Local Church St. Pete Podcast Local Church St. Pete

What is our reputation? What do we hope others will say about us as a church? In 1 Thessalonians 1, we discover a young church that, only months before, had never heard about Jesus but is now setting an example for others. Their lifestyle revealed the truth they embraced. Their faith rang out and echoed on, and everyone was talking about it. How were they living? And why is it our prayer for Local Church St. Pete?

It’s easy to allow the hardships of life to overshadow the significance of what Jesus accomplished. When that happens, we can be tempted to turn back to what we came out of or begin to think something else needs to be added to our faith. Hebrews 7 encourages us to press into the significance of who Jesus is and what he accomplished. It reminds us that he is our ‘forever’ priest, who not only meets the deepest needs of our lives but offers us a ‘forever’ assurance to rest in.

There is hope. Not simply wishful thinking or an optimistic state of being, but something more, something certain. In a day when despair and cynicism are on the rise and culture’s answers leave us empty and searching, Hebrews 6:13-20 gives us a promise to stand on. Like an anchor of the soul, we’re invited to hold onto this hope and walk the path it opens for us.

Has someone ever loved you enough to call you out? Whatever you were doing was detrimental to your well-being and they refused to stay quiet. Like a loving friend, Hebrews 5:11-6:12 refuses to stay quiet, confronting spiritual complacency and inviting us into spiritual depth.

“No one understands, no one cares and no one can help.” Ever feel this way? Hebrews 4:14-5:10 describes Jesus as the one who understands our weaknesses and was in every way tempted as we are. Because of that, he has opened the way for us to “draw near” and find the help we need in our darkest moments, in our deepest fears and in the face of unrelenting temptation.

We live in a culture desperate for rest. Hoping to find it in the next purchase, accomplishment or season of life, we keep coming up empty and more exhausted than ever. Hebrews 4 holds out the promise of true rest, the obstacle that stands in the way and the only voice that will get us through.