Let Love of the Brethren Continue

In one paragraph

Pastor Ray preached from Hebrews 13:1-8, the opening verses of the closing chapter of the book. After months of working through some of the deepest and most demanding material in the New Testament, this passage offered something more practical: a set of concrete instructions for how to actually live out the faith that has been the subject of all those earlier chapters. Ray noted that the book of...

Read together

1. Hebrews 13:1-8 the main passage studied, covering brotherly love, hospitality, prisoners, marriage, contentment, and the unchanging nature of Christ
2. Deuteronomy (unspecified) cited as Old Testament precedent for God's promise to never desert or forsake his people
3. Exodus (unspecified) cited alongside Deuteronomy as Old Testament precedent for God's promise to be with his people
4. 2 Thessalonians (unspecified) quoted as the benediction: may the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance

Talk about it

1. Pastor Ray talked about hospitality to strangers being a consistent command throughout scripture, and he shared the story of turning around to help the stranded group with the dead sprinter van. When has showing hospitality to someone you did not know cost you something, and what came of it?
2. The sermon drew a parallel between prisoners in the first century church context and students in middle school and high school today, people surrounded by those who do not share their faith. Who in your life right now is in that kind of situation, and what would it look like to remember them as though you were right there with them?
3. Pastor Ray said that contentment is grounded in the promise that God will never desert or forsake us, and he connected that promise to both the Old Testament and the words of Jesus. How does that promise actually change the way you handle lean times, or does it?
4. The sermon described the five k race, with Paschal running well where people were cheering and struggling through the long dark uphill stretch where no one was. Where are you in that race right now, and who is running alongside you through the dark stretch?
5. Pastor Ray closed by saying we are to remember those who led us, spoke the word of God to us, and then imitate their faith, because the result of their conduct is that we now believe. Who is that person for you, and what specific thing about how they lived their faith are you actually imitating?