Category Archives: Sermon Notes & Announcements

Jul 23, 2023. Hebrews 3:12-15

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THE HARD HEART. Hebrews 3:12-15. 7/25/2023. #11.

Hebrews 3:12-15

New King James Version

12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, 15 while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

1. Take heed

                a. “Beware” literally is “look out” or “watch”

                                a1. There are many spiritual pitfalls in life

                                a2. Paul told the Philippians to work out their salvation with fear… (Philippians 2:12)

                                a3. 2 Pet. 1:10 make certain of election

                b. Important to be aware of spiritual estate

                c. A constant guard and on watch

                d. Heb. is concerned that since converted Jews were holding onto their Law & traditions, forsaking the grace of Christ, that they were not truly saved at all

                e. 1 Jn. 2:19 cannot lose salvation, but must truly be saved to begins with

2. Many false conversions

                a. Unfortunately many come to Christ as a whim or to fit in, but were never truly converted

                b. Several examples in Scripture of false saints

                                a1. Seed falling on thorny & stony soil

                                a2. MT. 25:1-13 ten virgins & the bride groom

                                a3. Man with wrong clothes at the wedding

                                a4. Mt 7 men who did many works in Jesus’ name, but Jesus never knew them

                                a5. Jn. 15 false branches on the vine

                c. Heb. 6:1-8 there are those who “taste of the Holy Spirit” but do not partake of the Holy Spirit

                d. Many have a comfortable familiarity with the church & Christians, but are not truly saved

                                a1. They enjoy coming to church services & even helping in ministry

                                a2. There is no true permanent commitment to Christ (no vibrant relationship with Him, His Word, or His will)

                e. Hebrews was concerned that the Jewish believers’ unwillingness to change indicated lack of saving relationship with Christ

                                a1. A hard (dried up) heart is one not affected by the Gospel of Christ

                                a2. People can deceive themselves that they are truly saved when they are not

3. The big IF

                a. If we hear the Lord’s voice & heed Him, we are His

                                a1. Our hearts do not rebel against him

                                a2. We love to know & obey His Word

                                a3. Heb. 10:24-25 we love to assemble with God’s people

                                a4. Love to do God’s will

                b. If when endure to the end we will be saved

                                a1. Holding the beginning of our confidence to the end  (no leaving the faith)

                                a2. Lk. 9:57-62 no man having put their hand to the plow & looks back is fit for the kingdom

                                a3. Mt. 24:11-14 he who endures to the end will be saved

                c. Being a believer is not a passing fade, a phase, an experiment, or a cultural preference

                                a1. True belief endures doubts, hardships, challenges, attacks, threats, trials, temptations, & failures

                                a2. There are many who begin walking toward salvation, but get sidetracked or embrace a counterfeit belief system

                d. Not all church goers are believers (only a few are)

Key verse:  Matthew 25:1-131 “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. 11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

Jul 16, 2023. Hebrews 3:7-11

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HEAR GOD’S VOICE. Hebrews 3:7-11. 7/16/2023. #10.

7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. 10 Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.’ 11 So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”

1. The voice of God

                a. This is a quote from PS. 95:7-11

                                a1. Israel heard God but did not heed God

                                a2. To hear (akouo – to understand and respond) means to receive and act upon

                b. Do not harden (sklero – to dry out) one’s heart (to become austere or harsh)

                                a1. We have a choice to seek God and soften your heart or rebel and harden our hearts

                                a2. The evidence of God, His grace, and His will were very clear and obvious

                c. Repeatedly rebellious Israel was punished but they still continued to complain and rebel

                                a1. God was angry with Israel and finally made them walk the desert for 40 years until the Exodus gen. died off

                                a2. Through refusing to obey God, he could not bless them with the good land, but cursed them with a desert

                d. God will not bargain with us or go our way

                                a1. Job 38 God does not seek or receive our counsel or demands

                                a2. We are to submerge our will to God’s

                e. A stubborn heart is prideful and self-destructive

                f. Jewish believers were being stubborn

2. The warning repeated

                a. God was saying that the Jewish believers

                                a1. God used the illustration of His dealing with Israel in the wilderness as a warning not to be hard like their them

                                a2. To put God to the test is to invite judgment upon oneself

                b. A hard heart defies God

                                a1. Source of a hard heart is sinful pride

                                a2. One chooses to harden one’s own heart

                                                b1. Obeys the voice of willfulness

                                                b2. Follows the habits of rebellion

                                a3. Hardness tests God

                                a4. One cannot know the ways of God when seeking to go one’s own way (cannot serve

                                       two masters)

                c. Even though Jewish Christians were taught the way of God, they still held onto their traditions and Law

                                a1. God warned them that they will suffer loss if they tried to add onto the Gospel

                                a2. A hybrid of Law and grace would pollute and degrade what Christ had done

                d. When we hold onto traditions, rituals, rules, and misconceptions not found in Scripture, we cheapen the grace of Christ and replace faith with customs

3. To hear the voice of God

                a. God speaks to us today through His Word

                                a1. As we incorporate the Word into our lives, the Spirit can use the Word to lead us

                                a2. A predetermination to obey the Word and the leading of Spirit will lead to faithfulness

                b. Important to drop what we are holding onto that is neither biblical, not godly

                c. Must seek the voice of God and the ways of God

                                a1. Fallen state leads to a hard heart

                                a2. Be aware of own sinful nature and control it

                d. Most believers do not fully seek the voice of God

Jul 2, 2023. Hebrews 3:1-6

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FAITHFUL IN ALL THINGS. Hebrews 3:1-6. 7/02/2023. #9.

1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, 2 who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house. 3 For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. 4 For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. 5 And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, 6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.

1. Holy family

                a. We are beyond being servants & disciples

                                a1. Writer calls us holy brethren (separated as part of the family of God)

                                a2. Partakers (metochoi, sharers, common partners, community) in the heavenly calling (appointed for a divine purpose)

                b. Jesus not only provided a means of salvation, but a means of adoption into the heavenly family

                c. Jesus is the means by which believers are adopted

                                a1. Apostle = one sent on a mission (apostolon)

                                                b1. Jesus was sent by God (the Father) on mission to pay for sins of mankind

                                                a2. Jesus then sent the Apostles to share the news of Jesus’s sacrifice that paid for man’s sins

                                a2. High Priest = one who makes intercession for believers (Rom. 8:34)

                d. Jesus was appointed (poiesanti, having been made) by God for this task (task was made for Jesus)

                                a1. God assigned His Son to pay for sins

                                a2. Jesus faithfully fulfilled His assignment

2. Just like Moses, but greater

                a. Moses was highly regarded as the Law giver

                b. Moses was faithful to his task

                                a1. He led the people out of Egypt

                                a2. Moses obeyed God (except for the rock incident where he did not glorify God)

                                a3. Moses received the Law from God

                c. Jesus was faithful to his task, but was worthy of far more glory than Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-22)

                                a1. Moses’s ministry prepared the people for the coming of Christ’s ministry

                                a2. Moses came as a servant of God, but Christ came as Lord of all

3. The home builder is greater than the home

                a. Though Moses established the system of the Law given to him by God, the giver of the Law was far greater than the Law

                b. The house has less honor than its builder

                                a1. God built the earth, universe, & all created things, so is greater than creation

                                a2. Jesus created all things, & therefore, is superior to all that is created

                c. Moses was created by the Lord, so is inferior to Him

                                a1. The Jews highly regarded Moses, but the Lord is greater than Moses & thus superseded both Moses & the Law

                                a2. Since Christ is both the home builder & the home owner, he is greater than the home

                d. Confidence in Moses is misplaced, for Moses can’t do anything for us

                                a1. The confidence of the Jews had to be transferred from Moses to Christ

                                a2. Since Christ fulfilled the Law, the Law has no binding impact on us

                e. “If we hold fast to this confidence”

                                a1. This does not mean that we can lose our salvation if we do not hold fast to Christ

                                a2. I John 2:19 those who drift away from the faith never were in Christ to begin with, for they would have remained in it to end

                f. Our hope, confidence, & joy are in Christ alone

Key verse: Deuteronomy 18:15-22

15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, 16 according to all you desired of the Lord your God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, nor let me see this great fire anymore, lest I die.’ 17 “And the Lord said to me: ‘What they have spoken is good. 18 I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. 19 And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. 20 But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ 21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’— 22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.

Jun 25, 2023. Hebrews 2:14-18

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THE WAY OF BLOOD. Hebrews 2:14-18. 6/25/2023. #8.

14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 16 For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. 17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

1. The only way

                a. Man sinned in his flesh

                                a1. Even though Eve decided first to disobey God and then Adam did so, they sinned by actively eating the forbidden fruit

                                a2. Gen. 2:16-17 God’s prohibition was in the actual eating of the fruit, not in thinking of it

                b. Since man sinned in the flesh, only an acceptable sacrifice of the flesh could pay for sin

                c. At the fall, Satan gained the power of death

                                a1. Power = not dynamis (great strength) or exousia (authority), but kratos (might or strength to take by force; to overpower)

                                a2. Christ had to overcome death to overcome Satan (Rev. 20)

                d. Christ had to defeat death to defeat Satan and free His people

                e. Through His sacrifice and resurrection, Christ freed believers from the slavery of sin and death

2. Uniquely applied grace

                a. Christ did not seek to redeem angels

                                a1. Fallen angels knew God and stood before the Lord directly

                                a2. Rebellion against God was willful

                b. Christ became a man to rescue the “seed of Abraham”, God’s covenant people

                c. Christ had to become like man to save man

                                a1. He calls the Jews “His brethren” even though He created them and they rebelled against him

                                a2. Christ chose to identify with the Jews as “His people” and “His brethren”

3. From redeemer to priest

                a. Christ’s role as redeemer was by mercy and love

                                a1. Christ chose to love the rebellious Jews

                                a2. Hebrews is directed to the Jewish believers, so he does not use “the world” (Jn. 3:16)

                                a3. To the Jew first, then the Gentile

                b. He then became High Priest to make intercession for the sins of the people

                                a1. He made propitiation before God the Father for sins

                                a2. Propitiation = to completely satisfy a debt

                                a3. Nothing but the blood of Christ could pay in full the debt owed by sin (RM. 6:15-23)

                c. He had to be made (ophelo –placed himself under obligation; translated “wages” in Rm. 6:23) like His brethren

                                a1. He did not owe a debt to pay

                                a2. He chose to take the debt owed by others on himself in order to pay for man’s sins

                d. Jesus removed the fear of death, which could not be removed any other way

                e. In order to pay for sin, Christ had to become a man and suffer and be tempted

                                a1. Christ had to go through all that man goes through, but without sin, to pay for sin

                                a2. Christ endured the suffering and conquered all temptation for those who fall into sin

                f. The only way that Christ could aid His brethren was to become like them, to suffer for them, to resist all temptation, and then to sacrifice Himself in their place

                g. Christ’s sacrifice was beyond heroism; it is divine!

Key verse: Romans 6:15-23

15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Jun 18, 2023. Father’s Day 2023

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REHOBOAM – FOLLY ON HIGH. FATHER’S DAY 2023. 6/18/2023.

I Kings 12:2-20

2 So it happened, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (he was still in Egypt, for he had fled from the presence of King Solomon and had been dwelling in Egypt), 3 that they sent and called him. Then Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4 “Your father made our yoke [a]heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.” 5 So he said to them, “Depart for three days, then come back to me.” And the people departed. 6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, and he said, “How do you advise me to answer these people?” 7 And they spoke to him, saying, “If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.” 8 But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him. 9 And he said to them, “What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?” 10 Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you should speak to this people who have spoken to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us’—thus you shall say to them: ‘My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s waist! 11 And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!’ ” 12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had directed, saying, “Come back to me the third day.” 13 Then the king answered the people [c]roughly, and rejected the advice which the elders had given him; 14 and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with [d]scourges!” 15 So the king did not listen to the people; for the turn of events was from the LORD, that He might fulfill His word, which the LORD had spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 16 Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying: “What share have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Now, see to your own house, O David!” So Israel departed to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah. 18 Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was in charge of the revenue; but all Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste to flee to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. 20 Now it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, they sent for him and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all Israel. There was none who followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.

1. Background

                a. Solomon angered God by marrying alien wives

                                a1. His wives worshiped idols

                                a2. Solomon set up idols for his wives to worship and he burned incense to them

                b. Because Solomon’s heart was not totally with God, God  promised to give Jeroboam 10 tribes to rule

                                a1. Jeroboam rose up against Solomon, but had to flee to Egypt before Solomon

                                a2. Jeroboam returns after Solomon died

2. A king’s choice

                a. Israel gathered at the coronation of Rehoboam

                                a1. They elect Jeroboam as their spokesman

                                a2. Israel was not unconditionally going to submit to the new king

                b. Israel had suffered a heavy load of taxes and service under Solomon to support his high lifestyle

                c Israel asks for Rehoboam to lighten the load on them and then they will serve the king

                                a1. Their burden was real and request rational

                                a2. Leaders should take care of those they lead

3. Three days of destiny

                a. Rehoboam asks for 3 days to make a decision

                b. Rehoboam grew up under his father’s avarice

                c. Rehoboam asks the advisors of Solomon what to do

                                a1. The elders had seen Sol.’s greed, the alien wives who turned his heart, and the burden placed upon the people

                                a2. Having asked for wisdom to rule Israel, Solomon indulged himself instead

                                a3. The advisors tell Reh. to lighten the load on Israel and serve the people

                                a4. Reh. immediately rejects the advice

                d. Rehoboam wanted a kingdom as glorious as his father’s

                                a1. To him, the people were subject to do his bidding without complaint

                                a2. To show kindness is to show weakness

                e. Rehoboam asks his young friends what to do

                                a1. They advised to make the burden heavier

                                a2. Rehoboam’s little finger will be thicker than Solomon’s waste and he will us scourges on them

                f. This is the rule by fear and not respect approach

                g. This response was of the Lord to split the kingdom, but Reh. also made the choices he wanted to make

4. Servant leadership

                a. The key to being a leader of one’s home, at work, at church, or in a position is to serve those you lead

                                a1. Matthew 20:20-28 servant leadership is the pattern that the Lord set out for us

                                a2. We are stewards of the Lord assigned to help those God places in our care

                b. Reh. is an example of selfish uncaring leadership

                                a1. He did not care how difficult his demands were on his subjects

                                a2. He earned the resentment of his subjects

                c. To expect compliance without caring and respect without reciprocity is naïve, cruel, and foolish

                d. A father and leader must have the wisdom to know how to be both gentle and firm

                                a1. To uphold what is right in spirit of love

                                a2. Caring seeks to do what is best

                                a3. A partnership between leader and follower

                e. Ephesians 6:5 all must stand before Lord to give account

Key verse: Matthew 20:20-28

20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him. 21 And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.” 22 But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, [a]and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They said to Him, “We are able.” 23 So He said to them, “You will indeed drink My cup, [b]and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father.” 24 And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. 26 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. 27 And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Jun 11, 2023. Hebrews 2:10-13

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CAPTAIN OF OUR SALVATION. Hebrews 2:10-13. 6/11/2023. #7

10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12 saying: “I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.” 13 And again: “I will put My trust in Him.” And again: “Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.”

1. Perfection personified

                a. Hebrews states that it was fitting for Christ to suffer

                                a1. Fitting does not mean that Christ deserved to suffer, for He did not suffer for His sins

                                a2. Fitting = proper (Greek word prepon as in Eng. words proper, appropriate, prepared)

                                                b1. Under God’s plan Jesus was the only one worthy to fulfill the payment for man’s sins (proper payment)

                                                b2. Jesus fit perfectly in God’s plan

                b. God’s plan to save man predates creation and so the price for that payment also predates creation

                                a1. Man was created by and for God

                                a2. God’s plan redeems man for God’s glory

                c. Many come to faith via Christ’s proper sacrifice

                d. Jesus became the captain or originator of our faith

                                a1. Greek word arche, as in monarchy, archeology, archetype, or architect

                                a2. Without Christ there would be no salvation

                e. Christ was made perfect through suffering

                                a1. Perfect is a misleading word (in Eng., it implies flawless, which Jesus already was)

                                a2. Greek word telos, meaning completion, to finish as in Eng. telephone, television, telescope, or telegraph

                                a3. Jesus’s suffering completed his task of securing our salvation (a necessary step)

                f. Are things have been given to the Son, so by Him all things are completed both in redemption and in judgment until the work of this age is done

2. Set apart for glory

                a. Once Jesus sanctified (set apart) believers via His work on the cross, believers became holy through the application of His payment for them

                b. Once believers became holy through Him, He made them His brothers

                                a1. Though He is Lord of all, he elevated us to being both sons of God and brothers and sisters of Christ

                                a2. The holy work of salvation on the cross created a new relationship for us

                c. Christ is not ashamed to call us His brethren

                                a1. Before His Father and the angels

                                a2. To this end did He go to the cross

3. Testifier

                a. Not only did Jesus redeem and sanctify us, but He also testified of the Father to us

                                a1. We only know of God because the Lord has revealed him to us

                                a2. The Spirit inspired holy men to write the Scriptures, which in turn reveals to us both the nature and will of God by which we are illuminated to understand what God has revealed

                b. Jesus then leads the saints in worship (praise)

                c. Jesus accomplished 3 things by redeeming us:

                                a1. He opened the door for us to truly worship God as children of God

                                a2. As the Incarnate Christ, He demonstrated His trust in the Father by going to the cross (we can trust Him as well)

                                a3. He made those who were enemies of God to become children of God (His brothers)

                d. Hebrews 12:1-4 since Jesus thought it fitting to enter the world as a man in order to pay for our sins so that we will be redeemed, how should we respond?

Key verse:  Hebrews 12:1-41 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.