Grace Be With You All

This message was the closing sermon in the church's walk through Hebrews, covering the final eight verses of the letter. Pastor Ray preached it on an unusual Sunday, with most of the congregation watching from home due to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. He traced three movements in the passage: an earnest plea for prayer, a magnificent Christ-centered blessing, and a brief personal sign-off from the writer.

What was said

Pastor Ray started with the single word that opens the plea: "pray." He slowed down to give the Greek word its full weight, pointing out that it literally means to interact with the Lord by exchanging your own wishes and ideas for His. That is not a passive or formal act. It is continuous communication aimed at replacing human thinking with God's. He noted that the same congregation being told to obey its leaders was also being told to pray for them, and that the two commands are closely linked.

The writers of Hebrews then ask for prayer on their own behalf, saying they are persuaded they have a good conscience and desire to conduct themselves honorably in all things. Pastor Ray read "honorably" from the Greek and pointed out that the underlying idea is something winsomely attractive, not merely rule-following. He connected that directly to the church's own situation, wanting to handle a difficult week in a way that did not bring unnecessary criticism and that remained genuinely helpful to people on every side.

The specific thing the writers wanted prayer for was reunion. They wanted to be restored to the people they were writing to, and they asked the congregation to pray that it would happen sooner. Pastor Ray noted how naturally that request mapped onto the congregation's own moment, with most people scattered in homes and hoping to be together again soon.

The blessing at the center of the closing paragraph is what Pastor Ray called the magnificent blessing, one of the finest benedictions in the New Testament. He walked through six dictionary definitions of the Greek word for peace, from peace of mind to national tranquility to the Messiah's shalom, landing on the one he found most fitting: the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is. He tied that definition directly to the name God is given in the blessing, the God of peace.

The blessing then describes who this God is. He is the one who brought up from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the eternal covenant. Pastor Ray pointed out that this is precisely what the entire letter has been arguing, that Jesus is better, that the new covenant surpasses the old, and that the blood of bulls and goats never satisfied what Jesus' blood accomplished permanently. The blessing then asks that this God equip believers in every good thing to do His will, working in them what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ.

Pastor Ray spent time on the phrase "to whom be the glory forever and ever," turning the preposition several ways. To Jesus the glory, for Jesus the glory, in Jesus the glory, by Jesus the glory, with Jesus the glory. He wanted the congregation to feel the weight of it rather than let it slide past as a familiar closing formula. He said that any glory any believer will ever experience will be in union with Christ, not on their own merits.

The sermon closed with a note on who wrote Hebrews. Pastor Ray said he believes it was Priscilla, likely together with Aquila, pointing to the plural voice in the letter, the mention of Timothy's release, and the pattern of Priscilla's name appearing first in five of the seven New Testament references to the couple. He held the view with some openness, citing the old line that only God knows for certain who wrote it. The final word of the letter is grace, and he ended there: grace as God leaning toward people with unmerited favor, through the blood of the eternal covenant, offered to everyone.