This week, Pastor Bart sits down for a visit with Bob and Diane Doering of Threefold Cord Ministries.

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Hebrews 13:20-25

^20-21And now, may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, all that is pleasing to him. Jesus is the great Shepherd of the sheep by an everlasting covenant, signed with his blood. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

²²I urge you, dear brothers and sisters, please listen carefully to what I have said in this brief letter.

²³I want you to know that our brother Timothy is now out of jail. If he comes here soon, I will bring him with me to see you.

²⁴Give my greetings to all your leaders and to the other believers there. The Christians from Italy send you their greetings.

²⁵May God’s grace be with you all.

Reflect

I love blessings. I love giving blessings and I love receiving blessings. You can tell the love the author of Hebrews had for those who would be reading this letter. With just a few words, he shows his love and instructs them at the same time. In once sentence, he again reinforces his main theme: Jesus is the great Shepherd of the sheep by an everlasting covenant, signed by his blood.

Respond

After studying the entire book, who do you think wrote Hebrews?

What phrases tell you about the love the author had for his intended audience?

Does God produce in you all that is pleasing to him?

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Hebrews 13:17-19

¹⁷Obey your spiritual leaders and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they know they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this joyfully and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.

¹⁸Pray for us, for our conscience is clear and we want to live honorably in everything we do. ¹⁹I especially need your prayers right now so that I can come back to you soon.

Reflect

Growing up a pastors kid, I often times heard all of the behind-the-scenes stuff that making pastoring a church difficult. From this list of 8 things congregations can do to encourage their pastor, we can learn a lot about what pastors have to endure.

8 Ways To Encourage Your Pastor

1. Cut the criticism.
2. Pray for them regularly.
3. Express appreciation in writing.
4. Use your skills to bless.
5. Squelch gossip.
6. Offer to meet a need.
7. Be openly responsive.
8. Throw away the measuring stick.

Respond

Why is it important to encourage our spiritual leaders?

Why is it important to pray for our pastors?

What have you done for your pastor lately?

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If you would like a printable copy of this devotional, we have provided one here.

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Hebrews 13:10-16

¹⁰We have an altar from which the priests in the Temple on earth have no right to eat. ¹¹Under the system of Jewish laws, the high priest brought the blood of animals into the Holy Place as a sacrifice for sin, but the bodies of the animals were burned outside the camp. ¹²So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates in order to make his people holy by shedding his own blood. ¹³So let us go out to him outside the camp and bear the disgrace he bore. ¹⁴For this world is not our home; we are looking forward to our city in heaven, which is yet to come.

¹⁵With Jesus’ help, let us continually offer our sacrifice of praise to God by proclaiming the glory of his name. ¹⁶Don’t forget to do good and to share what you have with those in need, for such sacrifices are very pleasing to God.

Reflect

A song by folk singer Derek Webb goes like this:

This world has nothing for me
and this world has everything
And all that I could want
and nothing that I need

It is so true that as you look around here, there is so much but yet, in the grand scheme of things, this world can not provide us with eternal life. As believers in Christ, our home is the new city that Christ has prepared for us. The material, temporal existence we lead here is nothing compared to heaven.

So, although we have to live in this world, we don’t have to live our lives like we were dependent on this world. We need to put ourselves “outside the camp” and live our life with the knowledge that our life here on earth is just preparation for our eternal life in heaven.

Respond

If the world lives “inside the camp” what does it mean to go “outside the camp”?

What does the author mean by “bear the disgrace he bore”?

When people watch you, can they tell that you live “outside the camp”?

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If you would like a printable copy of this devotional, we have provided one here.

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Hebrews 13:7-9

⁷Remember your leaders who first taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and trust the Lord as they do.

⁸Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. ⁹So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your spiritual strength comes from God’s special favor, not from ceremonial rules about food, which don’t help those who follow them.

Reflect

Life for my kids will never the be same as when I grew up. As much as I would like for them to know the freedom I had as a child, life just seems more dangerous today. Maybe it is because we have multiple 24-hour news channels or maybe the world is just becoming more corrupt. Every time I look around, the world is changing. It seems as though everything that was right and proper is now abnormal and everything that was abnormal is now normal! The good is now bad and the bad is now good. Even the word “bad” means good and bad. It is a major Olympic sport to try to keep up with the changes.

Isn’t it nice to know that the same Jesus, who walked this earth over 2000 years ago is the same yesterday, today and forever? That is a rock I can stand on! A firm foundation that I can build my house on. That is the norm I can instill in my children. We can depend on our God because he never changes! Thank God for that!

Respond

Who brought you to Christ? When was the last time you thanked them?

It is important that we also bring people to Christ. What things can you do that will help bring others to Christ?

Isn’t it nice to know that we can always depend on God?

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If you would like a printable copy of this devotional, we have provided one here.

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Hebrews 13:1-6

¹Continue to love each other with true Christian love. ²Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! ³Don’t forget about those in prison. Suffer with them as though you were there yourself. Share the sorrow of those being mistreated, as though you feel their pain in your own bodies.

⁴Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.

⁵Stay away from the love of money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,

“I will never fail you.
I will never forsake you.”

⁶That is why we can say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper,
so I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?”

Reflect

I’ve been asked many times - Why is it important to go to church? I think our reading today really captures one important reason why we should gather together on a regular basis. Look at the attributes that are listed there: Love, Hospitality, Suffering, Empathy, Honor, Faithfulness, Morality. This is just a short list of what a Christian community provides us. If we remained on our own without the fellowship of other believers, we would be left to defend ourselves against all of the negativity and the stress that is life.

Isn’t it much easier to have others that we know we can depend on?

Respond

Why is fellowship with other believers important to a fruitful Christian life?

Who do you turn to when you feel down?

Take five minutes today to call a friend to encourage them and build them up.

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If you would like a printable copy of this devotional, we have provided one here.

If you are also participating in our group study on Hebrews, you can download your Chapter 13 Study Materials.

This is Pastor Bart Wilkins speaking on Hebrews, Chapter 13 entitled “Living Fearlessly For Christ”.

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