Jesus Is Better Than

In one paragraph

This message was a review of the first ten chapters of Hebrews, walking through the book's argument that Jesus is better than every old covenant figure and sacrifice. The pastor covered the warnings woven through those chapters alongside the encouragements, and then closed with the short but pointed confirmation passage in Hebrews 10:32-39. The aim throughout was to press the question: have you...

Read together

1. Psalm 92:1-2 sung as an opening worship response, 'It is good to give thanks to the Lord'
2. Hebrews 1:1-4 quoted as the exordium and thesis of the whole book, establishing Christ's preeminence
3. Hebrews 2:1-3 first warning passage, 'we must pay closer attention... how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation'
4. Hebrews 3:7-11 warning from the Holy Spirit through David, 'Today if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts'
5. Hebrews 5:11 warning that the hearers had become dull of hearing
6. Hebrews 6:4-6 strong warning about those who were once enlightened and have fallen away
7. Hebrews 10:26 strongest warning, 'if we go on sinning willfully there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins'
8. Hebrews 10:28-29 warning about trampling underfoot the Son of God and regarding as unclean the blood of the covenant
9. Hebrews 10:30 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay... the Lord will judge His people'
10. Hebrews 10:32-39 the main passage of the sermon, the encouraging confirmation to remember former days and not shrink back
11. Hebrews 11:1 quoted as the opening of next week's hall of faith passage, 'faith is the assurance of things hoped for'
12. Ephesians 2:8-10 quoted to show salvation is by grace through faith, and believers are created for good works
13. Habakkuk 2:3-4 cited as the source of 'my righteous one shall live by faith' and the vision that will not delay
14. 1 Peter 5:10 used as the closing benediction, 'the God of all grace... perfect and establish and strengthen and settle you'

Talk about it

1. The pastor used the image of copying an answer off someone else's paper to describe a person who calls Jesus the answer without having carefully considered him for themselves. What does it actually look like to carefully and decisively consider Jesus rather than just going along with what others around you believe?
2. The writer of Hebrews tells his readers to remember the former days when they first came to the light and then endured suffering for it. Can you think of a time when the cost of following Christ was real for you, and what did it do to your faith?
3. The pastor pointed out that the early Christians joyfully accepted the seizure of their property because they knew they had a better and lasting possession. What would it take for someone today to hold their possessions that loosely, and what would that say about what they actually believe?
4. The sermon drew a connection between Ephesians 2:8-10 and the phrase 'so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what was promised,' suggesting that God keeps us here until our work for the kingdom is complete. How does that idea sit with you, and does it change the way you think about your daily life?
5. Hebrews closes its warning sections with 'we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.' In your own life right now, where are you most tempted to shrink back, and what does the encouragement of this book say to that?