Kingdom Contrast

CENTRAL TEXT: Hebrews 12:18-29

For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest 19 and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. 20 For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” 21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” 22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.

CALL TO WORSHIP:  

LEADER: Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; 
make known his deeds among the peoples! 
Sing to him, sing praises to him; 
tell of all his wondrous works!

ALL: Glory in his holy name; 
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!

LEADER: Seek the Lord and his strength; 
seek his presence continually!

ALL: Remember the wondrous works that he has done, 
his miracles, and the judgments he uttered, 
O offspring of Abraham, his servant, 
children of Jacob, his chosen ones! 

PRAYER/SCRIPTURE READING/CONFESSION OF FAITH: Deuteronomy 4:7-14, 23-24

LEADER: The entire bible is One story, all pointing to the beauty and finished work of Jesus. And so each week we have an additional reading that connects to the central text to illustrate this continuity. Our central text for today is found in Hebrews 12 and so we offer a related text found in Deuteronomy 4. “For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? 8 And what great nation is there that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today? 9 “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children— 10 how on the day that you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, the Lord said to me, ‘Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.’ 11 And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom. 12 Then the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but saw no form; there was only a voice. 13 And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments, and he wrote them on two tablets of stone. 14 And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and rules, that you might do them in the land that you are going over to possess….23 Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make a carved image, the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you. 24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” The Word of the Lord

ALL: Thanks be to God

BENEDICTION: Jude 24-25

LEADER: Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

ALL: Thanks be to God!

RELATED SCRIPTURES:

Exodus 19:10-15, 16-19; 20:18-19
Numbers 21:4-8
Deuteronomy 4:11, 23-24
Psalm 102:25-26 
Isaiah 13:13
2 Corinthians 5:21 
Galatians 3:10-11, 13
Hebrews 1:10-12; 10:10 
2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 21:10

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 

QUOTES:  

Ignorance of God ... lies at the root of much of the church’s weakness today.
- J.I. Packer

The infallible test of spiritual integrity…is your private prayer life….It’s possible to have an external kind of religion and be motivated by environmental factors. But only God sees you when you pray. As a result, it’s your prayer life that tells you what you’re really made of spiritually.  
- Tim Keller 

It is not the business of the Church to adapt Christ to men, but men to Christ.
- Dorothy Sayers

And what a comfort it is that since God‘s love rests on Christ, being pleased with him, we can understand that he is also pleased with us if we are in Christ. For his love rests on the whole Christ, both Christ as the head and Christ as the body, because he loves him and us with the same love.
- Richard Sibbes

 BOOKS / DOCS

R. Kent Hughes, Hebrews: An Anchor For the Soul (Preaching The Word commentary)
Raymond Brown, The Message of Hebrews (The Bible Speaks Today commentary)
“Time to Rediscover Hebrews,” Sinclair Ferguson
Sinclair Ferguson, Worthy:Living in Light of the Gospel
Tim Keller, Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy With God
 Silka P., “What is Contrast In Art? Examples and Definition” (Artsper Magazine)