Think Carefully About This Jesus

In one paragraph

This message was part of First B Jackson's series through Hebrews. Pastor Thorin traced the way Hebrews chapter two reaches back into Isaiah and the Psalms to show that all of Scripture is pointing toward Jesus. The sermon held together Old Testament judgment and hope, and pressed the congregation to think carefully about who Jesus is and what that means for how they live. Pastor Thorin opened by...

Read together

1. Psalm 22 cited as the Psalm of the cross, with Jesus's cry of dereliction pointing back to it
2. Hebrews 2:12 quoted as the writer of Hebrews drawing on Psalm 22: 'I will proclaim your name to my brethren in the midst of the congregation, I will sing your praise'
3. Isaiah 8 extended reading on God's warning to Isaiah not to think like everyone else, to fear the Lord, and to preserve His teaching
4. Isaiah 8:13 imperative to make the Lord of heaven's armies holy in your life and let Him make you tremble
5. Isaiah 8:16 command to preserve the teaching of God and entrust His instructions to those who follow Him
6. Isaiah 8:17 quoted as 'I will wait for the Lord' and 'I will put my hope in him', applied in Hebrews 2:13
7. Isaiah 8:18 quoted as 'I and the children the Lord has given me', applied in Hebrews 2:13 to Jesus and all who believe
8. Isaiah 8:19 warning against consulting mediums and those who seek the dead rather than seeking God
9. Isaiah 8:22-9:1 transition from judgment to hope, noting the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali would be humbled then filled with glory
10. Isaiah 9:1 Galilee of the Gentiles lying along the road between the Jordan and the sea would be filled with glory, fulfilled in Jesus's ministry
11. Isaiah 9:2 the people walking in darkness will see a great light, those in a land where death casts a long shadow
12. Isaiah 9:4 God will break the yoke of slavery and lift the heavy burden, as He destroyed the army of Midian
13. Isaiah 9:5 the boots and blood-stained uniforms of war will be burned as fuel for the fire
14. Isaiah 9:6 quoted in full: 'a child is born to us, a son is given to us... wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, prince of peace'
15. Isaiah 9:7 his government and peace will never end, ruling from David's throne with fairness and justice for all eternity
16. Hebrews 2:13 cited as quoting Isaiah 8:17-18: 'I will put my trust in him' and 'I and the children whom God has given me'
17. Hebrews 3:1 opening of chapter three: 'dear brothers and sisters, think carefully about this Jesus'
18. Isaiah 40:31 used as the benediction: those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength and soar on wings like eagles

Talk about it

1. Pastor Thorin used three songs, Freebird, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and I Can't Get No Satisfaction, to describe people who either have something they don't want, want something they don't have, or simply can't find satisfaction. Which of those three resonates most with where you find yourself right now, and why?
2. Pastor Thorin read from Isaiah 8 that God told Isaiah not to think like everyone else does, not to call everything a conspiracy, and not to live in dread of what frightens them. What does it actually look like, day to day, to live that way rather than just agreeing with it in principle?
3. He talked about people letting their own sense of shame keep them from a close relationship with God, saying we need to get that under the blood of Jesus in our own minds and get past it. Is there something you are carrying that keeps you at a distance from God, and what would it take to let that go?
4. Isaiah 8 describes a believing remnant who waited on God and served him while they waited, contrasted with people who used religion for political power or personal gain. What does it look like in your own life to be part of that believing remnant rather than using faith as a means to something else?
5. Pastor Thorin closed with a list of imperatives from the passages, including making Jesus holy in your life, preserving the teaching of God, and entrusting his instructions to those who follow you. Is there someone following you, whether a child, grandchild, or someone you mentor, to whom you are actively passing on what you know of God? What is getting in the way if not?