with God. There, at Mt. Sinai, Israel approached the divine presence in fear and awe. But the church, when it gathers–when it assembles, comes to a different mountain.

The church draws near (comes to) Mount Zion, the dwelling place of God. They come to the heavenly Jerusalem. They come to the festive assembly of angels. They come to the throne of God and to the one who sits at the right hand of God, Jesus. They come to the church of the first born ones whose names are written in heaven, that is, they come to the universal church gathered in the throne room of God. When the church gathers, it gathers in the presence of God, Jesus, the universal church and the heavenly host.

And….the church comes to (draws near) “to the spirits of righteous people made perfect.” Who are these people? I don’t think they are the angelic host since the word “righteous” is used by the preacher to describe human beings in Hebrews. I don’t think they are resurrected (embodied) human beings since he refers to them as “spirits” (just like he does disembodied angelic beings in 1:14).

I believe he is referring to the “witnesses” –the righteous who are now perfected in the presence of God– of Hebrews 11: Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Rahab. Moreover, we could add the NT “witnesses” to that list: Peter, Paul, James, Lydia, Phoebe. And, we can add those whom we have known and loved, including my father, my wife, my son.

When the church gathers in the presence of God around the throne of God, we join not only the angelic host in the praise of God but we also join the “witnesses.” We gather around the throne with our deceased loved ones. Together we praise God–the living and the dead (who nevertheless live). We gather around the same throne.

I feel most connected with my son, for example, when I am present with the saints as an assembly of worship. I stand with the saints on the earth to join the saints around the throne. Together–my son and I, along with all the rest–worship the one who sits on the throne and the Lamb. I sense his presence through my presence in the throne room of God. I visualize him sitting with me, eating with me at the table, and singing with me.

I don’t regularly visit the “resting place” of my son, my wife or father. That is helpful for many people and I certainly would not want to any way denigrate the comfort that many draw from such visitations. But I conceive of worship with the assembled saints as that time when I most feel the presence of my beloved ones. I imagine –an imagination given power, reality and spiritual fervor by this text in Hebrews 12– myself surrounded by the “witnesses” from my own family.

I don’t want to miss the assembly of the saints because the assembled saints include Joshua, Sheila and my dad. It is where I “visit” them as the Spirit of God lifts me into the throne room of God where they are “before the throne” and through worship I am there with them.

5 Comments | Biblical Texts, Theology | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks

"Perfected Through Suffering"

May 31, 2005

I have neglected my blogging for several days. I am in the midst of continuing an online conversation with two of my summer classes, and this keeps me busy (along with everything else that life brings me on a day to day basis). Nevertheless, I promised a note on some ideas that Rubel Shelly and I kicked around in the month of May during a Wednesday evening series. I will, of course, be responsible for these musings and they do not necessarily represent my friend Rubel, though he has been a partner over many years in thinking about these things with me (beginning with his classes at Freed-Hardeman in the 1970s).

“Perfected through Suffering” takes its cue from homily addressed “to the Hebrews”. Specifically, Hebrews 2:10, 5:8-10, and 12:2-3.

This could be understood in a couple of ways. For example, a primary meaning might be something of the value of suffering as a refining fire in our lives, or a maturing of our faith. Our faith is “perfected” (made whole, complete) through suffering. This would be consistent with a kind of “soul-making” theodicy (such as that made famous by John Hick). Suffering shapes us, and has the potential to shape us into better people.

However, I think if we simply abstract “perfection” in terms of “character development” or “spiritual maturation” we will miss the more fundamental point. If the only function of suffering is to make us better people or that is the primary role suffering has in the lives of God’s people, then I want to protest. Can we not be matured in ways other than suffering? Cannot our character developed in more positive ways? Is suffering necessary for our perfection? I don’t think so–at least not as originally conceived by God in the Garden. Shalom without suffering; conformation into the image of God without death–that was the experience of the Garden.

I think we have to go a bit deeper here. Certainly, suffering does have the fucntion of “perfecting” or “maturing” us. God does use it to bear the fruit of righteousness in our lives (Hebrews 12:11). But there is more and if we stay here, I think we will miss the real point.

“Perfected through suffering” is explicitly Christological. It is directly connected with the fact that Jesus is the “author” (pioneer, pathfinder, frontrunner, path-maker) of our salvation and “perfector” of our faith. He has run the course ahead of us, and has plowed the ground of our own faith.

Christologically, the Logos follows us into suffering. We created the suffering; we created this world. But the Son becomes one of us to share our suffering to experience it alongside of us. Jesus took on an Adamic (fallen) body in order to join us in our suffering. He embraces the suffering for our sakes in order to overcome it, defeat it and liberate us. We fell and he became fallen. We brought death and he followed us into the tomb. He pursued us into the grave, even the death on the cross.

But Jesus suffered and death in order to create a path out of the suffering. He followed us into the suffering in order to lead us out of it. He suffered so that he might bring others to glory. He leads captivity captive, and shows us the way (by plowing the ground ahead of us, by being our pathfinder, by pioneering the trail) to glory. He is perfected through suffering so that he might perfect us.

Here is the basic Christological root. Just as Jesus shared our suffering, so our suffering is sharing Jesus’ suffering. We suffer with him just as he suffered with us. Our ministry (discipleship) is a sharing of the affliction of Jesus. We know the fellowhsip of his suffering. But we will also share his glory just as he shared our suffering as we also know the power of his resurrection (not just in the future, but even in the presnt).

To think about “perfected through suffering,” then, is not simply to think about how we are made “better people” through suffering. Rather, it also to think Christologically–to view our own suffering as sharing the suffering of Christ who suffered with us and for us. It is to see with “Jesus’ eyes” the path of suffering as a way to glory. We follow Jesus who has pioneered a path to glory for us and he invites us experience the glory through suffering just as he did.

More tomorrow….on the eschatological (both present and future) dimensions of “perfection through suffering.”

2 Comments | Biblical Texts, Theology | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks

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