Sep. 21, 2025

Background:

• The writer of the Book of Hebrews is unknown
• Some Jews have converted to Christianity and others are trying to incorporate Jewish practices
• There are times when we feel persecuted because we follow the Lord Jesus
• The Jewish Christians were vacillating between staying with Christ or going back to old Jewish practices
• But there is a New Covenant through Jesus Christ
• The Jewish Christians were taught about Christ, but what was going on in the culture became such a burden
• The writer of Hebrews wanted to encourage Christians to remember their leaders, who taught the Word

Key Sermon Points:

1. Remember your leaders who modeled faith in Christ

• Remember how God has used our leaders to pour into our lives
• Remember how they have helped to transform our lives
• They taught the Word
• Their lives were sermons in and of themselves
• There were models for us
• Sometimes we need a model to imitate (Phil 3:17; 1 Thessalonian 1:6; 1 Corinthians 11:1; 2 Timothy 3:11)
• We are inundated with a lot of things where we can't even tell what's true
• We must imitate our leaders as they follow Christ
• As we remember those leaders and mentors, it leads us to how to walk through life
• We are not better than others, but we walk with Jesus and become a model for others as part of our mission field

2. Rely on the immutability of Christ who never changes

• We must rely on an unchanging Christ
• Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow
• When things change, it doesn't mean that we change
• How to deal with the things that change? Study the Word of God
• God consists of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
• Christ is the Sacrifice, the unchanged Liberator
• That same Christ is working for us today
• Christ is still in charge and still in control no matter what is going on around us...evil will not prevail...maybe Christ is just trying to show us something
• Christ is the same: loving, compassionate, a Redeemer, kind, Healer, Deliverer, Way Maker, Faithful!
• Time changes, mankind changes, kingdoms crumble, but Christ remains the same
• The Christ of Galilee is the same Christ of Coatesville, Parkesburg, and this country
• He is a Stabilizer...He has a way of fixing things and leveling things out to run smoother
• He walks with us

3. Rest on God's grace to strengthen your heart instead of rules and rituals

• Do not get caught up with rules and rituals
• Christ paid the price for everything
• We are established by grace
• Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship
• God reached down to reach man by grace
• There will be times of doubt when the heart is vulnerable
• We need to know the Word of God because there are a lot of strange teachings/doctrines
• The only thing that we need to be saved is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (not rituals or rules)
• It is the grace of God that we need to fill us with strength and to overcome and endure
• Its grace that will give us the strength to endure...it reminds us of God's power
• Be careful what we stick our minds to and what we look at (e.g. David in 2 Samuel 10)...David made a decision that led to bad things in his life
• We must guard our hearts
• What anchors us when everything else has shifted?
• Our grace rooted in Christ will anchor us and give us real stability
• Grace is our strength (Hebrews 4:15)
• The heart is a idol-maker and deceitful, so we must be real careful
• We need grace
• Christian nationalism is a form of idolatry: Christianity mixed with something else
• It elevates the nation above the kingdom of God
• It distorts the Gospel
• Racism comes from it too (looking at others differently)
• Idolatry puts things before Christ
• We only need faith in Christ!
• Christ is Lord over all nations and doesn't belong to one nation
• Christ's kingdom includes all races (multi-racial)
• Rituals can't change the heart, but grace in Christ gives us strength to endure
• We need to make sure that we belong to the Body of Christ
• There is a war going on to capture our hearts and minds
• We must get into the Word of God (Ephesians 4)
• The Church is multi-ethnic, multi-national, and multi-global