Overview of the Passage [Hebrews 11:23-31]

This passage contains the faith records of those in the Exodus generation, stretching from Moses to Rahab. Moses' life was filled with moments requiring great faith— from his parents saving his life at birth to his keeping of the Passover. It is important to note that Moses' faith wasn't perfect; his hesitancy to go to Pharaoh (Exod. 4:1-17) is well documented. However, he clearly still went forward in faith, expecting and hoping for a greater reward. His fear didn't overtake his faith; if it had, he wouldn't have continued forward in obeying God in the ways mentioned.

The same must be said about the Israelites. The author of Hebrews leans upon their crossing the Red Sea and circling the city as ways they demonstrated faith. What if churches in Milwaukee marched around the city with prayer for 7 days?! However, there are extensive examples of their complaining and lamenting the departure from Egypt (Exod. 14:11). Again, their faith, though not perfect, was evident in their actions. Rahab, too, was fearful of the Israelites and the LORD (Josh. 2:8-13) along with the rest of the people of Jericho. However, her actions demonstrated her faith in God and his greater purposes.

Where to Land the Plane.
The author of Hebrews is giving us examples of faith— examples that are clearly imperfect, but still moving forward in faith. Despite the mentions of fears, the truth remains that they took these significant steps of faith. All of these steps were in hope of God's greater plan, which comes to ultimate fulfillment in Christ. Had Christ not endured all that he did, the greater reward wouldn't be possible. Milwaukee Churches can and should thank God as they consider what Christ accomplished on the cross. Further, where our faith falls short, we must remember Christ's perfect faithfulness. Don't be confused: Christ's perfection doesn't simply fill in the gaps where we fall short. Instead, Christ became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21).

Let us fully lean upon Christ as the Perfect and Faithful savior. Let us walk by faith that through him we will inherit all that has been promised to us as God's people. Let us fully affirm our need for Christ to be the perfection that we will never be.

Jesus Loves the Church | epikos church

The final sermon in our love series is on LOVE CHURCH. The text comes from a section in Ephesians that is often referred to as a 'household table,' where there are instructions for how anyone within a household should live out their faith (cf. Col 3:18-4:1). Specifically, this section is addressed to husbands. The Apostle Paul calls upon husbands to love their wives as Christ loves the church. Consider this list of what Christ has done/is doing/will do for the church:

• Christ loved the church. (25)
• Christ gave himself up for her [church is a feminine noun in Greek]. (25)
• Christ hopes to sanctify her. (26)
• Christ cleansed her by the washing of the water with the word. (26)
• Christ hopes to present her to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle. (27)
• Christ hopes that she might be holy and without blemish. (27)
• Christ nourishes and cherishes the church. (29)
• Christ has made believers members of his body. (30)

Christ has come into a one-fleshed union with believers, as husbands and wives are one flesh. (31-32)
What an amazing list! When we consider these things— some past, some present, and some hopeful future— we need to recognize that to be a believer is the bride of Christ. We are called into a covenant relationship with Him... are we fulfilling our vows to him in this marriage? Now let us not be confused— our relationship with Him is wholly based on his work. Yet we are called to respond to him as wives are called to respond to their husbands. Consider Ephesians 5:22-24:  

   
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

To the world, these verses seem antiquated and out of step with modern life. Space doesn't allow for unpacking all of this (we will be studying Ephesians in the autumn, so it will come later), but the key idea here this: human marriage is a picture of the ultimate marriage between Christ and the church. We are called to faithfully respond to the work he has done for us at the cross. This analogy is used throughout Scripture to describe the relationship between the LORD and Israel (think: Hosea). The relationship between idolatry (read: anything put before God) and adultery is a well-established theme in the OT and is built upon here and in Revelation 19:1-10.  Churches in Milwaukee have people who do faithfully serve week in and week out.

Ultimately, it is time to 'define the relationship' with the Christ and his church. Are you living out your walk with Christ in the context of the body? Are living as one joined to him as a member of his body? If not, what is the step forward for you? Is it committing to regular attendance? serving? membership? Help your group members to see the call given to believers as a response to Christ to love the church and help them to see a practical step forward to be better disciples.  If you don't have a home at one of Milwaukee churches then find one.  While it doesn't have to be epikos, do find one.

Churches in Milwaukee Invited to Comedy Event

The command to love our neighbor is not just a call for a select few, or only to people in ministry, or even exclusive to those who are naturally nice.  It’s a command of each and every one of us.  And it’s also a command that we should heed each and every day. So how then are we as Milwaukee churches, with all our faults and limitations, to respond effectively?  Let me share a couple of thoughts and a practical opportunity to take action:

1. You've got to be thoughtful about who your neighbor is.

We’ll get a fuller treatment of this subject on Sunday, but no doubt there’s a broad definition coming as to who our neighbor is.  Therefore, to love our neighbor as God would have us do, we need to expand our view of who are our neighbors.  Importantly, they are not just those we naturally come into contact with in our day-to-day lives.

2.Be mindful of God’s heart regarding neighborliness.

We honor and love God when we honor and love those who the world might view as “the least.”  See, Matthew 25:31-46.  God’s heart is moved when we interact with the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned.  If you were here last year as we went through Amos and James, you saw the passion with which God wants us to embrace and care for today’s disadvantaged, disfavored and isolated.  That passion should be our passion.    

3.Be encouraged that loving your neighbor is great outreach.

Not much before going to the Cross, Christ declared that “all people will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”  See, John13:35.  Loving your neighbor in our world is remarkable and attractive.  The world often writes off the Church as hypocritical in its abandonment of the disfavored – but takes note when we walk the talk.  If I had more space to write, I could share with you how I’ve seen this play out time and time again – but I’m sure you have seen the truth in that played out in your own experience.  So we invite anyone from any of the churches in Milwaukee to come to this event: http://www.epikos.org/events/comedy-with-impact-fish-sticks-comedy-isaac-witty/

4.Put yourself in position to love your neighbor.

You can’t love your neighbor from afar.  And you can’t expect your neighbor to come to you.  You have to go to them. 

Mark 12:28-34 Hey Church Love God

The first in our series on LOVE starts with our call to love God. The primary text from the sermon is Mark 12:28-34, though there are several other texts that are drawn from.  Imagine if Churches in Milwaukee took seriously the call to Love God and Love Each other.

Mark records a conversation between Jesus and a scribe, whereby the question is posed to Jesus, "Which commandment is the most important of all?" Jesus' response is a quotation from Deuteronomy 6:4-5, which reads, "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." This reflects the teaching of the first commandment to have no other gods before the LORD God (Exod. 20:3; Deut. 5:7).

The challenge of this command, whether reading it from Exodus, Deuteronomy, Mark, or Matthew is that we're not able to obey this fully and perfectly in a way that preserves our souls. Why, then, is this the greatest, most important commandment? Has God set us up for failure? By no means.

Apart from understanding the gospel, we will not be able to truly love God— at least not with all our heart, soul, and might (another way of saying "with all of yourself"). To think or act as though we can truly love God apart from Christ is folly. In Christ, we truly see the extent of God's love for us: God the Son was sent to us, perfectly obeying God's commands throughout his life, and sacrificially laying his life down to pay for our perfect disobedience. Jesus' perfect love for the Father enables us to love God. How? By believing that Christ's death can pay for our sin, we can be brought to new life in him. It is now in that new life that we are made able to really love God.

So, a love for God must be grounded in the gospel. Despite all that the world has to offer us, we must grow in the knowledge that God is sufficient for all our needs and wants. As David declared, when the Lord is our shepherd, we shall lack nothing (Ps. 23:1, NIV)! We hope and pray that Christians in Milwaukee churches Love God with all their heart, mind, soul and strength.

From there, what does it look like to love God? Consider the following:

Exodus 20:5-6 (cf. Deut. 5:9-10) — I the Lord your God am a jealous God... showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Proverbs 4:4 — Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live.

John 14:15 — [Jesus speaking] If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

John 14:21 — Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is wholoves me.

John 15:10 — If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.

1 John 2:3 — And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.

1 John 5:3 — For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.

It is clear that a love of God is evidenced through obedience to God's word. However, we cannot divorce that from Christ's perfect obedience in which we rest before the Father and his call for us to believe in him and his work on the cross for us. May our love for God be grounded in the cross. Christ's perfect love for us is demonstrated by his willingness to lay down his life for us— while we were yet sinners (Rom 5:8; John 15:12-14). This is the gospel and from here is where our love for God will come. So Hey churches in Milwaukee this is your call to Love God. 

Stirring Up Love & Good Works in Milwaukee Churches Hebrews 10:24-25

The context of our passage certainly cannot be divorced from verses 19-23. Having declared the presence of confidence to enter God's presence through Christ's work on the cross (19-20) and Christ's remaining presence as a great priest over the house of God (21), the author gives three "let us" statements: 

     - Let us draw with a true heart

     - Let us hold fast the confession of our hope

     - Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works

It is this third imperative where the passage is focused this week. The author adds some layers (or ways this command is applied) with the additional statements of a) not neglecting to meet together (as some have), b) encouraging one another, and c) and increasingly as Christ's return is anticipated.  

The need for community is an integral component to a fruitful Christian life. Whether you are part of epikos church or another one of the churches in Milwaukee.  Remember the vast number of 'one another' commands throughout the New Testament. Community is also significant for the sake of encouraging (putting courage into) one another to continue drawing near and holding fast to our confession. While the promise of Christ's return remains, the challenges of this world remain. Community and encouragement will help us to remain confidently near to God. Milwaukee churches will certainly benefit from stirring one another up to love and good deeds.

Where to Land the Plane

The significance of this in the life of small groups, their benefits should be fairly clear and evident. Asking questions such as:

How does our group encourage you to be stirred up? Encouraged? Confident until Christ's return?

What are ways you need to be encouraged in light of the challenges you're facing?

How are you demonstrating love and good deeds to help your brothers and sisters remain steadfast?What churches in Milwaukee have been helping you do this?

Our purpose for being together is encapsulated in this passage it. Utilize this opportunity to reinvigorate your group and restate the group's purpose.