October
6 Sermon – “It’s a Privilege to be Here!”
Hebrews
10:19-25
The author of the Letter of Hebrews wants us to see that Jesus Christ
is the fulfillment of the Jewish expectation of a coming High Priest who will
save us from our sins. In our passage for today, the author highlights the
importance of gathering on a regular basis for worship and encouragement.
Verse
22 is what we are invited to do based on everything that has been shared to
this point in the Letter of Hebrews – worship! “Drawing near” is another way of
saying, “come to worship!”
How
should we come to worship?
1) True
Heart – This reminds us of Jeremiah
31:33.
2)
Complete assurance of faith – We don’t have to come up with faith. It’s
provided for us through Jesus Christ and what he has done for us through his
life, death, and resurrection.
3) Hearts
sprinkled clean – This means forgiveness!
4)
Bodies washed in pure water – A reference to baptism and how we have been
initiated into God’s new covenant community in Christ.
Verse
25 – There is no such thing as “solo Christianity.” We need each other. Worship
has a communal dimension.
Luke
19:45-48
In our Gospel reading, Luke tells us of the time when Jesus cleansed
the Temple from the corrupt money changers. The Temple was the central place of
worship for the Jewish people. Jesus' actions show how important our gathering
for worship is to God.
Jesus
was not only reacting to the corrupt money changers of the Temple. He was also
making a symbolic protest against the ideology that the Temple had come to
represent which was a nationalistic belief that the people of Israel were more
special than anyone else. They had forgotten that they were to be a light to
the world and not unto themselves.
When
Jesus entered into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, he was fulfilling Isaiah’s
prophecy that God would one day enter the holy city and bring salvation. Jesus
embodied this prophecy. This text helps us to understand that Jesus was the
embodiment of God.
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