Author: Administrador

How do we go about living as Christians in a society where we find ourselves increasingly on the margins? Our need to answer that question places us close to the original congregation that received this pastoral word of encouragement that we call Hebrews, for that group of believers struggled to hold on and hold out … Continue reading “Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 Commentary by Bryan J. Whitfield”

This is the last of four consecutive weeks that Hebrews has provided the second reading. A month ago this Hebrew “mini-series” began with the famous definition of faith found at 11:1: “Faith is the assurance [or substance] of things hoped for, the conviction [or proof] of things not seen.” The great Chapter 11 and its … Continue reading “Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 Commentary by Erik Heen”

Hebrews 13 can read like a list of rules — do this and don’t do that — but it also includes some vital and enduring theological truths. The instructions and the grounds for those instructions combine to create a template for ethics, a picture of how this community might live until they finish the race … Continue reading “Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 Commentary by Amy L.B. Peeler”

“This is your final warning!” These words, full of gravity and danger, are familiar from television and film or perhaps from our own experience as children or as parents. These bracing words tell us that we have reached a limit, that immediate action is required to change course. Our current path will bring consequences. In … Continue reading “Hebrews 12:18-29 Commentary by Bryan J. Whitfield”

Today’s second reading is the third of four consecutive readings from Hebrews. The last two weeks focused on the list of heroes and heroines of the faith in Chapter 11. Today’s lesson compares the worship at Mount Sinai (though the actual place is unnamed in the text) with that of Mount Zion. The arrival to … Continue reading “Hebrews 12:18-29 Commentary by Erik Heen”

In a letter that has reverberated with rhetorical force throughout, the end of the twelfth chapter of Hebrews presents the author’s oratorical and theological tour de force. The audience can feel nothing but awe: Awful fear in remembering God’s presence on Sinai and awe-full thanksgiving in receiving God’s Kingdom on Zion. Sinai Before vs. 18, … Continue reading “Hebrews 12:18-29 Commentary by Amy L.B. Peeler”

Do you have a photo album? Do you ever look through the pages, remembering the people and events that shaped your life? There are pictures snapped long before you came on the scene: aunts, uncles, and your parents before they were all grown up. Then there is that picture of you on your mother’s lap … Continue reading “Hebrews 11:29-12:2 Commentary by Bryan J. Whitfield”

This week’s second lesson continues the reading of Chapter 11 of Hebrews begun last week. The focus of last week’s selections (11:1-3, 8-16) was the faith of Abraham and Sarah. Today’s text follows a similarly expansive review of the faith of Moses that began in verse 23. Once the text leaves Moses, however, the examples … Continue reading “Hebrews 11:29-12:2 Commentary by Erik Heen”

Initial impressions of Hebrews might suggest that the writer is detached from any context. The opening chapter takes people into the heavenly realm of the angels. In what follows the author seems to live in the world of the Old Testament rather than his own. He quotes passage after passage from the Psalms, ponders the … Continue reading “5-week preaching series on Hebrews.]

Hebrews 11:29-12:2

Hebrews 11:29-12:2 Commentary by Amy L.B. Peeler”

[This is Week 5 of a 5-week preaching series on Hebrews.] Week 5 (Sept. 6, 2015) Preaching text: Hebrews 11:1-16 [12:1-2] This section is about the power of the Word of God to evoke faith. The Word is unseen, but its power is visible through its peculiar effects on human beings. The writer assumes that … Continue reading “Hebrews 11:1–12:2 Commentary by Craig R. Koester”