As we remember all that Jesus has done to bring us close, we are asked to think about how we respond in faith and life.

Worship this week:

Saturday – 5:00 p.m.  in the chapel

Sunday – 8:30 a.m. Traditional Worship

7:00 p.m. – Contemporary Worship on the church lawn!  (NOTE SPECIAL TIME AND PLACE!)

Earthly and Heavenly Sanctuaries       Hebrews 9:1-14   August 29-30, 2015

How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to worship the living God! Hebrews 9:14

In days of old, tents served as places of worship. There worshipers offered up animals’ blood as sacrifices for the purification of flesh. In God’s heavenly sanctuary, Jesus’ blood has been offered once for all, for the purification of the spirit.  Now in response we are encouraged to hold fast, meet together, love and serve!

Read: Read the following daily readings to deepen your understanding of Sunday’s text. After the reading, ask the follow-up questions.

Sunday, Hebrews 9:1-14, 10: 23-25   Earthly and Heavenly Sanctuaries

Monday, Hebrews 11:17-22, The Faith of Abraham

Tuesday, Hebrews 11:23-28, The Faith of Moses

Wednesday, Hebrews 11:29-40, The Faith of Others

Thursday, Hebrews 12:1-6, The Example of Jesus

Friday, Hebrews 12:7-13, The Example of Jesus

Saturday, Hebrews 12:14-17, Warnings against Rejecting God’s Grace

• How did the people mentioned in these readings express their faith?
• What do you think God’s heavenly sanctuary will be like? What do you want it to be like?
• Where do you find sanctuary?

Do: By acting on what we learn, we make God’s word come alive. Do the following activity this week.

Take time to spend in your sanctuary this week. Spend the time in your sanctuary getting to know yourself or speaking with God.

Bless: Close your devotion with a blessing.

May God bless you in the earthly and heavenly sanctuaries. Amen.

No matter what we’ve done, endured or face around us and ahead of us, we are assured that Jesus stands ready to listen, intercede and forgive.  There is nothing we can face that he has not already faced for us and with us.  This gives us the amazing privilege to approach our days with confidence and faith in all situations.

Worship this week:

Saturday – 5:00 p.m.  in the chapel

Sunday – 8:30 a.m. Traditional Worship

10:00 a.m. Contemporary Worship

Devotions for this week:

Jesus the Great High Priest     Hebrews 4:14 – 5:10        August 22-23, 2015

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15

Jesus, the Great High Priest, was called by God to perform the duties of a high priest for all the world. These duties included blessing the people. Jesus is accessible and understands the human plight because he became human and lived through the temptations and trials of humanity.

Read – Sunday, Hebrews 4:14 – 5:10, Jesus the Great High Priest

Monday, Hebrews 9:15-22, Mediator of a New Covenant

Tuesday, Hebrews 9:23-28, Christ’s Sacrifice

Wednesday, Hebrews 10:1-18, Christ’s Sacrifice

Thursday, Hebrews 10:19-25, Call to Perseverance

Friday, Hebrews 10:26-31, Call to Perseverance

Saturday, Hebrews 10:32-39, Call to Perseverance

• What does it mean that Jesus is the Great High Priest? What other images can you think of for Jesus that speak to you?
• Where do you see Christianity persevere in your community? How does your expression of Christianity look the same as it did at the time of Jesus? How does it look different?
• Do you think there is a limit to how much suffering people can endure? What is your limit?

Do: Consider how you have struggled to persevere as a Christian in your community. Have you struggled to share your faith with others? To live by the values your faith professes? To make sense of the differing faiths of others you are close to? Be intentional this week to work at perseverance in the area you struggle with the most.

Bless: May Jesus, the Great High Priest, bless you each and every day. Amen.

Each and every human life will at some point encounter hardship, testing, and suffering.  The scripture this week assures us that Jesus became one of us so that he knows what we feel, and can bring redemption and hope.

Worship with Holy Communion this week (with all services in the air-conditioned fellowship hall):

Saturday – 5:00 p.m.  (modified traditional worship)

Sunday – 8:30 a.m. Traditional Worship

10:00 a.m. Contemporary worship

Devotions for this week:

Praise for those being tested           Hebrews 2:10-18   August 16-17, 2015

Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people.
Hebrews 2:17

Jesus became flesh and blood to atone for humanity’s sin. By doing so, Jesus freed all people from sin and death. Ultimately, sin and death do not prevail, and we are freed from suffering.

Read – Sunday, Hebrews 2:10-18, Praise for Those Being Tested

Monday, Hebrews 5:11-14, Warning against Falling Away

Tuesday, Hebrews 6:1-12, Peril of Falling Away

Wednesday, Hebrews 6:13-20, God’s Certain Promise

Thursday, Hebrews 7:1-10, The Priestly Order of Mechizedek

Friday, Hebrews 7:11-28, A Priest Like Melchizedek

Saturday, Hebrews 8:1-13, Mediator of a Better Covenant

• How did Jesus’ testing make him better able to relate to humanity?
• Why do you think there is suffering in the world?
• Do you believe God tests people? How do you view suffering in your own life? How does suffering shape your life?

Do: By acting on what we learn, we make God’s word come alive. Do the following activity this week.

Check your local news, social media, or your congregation to find people who may be experiencing suffering due to illness, grief, loss, or some other reason. Determine their need, whether emotional support, financial support, a meal, or something else. Provide for that need.

Bless: May God deliver you from suffering today and every day. Amen.

We welcome Tim and Cathy Woller to worship this weekend as we share in the mission of SABA International, working  to support education, nutrition, and shelter for underprivileged youth and their communities in East Africa.  SABA is our special benevolence emphasis for the month of August.

¹ Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, ² but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds.

                                                                Hebrews 1:1-2

During the rest of August we will be turning to the book of Hebrews for our Sunday messages. It begins with those verses at the top of the page which echo the message that it is Jesus who is our source and our life. We belong to the one who is greater than all those things which would rob us of joy and faith.  Do we continue to listen to the one who brings life and hope?

As we follow the message of Hebrews we will see how, even then, the message met opposition, and the congregation began to lose its purpose and enthusiasm, but God is by no means done acting in our world and in our congregation. The question for all of us, old and young, is will we step up and claim that strength for today and tomorrow, or will we sit back and watch while God finds a way to call someone else? Either way, the kingdom will go on! But don’t you want to be a part of this great cloud of witnesses that even now is going out to bless, heal, love, forgive, serve and bring joy to this world in Jesus name?

Worship this week:

Saturday at 5:00 p.m. in the chapel

Sunday – 8:30 a.m. Traditional Worship

7:00 p.m. Worship on the lawn    (No 10:00 a.m. worship this week)

Devotions for the week:

God Has spoken             Hebrews 1:1-4                                    August 8-9, 2015

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. Hebrews 1:1-2

 Just as God’s voice was heard throughout the stories of the Old Testament, so God’s voice can be heard through Christ’s words and actions, and even today through the words and actions of others that reflect Christ, as an imprint reflects its original.

Read:

Sunday, Hebrews 1:1-4, God Has Spoken

Monday, Hebrews 1:5-14, The Son Superior to Angels

Tuesday, Hebrews 2:1-4, Warning to Pay Attention

Wednesday, Hebrews 2:5-9, Jesus a Little Lower than Angels

Thursday, Hebrews 3:1-6, Moses and Christ

Friday, Matthew 3:7-19, Warning against Unbelief

Saturday, Hebrews 4:1-13, God’s Promised Rest

• Where does Jesus fit into the story of God and God’s story? How does Jesus compare with God’s angels?
• Do you think Jesus still speaks to the world today? Where do you see evidence of Jesus’s voice in your community?
• How is your life a reflection of Jesus’ life? Where could you make changes so that your life reflects your values?

Do: By acting on what we learn, we make God’s word come alive. Do the following activity this week.

Get a small diary or journal to carry with you throughout the week. Make a note of every time you hear Jesus’ voice speaking through other people, music, news, worship, and more.

Bless: May God’s voice speak to you each and every day. Amen.