Why We Worship

Hebrews 10:19-25

Connecting Questions

· What was a meaningful party or gathering that you were invited to?

· Tell about a brush with someone “famous.”

Prayer for Illumination

Let us pray, Loving God, we pause today grateful for this next breath. We are grateful for the chance to connect with others today for we all carry such hurts and hope. Open your Word to us. Open our hearts to let your word speak to us and change our lives. We pray in the name of the Jesus, Amen.

Context

This Sunday, we continue the season of Pentecost! The Church began with the gift of the Holy Spirit to a community of very different people, but all connected by faith in Jesus. We continue our new worship series called, Why We Worship. Think about the any times you have been in a Christian worship service. Think about the senses: sound, smell, feel, who you were with, and what was spoken. The next four weeks, we pause to thank God for what happens every time we gather around Word and Sacraments.

Don’t miss Pastor Kevin’s kickoff sermon in the Why We Worship series. He uses Psalm 8 to point to God’s holiness and his sermon can be found at Easter.org/worship.

From Pastor Craig Koester at EntertheBible.org:

Hebrews was written for a Christian community that had gone through several phases of development. First, the community had been established through the proclamation of the gospel by some Christian evangelists. Their message had been confirmed by miracles and a vivid sense of God’s Spirit working (2:3-4). Second, the community had experienced conflict with others, who verbally abused them, took property, and placed some Christians in prison. Despite the challenges, the members of the community supported each other well (10:32-34). Third, time passed and members of the community seemed dispirited. The intensity of persecution and resistance gave way to a sense of dullness and malaise, and some were drifting away from the community (2:1; 5:11; 6:12; 10:25).

Look at the Book

Open Hebrews 10:19-25. Underline the word “therefore.” This is your clue word that there’s a shift or point about to be made.
This entire book is one large exhortation. What does that mean? “With great encouragement.” Who has been someone who has been an encourager in your life?
When we come to worship, we gather...oftentimes in a “sanctuary.” What posture is the writer encouraging us to have when we come to worship?
What gives us the confidence to enter the sanctuary?
Verse 20 talks about a “new and living way” that Jesus created for us. How did Jesus do that?
While the cross is not mentioned overtly in this passage, the cross conveys two things: death and new life. Why does that image give us confidence?
V 21 gives us the image of the “house of God.” What does that spur in your imagination? “Great priest” connects us to Jewish worship in the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus is that great priest for us now.
What roles do you see Jesus acting on as a “great priest?”
V22 give us another posture to embody as we come to worship together. How would you describe that posture?
V23 is encouraging us to hold fast to a confession (what we believe, not what we are asking God to forgive). What are we confessing and why should we do so?
“He who has promised is faithful.” That is our confession of faith. What songs help you connect with that truth?
V 24 “Provoke” is an odd word. Why choose that translation do you think?
What do you want to talk about that has not been brought up yet?

Taking it Home

Where can you help plant “love and good deeds” this week? Where has this been done to you?

Invite someone you have not seen to worship in a while. They may need your encouragement!

Grow Guide | June 11, 2023