Today I’m sharing a teaching in the First 5 app over part of Hebrews 12. Here’s a preview . . .

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Today’s Reading: Hebrews 12:18-24

Hebrews 12:22 (ESV) “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering…”

Many years ago, I met the president of the United States. It was a momentous occasion because you can’t just stroll up to the White House and ask to chat with the president. An entire building of staff and Secret Service agents guards access to him. So when an ordinary person like me gets to meet the president, we wear our nicest clothes and think about what we want to say as we shake his hand. We walk away from that moment with a memory that lasts for decades.

Most of us can’t approach our country’s leaders any time we choose. But in the new covenant, our Savior has made a way for us to have access to the Lord of heaven and Earth. Today’s passage highlights this access as one of the benefits of the new covenant compared to the old covenant.

In simple terms, a covenant is a promise or a contract between God and His people. The author of Hebrews wanted his readers to embrace their new covenant home in Mount Zion rather than pitch their tents next to Mount Sinai. In other words, he wanted them to understand the unique access they had to God through Christ.

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You can read the entire teaching on the First 5 website. I hope you’ll check it out!

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I’m sharing a teaching for First 5 today from Hebrews 9 as we continue our study of this challenging and encouraging book! Here’s a preview . . .

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Today’s Reading: Hebrews 9:11-22

Hebrews 9:13-14 (ESV) “For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

When my daughter was a toddler, she hated getting her hands dirty. She didn’t even like to eat chocolate-glazed donuts because she might get chocolate on her fingers.

In the book of Leviticus, God gave the Israelites instructions regarding foods, animals, health conditions and sinful behavior that made them unclean. (Leviticus 11-15; 18) He called them to be a holy nation, set apart from the nations around them, which meant their uncleanness must be addressed. When they were unclean, they must be made clean.

When the author of Hebrews mentioned “the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer” (Hebrews 9:13), he referred to those rituals described in Leviticus 16; Numbers 19 that dealt with uncleanness. Those who were unclean were commanded to cleanse themselves, or else they would defile the Lord’s sanctuary. (Numbers 19:20) The priests shed the blood of animals to remove the guilty stain of sin and make the people clean again. (Leviticus 16:16)

Just like the Israelites’, our sin makes us unclean. The old covenant included the gracious provision of animal sacrifices to atone for sin, but that cleansing was external and temporary. (Hebrews 9:9-10) Under the new covenant, Christ’s blood makes us permanently clean from the inside out. (Hebrews 9:14) This is why the author of Hebrews emphasized the superiority of Christ’s blood and His work as our Great High Priest. (Hebrews 9:11-15)

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You can read the entire teaching here on the First 5 website. I hope you’ll join us in the First 5 app as we make our way through Hebrews together!

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I’m sharing today over at First 5 in our study of Hebrews. Here’s a preview . . .

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Today’s Reading: Hebrews 2:9-13

Hebrews 2:9 (ESV) “But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”

When I was a kid, I wanted an older brother. I loved my younger brother and sister, but I wanted a big brother to go ahead of me, protect me and give me the inside scoop on how to handle the challenges of growing up.

In today’s passage, we learn that, in Christ, God gave us an “older brother” who went ahead of us into heaven and made it possible for us to follow Him there. In the previous verse, the author of Hebrews acknowledged that we don’t yet see the consummation of Christ’s victory. (Hebrews 2:8) We might grow discouraged as we wait for Christ’s return, but we find hope when we look with eyes of faith and see Jesus, the Savior who suffered for our salvation, secured our place in God’s family and will bring us into glory with Him.

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You can read the entire teaching here on the First 5 website. I hope you’ll consider joining us for our study of this rich book in the First 5 app!

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