(remember, these are unedited/draft show notes, not a transcript — listening is always better…and if you listen AND follow along below, you’ll see why)
Focus Question:
What is your purpose?
Intro:
What is your purpose? That’s a big question!
Hey Hopeful, Happy Thursday. And a very Happy New Year’s Eve Day to you and yours.
I thought it fitting that for the last day of the year — a rather crazy year — that we might offer up what you’ll hear today called a “sacrifice of praise.”
Today we’re going to close out the year with a little changeup (another one!). We’re going to finish off the last two chapters of Hebrews, pray through a psalm together, and close with a reflection from CS Lewis’s book and sermon of the same name: The Weight of Glory.
NEW TESTAMENT SEGMENT:
Two chapters to go in Hebrews, and two more “therefores.” Remember, this is coming on the heels of ch 11’s recount of ‘by faith Abraham, by faith Sarah, by faith all these other people’ stuff.
Passage: Hebrews 12-13
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 54
Words: ~1239
In verse 12 it says, "So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood." Then follow three exhortations for how we should respond.
Verse 13, "Therefore let us go forth to him outside the camp, and bear the abuse he endured." This is the priority of getting outside the safety of our camp and being inconvenienced, and perhaps even suffering, to make Christ known.
Verse 15, "Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name." This is the priority of praise, or worship.
Verse 16, "Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God." This is the priority of generosity and sharing and ministering to each other.(1)
So what’s our purpose? To make Christ known, to love Him and others to the point of it costing us something. Or as I like to say, to fall more in love with Jesus and the people in His world. And as we do, that’s our sacrifice of praise.
Wisdom SEGMENT:
So as we wrap up today, let’s do just that with…
Passage: Psalm 141
Translation: CSB (Christian Standard Bible)
Verses: 10
Words: ~164
By his willingness to suffer at the hands of the righteous (141:5), David showed that he was motivated by integrity and love for God rather than by a selfish desire for personal victory.(1)
THE BOTTOM LINE:
I’ve always loved that line in He 13 about entertaining or welcoming angels, perhaps without even being aware of it. But given that this year as acutely elevated our awareness of community, I thought to close with this, beginning with Lewis speaking to the desire of our hearts.
But we pine. The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some chasm that yawns between us and reality, is part of our inconsolable secret. And surely, from this point of view, the promise of glory, in the sense described, becomes highly relevant to our deep desire. For glory means good report with God, acceptance by God, response, acknowledgement, and welcome into the heart of things. The door on which we have been knocking all our lives will open at last.(3)
The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbour’s glory should be laid on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you say it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations…There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilisations—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendours. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously…(4)
ForTheHope is a daily audio Bible + apologetics podcast and blog. We’ve got a passion for just keepin’ it real, having conversations like normal people, and living out the love of Jesus better every single day.
Roger Courville, CSP is a globally-recognized expert in digitally-extended communication and connection, an award-winning speaker, award-winning author, and a passionately bad guitarist. Follow him on Twitter -- @RogerCourville and @JoinForTheHope – or his blog: www.forthehope.org.
Sources and resources:
(1) John Piper, The Sacrifice of Praise, blog post, September 17, 1989, retrieved December 30, 2020 at https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-sacrifice-of-praise.
(2) David S. Dockery, ed., Holman Bible Handbook (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 1992), 348–349.
(3) Lewis, C. S.. Weight of Glory (Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis) (pp. 41-42). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
(4) Lewis, C. S.. Weight of Glory (Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis) (pp. 46-47). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.