Anchor Verses: Hebrews 10:19-25, Ephesians 4:32
Focus: “Nourish your soul in silence. Savor the fruit in fellowship.”
- Introduction: Lettuce/Let-us/We Should
- Book of Hebrews
- Written around the 60s A.D.
- Persecution was rising
- Christians were losing faith amid trials
- “Let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him.”
- Sincere hearts—Luke 7:36-50
- A sincere heart comes from being desperate for Jesus
- A sincere heart comes from wanting to know the truth
- A sincere heart comes from when we see the depth of our sin
- Fully trusting Him
- Four different times Jesus asks, “Why do you doubt?”
- Jesus questions the disciples’ fear and doubt during the storm on the sea—Matthew 8:26 (ESV) – “And he said to them, ‘Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?’ Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.”
- Jesus asks Peter why he doubted when walking on water—Matthew 14:31 (ESV) – “Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’”
- Jesus rebukes the disciples for doubting His ability to provide—Matthew 16:8 (ESV) – “But Jesus, aware of this, said, ‘O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread?’”
- Jesus appears to His disciples after His resurrection and questions their doubt—Luke 24:38 (ESV) – “And he said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?’”
- “Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm—”
- Hold tightly to hope
- Read Exodus. Don’t do what the Israelites did.
- We affirm
- Titus 1:15-16
- James 1:22
- Matthew 7:21
- “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.”
- Motivate one another
- Acts of love and good works
- Living Water—John 4:7-14
- Cultural Christianity’s Approach
- It teaches people to rely on secondhand faith—show up, listen, do the right things, and serve.
- It often produces surface-level belief, rather than deep-rooted discipleship.
- Jesus’ Approach
- The woman’s testimony sparked curiosity, but personal encounter sealed their faith.
- She didn’t just believe because of what she said—they experienced Jesus for themselves.
- This is how real discipleship works—we share from our own overflow, but true faith comes from each person encountering Jesus personally.
- Lesson: We can’t manufacture faith—we can only invite others to experience Jesus for themselves.
- But God’s design for us is a garden, not a factory.
- “And let us not neglect our meeting together…
- Not neglect meeting together
- Waving to people in the parking garage is not meeting together
- Setting close at church is not meeting together