Hello all:
I have the privilege of preaching occasionally at Forest Community Church in Forest, VA, and about one year ago (in April 2022) I began a series on Hebrews entitled: Fix Your Eyes on Jesus. I decided to post the links to the videos for these sermons in case their are those who may be interested in watching these sermons. This first sermon is entitled "The Final Word" and covers Hebrews 1:1-4 (with some background notes). The sermon begins around the 15 minute mark on the video, and you can use this link to watch it: The Final Word.
Here is a brief outline of the sermon if you would like some of the notes.
Introduction:
No book in the Bible focus our attention upon the deity and
high priestly work of Jesus Christ like the book of Hebrews. Preached/written
to an audience that was considering walking away from Jesus to return to a
former way of life (Judaism), the book of Hebrews appears to be a sermon
encouraging its hearers to fix their eyes on Jesus to the exclusion of ANY
OTHER means of salvation or security. When facing a crisis (spiritual,
physical, political, etc.), fix your eyes on Jesus. When tempted to sin, fix
your eyes on Jesus. When you want to quit, fix your eyes on Jesus. When
discouragement or problems come to you, fix your eyes on Jesus. The main point
of Hebrews appears to be: Fix your eyes on Jesus.
Point 1) God’s final Word is God’s Full Disclosure (vv. 1-2a): Past and Present Communication
God’s revelation to his people through the prophets is finalized by his revelation through the Son. (vv. 1–2a).
Point 2) God’s final Word is a Full Representation of God’s plan for
humanity (vv. 2b-4): a) Fully Human—Second Adam, b) Fully God—creator of the universe, c) Fully in Charge—seated at God’s right hand, d) Fully Exalted
The Son in his exalted place at God’s right hand perfectly
represents the essence, character, and action of God. (vv. 2b–4).
"If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and
believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for
with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the
mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation" (Romans 10:9-10).
Conclusion:
A. The author clearly wants his readers to understand
certain truths about God and Messiah as the foundation of his sermon. So we must
seek to understand theological truth so we can then live appropriately.
B. The central force of the prologue is that "God spoke."
This requires much of us. We must first acknowledge that God has spoken, then
we must incline our hearts to hear what he has said and learn from him,
recognizing that by virtue of his being God that he has a claim on everything
that we are.
C. The affirmation about God speaking is that is has
occurred through his Son. The truth is as commonly said as it is right: Jesus,
God’s Son, must be at the center of all we do. He must receive our complete
devotion and worship as God’s final revelation.
D. The mention of angels points out competitors for our
attention. In our religious thinking we do not usually exalt angels, but there
are many other things which compete for center stage. The only one who should
hold that place is Jesus himself. Passages: Psalm 15; Psalm 18; Isaiah 55; John
1:1-18; Colossians 1.
Thanks for reading!
