Let Brotherly Love Continue

In one paragraph

Pastor Ray closed out First B's long journey through Hebrews by walking through the opening eight verses of the final chapter. After more than seven years of working through the New Testament books in order, the congregation arrived at what he called the practical advice section, the place where the deep theology of Hebrews comes down to street level. The message kept returning to a simple...

Read together

1. Hebrews 13:1 Let brotherly love continue, the opening command of the practical advice section
2. Hebrews 13:2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it
3. Hebrews 13:3 Remember the prisoners as though you were there with them, and those who are ill treated
4. Hebrews 13:4 Marriage to be held in honor among all and the bed undefiled, fornicators and adulterers God will judge
5. Hebrews 13:5 Make sure your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have
6. Hebrews 13:5 For he himself has said, I will never desert you nor will I ever forsake you
7. Hebrews 13:6 So that we can confidently say, the Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid, what will man do to me
8. Hebrews 13:7 Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you, and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith
9. Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever
10. Romans 12:13 Cited as lifting hospitality as a Christian virtue
11. 1 Peter 4 Cited alongside Romans 12:13 as affirming hospitality as a Christian virtue
12. Matthew 25 Cited as affirming hospitality as a Christian virtue
13. Psalm 119 Pastor Don Boyles quoted this to the preacher as an encouragement when he was heading to the mission field

Talk about it

1. Pastor Ray described the command to show hospitality to strangers as always being a Christian virtue, and he shared a story about picking up hitchhikers in the cold. When have you had a chance to show hospitality to someone you did not know, and what made it easy or hard to follow through?
2. The writer of Hebrews told people who had lost property and faced imprisonment to remember those suffering just as though they were there with them. Who in your own life right now might be in a situation like that, and what would it look like practically to remember them that way?
3. Pastor Ray drew a parallel between the persecution the original readers faced and the pressure middle schoolers and high schoolers feel today. Do you think that parallel holds up? What pressures do you see younger people in your life carrying that the rest of the body of Christ tends to overlook?
4. The sermon pointed to the command to be content with what you have, noting that the writer of Hebrews was saying this to people who had already lost their homes. What is the difference, in your own experience, between being content and simply giving up, and how does the promise that God will never desert or forsake us actually change the way contentment feels?
5. Pastor Ray talked about how Don Boyles led him faithfully for years in a small town, and how that shaped his own ministry. Who comes to mind when you hear the instruction to remember those who led you and spoke the word of God to you, and what specific things did that person do that you would want to imitate?