Podcast: Gospel in Life

The book of Hebrews is written to people who are so beaten down with troubles that they’re ready to give up.  The writer is trying to give the readers what they need to handle the brutal realities of life in this world. In Hebrews 11, he gives us something that helps us handle anything.  If…

When modern people hear that God requires blood to turn aside his wrath from sin, it sounds offensive. It sounds disgusting, primitive, obscene.  Christianity has sometimes been called the religion of the slaughterhouse. It doesn’t seem to be what we need in a world that’s filled with blood and violence. But Jesus saves through his…

Jesus Christ did not come to start a new religion. He didn’t come to start the best religion. He came to end religion. Every religion has its extremists. Religion causes an enormous amount of conflict and strife in this world. What are we going to do about it? To embrace Jesus Christ is to end…

To be able to handle life, there’s nothing more practical than to know that Jesus is your advocate. This isn’t just an abstract doctrinal issue. Because this whole book of Hebrews is written not as a theological treatise, but as a piece of intense pastoral counseling.  So let’s ask three questions: 1) why do we…

The book of Hebrews is telling us we’ll never make it through life without counseling—daily counseling. A main theme of Hebrews is that life in this world is a journey, spiritually speaking, through a wilderness. In verse 13, it says the only way we’re going to get through it is with this little word: the…

Hebrews is written to first-century, urban people who are so weary with troubles and difficulties that they’re in danger of giving up. What do they need?  It’s pretty obvious from this passage what the writer is trying to get across: because eight times in eleven verses we see the word “rest.” It’s not just a…

The book of Hebrews is written to a group of urban, first-century Christians who were struggling with fear and discouragement because their lives were so filled with troubles.  The question this book asks is if God loves us so much, why are our lives so hard? In almost every passage, the answer it gives is…

If God is so committed to our joy and our glory, if he loves us so much, why is our life so hard?  That’s what the book of Hebrews is about and the answer, in a nutshell, is life is a journey. It’s a journey from weariness into rest. It’s a journey from alienation into…

Psalm 126 has always helped me. It has never filled my soul with glory. It has always made me quiet and reflective. Because it’s a perfect overview of the emotional life that the life of faith brings. You’re going to weep. In this world, you will weep. But how are you weeping? What are you…

Jesus tells his disciples that no one will take away their joy. Now that’s pretty amazing. He knows to whom he is talking. He is speaking to men who are going to be persecuted. They’re going to be robbed of everything they own. They’re going to be tortured. They’re going to be put to death….