Once for All Time

In one paragraph

This message was the heart of Pastor Jonathan's long journey through Hebrews, covering chapters nine and ten in a single extended communion service. He walked the congregation through the contrast between the old covenant system of repeated sacrifice and the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus, and then led everyone to the Lord's table with that contrast still in the air. The point was simple and...

Read together

1. Psalm 150:6 opening call to worship, 'let everything that has breath praise the Lord'
2. Hebrews 9:1-10:20 main sermon text, extended reading through old and new covenant worship
3. Romans (unspecified) Paul cited to support that the law lets us know about our sin
4. Acts 1:8 prayer over the offering, 'witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts'
5. Jeremiah 31:31-34 quoted via Hebrews 10 as the new covenant promise, God writing laws on hearts and remembering sins no more
6. Psalm 40:6-8 quoted as Psalms 46 through eight, Christ saying he came to do God's will, not desiring animal sacrifices, translated from the Septuagint
7. 1 Corinthians 1:18 the message of the cross is foolishness to those perishing but power of God to those being saved
8. 1 Timothy 1:15 Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners
9. 2 Thessalonians 3:5 closing benediction, 'may the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and into Christ's perseverance'

Talk about it

1. The pastor described the old covenant as good but temporary, pointing toward something greater. In what ways do you still catch yourself looking for something other than Christ to deal with your guilt or make you right with God?
2. The sermon said the old system could cleanse ceremonial impurity but could not cleanse the conscience. What is the difference, in your own experience, between feeling less guilty and actually being forgiven?
3. The pastor pointed out that outright rebellion against God was not covered by the old atonement system, only sins committed in ignorance. Knowing that Christ's sacrifice covers both, how does that change the way you approach sins you committed knowingly?
4. The sermon repeated the phrase 'once for all time' several times when describing Christ's sacrifice. Why do you think the writer of Hebrews kept coming back to that idea, and what does it mean practically for how you live day to day?
5. The pastor closed by reading from Jeremiah 31, that God will put his laws in our hearts and minds and will never again remember our sins. What would it look like, in a concrete way, for you to live as someone whose sins God no longer remembers?