The end of the book of Hebrews does not only finish the matter of Jesus’ supremacy it actually brings the letter full circle. The author began His letter by writing “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by...
Author: City of Refuge
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Sermon on the Mount: The Cause and Effect of Mercy
Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” Last week we began our discussion on mercy by concentrating on the mercy that God has given and continually gives to each one of us. The fact that we are alive is the mercy of God; the air we breathe, the world we...
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Sermon on the Mount: Where Mercy Begins
Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” Have you ever seen the kid’s game “mercy”? It’s terrible actually. It is two people locking hands and then inflicting pain until somebody asks for “mercy”. I played it with my friends, I’ve played it with Noah, the truth is that it’s named...
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Sermon on the Mount: Hunger and Thirst . . . For Righteousness
Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” For years many of you have heard me close out prayers, both corporate and personal, with the words of Psalm 23:3 lead me, or lead us “in paths of righteousness for your name’s sake.” It’s a prayer that...
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Sermon on the Mount: What is Meekness?
Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Brokenness leads to mourning which, according to Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount leads to meekness. We have defined brokenness or being poor in spirit as seeing the beauty of Jesus so fully that we recognize that we possess nothing of...
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Hebrews Study 12:5-24 “Disciplined for a New Covenant”
In our last class we started chapter 12. The first few verses show us that the examples of faith that have come before us are to spur us to take off every weight and every sin and to run this race concentrating always on Jesus. When we concentrate on Jesus, when we choose to make...
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Hebrews Study: 12:1-4 “Looking Unto Jesus . . .”
I once had a friend tell me that he believed that the eleventh chapter of Hebrews was completely parenthetical, that it stood in between chapter 10 and 12 as a perfect bridge between the promise of an identity of those who do not draw back and Jesus as our perfect example. While parenthesis may not...
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Sermon on the Mount: The Kingdom of Heaven
In the first “beatitude” Jesus said that the “poor in spirit” are blessed because the “kingdom of heaven” belongs to them. What does that mean? Our entire culture of religion is based on the promise that if we pray the right prayer and that we will one day go to heaven, but Jesus doesn’t say...
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Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit”
“Blessed.” One of the most used words in Christianity. “God bless you.” “Be blessed.” “It was such a blessing.” “God blessed me with . . .” We pray for blessing, we seek blessing and we speak blessing but what does it mean? We have talked before about the reality that God’s revelation of blessing can...